Kinnear's Komments
Vol. 25, Issue 4, July 2017
Julie's Scoop
Happy Summer! Woohoo! What a weird year for weather - not exactly that consistent heat wave June/July that we are all used to… but hey, the gardens and grass are certainly lush and full!
Julie and Mary in King's Landing, aka Dubrovnik
Mary & I were fortunate to have enjoyed a lovely European holiday - mostly travelling in Croatia on the islands and mainland (it is spectacular and worthy of all the accolades, and certainly popular with Game of Thrones fans too!), as well as visiting my brother Alec & his partner Lucia plus their son Constantin in Austria and Slovakia - so wonderful watching our nephew grow up!! He is now 2 years & 3 months.
Celebrating Canada Day with Constantin, Lucia and Alec in Europe
One of the benefits of the visit was also to mastermind with our website team Foliovision - who do such a fabulous job coming to you all the way from Bratislava. They welcomed me with Canadian flags and a perfect hand drawn pic of our Inukshuk statue :) We celebrated Canada’s 150th birthday in Austria!
Sanela & Julie at Foliovision's offices in Bratislava
Tyler is getting excited about his upcoming trip to Italy in August. Jen has been away working hard with IFAW and the Northern Dogs project in June.
Jen at Northern Dogs Project
Claire spent some down time after celebrating Addison’s graduation from Leaside and one of her best friends weddings. Good times! Holly returned to Aix-en-Provence where she had lived years ago and absolutely loved getting absorbed back into France’s lifestyle & culture for a couple of weeks at the end of May!
Holly's French Holiday in Aix en Provence
Our Keller Williams office has hosted a couple of exciting events including a “best ball” golf tournament fundraiser that our JKTeam entered 2 groups - it was a first for me, Claire and Holly! Such fun, despite the all-to-common wet weather (are we living in Vancouver people?!). And Jen represented us well in our office “Breakfast at Wimbledon” tourney - what a tennis ACE.
JKT at KW Golf Tournament
Thought with all this water this spring/summer that it was a good opportunity to mention sump pumps. If you have water around your foundation and have waterproofed or your house is newer and/or gone under major renos, then you likely have a sump pump. They are such a life saver, especially in floods and these torrential rains that we keep getting. The problem with a sump pump is that it is electrical and needs power. If the power also goes out in a storm… then what? Well it’s time to go down to the basement to see if you have a back up battery system, and make sure it is in good working order. That’s a good first step. FYI - we used to have a lovely big battery sitting right next to our pump, still in the box and not hooked up! Useless. We decided to go big or go home, because it turns out that single battery backups will only last mere hours, and may still be an issue if power doesn’t resume swiftly. The bigger upgrade is with a TRIPLE back up battery system (who knew?), which is your best bet. Much longer protection for your basement and home and easier to sleep at night :)
As far as the real estate market goes - I liked the reports about the interest rate hikes being a positive sign, because it indicates the economy is strong. And the dollar rose too. The key to remember - the .25% increase (from .50 to .75%) will cost you $12 per month per $100,000 you have borrowed or will borrow on either a variable rate mortgage, or a line of credit. Once again these are ridiculous record lows for mortgage rates. Seriously! My first mortgage was 8.25% - in the 90’s which of course is astronomical to people now but was WAY lower than my parent’s home in the 80’s!
guiding you home,
Julie
P.S. Wishing you all happy summer memories and fun!
QUOTE OF THE DAY:
Chit Chat...
- A HUGE congrats to our friends and clients Andrew and Crystal Laramy on their recent wedding held on July 8th, 2017. What a beautiful venue, I would highly recommend Black Creek Pioneer Village to anyone looking for a different style of wedding outside of the standard banquet hall. It was a beautiful outdoor ceremony in front of their Town Hall which was conveniently right across from the reception held in the Pavilion. Everyone was very appreciative that it was a one stop wedding venue without having to travel. The best part of having a wedding there is they shut down to the public at 5pm so you and your guests can roam the grounds. Very cool to discover at night, as you feel like you are definitely living in the past! A big congrats and thanks for including me in your wedding party and special day. Claire
- Bessie Mourtzis has started her own party-event catering company which Claire was privy to be a part of twice recently. She completely blew everyone away with her talent and small touches that most people would never think of. If you are looking for someone to cater a birthday party, anniversary, office party, wedding or any other event big or small please do not hesitate to contact her. She is so talented and darn nice. To get in touch with her phone 416-871-3344.
Meet Rusty
- Congrats to new dog owner, Suzanne Godbehere just got a puppy Rusty (aka Russell Crowe)!
Babies..
Shannon Kinch and Cory Breed are so excited to welcome their little miracle Mira Elisabeth Leigh Breed, born on the 4th of July, 2017 weighing a healthy 8 lbs 6 oz. Proud grandparents Anne and Rich Kinch are over the moon. Welcome Mira, you will be truly spoiled!
Market Watch
More Moderate Price Growth in June
July 6, 2017 - Greater Toronto Area REALTORS® reported 7,974 sales through TREB's MLS® System in June 2017 – down by 37.3% in comparison to June 2016.
The number of new residential listings entered into TREB's MLS® System, was up by 15.9% compared to June 2016. While this annual rate of growth was sizeable, it represented a more moderate annual rate of growth compared to May 2017, when new listings were up by 48.9% year-over-year.
"We are in a period of flux that often follows major government policy announcements pointed at the housing market. On one hand, consumer survey results tell us many households are very interested in purchasing a home in the near future, but some of these would-be buyers seem to be temporarily on the sidelines waiting to see the real impact of the Ontario Fair Housing Plan. On the other hand, we have existing home owners who are listing their home because they feel price growth may have peaked. The end result has been a better supplied market and a moderating annual pace of price growth," said Mr. Syrianos.
Annual growth rates for MLS® HPI benchmark prices have moderated over the past two months, but remain strong. The MLS® HPI composite benchmark price was up by 25.3% on a year-over-year basis in June. June's average selling price for all home types combined for the TREB market area was $793,915, representing a 6.3% increase compared to the same month in 2016. A better supplied market has certainly been a key factor influencing the moderation in price growth.
"Recent Ipsos survey results suggest that home buying activity in the GTA will remain strong moving forward. On the supply side of the market, it certainly looks as though buyers will benefit from more choice in the second half of 2017 compared to the same period in 2016,” said Jason Mercer, TREB's Director of Market Analysis and Service Channels.
Many of our clients have had their personal experiences with The JKT caught on video instead of the regular written word – they're even posted on YouTube! We so appreciate your kind testimonials. Our YouTube channel is growing exponentially and JUST HIT over 337,699 views!
Feeling like giving back? CAMP OOCHIGEAS
In 1983 an ambitious group of volunteers banded together to form a summer camp unlike any other in Canada. Exclusively serving children with cancer, it would be privately funded, staffed entirely by volunteers and completely free. A camp where every child, no matter how debilitating their illness, would be provided an opportunity to explore enriching, challenging, fun experiences through what is fondly referred to today as the Magic of Ooch. Jen & Julie were both honoured to volunteer as counsellors there and have the fondest memories of all they learned from the extraordinary campers and medical staff.
To Donate go to: www.ooch.org or phone 416-961-6624 ext 400
The JKT Recipe of the Month
Tyler & Ashley’s Pesto Pasta Salad with Goat Cheese, Sundried Tomatoes & White Beans
A perfect side dish for any summer BBQ. YUM! Serves 4.
Ingredients:
- 3/4lb fusilli (or other short pasta)
- 1 can white beans, rinsed and drained
- 3/4 cup crumbled goat cheese
- 1 bunch baby spinach
- 1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup sundried tomatoes (from a jar in oil)
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup pesto (plus extra if necessary)
- Directions:
- In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta until al dente (has to be al dente or the pasta will get soggy). Drain pasta and rinse under cold water until cool.
- In a large bowl, toss pasta with beans, goat cheese, spinach, red onion and sundried tomatoes. Add in pesto and mix to coat adding more as necessary or until desired amount is reached. Salt and pepper to taste.
- Put in the fridge for 1 hour prior to serving. This melds the flavours together but it's not necessary if you're in a rush and want to eat right away.
- Enjoy!
The Julie Kinnear Team's GEMs
(Genuine Evidence of Merit)
Tyler thanks for being a stable and guiding professional through this very stressful time. I would be happy to recommend you to anyone I know who is buying or selling. Thanks!
Ed and Paula
What They Got... More of our happy buyers & sellers!
A continuing column of the Julie Kinnear Team's sales...
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54 Givins Street - Trinity Bellwoods Sold Under Asking |
97 O'Hara Avenue - Parkdale/Roncy Sold Over Asking |
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3 Eriksdale Road ~ Markland Woods Sold Under Asking |
800 King St W #603 ~ King West Sold Under Asking |
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134 Widdicombe Hill Blvd #204 ~ Etobicoke Sold Over Asking |
245 Davisville Ave #LP04 ~ Davisville Village List Price: $469,900 Sold Under Asking |
See a For Sale Sign/Sold you were wondering about? We are happy to let you know about houses in your neighbourhood - feel free to contact Claire:
Our Purpose
Our purpose is for you to be so outrageously happy with the service we provide that you gladly refer us to your friends and family before you’ve even bought or sold with us.
Mortgage Rates
The JKT - A few of our Favourite Things:
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Tyler
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Claire
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Holly
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Jen
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Julie
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