Vol. 31, Issue 5, August 2023
- Julie's Scoop
- Quote of the Day
- Krazy Kontests
- Chit Chat…
- A few of our Favourite things
- Real Estate Market
- Mortgage Rates
- Feeling like Giving Back?
- The Julie Kinnear Team's GEMs (Genuine Evidence of Merit)
- What They Got - More of our happy buyers & sellers!
Julie's Scoop
Can’t believe we’re into the home stretch of the end of summer! Here at the JKT we are counting our blessings that our weather has been relatively moderate compared to so many places in Canada and around the world suffering with extreme weather, wildfires and emergencies etc.
At least the gardens are happy. It is a joy to see so much lush greenery around town.
Toronto gardens are particularly beautiful and lush this year. Photo by Jennifer Cowan
Our team continues to embark on a variety of adventures this summer. Check out our Favourite things section for some more updates.
I am further along in my rehab from my bike accident and grateful for the amazing health care received. The OT/PT stuff does take quite a bit of energy! I think our dogs Georgie and Murphy are the happiest, as I’ve been much more focussed on hiking outdoors with them rather than cycling!
Stopped for a break while hiking in Algonquin Park with Murphy & Georgie
As we busily prepare our clients listings for the Fall market, the current Toronto real estate sales have been interesting - last night our beautiful listing at 16 Parkman in Junction Triangle sold very well - with a flurry of showings, which is very encouraging news being mid August and all. I’ve been watching a number of properties that didn’t sell when originally listed, have also finally sold. Often with a bit of a price reduction, and often with conditional offers (funny how that is now common). That is also a positive indicator for the market. Although there has been quite a bit in the media about the condo market having more inventory, we’ve found that the older buildings, and popular unique suites are getting a lot of action right off the bat in many cases.
The old adage, when homes are prepared properly and positioned correctly in the marketplace, based on understanding the buyers and where the value is, homes are selling, even in the traditionally slow summer months.
A few important bits of info for our peeps:
- The central bank will make its next determination regarding interest rates on September 6/23
- Big news became official earlier this summer - Toronto is allowing up to 4 units to be built anywhere. Toronto council voted to approve multiplex housing citywide — meaning duplexes, triplexes and fourplexes can be built in neighbourhoods previously reserved for single-family homes.
- Toronto property owners across the city who want to build a multiplex can now do so without swimming in red tape.
- Every single Toronto property can now support a building with a 4-plex. You can even enhance the same property with an additional garden suite or laneway house - for a total of up to 5 separate living units.
- This is city-wide, with no exceptions.
- Ontario’s Bill 23 will also allow up to 3 units on any residential lot in the province.
- I keep hearing nightmare stories about hot water tanks bursting in basements, causing floods etc., or not working. Not to mention it happening at the most inopportune time, ie. on Christmas Eve. Take action now - many people are “renting” them from Enercare for example and that means you can request for it to be checked/replaced when older. Do not wait for it to totally break down!
- On another note - they are not very expensive, so consider buying one outright - and then replacing before the end of it’s typical lifespan,
- Bottom line. Be proactive, look into replacing or servicing your hot water tank now, before winter.
Wishing all you families & teachers out there best of luck with the start of school!
guiding you home™,
Julie
P.S. We are excited to share a new educational program for our clients in partnership with one of our trusted mortgage brokers Michael Boccia. First segment is for those focussed on RESP’s. Check it out!
Quote of the Day:
Krazy Kontest Winners…Kongratulations!
Krazy Kontest Winners… Love supporting LOCAL!
Kongrats to
July winner Deena Shaffer & August winner Tamara Kolber! They can both attest to “persistence pays off”. As TK said… finally!
Chit Chat...
Babies!
Sula Greene & Max Howard welcome their first child - cutie pie Victor Henry Howard was a healthy 8lbs, born August 6, 2023.
The JKT - A few of our Favourite Things:
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Jay
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Julie
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Brenda
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Emily
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HollyThere’s an incredible ice cream shop run by two sisters on Parliament Street called Good Gang Ice Cream. They have dairy-free and gluten-free ice cream as well as about 20 different flavours that they change. Plus a little cone is less than four buck. |
Market Watch ~ Market Adjustment - See Below for CITY OF TORONTO results.
New listings and home prices were up in July 2023 in comparison to July 2022.
On a seasonally adjusted basis, the market experienced more balance in July compared to June, with sales trending lower while new listings were up.
“Home sales continued to be above last year’s levels in July, which suggests that many households have adjusted to higher borrowing costs. With that being said, it does appear that the sales momentum that we experienced earlier in the spring has stalled somewhat since the Bank of Canada restarted its rate tightening cycle in June. Compounding the impact of higher rates has been the persistent lack of listings for people to purchase compared to previous years,”
said Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) President Paul Baron.
GTA REALTORS® reported 5,250 sales through TRREB’s MLS® System in July 2023, representing a 7.8% increase compared to July 2022. Over the same period, new listings were also up, but by a greater annual rate of 11.5%. The MLS® Home Price Index Composite benchmark was up by 1.3% year-over-year. The average selling price was also up by 4.2% to $1,118,374 over the same timeframe.
On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, the number of sales trended lower for the second straight month, whereas new listings trended upward. The seasonally adjusted average selling price edged lower while the MLS® HPI Composite benchmark edged higher.
“Uncertainty surrounding the direction of borrowing costs, jobs and the overall economy has impacted home sales over the last two months. Over the long term, the demand for ownership housing will remain strong on the back of record population growth. However, many homebuyers will continue to be on the sidelines in the short term until the direction of monetary policy and the economy becomes clearer,”
said TRREB Chief Market Analyst Jason Mercer.
“We continue to suffer from a misalignment in public policy as it relates to housing. The federal government is targeting record levels of immigration for the foreseeable future, but we have seen very little tangible progress in creating more ownership and rental housing to accommodate this growth. Population growth is imperative for economic development; however, this growth will be unsustainable if people can’t find an affordable place to live. All three levels of government need to be on the same page to fix this problem,”
said TRREB CEO John DiMichele.
Mortgage Rates
Feeling like Giving Back?
We have all seen the videos and photos of the devastation of the wildfires hitting BC, Quebec, Northwest Territories & Nova Scotia and dealt with the smoke and fires in Ontario as well.
In many communities, local and regional Facebook groups have been created to help coordinate volunteers, resources and offers of help. The B.C. government offers tips for donating carefully, including:
- Avoid giving cash or using wire transfer services. Cheques should be made out to an organization, not an individual.
- Donations made online should only be done on secure websites.
- When asked for donations, check for identification or printed information about the charity.
- Beware of high-pressure tactics.
- Do an internet search for the charity's name and background. You can also search for charities online through the Canada Revenue Agency.
If you are in the position to pay it forward, please donate to one of these worthy charities during this time. 💕
The Julie Kinnear Team's GEMs (Genuine Evidence of Merit)
A company's success is strongly impacted by the customer reviews and for those of us in real estate, Google reviews and Facebook reviews create the biggest impact. We are asking for your help to go online and add your input and we will happily donate to a charity of your choice for your efforts!
You can do it on Google Maps here (it's very very important that youwrite a comment as well in addition to the rating), or you can also leave the same review on JKT's Facebook page here by clicking on "Yes" next to the "Do you recommend the JKT?" It's true, 5* reviews are almost as precious as a referral nowadays!
Interested in new build condos and townhouses? We have access to pre-public sales of new developments. Be sure to get in touch to take advantage of this leg up!
What They Got - More of our happy buyers & sellers!
A continuing column of the Julie Kinnear Team's sales...
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42 Kenneth Avenue in West Bend ~ SOLD OVER ASKING (represented seller) |
225 St. Marks Road in the Valley ~ SOLD (represented seller) |
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Did You Know? We have a large number of awesome trusted realtors in different towns and communities across Ontario, Canada and Internationally. Just get in touch so we can introduce you.
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.