Kinnear's Komments

Volume 17, Issue 5
September 2009

The brain is a wonderful organ. It starts working the moment you get up in the morning and does not stop until you get in to the office.

Robert Frost

Julie's Scoop

What a beautiful September so far. Lucky us. It brings back memories of our wedding/honeymoon two years ago – why we chose this gorgeous month. Mary and I felt very spoiled having Labour Day fall so late this year, as it was almost as if we had an extra week of summer at the cottage. The recent weather brought us warm days and cool nights with lots of dew. Hope everyone had a delightful summer. Our team shared a terrific weekend away together at our cottage – with kids and dogs and partners to boot. And thanks Steph for that crazy JKT signature cocktail.

Toronto by Alec Kinnear

One of the oddest fallouts here in Toronto as a result of that lovely City strike was the wasps. It still makes sitting on patios, or on our own decks and lawns almost impossible. They seem to be overwhelming. Beware for your kids and dogs!

KJ and Tori spent some quality time in Kingston with the girls and Tori's family, and rented a cottage nearby there in August. Charlotte is really growing up, as is Cassidy and they are tons of fun, loving to laugh and dance and especially our little dog Mickey. Jen held down the fort a lot in August for the team, and got away with family and friends up to Caledon. Holly took some time off to visit her brother in Vancouver, and is thrilled with the huge landscaping project that she undertook at her home in Bloor West.

As you likely already know, the real estate market has taken quite an odd turn this year, as the summer market replaced the traditional booming spring market. The activity kept all of us here hopping, and made a lot of sellers very happy. In these popular core Toronto neighbourhoods that we specialize in, the house market has really reverted back to seller's market. It is sort of a funny turn of events, as it was those first time buyers who brought us all out of that nasty market slide, and now buyers in all categories are once again competing for many of the properties. The lack of inventory has been driving things back up. This week things have started to open up, and more good homes and condos have come up. The hardest thing for all parties right now is to predict a sale price. There really has been a lot less comparables to use as a benchmark.

Lots of stuff to look forward to this Fall, have a good one!

Cheers,Julie

Chit Chat

• Looking for funky baby/home products? One of our clients Kirsten Clayton has recently launched her new website and unique designs – its worth checking it out, ideal for gift giving - www.barndesign.ca
• Rahul Ghosh & Claudia Navarro (and wee Diego) recently sold their home with us in Roncesvalles and are getting settled after their big move to Atlanta; although still looking for a new home! Claudia starts her job heading the Coca-Cola sponsorship of the 2010 World Cup.
• We happily support our client Jason Morgan , who is a financial advisor with Edward Jones serving West Toronto.  He's got valuable advice if you're buying or refinancing a mortgage – "individual life insurance policy often provides better protection at a lower cost than mortgage life insurance obtain through your lender". Jason handles both investments & life insurance, 416-531-7911 or

Babies

• We are a little late announcing the March birth of baby son Kane Anthony to proud parents Noelle and Adrian Dos Ramos .
• Mike and Tina Morris (and dog Farley) are thrilled to announce the arrival of son William James born May 14th, 2008.
• Julie Cornwell and Ken Rigby are happy to announce the arrival of Charlie Oliver Rigby on August 8, 2009.
• Degan and Alison are delighted to announce the birth of their daughter, Ayla Emily Ruzenka Davis-Pick . She arrived fashionably late on August 23rd. Ayla (pronounced Eye-la) is a short form of the Hebrew name Ayala, a deer or a beautiful gazelle.

Are you Feeling like Giving Back?

child by D' Sharon Pruitt

Charity of the month – www.smallhands.ca – Benefitting Childhood Cancer Foundation

Hannah MacEachern is the 8 year old daughter of our clients Heather MacEachern & Chris Monette. Hannah chose not have her hair cut in 1 1/2 years, and will have 15" of her beautiful thick black hair cut off to donate to kids with cancer at her Terry Fox Assembly. Hannah set a goal to raise $500.00.  What a wonderful cause and what is more wonderful is that at such a young age is being encouraged to help others in need. If you would like to donate you can do so at www.smallhands.ca

Way to go Hannah! You inspire us all!

Mortgage rates

- courtesy of Carrie Davidson of Dominion Lending

Current variable rate is 2.35%
Current prime rate is 2.25%

MARKET WATCH

Strong Sales Increases Continue in August

August 2009, Greater Toronto REALTORS® reported 8,035 sales, up 27% per cent from August 2008. The average price for August transactions was $387,921 – up by six per cent compared to the same month last year.

"The increase in demand for existing homes has been widespread across different housing types and price ranges," said TREB President Tom Lebour. "This suggests many categories of home buyers have chosen to make a long-term investment in housing, from first-time buyers to move-up buyers or buyers who are seeking a lifestyle change."

Year-to-date sales, at 58,421 were up two per cent compared to the first eight months of 2008. Average price, at $385,978 was up by less than one-half of one per cent.

"We have heard more positive economic news lately. The improved housing market has played a key role," explained Jason Mercer, TREB's Senior Manager of Market Analysis. "Home sales have helped other sectors of the economy through home buyers' spending on things like financial and legal services, moving, renovations and home furnishings."

Did you know?

That you can turn empty inkjet cartridges into food??

One empty inkjet cartridge represents 1.5 lbs of food or 1 carton of milk to the Canada Association of Food Banks.

Just place your empty cartridge in an envelope or box marked TREB Inkjet recycling, and leave at any real estate office, or TREB head office on Don Mills.

Through the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB)/thINK Food Partnership, the cartridges are then sold to re-manufacturers for recycling, and the proceeds buy food for local food banks.

Competitive Advantage Series (=more reasons to refer!)

Is there value in working with our top team?

Another Julie Kinnear Team Advantage… Our Client For Life philosophy

Retro modern phone by Stefan

If you've known us for awhile now you'll know what a bonus this is for you. It means that we happily give you free professional advice for the lifetime of our relationship.

If you see a house you're curious about we'll give you the scoop. If you want to keep tabs on the sales in your building, we'll keep you up to date. If you need a referral for a cleaning service, or a contractor or a plumber, we'll be there for you. We've been known to refer landscapers, window cleaners, caterers, vets and even gynecologists. We can hook you up with other parents in the same area. We'll happily support you on your fundraising efforts and your business enterprises.

We value your referrals and know they will feel a peace off mind when they can call us 1 year, 2 years, 5 years, or 10 years later for trusted advice and help.

You are our Client For Life... As they say in the mastercard commercials... Priceless!

Curious George

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 Steph at:

The Julie Kinnear Team's GEMs (Genuine Evidence of Merit)

Wow! Thanks for all the goodies. We are thrilled with our sale and purchase. Thank you for your help with closing both deals.

Denise and Alan

What They Got! A continuing column of the Julie Kinnear Team's Sales

2 Edith Drive #608

North Toronto

2 Edith Drive #608
Asking Price $439,900.
Selling Price $427,000.

640 Willard Avenue

Bloor West Village

640 Willard Avenue
Asking Price $420,000.
Selling Price $444,100.

81 Wolverleigh Blvd

East York

81 Wolverleigh Blvd Greenwood-Coxwell
Asking Price $429,000.
Selling Price $469,000.

69 Kingsmount Park Road

The Beach

69 Kingsmount Park Road
Asking Price $479.900.
Selling Price $513,000.

67 Monkton Avenue

Sunnylea

67 Monkton Avenue
Asking Price $629,900.
Selling Price $651,000.

1 Harcroft Road

Swansea

1 Harcroft Road
Asking Price $799,000.
Selling Price $789,000.

The 3 D's for Investing

Your future lifestyle and retirement requires a reminder on age-old advice as well as advice updated for the times we live in today. Here's your invaluable three-step refresher.

Dividends
– whether we continue through choppy markets or a slow economic recovery, dividend paying shares from corporations with a history of continuous dividends and/or increasing dividends pay you while you wait for your underlying investment to grow in value. These annual dividends currently can be much more rewarding than what today's bond market pays and dividends taxed outside of registered accounts provide more after-tax income compared with interest income.

dollar by "TMAB2003"

Diversification
– consider diversification with a more practical approach by including investments with little directional influence from the markets and economies, rather than what is typically diversification across various geographic regions, currencies and indices. This can often lead to what is commonly referred to as 'diworse-ification' with the result of too many investments acting in unison providing neither risk management nor outsized returns. Via active and nimble money management, investors are able to protect capital from the risks of market volatility and grow their savings consistently, resulting in substantial compound annual returns.

Discipline
– it is important to retain a plan with regards to your investment objectives, and more important than that is to stick to it. Set out what you would like to achieve with your investments and maintain the discipline to adhere to the plan. Furthermore, it should not matter what stock your neighbour over the fence has won on – your focus should be on achieving consistent and predictable returns with less influence from the broad markets that suit your particular situation. It pays to take a proactive approach as opposed to a reactive one.

Three D's towards a better financial future – dividends pay you while you wait for growth, diversification by way of non-traditional investment vehicles helping to reduce risk and provide more predictable returns and discipline to remain committed to the plan, thus ensuring emotion does not hinder the growth of your savings.

It is not enough to simply wait and hope for returns

Article courtesy of one of our talented clients, Craig A. Machel, FMA, CIM, FCSI — Associate Portfolio Manager, Investment Advisor Blackmont Capital 416-864-3561 

The opinions contained in this report are those of the author and are not necessarily those of Blackmont Capital Inc. Every effort has been made to ensure that the contents of this document have been compiled or derived from sources believed to be reliable and contains information and opinions which are accurate and complete. Blackmont Capital Inc. is a member of CIPF and IIROC.

JKT – A few of our Favourite things

KJ is into the Leslieville organic 'foodie' opportunities, and has 2 hot spots that will not disappoint. Rowe Farms , 912 Queen Street East. Open 7 days a week, try the flattened Chicken! Brick Bakery , 255 Logan Ave, amazing variety of hardy breads and sweets. Enjoy!

Holly loves Landscapes by Lucin ! They absolutely transformed her front and back yards this summer and were always a pleasure to deal with.  Also, if you're looking for a good recommendation, Adam Clement, handyman/painter extraordinaire (6473484009 ), did a fantastic job painting her house and doing some minor repairs. She didn't have to worry about a thing.

Julie loves neighbourhood business associations & hardworking volunteer groups. For example in her area – the Roncesvalles Macdonnell Business Association works hard to keep the residents informed & involved in the decisions and progress of the area. Right now Roncy is under construction and it is very exciting that the infrastructure will be improved, which the City is focussed on, plus a group called Roncesvalles Renewed (combination of neighbourhood associations) is working hard to gain private & government funding to improve the sidewalks and for businesses, people on foot, TTC stops & cyclists.

One of Stephanie's favourite things is the TIFF . She has been attending the movies for years but the Four Seasons hotel bar "Avenue" is probably the best part of the festival. This year she was lucky enough to catch the best sighting of TIFF - being about 8 feet away from George Clooney and Matt Damon. The only thing stopping her from actually having a drink with them was a few very large bouncers! They are even more handsome in person which is hardly possible. The energy that happens in Toronto and specifically Yorkville at this time of year is a 'must' experience for everyone!!

Jen is hooked on The "Twilight" series. She just finished Twilight and can't wait to start "New Moon"!! Fun, light reads that you just can't put down!