Vol. 24, Issue 5, September 2016
Julie's Scoop
Happy September! Back to School - End of Summer!
Hope you had a great summer and enjoyed the record warmth and sunny days! I certainly appreciated it especially when out of the city at the cottage where jumping in the lake is the best option to cool down. Also enjoyed lots time on my bike, cycling the hills of Haliburton. Everyone on the team is rested and ready for a gangbusters Fall market! Be sure to check out Claire’s personal journey to Italy in the Favourite Things section! Our team also hosted the Inukshuk Club to a family picnic in High Park as well as volunteering in the warehouse at Daily Bread Food Bank.
Real estate wise - the surprise shock to the Vancouver buying rules for foreign investors and non-residents was the talk of the town here. The big question for the Toronto market is if that contingent chooses to move their $ to Toronto real estate to save the 15 % tax…
We had many successful buyers and sellers find and sell their homes this summer. Usually August is particularly quiet, this year, not so much, with big sales, well over asking. Seems that this market so far continues to have a pent up demand for good listings, and properties to invest in.
On behalf of our team, I attended the Keller Williams annual “Mega Camp” training held in Austin, Texas. Yes, it too was steamy steamy. We learned about all the incredible things that our brokerage has been working on and planning to help us as agents help our clients. There was definitely a theme about “the client Experience”, and heavy on technology tools. It is incredibly inspiring to hear the success stories of fellow realtors, as well how the KW Kids gives back to help agents in our brokerage pay for secondary education, as well as KW Cares helping not only Fort McMurray, but the flood victims in Louisiana. 4 more countries got on board, and KW is the largest international brokerage with over 140,000 agents in 31 countries. This is a real advantage for developing systems and having models of success to build on.
We are also pretty stoked about Mayor John Tory’s proposal of a 21 acre downtown park to be built over the rail corridor #raildeckpark. It definitely sounds like another exceptional idea to continue on the path of Toronto becoming truly a world class city. Between the focus on amalgamated transportation and healthy livability in the downtown core, this all points to attracting more interest and immigration and positive growth for our city.
guiding you home,
Julie
P.S. We need your help picking our Halloween costumes for our annual JKT pumpkin giveaway! Please go to here and select from 1 of the 4 options. You can see more photos from our JKT Pumpkin Patches here.
Chit Chat...
✦ TJ Riley & Mercedes Papalia are happy to announce they got engaged this summer.
Babies...
Baby Lily
✦ Daniel Andrew and Tiffany Mark had the best Father’s Day surprise with the birth of their daughter Lillian (Lily) Mei Andrew born at 1:05am on June 19th, 2016. Welcome Lily!
Baby Ana
✦ Barb Legault & Luis Orantes welcome baby Ana Isobel Orantes born on July 23rd, 2016. Welcome Ana!
Strong Sales & Price Growth in August
September 7, 2016 - Toronto Real Estate Board President Larry Cerqua announced that GTA REALTORS® reported a record 9,813 sales in August 2016.
While this sales result was 23.5% above the number of transactions reported for August 2015, it is important to note that the majority of sales are reported on working days and there were two additional working days in August 2016 compared to 2015. When the year-over-year discrepancy in working days is accounted for, the annual percentage change in sales is closer to 13%.
"The conditions underlying strong demand for ownership housing remained in place, including a relatively strong regional economy, growth in average earnings and low borrowing costs. Unfortunately, we did not see any relief on the listings front, with the number of new listings down compared to last year. This situation continued to underpin very strong home price growth, irrespective of home type or area," said Mr. Cerqua.
The MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) Composite Benchmark for August 2016 was up by 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. Similarly, the average selling price for all home types combined was up by 17.7% on an annual basis to $710,410. Both the MLS® HPI benchmarks and average prices for low-rise home types were up by double digits percentage-wise.
"Population in the GTA continues to grow. The resulting growth in households coupled with favourable economic conditions and low borrowing costs means that we remain on track for another record year for home sales. Against this backdrop, TREB will also be releasing new third-party research, and consumer and REALTOR® survey results throughout the fall and winter, with discussions focusing on foreign buying activity and issues affecting the supply of ownership housing," said Jason Mercer, TREB's Director of Market Analysis.
Feeling like Giving Back?
Pathways to Education
Every year, thousands of Canadian students make the life-altering decision to drop out of high school. In low-income communities across Canada, the high school dropout rate can reach up to 50 per cent, taking a dramatic toll on our communities, our health and justice systems, and our economy. Pathways to Education is helping youth in low-income communities graduate from high school and successfully transition into post-secondary education, training, or employment. Pathways addresses systemic barriers to education by providing leadership, expertise, and a community-based program proven to lower dropout rates.
To Donate go to: www.pathwaystoeducation.ca or call 416 646 0123 ext. 205.
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 has had over 293,895 hits!
The JKT Inukshuk Members
This year our team has decided to honour those people who have so generously referred us to their friends and family. We have nicknamed it the “JKT Inukshuk Club”. Below is another sampling of some of the members. Thank you for your continued trust, support and loyalty!
The Julie Kinnear Team's GEMs (Genuine Evidence of Merit)
I was writing to commend Tyler Delaney - he and I have been working together for close to a year now, and while he has had to deal with multiple changes of criteria, he has remained steadfastly patient, and demonstrated complete integrity throughout the process. I don't think I have ever heard of anyone having this experience with their agent, and just wanted to let Julie know that the quality of staff is outstanding, and I will recommend him to anyone who is in the market with the highest commendation.
Mita
What they got..
A continuing column of the Julie Kinnear Team’s sales…
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5 L'Estrange Place ~ Baby Point Sold Over Asking |
50 Merchant Lane #105 ~ Junction Triangle Sold Over Asking |
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244 Sorauren Avenue ~ Roncesvalles Village Sold Over Asking |
164 Garden Avenue ~ Roncesvalles Sold Over Asking |
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875 Manning Avenue ~ Seaton Village Sold Over Asking |
39 Roosevelt Road ~ Danforth Village 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 at:
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
Courtesy of Carrie Davidson
Dominion Lending Centres Service First Mortgages #12089
License #M08003121
www.carriedavidson.com
Phone: 416-693-6946
The JKT – A few of our Favourite things:
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Tyler
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ClaireMy trip to Italy – Landed in Milan & stayed for a night in a beautiful boutique hotel called Townhouse Galleria located right in the centre of Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, a shopaholics dream if you are a high roller & into designer stores. Sadly I just window shopped. There isn’t a lot to do in Milan so a day and a half is more than enough. From Milan we took a train to Florence & stayed 3 nights in a very cool Airbnb with the most amazing rooftop terrace overlooking the city with the constant sound of church bells in the distance, it was then I really felt like I was in Italy! The crazy hike of stairs to the flat was a little insane but well worth it for the views. |
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Holly
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Jen
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Julie
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