KINNEAR'S KOMMENTS,

Vol. 21, Issue 3, May 2013

Julie's Scoop

Hope you had a happy May 2-4 long weekend! Don't you love the opportunity to spend time with family and friends? Celebrate the first long weekend of the summer?! We've been blessed with beautiful weather this spring yet snow soon after – I guess the rule of thumb that Ontarians shall not plant their gardens before the Victoria Day weekend is wise!

Photo by Neal1960

Last weekend I was training for my upcoming Ride to Conquer Cancer in the snow, sleet, wind and rain. Crazy times! Good times! These are the memories that stay with us, on our journeys. I am proud to say that Holly & I are about to ride in our 5th year together – which means we've each raised at least $10,000. individually to reach that! If you've ever considered participating in the ride, we are happy to support and encourage you!

Last weekend our team got together at Jen's country property in Belfountain for a night to bond, unwind, share meals and play some games together. It was a nice mini break in this hectic spring market. We also helped our annual Royal LePage Garage Sale to raise money for Women's Shelters. Those events really require a lot of energy, enthusiasm, and even sales skills :) So important though!

It is the mission of the JKT to continually educate ourselves and add value to the lives of others. Holly & Tyler have just successfully graduated from an intense 7 week course which will improve our systems and further our collective knowledge and our client's experience!

The real estate market is extremely unpredictable these days. It is price sensitive as buyers are particular, yet some sell for way more than expected. Location does seem to be the usual driving factor but not always, as it must have "sensible layouts" and space for people to be able to stay for the long haul, and really see themselves there. I don't think anyone could have predicted last year that this spring the market would build itself into a lather again and have multiple offers, and pre-emptive bids etc. What I personally have noticed is that the vast majority of people "cashing out" of the market happened more in previous years, so we do have a lack of inventory for houses, which is driving prices higher. We also less listings because it is hard for sellers to find their new home, so they won't put theirs on the market until they do. A bit of a catch 22!

Julie,

P.S. Shameless fundraising for the BEST cause – Princess Margaret Hospital & fighting cancer – If possible, please donate to Holly's ride – www.conquercancer.ca

QUOTE of the day: "It takes some one really brave to be a mother, someone strong to raise a child and someone special to love someone more than herself."

Ritu Ghatourey. Happy belated Mothers Day

Chit chat…

• Emily Palacios has successfully graduated from her gruelling 2 year Vet Tech course at the Ridgetown Campus of University of Guelph. She is now a veterinary technician. What an accomplishment Em, we are all so proud of you!
   

  
  Photo by Yannochka

• Ken Blakeley recently ventured out on his own and started an 'on-demand' marketing agency called Conundrum Marketing Solutions. Dedicated to bringing ethically-meaningful campaigns to life in ways that not only serve the client...but simultaneously builds brands while helping the consumer in some positive way. Very cool. Check it out www.conundrumsolutions.ca

Babies...

Photo by ElisaVarelaT

• Penny Curtis & Phillip Farinha welcome their new bundle of joy Lillian Aubrey Farinha born on March 24th, weighing 6lbs 1 oz and 20 inches. Congrats Penny & Phil we all looking forward to meeting her.
• Heather & Bryan McCourt have welcomed Patrick Graham McCourt into the world on April 5th. It was an unbelievably fast delivery with Heather giving birth 16mins after reaching the front doors at Sunnybrook. They almost had to name him Hwy 401 after where he was almost born!
• Dionne & Sean Watson are very happy that Alexander David Watson decided to join them late but none the less very healthy on May 5, weighing 9lb 2oz.

 

MARKET WATCH excerpts from Toronto Real Estate Board

Market Conditions Promote Price Growth in April

May 3, 2013 - Greater Toronto Area REALTORS® reported a dip of 2% in comparison to April 2012. Both new listings during the month and active listings at the end of April were up on a year-over-year basis.

"Despite the headwinds we have experienced in the housing market this year, April sales came in quite strong in comparison to last year. As we move through the spring and into the second half of 2013, the demand for home ownership should continue to firm-up relative to last year," said Toronto Real Estate Board President Ann Hannah.

"It has been almost a year since the federal government enacted stricter mortgage lending guidelines. It is realistic to surmise that some households, who originally put their decision to purchase on hold, are once again looking to buy," continued Ms. Hannah.

The average selling price for April 2013 transactions was $526,335 – up by 2% in comparison to April 2012. The MLS® HPI Composite Benchmark Price was up by 2.9 %.

"The condominium apartment segment in the City of Toronto was a key driver of price growth in April, with both the average selling price and the MLS HPI apartment index up on a year-over-year basis. The improved condo sales picture, with Toronto sales down by only one per cent compared to last year, suggests that interest in condo ownership may be improving," said Jason Mercer, TREB's Senior Manager of Market Analysis.

Feeling like Giving Back?

Charity of the Month – Ride to Conquer Cancer

June 8-9, 2013. Julie & Holly will be riding for the 5th time throughout Ontario's picturesque countryside in 2 days! Sure, it sounds like a lot — and it's meant to be. But make no mistake, this event isn't just for athletes or cycling enthusiasts. The Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer® is for anyone who wants to challenge themselves for a great cause. All you need is motivation, a bike and a helmet.

Photo by mira66

The money raised from the Ride to Conquer Cancer will benefit The Campbell Family Institute at The Princess Margaret, one of the top 5 cancer research centres in the world. This epic ride moves us closer to our vision to Conquer Cancer in Our Lifetime.

To donate to Holly's ride please go to: www.conquercancer.ca. All donations are 100% tax deductible.

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 now over 134,744!

What they got!

  391 Brunswick 204

319 Brunswick Ave #204 ~ Annex

Asking Price: $899,000

Selling Price: : $900,000

  141 Massey

141 Massey Street ~ Trinity Bellwoods

Asking Price: $869,900

Selling Price: : $861,000

  1 Palace Pier Court 901

1 Palace Pier #901 ~ West end Waterfront

Asking Price: $815,000

Selling Price: : $792,000

 16 Maple Grove

16 Maple Grove Ave ~ Parkdale

Asking Price: $699,000

Selling Price: : $752,500

  66 Aziel Street

66 Aziel Street ~ High Park/Junction

Asking Price: $599,900

Selling Price: : $616,000

 
5229 Dundas St

5229 Dundas St W #1503 ~ Islington City Centre

Asking Price: $374,900

Selling Price: : $366,000

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:

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!

Setting a Date for Offers, Pre-emptive/Bully Bids, and What it All Means to You…

Editorial by JKT member Jen Palacios

Many Buyers ask me about some of the terminology that is used in Real Estate, especially surrounding multiple offer scenarios. I'll go through some common terms so you'll be savvy to what's going down.

• 1. "Registering an Offer" – This means that a Buyer agent intends to submit an offer on the property that they have registered their offer on. The offer should be signed, but the purchase price nor details have to be revealed at this time. When a property is holding back offers, they will often ask the Buyer agents to register their offers before a specific time. This is so that all parties involved can have a sense of how many offers to expect, and possibly change their offer before we, when acting as your buyer agent would present it on your behalf. The request for registering at a specific time is just a request – an offer can come in right up until the time that offers are being reviewed.
• 2. "Holding Back Offers" - If you're looking for a house, you've probably seen this one. A house will be put on the market, and approximately a week later they set a date to receive offers. For example; House is listed Tuesday, and the following Tuesday at 7:00 they will be accepting offers.
• 3. "Pre-emptive Bid" or "Bully Offer" – This is when a property is holding back offers until a specific date, however, an offer is submitted before that date. The pre-emptive offer still needs to be registered. In order for the offer to be worth the Seller reviewing the offer before the date, the offer is typically over the asking price and worth the seller's losing out on all their marketing time. If the sellers choose to review this offer and potentially work with it, often the Listing agent will then contact all the agents who have shown the property and let them know an offer has been submitted and give a specific time that offers will be reviewed. This is then setting the situation up for potential multiple offers, only sooner than the specified date!

There are many different scenarios that present themselves in the offer process. Hopefully these definitions have shed some light on what it all means.

When we are acting on the selling end for our clients it is very apparent which agents are skilled and competent and able to navigate this successfully.

We're here for you! Our team has a great deal of experience in all kinds of these situations and we're here to guide you through the process and come out on the winning end!!

Mortgage rates – Courtesy of Carrie Davidson - Dominion Lending

Centres Mortgage Connection Inc. www.carriedavidson.com Phone: 416-693-6946

Fax: 416-693-4103 cdavidson@dominionlending

 CURRENT VARIABLE RATE IS 2.70%
    CURRENT PRIME RATE IS 3.00%

Some conditions may apply. Rates subject to change without notice. *O.A.C. E. & O.E.

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

"Hi Julie & team - Thanks again for all your help in selling our home! We can't believe it happened so quickly, we really appreciate everything you did to help us get it ready, and for guiding us through the offer/counter-offer process. We are so grateful that we got the price and closing date we wanted, your team did a great job." Darcy & Nadia

The JKT – A few of our Favourite things:

Stephanie

• Opening the cottage a week earlier than usual! With my family on a hot beautiful May weekend, amazing!
• The Mennonite Farm that we stop at on the way to cottage. The BEST butter tarts and a dozen farm fresh eggs for $1.50!!

Claire

• Aruba – Had a great week off discovering the sunny island of Aruba. My son had an awesome time, especially the water slide and many pools that the resort had. I too enjoyed the pool but mainly the swim up bar! The food is honestly better there than here. Met lots of people that actually go down just to eat. Regardless of where you go even off the beaten path it is all so delicious. Although squeezing back into a bathing suit not so much fun after. My favourite Caribbean Island so far I highly recommend to anyone looking to have a care free beach bum kind of vacay.
• House Hunters International – My newest TV obsession! It is so great to see how people can re-adjust their priorities and just pack it all up for a new relaxing life in exotic places

Tyler

• Playoff Hockey – Finally, after nine long years, our boys in blue have finally made it to the post season. GO LEAFS GO!
• Spring Weather – The first sunny day above 20 degrees always makes me feel euphoric, and allows me to shake off those winter blues. I've enjoyed seeing the garden on our new house spring to life!

Holly

• Infused sea salts from The Mercantile in Roncesvalles- love this shop!
• "Unlikely Animal Friends" videos from National Geographic - when you want to overload on cute
• The scent of lilacs wafting through open windows. I'm lucky to have so many mature lilac bushes in my little neck of the woods of High Park. Yay spring!!

Julie

• CBC Radio2 in the morning. What took us so long? Finally a radio show that has quality indie music, and intelligent hosts, and NO commercials. Honestly! Then they have classical music all morning after 9am. Very good for focussing.
  

  
  Photo by CubaGallery

• Burning leaves at the cottage – first time this year, it was a very "Canadiana" moment – and helpful hint : use a tarp instead of a wheelbarrow for gathering them to the firepit. Reminded Mary of her Grandmother's farm!

Jen

• Indoor/outdoor rugs - you can get them at Canadian Tire and they really brighten up your outdoor seating area!
• Northern Lights - – I was fortunate enough to go to Yellowknife in March to see the Northern Lights. We had a 'show' every night! The cold, clear weather certainly helped - it was -40 degrees at 8:00 going to breakfast! It took us a couple of days to realize that you can't stay up all day, then stay up all night to watch the light show. We had to start going to bed after dinner, but it was worth it…
  

  
  Photo by stableduck