Back to work!

We hope you enjoyed the holidays. We were able to get away and refresh and now it is time to jump back into the market. Early signs are pointing to a busy Spring market. There is new inventory coming on the market and more to follow later this Spring.

We really love what we do and would be happy to help you if you are considering a move. We work hard to ensure our Sellers get the absolute best price possible and our Buyers are happy that they found the right home at the right price.

We wish you all the best for 2012!

Cailey

We often have exclusive listings which means that the property does not show on the MLS system. If you would like to find out if we have anything listed exclusively please call or email and we would be happy to give you more information.

All the best,

Cailey

I just logged on to our website and realized that our last bit of news was referring to Summer. How quickly time flies! We hope you enjoyed the summer as much as we did. The perfect combination of work and play!

We have been keeping busy this fall working with buyers and sellers. We are still seeing bidding wars and despite the media’s doom and gloom it seems that the market is chugging along. There is of course speculation on what impact the stock market will have on our markets – we will watch closely and update you if / when we notice a change.

The 8th Annual Fight for Independence took place last week and we are happy with the outcome – our rough numbers show our proceeds at $270,000. That brings the total raised for Nazareth House and Sick Kids Emergency Department to over $1.5 million. Thank you to everyone who came out to support the event. It means a great deal to us.

We have also signed on as Sponsors of The Stop – an incredible community food bank. They provide front line services to the community, including a drop-in, food bank, perinatal program, community action program, bake ovens and markets, community cooking, community advocacy, sustainable food systems education and urban agriculture. The Stop’s Green Barn, located in the Wychwood Barns at 601 Christie Street, is a sustainable food production and education centre which houses a state-of-the-art greenhouse, food systems education programs, a sheltered garden, the Global Roots Garden, community bake oven and compost demonstration centre.

We often reflect on how fortunate we are to have such a great group of clients. We really love what we do and it is because we are surrounded by wonderful people.

We are never too busy to answer your questions so please don’t hesitate to call or email.

Enjoy the fall!

It is hard to believe we are well into the Summer. It is so nice to be reaching for sandals instead of snow boots!

The Spring market was very strong and despite what the media would have you have think we have experienced the typical summer slowdown in the market. People’s minds seem to shift to being outdoors, spending time with children and grandchildren and taking some much needed down time. Homes are still selling for a good price but the feverish pitch seems to have changed. This often creates a good opportunity for buyers to acquire a house without having to enter into a bidding war.

We are really excited to be working on the Eighth Annual Fight for Independence taking place September 28^th at Steam Whistle Brewery. Many of you know this is a boxing fundraiser for Nazareth House and SickKids. Last year tickets sold out and we raised over $350,000. This year’s event promises to be another fun night of excellent food and drinks, boxing, auctions, a great band and much more! We hope you can make it. Check the website at www.fightforindependence.com . Cailey was just awarded the Toronto Real Estate Board’s Civic Service Award for her work with Fight for Independence and the Shelter Foundation. This award recognizes members who make a difference in their communities by holding local fundraisers, volunteering in the communities and contributing in countless other ways to charitable causes.

We would like to thank all of our clients who donated items to our Annual Garage Sale. The event is a national Royal LePage initiative to raise funds for The Shelter Foundation.  The Royal LePage Shelter Foundation is Canada’s largest public foundation dedicated exclusively to funding women’s shelters and violence prevention and education programs. This year we raised $410,000 for these important causes.

Royal LePage is currently running a “My Great Neighbourhood” contest. The grand prize is $20,000. If you would like to share what you love about your neighbourhood please do so at www.mygreatneighbourhood.royallepage.ca . We are fortunate to live in a city that has so many wonderful communities!

Thank you again for your continued support. We greatly appreciate your business and referrals. It is our goal that every client who works with our team becomes a lifelong client and that they are comfortable recommending our service to anyone they know.

Enjoy the summer!

Cailey, James, Heather, Pamela, Sylvia & Angela

Now that the sun is starting to shine we are optimistic that Spring is around the corner. We are often asked what the market will bring in the next few months. It is of course impossible to know but our instincts point to a busy Spring market. There are still a lot of buyers who are ready to move. We have several clients who are looking for such a specific property that their search can take months and sometimes years. One of the most desired properties is a ravine lot with table land – and privacy! Not easy to find in the central core. At the moment our clients needs range from a starter condo right up to large family homes in Bennington Heights, Moore Park, Rosedale, Forest Hill, Leaside and Lawrence Park.

We recently met with a potential client who wondered what impact social media has had on our business. There is no question that it appeals to different segments of the popultation. It is perhaps not as popular with our main audience but we still believe that in an effort to gain maximium exposure for our clients it is important that we be connected. We are now “tweeting”, have a presence on Linked In, Facebook and post our listings on Craigslist and Kijiji. Hard to imagine that someone would look for a house on Craigslist but it does happen!

As you know we are all inundated with real estate mailers on a daily basis. We really struggle with doing this because we find that it is hard to be responsible for that amount of paper waste. Having said that it seems that to be competitive in our market place we need to stay “top of mind”. We have decided that we will do occasional mail-outs but we will not do a weekly mail drop. Our daughter Mimi has turned into a little environmentalist so she will be pleased with this decision. If you want to hear about what we are doing, or see information from our team, please send us an email and we will add you to our email distribution list. Likewise, if you have other marketing ideas that are more “green” please drop us a line.

We wish you a happy Spring… we hope it will be here soon!

All the best,

Cailey, James & Heather

It has been a long time since we have posted any news. Our website has been rebuilt / redesigned over the last couple of months and we are really happy with the new format and look. We find it much easier to navigate – hopefully you will too.

Now that the holidays have passed the market will pick up again. There continues to be a lack of inventory and lots of buyers out looking. We hope there will be more homes to show in the coming weeks and months.

We are often asked when the best time to sell is. Historically the early Spring seems to be best… although last February (and December!) were great months in the Toronto market. I suppose there is no way to predict the future but from what we are seeing so far this year it looks like the market will be strong throughout the winter and spring.  We know it is hard to believe that buyers want to navigate the snow to look at houses but they do… there are lots of active buyers in the market at the moment. If you are thinking of making a move please call us to find out how we can help.

In our last post we mentioned the Fight for Independence which takes place in September each year. We are thrilled to announce that the 2010 event was our best ever with almost $350,000 raised for Nazareth House and the SickKids trauma unit.

All the best,

Cailey, Heather & James

Listed from: $595,000 to $3,000,000 U.S.

www.thelandingsstlucia.com

Overlooking the finest beach on St. Lucia, The Landings consists of beautifully appointed 1, 2 and 3 bedroom waterfront freehold residences. Every residence has two large terraces or landscaped gardens, and comes with a choice of beach, harbour, lagoon or channel views. Interiors are spacious with all the trappings of Five-Star luxury living.

James Estrin is the North American Representative for this project – please contact him directly with any questions. Local number 416.568.4716.

January 3, 2010 by Heaps Estrin

It is hard to believe that Summer is just around the corner. The real estate market has been very busy this Spring. We are starting to see signs that supply will catch up to demand in the market which means we should see a more balanced market by Fall. While every Seller hopes for a bidding war we are seeing fewer of them. Having said that, if a house is priced properly and exposed to the market it should sell within a reasonable time frame and for a good price. The idea of Buyers being able to see a house they like and just buy it has been so far removed from reality for years that it may be a welcome change in the market place.

We are starting to work on our annual fundraiser that we co-host call the Fight For Independence. This year’s event will take place at Steam Whistle Brewery on September 23rd. If you want to learn more about it please check the website at:

www.FightforIndependence.com.

We hope you are enjoying the Spring.