I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately about the residential real estate market here in central Toronto, trying to figure things out. Which is why I haven’t been writing as much as usual (as you may have noticed). I have to say I really don’t like what I’ve been seeing. Not at all. That’s […]
Sometimes my best thoughts come in the middle of the night. It started with a sunny day in mid-June. I had booked a few days off and was listening to a Rich Roll podcast in my car on the way to the Laurentians. I was enjoying the peaceful solo drive and looking forward to meeting […]
We’ve already established that the world of real estate is weird (see Weird Real Estate Stories if you don’t believe me). It’s also unpredictable as you’ll remember from It’s Not Over Til It’s Over and some of the things that happen are downright Unbelievable But True. But apart from the things that are weird, unpredictable […]
It’s around noon on offer day for one of my listings. There’ve been a fair number of showings and a lot of questions asked by buyers and their Realtors, which is always a good indication that there’s interest, but no one has called yet to register an offer. I’m sitting at my desk writing […]
So you’ve sold your home and signed your agreement of purchase and sale. The i’s are dotted and the t’s are crossed. Now it’s just a matter of waiting for closing so you can get your money. As a seller, your main and possibly only worry at this point is not wanting your buyers to […]
We’re about to reach a pivotal point in Kate and Don’s downsizing journey. They’ve been thinking about selling their home and moving to either a condo or an apartment for a while and are getting closer to making the actual decision to move, but they haven’t been ready to pull the trigger yet. If you’d […]
When we last left them in part 1, Kate and Don weren’t ready to move yet, but they were ready to start exploring their options. Should they buy a condo or rent an apartment or a condo? Right off the bat, we told them that they shouldn’t rent a condo. Why? Because the owners of […]
I don’t know about you, but I always like real life examples. They help me picture exactly what’s happened or what to expect. This story is about how we helped a couple, let’s call them Kate and Don, downsize from their family home. In this case, the “we” consisted of my colleague Corinne Waxberg and […]
I never have to look very far to find someone who wants to talk about real estate. Truth is, I don’t have to look at all if I don’t want to because people find me. At times it seems as though almost everyone has a real estate story to tell me or is interested in […]
Have you noticed that many (but not all) of the new homes on 25’ wide lots north of Lawrence in North Toronto seem to be sitting on the market and not selling lately? Have you been wondering why? Well, there could be countless reasons as to why a home hasn’t sold. And since every home […]
[This is the fourth in a series of posts designed to give you an idea of what it’s like to live in one of central Toronto’s great neighbourhoods. Note that I said “one of”. That’s because there are so many great neighbourhoods in central Toronto. Many of the things that make living in North Toronto […]
When you think of buying or selling a home, you think it’s relatively straightforward, don’t you? I used to think that, too, but it seems that things are weird and getting weirder. Here’s what I mean:
Part 1 of this series was about how our little family ended up living in North Toronto. Basically, it was pure luck. But we didn’t have any idea how lucky we really were until Cole and Alannah were born. And Part 2 talked about the play dates, playgrounds and activities they enjoyed around the neighbourhood when […]
If you bought a home in central Toronto during the past 20 years or so, you probably made a conscious decision to choose central Toronto’s urban lifestyle over the much larger home you could have bought for the same price elsewhere. Good choice because Toronto is such a great place to live. But what happens […]
Part 1 of this series was about how our little family ended up living in North Toronto. Basically, it was pure luck. But we didn’t have any idea how lucky we really were until Cole and Alannah were born. Finding out we were going to have twins was a bit of a shock. There weren’t […]
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – there’s nothing more important than setting the correct list price when you’re selling. Watch this short video to make sure you don’t make this costly mistake.
The area north of Lawrence and south of Loblaws on either side of Yonge is commonly referred to as North Toronto. The west side of Yonge is usually called the John Wanless area after the neighbourhood public school. The area on the east side of Yonge is known as either the Wanless Park area after […]
If you’ve been following along diligently the past few weeks, you know what stale listings are and how to avoid them and you’ve seen firsthand what happens in the life of a listing. Now it’s time to find out when you should bite the bullet and reduce your list price because that’s your best move. Price […]
If you’ve been following along, you’ll know that there are countless different reasons as to why people decide to hire a specific Realtor (see 1,000,000 Reasons Why People Haven’t Hired Me). But even though we’re all very different, that doesn’t mean there aren’t things we all share in common. For example, almost everyone asks “How […]
You’re looking for a new home. You already have an agent, but you haven’t signed a contract with him yet. You walk into an open house and the listing agent tells you that if you buy it through her, she’ll give you a break on the commission. What would you do: a) buy the house […]
