Morrison Sells Real Estate – Toronto Real Estate Agents

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When’s the best month to get a deal in real estate?

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The holidays are here and it’s a time when our waistline expands and our wallets contract. It’s also the time when SOOO many people turn their attention to their holiday shopping that they miss out one of the best shopping opportunities out there.  What’s that you may ask? Well real estate of course. There are currently OVER 400 PRICE REDUCTIONS in condos & houses on MLS right now. This means that there are a lot of people who would like to sell RIGHT NOW, before the end of the year. Guess what? The end of the year is fast approaching so it’s TIME TO MAKE A DEAL. One of my colleagues last week sold a house for $950,000 after 3 offers. I know that sounds high but if this house were on the market a month prior, it would have had at least 5 offers and sold for closer to $1.1 million. Now stay with me here, don’t get all doom and gloom about the real estate market and the high prices are coming to an end. The reason the buyer got such a deal (yes I know I just said that $950K was getting a deal) is because of the time of year. So if you’re looking for a deal, whether you’re looking to purchase a house or a condo, NOW is the time to MAKE A DEAL because the opportunity is out there RIGHT NOW. In January, everyone makes a resolution to purchase a property, then nothing comes out for a few weeks, then they all pounce on the same property driving the prices up further and making sellers extremely happy. Now if you want to follow the herd and spend more money than you need to? By all means, go for it. However if you’d like to MAKE A DEAL and buy smartly, there is a great opportunity waiting for you, RIGHT NOW. Buying a new home for the holidays? Now that’s a REAL present. Plus you’ll have time off from work to unpack and start the new year in fresh digs. Let me know what you’re looking for and I can help you find something. 

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#304 – 300 Balliol Street

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Located In Davisville Vill., This Pristine Sun-Filled, Rarely Available Condo With A Split Bedroom Floor Plan Boasts 2 Large Bedrooms With Master Walk-In Closets Is Walking Distance To TTC, Restaurants, Stores, Groceries, Starbucks & Tim’s. Ideal For Nature Lovers As The Beltline Trail & Moore Park Ravine Are Just Around The Corner. Other Features Includes 2 Bathrooms, Kitchen W/ Breakfast Bar, Balcony + Oversized Hall Closet.

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LPH 7 – 245 Davisville Ave

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The scenic unobstructed view of the park & tennis courts greets you in this 1 Bed + Den updated penthouse suite with a BBQ permitting balcony exquisitely finished with hardwood tiles ideal for sunset viewing. Ideal for nature lovers & dogs as June Rowlands Park, the Beltline trail & Moore Park Ravine are steps away. Features include open concept kitchen, walk-in closet, parking, spacious private locker room adjacent to parking spot. Steps to Davisville Stn, restaurants, shops, Starbucks.

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#1301 – 25 The Esplanade

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Big City Living With This Spacious, Bright South-Facing Newly Renovated True 1 + 1 Bedroom With Large Bathroom. Open Concept Kitchen W/ Breakfast Bar. Never-Been-Used Stainless Steel Appliances In Pet Friendly Building. Footsteps To Union Station, Financial District, Restaurants, Theatre, ACC, St Lawrence Market, Novotel (Offers Special Neighbour’s Rate for 25 The Esplanade Owners) Amenities Include Whirlpool & A Real Gym On Penthouse Level With A Spectacular View From Treadmill.

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#1205 – 7 King St East

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Live LARGE In This Fabulous, Almost 1300 Sq Ft, SPACIOUS, BRIGHT Executive Suite On King St. You Could Not Live Any Closer To The Heart Of The Financial District Than This 2 Bed, 2 Bath Suite With 9’6” High Ceilings, Newly Renovated Open Concept Kitchen W/ Breakfast Bar, Master Walk-In Closet, W/ Bonus Room Which Could Be Used As An Office, Den, Guest Or Bedroom And Is Literally Footsteps Away From The King Edward Hotel, Theatres, King Subway Station, St. Lawrence Market And Starbucks. *Includes Brand New Stainless Steel Stove, Fridge, Dishwasher*Miele Washer & Dryer *Automated Window Blinds ***Walk Score 100***1 Storage Locker Measures 68”X50”X80”*24 Hr Concierge *Indoor Pool*Gym*Roof Top Patio With BBQ

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What I’ve learned watching Million Dollar Listing

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Can we say guilty pleasure? Yes I know I look at houses all day but I love watching Million Dollar Listing New York, Los Angeles and Miami. I find all of the characters extremely entertaining. And who doesn’t love to look at all of those million dollar properties with their incredible views and pools. I chuckle at how their deals are done and sped up for the sake of the viewers. I can’t even imagine presenting my clients with a verbal offer on their home. If it’s not on paper it hasn’t happened. I also think there is something that happens to a buyer and seller when they see the numbers of an offer on paper. It makes it more real and it forces them to truly think about the number in front of them. I’ve seen people say conceptually they wouldn’t pay or accept a certain amount but when they are staring at the numbers in black and white, it’s a different story. I also love the lavish broker’s open houses these characters throw. Their party budgets seems to be in the thousands of dollars. Really! Now really? Most agent open houses aren’t quite so lavish. The agents that go above and beyond in this city tend to have samosas, a cheese or veggie tray and water and maybe Prosecco if you really want to do something special. But there are no Burning Man costume parties and models walking around for an open house. Even for the opening of pre-construction condos, parties are not that lavish. As an aside, I recently attended a pre-construction condo opening where they served pizza out of a box and water. That’s certainly no way to treat a potential buyer. I would also like to see them include more woman as agents in all of these shows. And a little more diversity couldn’t hurt either. The casts tend be predominantly Caucasian men. It would be nice if they mixed things up a little and cast a woman. Although, we see Josh Altman’s fiancé, Heather, in action the odd time, it would be nice if they gave her the same exposure as the men so that we could see more women in the show. The odd thing is, I think there are actually more women than men as real estate agents in general so it should be reflected in the shows. All that being said, I do love watching all of the Million Dollar Listing franchises. I love the houses, the cars, the great clothes and the ridiculously over the top lifestyles that we get to be exposed to.

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So your stock portfolio just dropped, now what?

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  The recent declines in the stock markets around the world have sent many people looking at their investment portfolios with grave concern. It’s dis-heartening that investors across the world in a different country can send our own North American markets into a tail spin. Fortunately this time around many investors saw the light at the end of the tunnel and instead of selling their investments and solidifying their losses, they chose to double-down and buy some deals in the marketplace. It never makes sense to sell your stocks when the market is down because then you’ll never have the opportunity to make your money back when the market comes back up again.  But wait, what if you were retired and the market stayed down for a few months and you actually needed to live off that money? Now, that decrease in your investment portfolio will affect your daily living and budgeting. But what if, you saw the writing on the wall and took some additional precautions before you retired to add one or a few investment properties to your overall portfolio so that if the stock market went down and you needed cash, you’d still have a steady stream of rental income coming in? That’s what I decided to do in 2008 when we had the last big crash, I started to think what if I had just turned 65 and the market crashed, then what. I started to build my own real estate portfolio to mitigate against any possible losses to my RRSP when I retired.  I’m happy that I have my RRSP but I am also happy that I own a few investment properties. It’s like I’m hedging my bets in retirement. And I feel a house is something more in my control. I wrote about investing in real estate as a back-up plan for your retirement in the Amazon Best-Seller, Success Today with Brian Tracy. I have joined a select group of entrepreneurs from around the world to co-author, Success Today: Common Sense but Uncommon Knowledge from ​Today’s ​Leading ​Entrepreneurs and ​Professionals to ​Help ​You ​Lead an ​Extraordinary ​Life of ​Health, ​Wealth and ​Success. You can purchase the book on Amazon at http://tinyurl.com/davellesbook. Please let me know what you think and if I can help you plan your own real estate retirement portfolio.

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Having an Affair?

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Are you having an affair with the idea of living in a condo townhouse? I have recently noticed that many of my clients are determined to live in a townhouse. The allure, of course, is to live in a house that’s newer and doesn’t require any work. It’s the house that acts like a condo. No snow shoveling required. No backyard lawn to mow. Just a great patio or rooftop terrace. Your car will even have covered parking. What more could you ask for? No wonder it seems to be the number one request from my clients, lately. The townhouse allows residents to have a house in the city close to transit. The price range for townhouses can be anywhere from $300K+ to well over $1.5mill. The challenge is that townhouses on the cheaper end of the scale are so popular because they simply don’t come up for sale very often. According to TREB, the average days on market for a condo apartment in Toronto is 28 days whereas a condo townhouse is generally only 18 days.  The number of listings for condo apartments is over 16,000 while there are only 3,500 condo townhouses on the market since January.  Recently I’ve observed that many of the condo townhouses in prime locations are having offer dates and the sale prices are coming in 14%-21% of the asking price whereas condo apartments tend to come in under the asking price at 98% to list.  As people get used to living and raising their families in smaller spaces, the townhouse becomes a great option as it offers the qualities they like about houses, large, spacious, access to outdoors and offers the qualities they like about condos like having the snow removal and lawn care provided for them. I can definitely see the values of condo townhouses increasing as those who currently live in condos want to move up but don’t love the idea of moving into 100 year old house which happens to be most of the housing stock of most homes in Toronto these days. Of course the challenge with creating more condo townhouses is that the land costs are high, so it’s difficult for developers to justify building more of them. Clearly the people who live in the condo townhouses seem to enjoy them so much, they rarely come on the market so for my clients it means many bidding wars and patiently waiting for just the right one to come on the market. For those who own them, it means they have a very valuable commodity right now in the market.

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Are you bored with your surroundings?

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  Are you bored with your surroundings? You’re wondering if you should move? This advice may surprise you coming from a realtor but maybe you should re-furnish or change your accessories instead. I recently decided it was time for a change and instead of moving, I went shopping for new furniture & accessories. What a fun excuse to visit some of the cool furniture stores our city has to offer. My first visit was to Style Garage for the perfect teal couch.  Yes I said teal. The world has been white & beige far too long and its time to branch out with colour. Glorious & fabulous colour.  A friend had suggested that I check out Queen West Antiques close to Roncesvalles. I was a little sceptical at first because I’m really not that into antique furniture however I trusted her taste and thought if she’s sending me there it must have some interesting pieces. I walked in the store and immediately saw many mid century modern pieces which would work well in my home. And the best part was that you could negotiate the prices down too. Needless to say I was really impressed with the store. As they say Rome was not built in a day so it did take awhile to find all of the right pieces. With spring on its way, you’ll definitely want to freshen up your home. Painting the interior and adding new pillows and accessories is a great way to freshen things up inexpensively. I love Urban Barn, HomeSense and Bouclair as great stores to visit for accessories to freshen up your home. Carpet is another way to freshen things up. If you haven’t checked out Flor.com or their store on Cumberland, It’s time for an excursion. They offer inexpensive carpet squares which can be mixed and matched into unique patterns so you can have a one-of-a-kind carpet. They are also easy to wash making them extremely practical. Also, consider changing the accent colour in your home which can provide you with a little direction when shopping for pillows, throws and other home accessories. Happy shopping and send me pics of your finds!

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