As a real estate sales rep for Freeman Real Estate for eight years, it took Janelle a few circuitous years to find her true calling. Right out of university she worked as a flight attendant and then as a customer service rep for a government agency. Working with people is the common factor in all her careers.

But it wasn’t until she sold her own home through an outside realtor that Janelle realized that selling and buying homes might be for her. Janelle’s realtor suggested she give it a try so she did and she hasn’t looked back.

“When you’re in sales you really need to believe in what you’re selling to be successful at it,” says Janelle. “I come to appreciate every property to the point where I can sell it because I actually believe in it as a product and I believe there is a buyer for everything. You have to find the right fit.”

While Janelle truly loved her work with Canada 3000 airlines, getting to travel the world and stay in nice hotels, it was a career well suited for her previous life as a carefree single woman. Today, as the married mom of two young kids, real estate offers the 40-year-old financial stability, a chance to build her career and the flexibility to shop for groceries on a Tuesday afternoon while the children are at day care.

Each day brings a real sense of accomplishment and satisfaction for Janelle because she truly enjoys her work, which differs all the time. “Because of my experience working in the airline industry I was accustomed to working odd hours. I enjoy that.”

Janelle specializes in residential real estate in downtown Toronto, Etobicoke and Mississauga. She hooked up with the Freeman team after presenting the winning offer on a Freeman listing. “My buyers got the property and within a day or two Nancy Freeman called and said you need to come work here.”

She loves the not-too-big, not-too-small size of Freeman’s Bathurst Street headquarters which has a “lovely office environment” and a staff that makes her feel like she’s part of a team effort.

Janelle knows her former careers each contributed to the realtor she is today. In fact, life and work experience are necessary requirements for someone thinking about a career in real estate because, she emphasizes, the work is a whole lot more than simply sales. “You need life and street experience,” she says. “You need a thick skin to withstand the rejection and you need to know how to handle the many different types of personalities you encounter.”

Janelles Website: http://www.janelleweiss.com/ 

Some say working with the public can be a thankless job, while others derive a sense of pride in it.

The latter is definitely the case for Helen and Steve Moon who’ve owned and operated Steven’s Groceries at the corner of Bathurst and Follis since 2007.

The convenience store, which is open from 7:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. seven days a week, offers customers a soup-to-nuts range of products from Christmas trees in December to cut flowers and plants in summer to sewing needles, laundry soap and even obscure little finds that you won’t find in other stores.

Classical music and kind words of welcome greet customers who enter the store. The space is surprisingly clean and tidy given its abundant stock. Helen and Steve enjoy marking many holidays and celebrations such as Canada Day and St. Patrick’s Day by decorating their shop with appropriate flags, balloons and banners. It’s easy to see why the Toronto Star voted the store as one of the best in the city.

But Helen, a native of Seoul, Korea, credits her success back to her customers.

“Our relationship with the customers is important,” says Helen, 55, who was a professor of art education in Korea. “Every customer is my friend. We give them poinsettias every Christmas and they give me Christmas cards, and they give me pictures of their families and their pets and we put them up in the store.”

Because of the store’s location in Seaton Village, not far from the University of Toronto’s stomping grounds, many of its customers are students, professors, doctors and lawyers – all very nice people, says Helen, and the reason why “we are a good match.”

Helen and Steve and their two grown children moved to Canada 13 years ago. Finding this corner store with the name Steven already on the sign was a happy coincidence for the Moons, who had been looking to purchase a convenience store for some time.

The store, which is adjacent to Freeman Real Estate Ltd., was the brainchild of my grandparents Max and Sarah Hartstone, who decided to open a dry goods store there in 1959. Named after their first grandson, the store – known then as Steven’s Milk – served the needs of the neighbourhood’s largely working-class immigrants. As its customers changed and evolved so, too, did the store moving its merchandise into organics and specialty foods.

Sarah, Max and their son Marvin worked longs hours at the store, which was open till midnight seven days a week. Max died at 75 in 1982, while my grandmother lived to the ripe old age of 98. Marvin decided to close down the store in the mid nineties after suffering a serious heart attack. His retirement and his crusty but kind manner were celebrated in a Toronto Star column.

Steven’s Milk provided many young men in the neighbourhood with their first jobs as Max and Sarah liked to hire customers, even those who had shoplifted in the store, to help with the endless chores associated with running a corner store.

Because my grandfather virtually lived in the store, it was there that he forged relationships, ate meals and performed odd jobs that most people performed at home. A tight relationship with Sealtest Milk executives led to daily milk-less lunches in the back of the store. On the menu? What else but pastrami, herring and good old wholesome scotch.

As a realtor, we wear hats of many different sizes and styles.

One day, our hat might be that of an investor or accountant, the next it might be confidante and counsellor. During a particularly nasty transaction, you might don the hat of or divorce attorney. You just never know.

Geoff Mundell, a residential real estate sales rep here at Freeman Realty for the past six years, is used to the drill thanks to an eclectic career that has seen this renaissance man dig for gold in a northern Ontario gold mine, mix drinks for affluent personalities at the A.C.C. and deliver parcels for UPS.

The Platinum Club, where Geoff still works part time during the hockey season, is a great spot to market his real estate services. Staff and clientele are quick to accept his business card. Next to having a trade that lets him sell his practice, Geoff loves the fast pace of working at a bar.

“I like the action,” says the 57-year-old Toronto native who loves to cook in addition to mixing drinks. “It’s nine to 10 hours of complete mayhem and it’s nonstop. A day disappears so fast and 10 hours blows by before you know it.”

He’s served cocktails to a who’s who list of celebrities, from Michael Douglas and J. Lo to Jon Bon Jovi and each venture capitalist on the Dragon’s Den.

His bartending skills, which involve a level of sales proficiency, tie in with his career as a realtor. Much of his real estate work is repeat business. Since about 50 per cent of his practice focuses on first-time home buyers, many are now looking to upgrade to a bigger and better home to accommodate their growing families.

Geoff, who’s married to a chiropractor, enjoys showing young couples potential digs. As someone who specializes in the first-time home buyer market, he knows his condos and is not shy about steering clients to well-built, quality buildings versus poor lay-outs and badly built lesser models.

“It’s an education,” he says simply. “Some are terrible and some are fantastic. I take them to what I consider a good product and they usually end up in a place I think they should be.”

Over the years, Geoff’s encountered some weird and humourous situations as a realtor. Like the hand-wringing first-time sale to a young couple that was bankrolled by two rich aunties. One lived in Toronto and the other was in England, which made consulting each other on the merits of each potential possibility somewhat labourious. Fifty properties and six months later, the couple finally got a great condo. Frustrating, admits Geoff, but worth it in the end.

Or the countless times he’s found the vendor of a listing in bed or in the shower after being told that no one would be home.

That’ll redden your cheeks.

June 5, 2013 — Greater Toronto Area (GTA) REALTORS® reported 10,182 sales through the TorontoMLS system in May 2013, representing a dip of 3.4 per cent compared to May 2012. Sales of single-detached homes in the GTA were up by almost one per cent compared to the same period last year, including a three per cent year-over-year increase in the City of Toronto.

“The sales picture in the GTA has improved markedly over the past two months. While the number of transactions in April and May remained below last year’s levels, the rate of decline has been much smaller. A growing number of households who put their decision to purchase on hold as a result of stricter lending guidelines are starting to become active again in the ownership market,” said Toronto Real Estate Board President Ann Hannah.

The average selling price for May 2013 sales was $542,174 – up by 5.4 per cent in comparison to $514,567 in May 2012. The annual rate of price growth was driven by the tight low-rise segment of the market and particularly by single-detached and semi-detached home transactions in the City of Toronto. Average condominium apartment prices were also up slightly in comparison to last year.

The MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) Composite Benchmark was up by 2.8 per cent year-over-year.

“The annual rate of price growth in May was not surprising given the competition that still exists between buyers, particularly for low-rise home types such as single-detached and semi-detached houses. We remain on track for a three-and-a-half per cent increase in the average selling price for 2013 as a whole,” said Jason Mercer, TREB’s Senior Manager of Market Analysis.

*supplied by the Toronto Real Estate Board

*Toronto Real Estate Board Info
Year Over Year Sales Summary GTA

2013 2012 %Chg.
Sales 10,182 10,544 -3.4%
New Listings 19,216 19,075 0.7%
Active Listings 22,677 20,462 10.8%
Avg Price $542,174 $514,567 5.4%
Avg. DOM 23 21 9.4%

Downtown/Midtown Sales Statistics
Month of May 2013**

May/13 Apr/13
Properties Listed 1862 1760
Property Sales 578 561
Avg. Price $873,670 $917,607
Median Price $703,500 $706,667

**areas bounded by Yonge-Ossington-Lakeshore-Eglinton

           2013                             2012                 % Chg.

Sales                                          7765                             9385                 -17.30 %

New Listings                           14728                           16191               -9.0 %

Active Listings                       18384                           16920               8.70 %

Avg. Price                         $519,879                       $500,875           3.80 %

Avg. DOM                                   24                                 21                     16.90 %

Downtown/Midtown sales Statistics

Month of March  2013**

    Feb/13              March/13

Properties Listed                   1404                             1624

Property Sales                          335                               444

Avg. Price                         $783,531                       $832,464

Median Price                   $706,667                       $641,000

** area bounded by Yonge-Ossington-Lakeshore-Eglinton

April 3, 2013 — Greater Toronto Area REALTORS® reported 7,765 transactions through the TorontoMLS system in March 2013 – down 17 per cent compared to 9,385 transactions in March 2012. While the year-over-year dip in March sales followed the trend that has unfolded since mid-way through 2012, it is also important to note that the Good Friday holiday was in March this year versus April in 2012. Generally speaking, there are fewer sales reported on statutory holidays and weekends. (more…)

Price Growth Continues in February

 March 5, 2013 — Greater Toronto Area (GTA) REALTORS® reported 5,759 sales through the TorontoMLS system in February 2013 – a decline of 15 per cent in comparison to February 2012. It should be noted that 2012 was a leap year with one extra day in February. A 28 day year-over-year sales comparison resulted in a lesser decline of 10.5 per cent.

 The average selling price for February 2013 was $510,580 – up two per cent in comparison to February 2012.

 “The share of sales and dollar volume accounted for by luxury detached homes in the City of Toronto was lower this February compared to last. This contributed to a more modest pace of overall average price growth for the GTA as a whole,” said Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) President Ann Hannah.

 “Stricter mortgage lending guidelines that precluded government backed mortgages on homes sold for over one million dollars and the City of Toronto’s additional upfront land transfer tax arguably played a role in the slower pace of luxury detached home sales,” added Ms. Hannah.

The MLS® HPI Composite Benchmark price covering all major home types eliminates fluctuations in price growth due to changes in sales mix. The Composite Benchmark price was up by more than three per cent on a year-over-year basis in February.

 “We will undoubtedly experience some volatility in price growth for some market segments in 2013. However, months of inventory in the low-rise market segment will remain low, resulting in average price growth above three per cent for the TREB market area this year. Our current average price forecast is $515,000 for all home types combined in 2013,” said Jason Mercer, TREB’s Senior Manager of Market Analysis

February 5, 2013 — Greater Toronto Area REALTORS® reported 4,375 transactions through the TorontoMLS system in January 2013. This number represented a slight decline compared to 4,432 transactions reported in January 2012.

“The January sales figures represent a good start to 2013. While the number of transactions was down slightly compared to last year, the rate of decline was much less than what was experienced in the second half of 2012. This suggests that some buyers, who put their decision to purchase on hold last year due to stricter mortgage lending guidelines, are once again becoming active in the market,” said Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) President Ann Hannah.

“It is interesting to note that sales were up for many home types in the GTA regions surrounding the City of Toronto. This is due, at least in part, to the additional upfront land transfer tax in the City of Toronto,” added Ms. Hannah.

The average selling price for January 2013 sales was $482,648 – up by 4.3 per cent compared to $462,655 in January 2012. The MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) Composite Benchmark price was up by 3.8 per cent over the same period.

“There will be enough competition between buyers in the marketplace to prompt continued growth in home prices in 2013. Expect annual average price growth in the three to five per cent range this year,” said Jason Mercer, TREB’s Senior Manager of Market Analysis.

Year Over Year Sales Summary GTA

                                              2013                             2012                 % Chg.

Sales                                      4375                                 4432                 -1.30 %

New Listings                         10624                               9598                  10.70 %

Active Listings                      14231                                12290               15.80 %

Avg. Price                             $482,648                         $462,655           4.30 %

Avg. DOM                               37                                     32                     12.90 %

Downtown/Midtown Sales Statistics

Month of December  2012**

                                                Dec/12                      Jan/13

Properties Listed                      1181                               1271

Property Sales                           213                                 229

Avg. Price                                   $768,642                      $694,373

Median Price                             $546,083                      $528,333

** area bounded by Yonge-Ossington-Lakeshore-Eglinton

February 3, 2013-Toronto. The media would have you believe that the sky is falling and the market is crashing. My gut told me this was not the case in Downtown and Midtown Toronto for the month of January 2013. The FreemanTeam®, over 30 professional Realtors have a significant number of qualified buyers ready to buy now. Our predicament is there is  almost no  inventory. The “shop talk”  centers  around frustration…low inventory, multiple offers and the like. I decided to validate this in 8 several  keys communities of central downtown/midtown for the month of January 2013.

Eight popular  communities were carefully examined  in January for the percentage of active homes sold, sold percentage of asking price and   Days on Market. We found a market that lacks inventory,  where  almost 33%  of active listing sold on average for full list price (see chart above: Average 8 communities 100.28% & 32.80%).  The winners were Humewood/Cedarvale, Wychwood and Little Italy. All three of these desirable communities provided a range of well priced inventory in the $600K-$1000K range. The looser was the Annex with only 15% of active listings selling in January at 98.50% of list price. In the Annex a  lack of attractive inventory has been part of the problem.  Demand from buyers exists!!!

It is also interesting to note that the average number of days required to sell a property in all eight communities was a very strong 25.25 days. This compares favorably to the heady spring days of 2012.

January 2013

So what does the spring hold for many of these communities. If inventory levels remain low it is probable that we will see multiple offer situations popping up  especially  in the popular $600-$800k range.  What we need is more inventory in the affordable range coming up which will hopefully trickle up and jump start the  more moribund +$1000k range.

If you are looking for up-to-date monthly Real Estate stats, and evaluation of your property  and the ability to search all of the GTA’s available listings at the click of the button check out the MOST USER FRIENDLY & ADVANCED Real Estate web site at www.freemanrealty.com

There was the mother who rented an apartment so her daughter would be in district for popular Earl Haig Secondary School near Yonge and Sheppard.

Never mind that the flat was empty and the mother had no intention of living there; she told the principal it was cheaper to pay rent to get into Earl Haig than to pay tuition for a private school.

Then there were 15 applications for Grade 9 one year all from the same apartment unit. An apartment superintendent was selling false leases, recalled Michael Smith, principal at the time. We shut that down.

At this time of year, as Grade 8 students apply for high school, families can get creative in trying to get their children into schools they believe are best. In a system that gives first dibs to children who live in the district, schools with good buzz can drive out-of-district families to desperate measures.