Monthly Newsletter: August 2007

Wow, is it hot! We’re heading into the August long weekend and there’s no mistaking that we’re in the middle of the summer. There’s been so much talk lately about climate change and how weather patterns are becoming more erratic. It’s supposed to be hot in August, but it seems like the past couple of years have been particularly warm. It’s feels as hot here as it did in the Israeli Desert near the Dead Sea last month. It’s still a great time of year to go tripping through income properties though.

Congratulations to Plex Sales Rep. Jay Snider and his wife Lea on the birth of their first son. Jay’s down in Los Angeles, still active in real estate and renovating homes. He keeps his eye on the Toronto market and still keeps in touch with his gang up here in Toronto. All the best Jay and we all look forward to seeing you soon.

I’m pleased to finally unveil the newly updated Plex website this month. It has been redesigned with a much easier to use interface and new convenient drop down menus. Take a look at our new homepage:

We have also made the information sections easier to read and now allow direct access to the often-used Toolkit from the homepage. Most importantly is the addition of two new “Featured Properties’ links. We have added small commercial buildings and mixed-use retail properties. Many of you have expressed interest in keeping up with the storefront properties market. We will also be adding “Flip Properties” next month. These are all the distressed properties that need major renovations and may offer some sort of profit potential.

I’d like to thank Everth Fletes for all his help in the redesign. He’s also currently putting the finishing touches of the “Live for Free” book that I will be releasing in the Fall. Everth is a consummate professional and I highly recommend him for any design/communications project that you may have. For more details, please check out www.seakore.com.

Even though we’re still in the dead of summer, the Toronto real estate market continues to surge along. There is still plenty of activity and multiple offers continue week after week. There was one home in the Beach last week that traded for $600,000 over the asking price. Either the house was poorly priced, or someone really, really wanted it. I’d guess it was the latter.

The income properties at the moment are a little soft, but I find that that can often change in a heartbeat. There will be more of them by September for sure, especially since most new renters will have moved in. Look for owner-occupied duplexes and triplexes to continue to be in high demand for the duration of the year. The rental properties in top neighbourhoods that show really well, particularly the ones with nice owners’ suites, will certainly continue to get top dollar. If the market does slow down at some point, I think that these kinds of properties will have the best chance to retain their value since in most cases they partially (if not fully) fund themselves.

I’m sure that many of you heard that the proposed Municipal Land Transfer Tax has been delayed. I believe the rational is to see what happens after the Provincial election in October, but don’t be surprised if this tax still comes to pass.

That’s about all I have for this month – short and sweet. Next month I will be providing