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Mel's Musings

Monthly insights into the world of real estate

April 24, 2023

Spring Real Estate Update

January 19, 2023

January Real Estate Update

November 23, 2022

November Real Estate Update

May 12, 2022

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Sometimes real estate is a relaxed walk🚶‍♀️, sometimes it’s a jog 🏃🏼‍♀️and on occasion, it’s an all-out run 💨 on Red Bull and espresso! 😂. Such was the case with my wonderful clients seeking their first home in Oakville.

Referred by my wonderful associate and friend, this young family had already given notice on their rental property and had to leave their existing condo by June 30! We first spoke on April 26th and I’m happy to say that by May 11th we had secured a gorgeous condo in this nearly new building, UNDER list price even though we were in a multiple offer situation.

True, now when I jump in my car, Google Maps automatically offers route guidance to Oakville (😂) because it thinks I live there now (there were a lot of 🚗trips in a very short period of time!).

Real estate is fraught with highs and lows, and this may seem clichéd but there is truly nothing better than seeing a family buy their first home 💕

This was a whirlwind but boy-oh-boy was it ever worth it.

If you are looking for your perfect home, please reach out anytime - our market has some wonderful opportunities right now. Enjoy the long weekend - I need a caffeine detox 😂

🏡 AN OPEN HOUSE YOU WON’T WANT TO MISS! 🏡

Instagram post 17870828303875839

Instagram post 17870828303875839

As Passover approaches, I am reminded of the Hebre

As Passover approaches, I am reminded of the Hebrew words “L’Dor V’dor “ - from generation to generation. As I prepare for our Seder, I gently place the matzoh in this matzoh cover.

This matzoh cover was all that my grandmother brought with her to Canada from Europe in the early 1900s. With her mother (my great-grandmother) recognizing that she would likely never see her daughter again, she provided her with a family heirloom that she herself had made as a young girl. This matzo cover, which has survived a turbulent ship ride over to Canada, several world wars, uprooting, moving, and more was created sometime in the early to mid 1800s. It is one of our most cherished possessions. As Jews, we typically don’t have many heirlooms from centuries past as we were often fleeing our homes, not of our will. This makes our matzo cover even more cherished.

To all my friends, family, colleagues and clients celebrating, I wish you a wonderful Passover celebration. Chag Sameach 💕

🏃🏼‍♀️🏃🏼‍♀️ I never made th

🏃🏼‍♀️🏃🏼‍♀️ I never made the track team in school, but boy were we quick on this one!

My wonderful first-time buyer and I have been working together for quite some time, looking for the perfect location at the perfect price. We had narrowed our search down to one beautiful building in the Financial District - 508 Wellington St. West. However, with this being a boutique building, there aren’t an abundance of listings that come to market. Happily, on the evening of March 8th, I received notification that a unit had come to market that checked all our boxes! Moments later I booked our showing and we set off at 7:30am the next morning to take a look.

It was love at first sight and we knew this was the one. I wrote an offer the moment I got back to my office and I’m happy to say, that offer became firm yesterday! 🎉🎉. As always, we took time, along with my client’s lawyer and our brilliant in-house legal counsel team at Chestnut Park, to carefully review the status certificate and ensure there were no issues with either the unit or the building. As I mentioned in a previous post, a status certificate review is ESSENTIAL whenever you purchase a condo. A status certificate will let you know if there are any legal judgements against the condo corporation, if there are arrears on the maintenance fees for the unit, whether you can have a pet, operate a barbecue, rent out your unit and just about every other conceivable relevant point you would ever want to know about the building you are buying into.

We are certainly seeing a change in the Toronto real estate market as of late. Momentum is building and the traditional spring pick-up is evident. As always, if you would like any information on how these changes may affect you and your real estate needs, please reach out anytime. ☕️ is on me 😉

Instagram post 17996119498743006

Instagram post 17996119498743006

“Calculations suggest it will take 267.6 years t

“Calculations suggest it will take 267.6 years to close the economic gender gap worldwide.”
—World Economic Forum (2021)

Today on International Women’s Day I reflect on sobering facts as the one noted above by the World Economic Forum. We still have so much work to do to bring women to their rightful place in society. However, I choose to focus today on the abundant positives in my life, very specifically, the wonderful women who I am fortunate to call colleagues and friends at my brokerage Chestnut Park. I am proud to work in a female-dominated industry. And I am abundantly proud to work at a brokerage that supports the development of its team and works collaboratively for the betterment of us all.

I remember joining Chestnut Park as a new agent and finding out that one of the best in the business worked at my office - Maggie Lind. Having no real sense of the chaotic and busy nature of a top agents day, I reached out to Maggie requesting a meeting, ostensibly so that I could ask her how to build a successful business.

Maggie opened up her schedule for me and joined me one morning in our office boardroom. She brought me a coffee and spent a great deal of time offering her wisdom, strategies and approaches to real estate. From the small scale aspects of the business to bold ideas for career success, she shared openly and honestly. I never forgot that, most especially as I became a busier realtor myself, and realized how generous it was of Maggie to share her wisdom - and time - with someone she had only met a few minutes prior. Today, unsurprisingly, Maggie is Chestnut Park’s number one agent.

Today on International Women’s Day, I ask you to take a moment and reflect on a woman that has made a difference in your life and please feel free to share in the comments below ⬇️

Happy International Women’s Day 💕

@maggielindrealestate

This lady is spending far too much time sitting in

This lady is spending far too much time sitting in her car waiting around….makes for another market update however!