Prices for all home types continued to rise in March 2013 compared to the previous year according to the Toronto Real Estate Board. While sales volumes decreased year-over-year for all home types, average prices increased between 1.7-5.4% depending on the type. Detached homes saw the largest price increase of 4% to $658,118. The president of TREB noted that demand remains strong despite tighter lending rules, but a shortage of listings has led to bidding wars in some neighborhoods. All home types experienced both rising prices and different sales patterns in 2013.

1. Prices Continue to Rise for All Home Types
Information courtesy of the Toronto Real Estate Board.
TREB
Sales & Average Price By Major Home Type
MAR. 2013 Sales Average Price
416 905 Total 416 905 Total
Detached 975 2,794 3,769 $846,828 $592,265 $658,118
Yr./Yr. % Change -21.6% -16.4% -17.8% 2.8% 5.4% 4.0%
Semi-Detached 314 573 887 $607,334 $403,031 $475,355
Yr./Yr. % Change -15.1% -14.0% -14.4% 6.9% 3.1% 4.6%
Townhouse 300 884 1,184 $450,104 $369,590 $389,990
Yr./Yr. % Change -18.5% -13.5% -14.8% 7.5% 4.2% 5.0%
Condo Apartment 1,266 505 1,771 $367,595 $278,984 $342,327
Yr./Yr. % Change -18.7% -17.8% -18.4% 2.0% 1.3% 1.7%
TREB President Ann Hannah noted that despite the rising prices, “There are
many willing buyers in the marketplace today. While some households have put
their decision to purchase on hold as a result of stricter lending guidelines or
the additional Land Transfer Tax in the City of Toronto, other households simply
haven’t been able to find the right house due to a shortage of listings in some
market segments.”
Properties in some Toronto neighborhoods, especially ones close to the core
and to public transit, are experiencing bidding wars due to lack of inventory,
while others are charting a downturn in sales. Different home types
are also seeing different sales patterns, depending on if the
property is a detached or semi-detached house,
a townhouse or a condominium.
Regardless of the structure,
however, all average prices
continue to show an increase
in 2013 over the same
period in 2012.
Although the number of sales was down by 14 percent compared
to the first quarter of 2012, spring 2013 sprung yet another month of
rising home prices in the city of Toronto, with the average selling price
in March rising to $519,879 – a 3.8 percent home price increase in
March 2013 over March 2012.
Whether you’re considering buying or selling in the Toronto market this year,
remember that your one-stop information source about all things real estate is
just a phone call away. Please call anytime with your real estate questions!
Recine Team Report
Compliments of Melanie & Fabio RE/MAX Premier Inc., Brokerage
Each office is independently owned and operated.
Melanie Maranda Recine &
Fabio Recine
Sales Representatives
"It's your call
Call Melanie and Fabio"
RE/MAX Premier Inc., Brokerage
9100 Jane Street, Bldg. L, Suite #77
Vaughan, ON L4K 0A4
Office: 416-987-8000
Fax: 416-987-8001
Direct Melanie: 647-836-4062
Direct Fabio: 416-828-5441
mmaranda96@hotmail.com
frecine@trebnet.com
www.RecineTeam.ca
Greetings! You’re receiving this
newsletter with hopes that you find it
informative and entertaining.
If you’re thinking of making a move, or
are just curious as to real estate trends
in your area, please feel free to call at
any time. It’s always good to hear
from you!
Best wishes,
Melanie and Fabio
Volume 9, Issue 5

2. 2
 Choose your paint wisely. Cheap paints use inferior
pigments and binders, meaning their hiding capabilities
are lesser, they fade and wear faster, don’t adhere as well,
and are more difficult to apply, which means working
harder and having to paint more often. If that matters to
you, buy the best paint you can afford.
 Use quality tools appropriate for the job. Good rollers
have metal cages, plastic (not cardboard) cover cores,
and dense fibers. Good paintbrushes have tightly packed
bristles of varying lengths that are split at the ends. For
oil-based paints, use rollers and brushes with natural
covers and bristles; for latex paint, opt for synthetics.
 If you can‘t remove furniture entirely, gather it in the
middle of the room, and cover it and the floor with drop
cloths. Fabric cloths are preferable to plastic ones, which
are slippery underfoot (human or ladder) and stay wet
when spilled on. Whatever type of cloth you use, tape
it down.
 Remove hardware: switch and outlet plates, doorknobs,
light fixtures, hinges, handles, etc. Professionals may be
able to paint around such items, but you probably don’t
want to take the risk. Keep screws and such with the
items they belong to and label things as needed to avoid
confusion when it’s time to put them back.
 Smooth walls are critical, so surface preparation is
important. Remove loose, peeling, or flaking paint; repair
popped nails; and patch up cracks and holes. If you’re
painting over a glossy surface, light sanding will be
necessary so that the paint can better adhere to the wall.
Allow patched areas to dry completely before painting.
 Make sure walls are clean. They might not look dirty, but
chalk, dust, hair, oil, and even cobwebs may be clinging
to them, which can make it harder for paint to adhere
and even show through the finished job. Use a sponge to
wash walls with a mixture of water and mild detergent,
rinse with plain water, and let them dry completely.
 Mask the room. Tempting as it may be to skip it, masking
will likely save you even more work later. Choose the
right painter’s tape for the job – not all tapes can be
used on or cleanly removed from every surface. Overlap
sections by a couple of inches and make sure there are no
bubbles or folds that could allow paint to seep in.
 Don’t skip the primer, particularly if you’re painting a
lighter shade over a darker one, if the walls are stained
(use a primer designed for stain blocking), or if you’re
painting walls that have been repaired (in fact, if you
prime nothing else, spot prime areas you’ve patched or
they’ll appear as shiny spots when you’re done).
A fresh coat of paint is the cheapest way to give your home a new look and improve its resale value – especially
if you do the work yourself. To make the job easier, be happier with the results, and avoid accidents along the
way, follow these tips.
Painting Pointers

3. Emotional QuotientKnow the AREA
Volume 9, Issue 5 3
While it’s impossible to know everything about
an area before moving in, there are some things
you can and definitely do want to learn about
before you buy. Here are five important criteria
to investigate.
 Amenities. Whether your preferences lean more
towards parks and playgrounds or clubs and culture,
you’ll want to know whether your prospective
community has the amenities you want, and, more
importantly, those you need (e.g. public transit, health-
care facilities).
 Tone. You may have visited prospective homes and/
or areas on sunny Sunday afternoons, but be sure to
return at various times of the day and week to see if/
how the area’s tone changes. For example, how does it
look during rush hour or sound on Saturday nights?
 Schools. Even those who don’t have children and
intend to remain childfree should be concerned about
the presence of quality schools. Why? Resale value:
good schools mean persistent demand, and, as a result,
faster sales at higher prices for properties near them.
 Crime rates. Obviously there’s no guarantee you’ll
never be a victim of crime in any neighborhood you
move to, but you can find out, via resources like
websites and local police departments, the amount –
and nature – of crime in any area you’re considering
buying in.
 Economic factors. Are property values falling, rising, or
stable? Is the local job base growing or shrinking? Do
local residences look like they’ve been well maintained?
Are there many “For Sale” signs on homes? Have a lot
of local businesses closed their doors for good?
Where should your investigation begin? With a call to
your local real estate representative – there’s no one who
knows the area better!
 Overpricing. The number one reason why otherwise
good homes don’t sell (quickly or at all), overpricing
is often the result of sellers factoring in sentimental
value in addition to fair market value when
establishing their asking price, or an ego-driven desire
to “beat” the neighbors, who sold their home last
month, by fetching more money for your home than
they did.
 Rejecting advice. Some sellers take offense to and
reject their real estate rep’s advice about making
certain changes to their home’s décor, receiving it as
criticism of their personal taste. Rest assured, it’s in
no way meant as such; rather, these suggestions are
intended only to broaden your home’s appeal to more
buyers so that it sells faster and for more money.
 Rejecting offers. Just as some sellers take offense to
their rep’s suggestions, some take offense to offers
they feel are too low, and reject them outright
in response to the perceived insult. But rejecting
offers won’t get you any closer to your goal of
making a sale – but keeping negotiations open by
crafting a counter offer with your real estate sales
representative’s help will.
 Being at home during showings. Some sellers are
reluctant to vacate their homes while showings are
taking place, which is perfectly understandable: it’s
difficult to surrender control and have strangers
roam through your home in your absence. But your
presence can hinder buyers and make them feel
rushed and uncomfortable – just what you don’t
want when trying to sell.
When selling a home, clear minds and cool hearts
would ideally always prevail, but it’s not uncommon
for emotions to get the better of home sellers.
Below are four emotional mistakes sellers should
avoid making.

4. A security alarm can tell you when someone has broken into
your house, but your landscaping can help deter would-be
criminals from entering your house in the first place. Here’s
how to achieve better security through landscaping.
 First, keep your yard well maintained (e.g. mow and rake
regularly, maintain edging, remove weeds and debris, keep
garden beds well defined and freshly mulched). An unkempt
yard will signal to criminals that the house is unoccupied –
even if it’s not – and thus assume itself an easy target.
 Make sure your trees, shrubs, and hedges are neatly
trimmed so that your doors and windows are clearly visible
to your neighbors, and criminals have fewer places to hide
on your property. Trim any tree limbs that could be used to
gain access to upper-floor windows or your roof.
 Below ground-floor windows, consider spreading gravel
and/or planting hostile vegetation. The gravel makes
footsteps easier to hear, while thorny, prickly plantings
(e.g. cacti, rose bushes) makes these areas less hospitable to
criminals. Your local nursery can suggest hostile plantings
suitable for your climate.
 Make sure your landscaping design includes lighting.
Keep in mind that solar lighting doesn’t put out much
light, so while they’re great for ambiance, for security
purposes, you’d be better off using motion detecting
lights to illuminate areas like your front door, garage, shed,
and backyard.
 When you’re finished with your yard maintenance tasks, be
sure to put all of your tools and equipment securely away.
You don’t want to lend criminals a helping hand by leaving
out items – such as ladders, axes, drills, and hammers – that
they could use to break into your house.
Safety Scaping
Terminology Tip
Equity — Equity is the dollar amount that
a homeowner has paid towards the cost
of a property. It’s the difference between
what the property is worth and what the
homeowner owes against that property (or
the difference between the property value and
the remaining loan amount on the property).
Equity increases as the mortgage is paid
down or as the property appreciates in value.
4
The information and opinions contained in this newsletter are obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but their accuracy cannot be guaranteed. The publishers assume no responsibility for errors and omissions or for any damages resulting from the use of the published
information. This newsletter is provided with the understanding that it does not render legal, accounting, or other professional advice. Not intended to solicit properties or businesses listed for sale and agency agreements in place with other real estate brokers. Whole or
partial reproduction of this newsletter is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher. © Market Connections Inc.® 2013, Phone: (800) 387-6058.
www.RecineTeam.caMelanie Direct
647-836-4062
Fabio Direct
416-828-5441
Fabio and Melanie Recine
Sales Representatives
Compliments of Fabio Melanie Recine RE/MAX Premier Inc., Brokerage