Principal and Interest Vol.1
Welcome to the first edition of Principal and Interest. This will be a long form style of content offering a little bit about real estate, and a little bit on a wide range of topics that I’ve been interested in. This won’t be the place to come for specific market stats or data driven analysis, but rather unique things I’ve picked up on working every day in the industry.
Principal
The market has been picking up steadily as we’ve left the slower months of the end of the summer and into the busy fall season.
People are looking to buy or sell before winter closes in after spending the summer getting things ready for their next move. On the rental side, the rush of Sept. 1st has come and gone, with a fair amount of inventory still out there. As an example, I have a great 3 bedroom townhome outside of Kitchener for rent for a fair price, that has been available for months. I picked up the listing a couple weeks ago and have had relatively few inquiries about the property. Not entirely surprising given the time of year, but it is surprising that a unit like this in a highly desirable area isn’t attracting more attention. One possibility is that because rents have been inflated for so long, people are skeptical of the rental market in general, and are therefore looking less or figuring out other living arrangements. And with rates coming down coupled with favourable mortgage rule changes, people that have had their eye on the higher end of the rental market may have shifted to the buying market.
Interest
Now shifting over the to the personal piece. What have I been into over the last couple weeks?
On the culinary front, as the weather has gotten colder my girlfriend and I have shifted to staying in more often. I did get out to a restaurant in downtown Kitchener called 271 West, an Italian restaurant, and thoroughly enjoyed it. Great service from a very professionally server, handmade pasta and great pizza. Would recommend!
On the literary front, I’ve been slowly reading my way through Matterhorn by Karl Marlantes, a work of historical fiction set during the Vietnam war. It comes highly recommended and is part of a Marlantes double I plan on reading along with Deep River. Will report back on that!
Finally, the golf front. I had the absolute pleasure of playing Galt Country Club in Cambridge this week and was blown away by the course. A classic Stanley Thompson design bringing everything that entails; well-placed fairway bunkers, small greens, and lots of variation off the tee. The holes along (in?) the Grand River were the obvious highlights, however some of the inland holes were equally as impressive. The par threes became extra challenging in a strong October breeze (along with late season swing issues), and the tee shots were forgiving but tricky. Lots of trees line the fairways, so although you may find your ball, navigating around the trees to bunker surrounded greens means par is a lofty goal after an errant tee shot. Overall, it is one of the best courses I’ve played in the Guelph KW-Cambridge area. At only 6100 yards from tips I understand it isn’t a full length championship course, but I would put it up against many of the higher ranked courses any day.