Belleville, ON

When it comes to real estate, we seem to pay a lot of attention to trends. It makes a lot of sense. Home buyers want to ensure that the home they are buying will retain its value, and what's more valuable than something that's in demand? Trends seem to determine what is in demand and what isn't.

Real estate professionals also keep an eye out for trends. It helps us determine where we should concentrate our efforts. Our paycheques depend on this.

It seems to me that the zeitgeist of this particular real estate era centres around the concepts of downsizing and simplifying. This is pretty natural since the North American population is aging and a great number of people are experiencing financial uncertainty. It's also pretty trendy in a Zen sort of way to have the desire to carry less burdens on our shoulders.

This isn't true of everybody though. I come across a lot of people in the Quinte area who have done the exact opposite. Some are refugees from the busy Toronto and Ottawa lifestyles. While they relish the slower pace of life here, they are also positively delighted at how much further their real estate dollars can go in this area. They had no desire to buy a smaller home, in fact, they often buy a much larger home and many of them are enjoying their large country lots or wilderness acreage that they could easily afford with the equity they had accumulated in their Toronto or Ottawa homes. You can often see them grinning from ear to ear sitting atop their riding lawnmowers doing a terrible job of cutting their lawns. More time, more toys.

One of the benefits of this area is that Toronto is only a 90 minute drive down the 401, so they don't feel cut off from their previous social lives. These people are getting the best of both worlds. This area is well known for its multitude of recreational activities as well as many trendy small town businesses and organizations. Buying a dream home to retire to doesn't necessarily mean buying a smaller house or a condo in some bland section of a large city, it can often mean buying a larger home to expand into while still minimizing financial obligations.

If the thought of living in a smaller home or condo does not appeal to you, take heart, you can still downsize your monthly payments while expanding your lifestyle. Just check out the real estate market in the Quinte area.

I'm pleased to announce the new Quinte Real Estate Iphone app.

It's available for free, click the link and download it if you happen to have an iphone and are interested in real estate in the Quinte area. At present, this link is the only place where it can be downloaded, but it will be available through your regular app outlets shortly.

If you have a blackberry or Android phone, stay tuned, you will be able to download one for your phones shortly.

If you are interested in buying or selling real estate in the Quinte market, then this app might be a very handy thing to have on your phone.

I will be upgrading the app's capabilities within the next couple of weeks, so if anyone has suggestions on how to improve it, just let me know, and if it's a good idea and it's feasible, it will be done.

This app is a great way to have all the Quinte real estate information you need crammed into one little icon on your smartphone. Part of the challenge we face in this day and age is compressing the vast amount of information we are exposed to into tidy little corners.

Besides, who can resist having my smiling face peering out at them from their phone screen?

I have spent a lot of time trying to think of innovative ways of marketing myself. Most business people who use social media have become familiar with the term "personal branding". Personal branding makes a lot of sense since most of us are trying to stand out from the crowd, and just riding the coat tails of your brokerage's image won't cut it any more.

One of the agents in Canada who has taken personal branding to the next level is Active Rain's own Valerie Zinger. She is an Ottawa area agent, but her newest campaign has been very effective, so effective in fact, that her name is well known in my area, more than 200 miles and three real estate boards away. I'm not sure, but I'm pretty certain her name is on the tips of people's tongues all over our very large nation. I will have to check on that. Maybe some of you can enlighten me on that.

I don't know how she managed to swing this, but her cross marketing campaign with Kentucky Fried Chicken must be paying dividends for her. I went into my local KFC and ordered one of her box meals the other day (I know, I know, fried chicken isn't healthy, but I was hungry and in a rush).

I really like the way that her boxed meals are presented. They look fiery, hot, spicy and full of passion (I guess being married to a French fellow can add a lot of passion in your life - I'll let you in on a little secret though, she's really a Prairie girl, so that passion must be a learned trait).

I also like the way that they have captured her essence with a simple word, "wicked". It's very effective, very concise, and doesn't beat around the bush. I'm not sure how much money Valerie must have spent on this marketing campaign, and which advertising agency she consulted with to come up with such a sleek look, but I'm mighty impressed. I'm thinking that it's well beyond what I can afford on my advertising budget this year.

I also admire her attention to detail and the consistency in her message. I would go as far as saying that I believe her French language campaign to be even more effective. "Diabolik" is a rough translation of "wicked", but is a closer translation of "diabolical". It's strange how hard it is to translate adjectives exactly from one language to another. I have not met Valerie in person, but I can imagine that she spends some time on diabolical things.

The food was your standard KFC (or PFK for you Francophones) fare, some chicken, fries, a chicken sandwich and a coleslaw salad (my choice on the salad). But that's not the point, the medium is the message. Valerie has managed to get her name out there far and wide, and that's really what advertising is all about.

I'm not going to have the budget to compete with Valerie this year, but I'm hoping for a big year in 2012. If I put my nose to the grindstone, tighten my belt with some expenses, I'm sure I can convince someone out there to get involved with a cross marketing campaign. I have some ideas, but I might as well start at the top.

5 Bristol Place, Canniff Mills Belleville.

$334,500.

Beautiful 2100 sq. ft. Staikos home on a premium lot in Canniff Mills. This 3 bedroom home features a huge living room/dining room combination, eat in kitchen with walk-out to deck, main floor family room, master bedroom with walk-in closet and ensuite, main floor laundry and unspoiled basement. Upgrades include wider halls, hardwood flooring throughout including kitchen, walk in tub in master ensuite. Printed concrete driveway, porch and patio and inground sprinklers.

For Further Informatiom Contact:

Gary Kyte Sale Representative

RE/MAX Quinte Ltd. Brokerage

613 969 9907 Office

866 969 9907 Toll Free

613 922 4663 Direct

gary@garykyte.com Email

I have been very fortunate to have been able to volunteer my time at a couple of different venues in the last week. It's Christmas season, and I was thankful to have the opportunity to ease my mind away from business and the more commercial aspects that this time of the year usually foists upon us.

Paul Brandt is in the middle of his Canadian tour at the moment, and last week made stops in both Peterborough and Belleville. I would have to say that Paul is probably the most popular Canadian country musician at the moment, and if you had a chance to see his show you would understand why. The Empire Theatre in Belleville and the Showplace Theatre in Peterborough were packed for the shows.

The reason I was there though was to support the opening act, High Valley and their efforts on behalf of World Vision Canada.

High Valley are asking their fans to partner with them and World Vision and to think about sponsoring a child. This is an especially important message this time of the year when we tend to spend money more frivolously than at other times. I was very impressed by the band and their message.

High Valley are three young fellows from Alberta, and judging by the amount of swooning that was going on all around me (have a peek at the picture on your left to figure out why), they have a very bright future in the business. It is really neat to see that three young men who have the world at their feet can remain so well grounded and focused on the really important things in life.

I was impressed, and apparently so were their fans. 32 children were sponsored at these events, so these young men are making a real impact with their message. It isn't easy to get people to make a financial commitment to sponsoring a child, yet the band's genuine appeal really got the audience motivated. I am very thankful that Canada seems to be able to produce stars who seem to be like regular people and continue to be interested in the world around them.

Paul Brandt is a really nice guy as well. at the end of the shows he stayed on for quite a long time to sign autographs and talk with the all the fans who waited to have their pictures taken with him. I could hear him talking to all his fans, and he really engages them. He has the patience of Job. This kind of genuine concern can't be faked, so two really big thumbs up to Paul Brandt. He thrilled quite a few people those nights.

Paul Brandt and High Valley are touring across Canada right now, so if you are a country music fan and they are coming to your town, I would suggest picking up some tickets (if they aren't already sold out). These two acts make for a most entertaining evening. I'm not a big country music fan, but if I listen to more High Valley music, I just might be converted, it's that good.

I'm also extremely pleased at the generosity shown by the good folks in Belleville and Peterborough. 32 sponsorships is quite a good result, so a very big thank you to the country music fans in both communities. You are making a big difference in the world.