Last week I came down with a terrible flu which side-lined me for about 3 days in bed…. When you’re sick whats the first thing you think will make you feel better? Well, besides drugs?… The first thing I did was order Pho from Pho Tien Thanh on Ossington!

About 45 minutes later there was a knock at the door… “knock knock knock” I summoned all my strength and scurried to the door with a blanket around me. When the gentlemen met me at the door he even looked at me and said “woah”. I said “yeah, I know… just leave it on the floor there, dont come near me.” We both laughed and he jogged down the hall looked back at me as if he were running away from a fire-breathing dragon.

I shut the door and hurried to my dinner table where I eagerly wanted to fill my stomach after 2 days of not eating…. I sat down and assembled my Pho..

Although it was a delivery order, the broth of the Pho showed up boiling hot. I found myself having to calm my eager stomache’s hunger, so that I could approach this bowl of soup without completely burning myself.

My mind went down memory lane quickly…

I remembered that when I was a child I had a similar circumstance… I sat down at the dinner table after a soccer practice and my mother laid out a boiling hot soup. I filled my bowl and dove right in! I of course, burned my tongue and cried like a whimp…

My mom looked at me, shook her head and then said “Steve, listen here… The middle of the soup is where its the hottest part! What you have to do is eat the soup around the edge of the bowl. This part can breath and cool down, but you still get the same good tasting soup, just not as hot!”

I had a serious “Ah-ha!” moment when I thought of this… I have always been an advocate of purchasing in Toronto’s up-and-coming neighbourhoods…. I think of these neighbourhoods as the “edge of the bowl.” You still will get that good Toronto soup, just not in the middle of the heat. The heat of the market is where you get multiple offers, bully offers and sky-high interest from buyers…

Here are some examples of neighbourhoods at the “edge of the bowl”….. Junction Triangle, Danforth Village and Mimico. These are easily the 3 neighbourhoods I see the most value in. Where else can you get a solid free-hold home with parking for 900k?.. You simply cant.

So before you start thinking that you arent able to get into the market because your pre-approval came in at less than you thought… Talk to your realtor about the “edge of the bowl” and let them know you like soup, but not when its burning hot! All 3 of the neighbourhoods I mentioned above have great restaurants, shops and local markets… Still that same Toronto property, just not as hot….