The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

Wednesday May 31, 2000 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER D5 Business To reach this section call 8 4 5 -3 8 2 4 F a x:3 37-556 7 April real estate sales off as home inventory declines The Oakville, Milton and District Real Estate Board reports that both the number and dollar value of sales for April were down slightly from the same period one year ago. Last month the Board reported 333 sales totalling $93.7 million, down from 375 sales and $97.6 million for April 1999. Board President Rick Kedzior said the lower inventory of product may have been a contributing factor to the decline. On a year-to-date basis, the number of sales and dollar value continues to outpace 1999 figures. Total sales to the end of April were 1,210 for $324 million compared to 1,198 sales worth $291.8 million for the first four months last year. There were 66 properties in the $200,000. to $250,000. range sold in April with 51 sales in the $150,000.-$200,000. range and 30 sales in the $300,000.-$350,000. range. "We have experienced a big jum p in the higher-end mar ket with 80 sales between $300,000. and $1 million, com pared to 63 sales in the same range in April 1999," said Kedzior. "In addition to a healthy increase in move-up buy ers, many homeowners who purchased in the boom years of 1988 through 1990 are pleased to see that most, if not all, of their equity has returned." The Board represents 600 area realtors who are members of the Canadian and Ontario Real Estate Associations. The Board website is www.omdreb.on.ca Business Centre wants feedback Prizes offered for return of special survey The Halton Region Business Development Centre is surveying sm all business in the Region. A sur vey has been sent to over 4,000 sm all b u sin esses in O akville, B urlin g to n , H alton H ills, and M ilton. The survey w ill ask for feed back from sm all business entrepre neurs on how they m anage their business, financing needs, and tech nology. H alton R egion B usiness D evelo p m en t C e n tre s' co rp o rate partners B ell, R oyal B ank and H ew lett Packard have donated prizes to create a Small Business Resource Kit. Entrepreneurs that return their survey by the June 16th return date will be eligible for the draw of the Kit. The Kit includes the following: · Bell M obility M otorola Pager from Bell. · Idea Kit com puter software to create m arketing m aterials like busi ness cards and brochures for your business from Hew lett Packard. · Specialty paper for colour inkjet printers from H ewlett Packard. · Free Service charges for one year on your Royal Bank Primary Business Banking account for new and existing clients to a maximum value of $500 from Royal Bank. The draw for the Small Business Resource Kit will take place on June 26th. If you're the owner of a small business and would like to complete a Small Business Survey, contact the H alton Region B usiness D evelopm ent Centre by phone at 905-825-6300, or fax at 905-8258839. P hoto by P eter C. M cCusker T A S T Y TR EA T: Sears at Oakville Place was the place to be last weekend...especially if you were a kid. A store promotion provided snow cones and free balloons. T hat's Stefan Jevtic, 5, with Skittles the clown enjoying a special treat. Tourism Toronto president high on Oakville's visitor potential Waterfront Festival receives $35,000 from Province By Scott M ac Arthur SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER Four good r e a s o n s to O Common Stocks Over time, common stocks may outperform many types of investments. Call for information. E d w ard Jones © M utual Funds Professionally managed and diversified. Call for information. © Government of Canada Bonds 6.43% invest with First impressions are important, especailly in tourism. That's the message Doug Fyfe, the President and Chief Executive Officer of Tourism Toronto, delivered at the M ayor's Business Breakfast last week. "Making a positive impression on visitors is important," Fyfe said, "because when they go home they want to go into work and brag about what a great time they had on their trip. If your town gives them something positive to say, more peo ple are likely to come and visit through word of mouth." Fyfe said that today's consumer is active and wants to be involved once they reach their destination. If people live in a town and like it, others will most likely visit the town and enjoy it, too. And Fyfe was impressed by Oakville. "Oakville is a multi-faceted community in terms of tourism," he said. "It offers many opportunities for both busi ness and leisure travel and is easily accessible, whether it's through the airport, by train or by car." Fyfe noted the importance of relating to both business and leisure travel. He said that 20 to 25 per cent of all travel comes from business and often times word of mouth can be the most important part o f a growing tourism industry. "It's important not to put all of your eggs in one basket," he said. "Cities like Las Vegas and W histler are strictly meant for leisure travel and if tourism stopped they would become ghost towns." He stressed that the GTA is working together to attract visitors. "It's important to understand that Oakville is not compet ing with Toronto," he said. `Toronto and Oakville are com peting together against the rest o f the world to grow a stronger industry." Also on hand at the meeting was Tourism Minister Cam Jackson who presented Mayor Ann Mulvale with a cheque for $35,766. The money represented a $5,766 increase over last years funding. `T he increase in provincial funding for the Oakville Waterfront Festival is an indication of the event's importance in the community and the success that it has had," said Jackson, a resident of east Burlington. "My family enjoys it every year and we make it a point to visit various activities over the course of the weekend. We're looking forward to another great festival this year." @ Guaranteed Investment Certificates Subject to availability. $ 5 0 0 0 minimum. 5 year. Simple interest 6.5% Spring Tune-Up Special Oil Change Included P Stephen Ison 110 Dunn Street Oakville ON L6J3E1 Matthew Languid 1395 Abbeywood Drive, Unit #12 Oakville ON L6M3B2 Jim Cheesman (905) Dennis Metz (905) 610 Ford Drive, Unit #1B 46 Lakcshocc Road West Oakville ON L6J7V7 Oakville ON L6K1C7 $ 79.95 U (905) 338-6161 338-1661 844-3141 (905) 825-9651 P lea se call or co m e by and find out h o w you can take advantage o f th ese attractive in vestm en ts. maturity of ywld to call S o tte d to avatatsarfy Mamat nafc . a oormOm m on on n v a n r a ·old pnot to mM tray (Parts Extra) O CL Drivers know real Volksw agen service m akes a real difference. Your Volkswagen is one sophisticated automobile. W e have the latest high-tech diagnostic tools to keep your Volkswagen performing like new. < /) Ronald Prokop 635 Fourth Line, Unit #10 Oakville ON L6L5W4 Vikram Datt 77 Bronte Road, Unit #101B Oakville ON L6L3B7 Edw ardjones Serving Individual Investors http://www.edwardjones.com Volkswagens Love Real Volkswagen Parts & Service. K e e p in ' it re al. VOIXSWAGEN PARTS & SERVICE (905) 842-4911 (905) 465-3460 Member CIPF a> </> Oakville Volkswagen 557 Kerr Street, Oakville (905) 844-3285 Plus tax where applicable. Please present coupon at time of writeup, not to be combined with other ofarv Not redeemable far odreriised specials, previous purchases, or cash, expires June 30, 2000. TM THE ULTIMATE DRIVING EXPERIENCE Budds' BMW Business Women's Network The Halton Professional Business Women' s Network is celebrating its fourth anniversary with a special Tues. June 13th meeting and celebration at the Oakville Holiday Inn on Argus Road. Guest speaker for the session is Ingrid Norrish who will share 10 tips for Marketing Success. Networking begins at 5:15 p.m. for one hour with dinner to follow. For more information or to register for the networking meeting, call Laura Kupferschmidt of Macdonald Scott Consultants at 844-4410 or kcs @inforamp.net 1999 7 40ila · Aspen Silver, Xenon, Audiophile, 41,000 kms · Check a ll fluid levels · Check all belts and hoses · Check tires & p ressure · lu b e a ll d o o rs · Check all filters · D iagnostic check of e n g in e · S u pp ly & install sp a rk plugs · Check charging system s · Check b a ttery & ca b le s · Check co o lin g system s LEASE FO R $889.00 p e r m o n t h 1999 7 4 0 ila · Cosmos Black, Audiophile, 24,000 kms LEASE FO R $895.00 p e r m o n t h '1997 7 40 ila · Cosmos Black, Xenon,Audiophile, 38,000 kms Rates based on 36 months/SI 0,000 down/18,000kms yr. plus taxes OAC. CORRECTION NOTICE Please be advised that the Pontiac Buick GMC "Red Hot Performance" ad that appeared in this publication the weeks of May 15/22, 2000 included incorrect information. The annual lease rate for the GMC Jimmy was 1.9% instead of 2.4%. 4 & 6 C V LIN D C R 8 C VLIND CR s7 9 95 Drive Clean Repair Centre s 8 4 95 AUTO SERVICE 6 1997 328i · Montreal Blue/Beige Leather, Heated Seats '1997 328ia · Red,Automatic, Sunroof, 49,000 kms 1998 328isa · Red, 2-Door,Automatic, 33,000 kms lis p ' www.buddsbm w.com 1997-99 328i .95% Lease Rate FRCC O IL C HRN GC UlfTH V O U R TUNC UP LEASE FO R $449.00 p e r m o n t h LEASE FO R $449.00 p e r m o n t h LEASE FOR $599.00 p e r m o n t h Rates based on 36 months/S5,000 down/18,000kms yr. plus taxes OAC. · 5 day/300km money-back guarantee · Exhaustive, 87-point checklist performed by BMW technicians · Certified Series'" Protection Plan for up to 6 years or 120,000 km · 24-hour roadside assistance · Free oil change/service certificate · BMW Service Card We apologize fo r any inconvenience this may have caused. Q .E .W . S. S E R V IC E RO. | Accredited Repair Facility "fE | S P E E R S R D .p C O R N W A LL R0. u IS -1 1 573 Chartwell Rd. O A K V IL L E (9 0 5 ) 8 4 4 -9 6 4 1 2 4 0 0 S o u th S e rv ic e R o a d ( 9 0 S ) 8 4 5 - 3 5 7 7 >