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| Doug & Krista GILBERT
Direct Phone: 604-618-6736
RE/MAX - treeland | |
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A Day In The Life - Real Estate |
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| Thursday, 04 March 2010, 01:27:30 PM | Congratulations to Canada on a fantastic showing in the Olympics! Half a month of festivities, games, and excitement was almost too much for those thinking of selling or buying a home! Well we are now past the party and getting back to life as we know it.
A lot of home owners have approached us with the idea of selling but just have not followed through yet. We anticipate this will all happen at once, but can you gain an edge now? Absolutely!!
Be REALISTIC!! Too many homes are being listed at prices that exceed the prices we had during the peak of the market. We guess they forgot we had an economic disaster and although we are recovering (and in some cases, have crawled back to similar levels), we sure as heck have not rebounded as though nothing at all happened! Let's not forget, Buyers are no dumbies. Think of yourself as a Buyer, you would probably do a lot of research on pricing, ask your Realtor for evidence on pricing, etc.. Not just assume the news media state a rise of 20% and so it must be. The upside to this Buyer research . . . they know a well priced property when they come across one. This creates an attitude of seriousness (or "we need to act on this one now!") and a need to act mentality. So how do you know what is "well priced" when listing . . . market evidence, knowledge of current market situation (and this can change from neighbourhood to neighbourhood), and recieving solid, experienced advice from your Realtors. "Does this mean I have to give my home away, just to be sold?" Absolutely not!! Pricing is not an exact sceince, and there is a "range" that can be worked in, but the caution is, too far above the acceptable range will result in little activity and the frustration of selling without actually getting "SOLD"
There can be many interpetations of "Market Values", depending on what you "want" to hear, or ignore, so be sure to go in with "eyes wide open" & process all the information before judgment.
Any thoughts on your market perception are always appreciated and gives us a great insight to the "mind state" of the public in general. What are your thoughts, comments? | |
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| Tuesday, 16 February 2010, 02:45:39 PM | | You may have heard or read earlier today that the Finance Minister, Jim Flaherty, announced new guidelines for qualifying for mortgages. In short, this is probably a good thing as it will clearly show prospective buyers what may lay ahead if interest rate rise. The fear is that Canadian home buyers are going too deep into debt and have no "bufffer" zone, should interest rates rise (increasing their mortgage payments at time of re-newal) in the future. We think this is a "realistic" approach and hope they don't bring about some of the measures they have talked about. What do you think? Clearly, first time buyers are at the focal head of this, but investors are affected as well. It would be interesting to view some of your thoughts on these measures. *you can find the full press release on our web page cover under "did you know?". | |
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| Friday, 05 February 2010, 03:25:28 PM | | We were just asked if the "Olympic Games" would be a good time to sell? For sure, we don't have any historical data on this (this is our 1st games afterall!), but we can state that the market at present is saying a big "YES!". Contrary to the different media reports, our Real Estate market is pretty much a "balanced" market, meaning no greater advantage to the sellers or the buyers. Having said this though, buyers would like to take advantage of the present financing offerings that are currently in place (low interest rates, longer amortization terms, pre-HST, etc.), as they have no gaurantees down the road. So in short . . . buyers are buying! The flip side to this is the home sellers. The overall product for sale is lower than in past and on top of this . . . many now listing for sale, are again being speculative in price (asking far beyond what probably the market will bear!). This is probably due to their "selective" reading of media reports that have stated the market is up X%. What they don't take into consideration is the fact many of these increases are based on a year's ago activity (when our markets crashed!). So, if you are thinking of selling while the "Olympics" are on, and you price your home at realistic values, then YES, it could be a fantastic time to sell! In fact, if you price your home correctly, you may realize the highest end of value due to the fact buyers are no dummies. They know market prices and will "swarm" to the well priced home over the others who are like "Eddie the Eagle", flying high with no hope of the gold! Thinking of selling or buying . . . what's your take on the market? | |
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| Tuesday, 02 February 2010, 02:32:33 PM | | A stunning 2 level with finished basement home in one of Willoughby's most desired neighbourhoods. Somewhat rare with 4 bedrooms on upper level (a must have for large families!). The master suite is spacious and complimented with 5 pce ensuite (twin sinks, seperate shower stall, soaker tub) and W/I closet (are these ever large enough?). Main floor has a "Traditional" layout, meaning a formal living and dining area, kitchen, eating area, and family room. 9' ceilings throughout main floor just add to the spaciousness and the bright open feel you have walking about. Basement is finished (well . . there is one room unfinished that you can make into another family room) with 2 bdrms., a media room that is wired for projector theatre and sound surround, games area, full bathroom and R/I for the wet bar. Thinking of a suite? Easily done, but would be unauthorized. This really needs a peek to do it justice . . . | |
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