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Have a Realistic Selling Price !

Real Estate

Have a Realistic Selling Price !   PRICING YOUR HOME RIGHT is one of the most important parts of listing your home. The biggest mistake that a seller can make when they place their home for sale on the Real Estate market is that they don’t price it right. This common mistake is often made because the seller listens to a friend or relative who professes to be an expert at selling homes instead of listening to their local professional Real Estate Agent who they should be hiring.

Your local Angus Real Estate Agent has the local knowledge and experience in the Angus market and has up to date statistics regarding prices for comparable listing and previously sold real estate. The friend or relative does not have access to the same information and is usually basing their price on perceived value that may be based on his imagined value of his own home. Not a very realistic method of ensuring your getting “fair value” for your real estate investment property.

It is always interesting to hear the argument that “with your home on a lot that size in the King City area, where I live, it would sell for ,000 more than the Real Estate Agent suggests.” Real Estate sales are based on location, style, condition and price. The location cannot be changed to the King City area, unless you own a mobile. The style of home is unchangeable unless you want to add an addition or a garage. The condition is a variable that can be changed somewhat inexpensively, with some paint, cleaning solutions and a bit of elbow grease, and possibly having a Home Stager come in for a consultation.

Your Real Estate agent can tell you accurately how you home compares to other homes in the area and what is strong and weak points are. The price of your home is the easiest option to change. The Real Estate Agent that you hire will assist you with making an informed decision as to what would be a fair market value for your home, in consideration of the current real estate market conditions. Make sure that you ask to see all of the sales that have taken place in the previous year, in the immediate neighbourhood that your home is located in. The price you place on the home should be within 3% of the expected sale price. If it is priced higher than this there will be few showings and probably no offers. If your home is on the MLS real estate listing system, it will get a lot of internet viewings by potential home buyers as well as Real Extate Agents that are dealing with these potential home buyers. If your real estate propert has more than 10 showings and no offers, your home is probably priced too high for the location, style and condition of the home. Now is the time to talk to your real estate agent about a possible price reduction. A price reduction should be in increments of ,000. If your home was originally priced at 9,900 a reduction to 3,900 is not going to create interest. Make your reduction stand out and make it 9,900, this will generate some immediate interest from bargain hunters. You may have missed the correct selling price when you first priced the home.

If your real estate property is on the market for 30 days and there are no showings, it is probably not the sales person’s fault, but is a good indication that the home is overpriced! Review your price with your local Angus Real Estate Agent and look at getting it down quickly to a more acceptable price which is inline with the value for the area. No home showings do not indicate that people don’t like your home, they most likely don’t like the asking price. If there are homes selling in your area, you need to know at what price, and what their price is based on so you can compete with them. Again you need to consult with your local Angus Real Estate Agent, he is worth his weight in gold when it comes to understanding the local market.

Getting the price right on your real estate at the very beginning the best bet for a smooth sale of your home. If the home goes on the market and you get several showings right away, and possibly an offer almost immediately, your sales representative has done a good job of pricing your home and marketing it to potential buyers that are looking for this area, style, condition and especially price. Do not think that the home is underpriced, as there are usually some buyers that are waiting for well priced homes to become available. These buyers are well educated in value for the area that they want, and they will not look at overpriced listings. There are many instances where a home is priced slightly under the market value for the area, and the interest that is generated by the price brings in several potential buyers and a bidding war is started. This is good for a seller as they may end up with a slightly elevated sale price if there are 2 or more buyers competing for the purchase.

In conclusion, don’t miss the price. A slightly overpriced home will be a lot harder to sell and most buyers are very educated as to market value for the area that the home is in. Price it right and you will be ready to move a lot quicker than those who don’t get the right price. Your buying power will be increased with the next home you are looking for, as you will not need to be conditional upon selling the one you just sold!

Beware of your real estate property becoming “stale”, after a while local real estate agents and active buyers stop looking at a house that has been on the market too long! People start thinking that the house has problems that is why it is not selling. Let your local professional Real Estate Agent put your real estate property for sale at the right price and save yourself needless worry and possible loss of value.

 

Barrie Home Inspector

Home Inspection

Barrie Home InspectorThe Barrie Home Inspector has been inspecting Commercial and Residential properties for over 15 years. As a Certified Building Code Official registered with the Ontario Building Officials Association his qualifications far exceed most Home Inspectors basic requirements.

Although many Home Inspection Companies advertise as the Barrie Home Inspector, only Roger Frost has the licensed name Barrie Home Inspector. The advantage of having experience in the business and the knowledge to make informed decisions.

The Barrie Home Inspector is a former home builder who was registered with HUDAC, which has now been replace with Tarion home building warranty program. Seven years as Project Review of all Renovations and New Construction with DND provided an unequaled opportunity to be involved with Project Design and Inspection on projects ranging from ,000′s of dollars to millions of dollar accommodation buildings.

Through out his career, Roger Frost has taken many specialized and building related courses that all are applicable to Commercial and Home inspections. Roger has inspected over 3,000 residential buildings and performed Commercial Building inspections from as far south as Simcoe Ontario to Huntville in the North.

Providing his client with the information they need to make an informed decision is the basis of the Barrie Home Inspector’s business. Having the knowledge to observe the deficiencies or possible failures of systems in not enough, being able to convey that to the client is of paramount importance. The Barrie Home Inspector’s report is precise and detailed, being broken down into individual building systems and areas. All deficiencies are photographed and included in a computerized report for the customers review.

We do not provide concrete financial replacement or repair costs because the nature of the contracting business is such that there are so many variables involved that a accurate price structure really does depend on the individual. We do make note and take pictures of every deficiency so that you will be able to discern the condition of the proposed purchase property.

Experience does matter and when you are making your next real estate investment, whether Commercial or Residential, ensure your Inspector has the qualifications and experience to make you an informed buyer.

Always remember Caveat Emptor – Buyer Beware

Flooding in the Home

Plumbing

Flooding in the Home.  We had an unusually cold winter this year with lots of ice. Previous winter seasons were generally calm to chilly, but this recent winter, it was a catastrophe! The storm was raining ice, accumulating up to two inches of ice on trees and damaging our electrical lines causing a blackout for four days. Well, we were fortunate unlike the others who had to suffer without electricity for two months. We had fire to keep us warm through the night, and enough to cook our food. Still, we had no hot water for cleansing. At one point, it was 42 degrees in the rooms we had closed off. After the ice melted, the kitchen and laundry sections of the house started to have this smell of fungi. We realized there was a leak in the house yet we had no idea where it was. We searched the source of the leak for days, until we came upon a pipe connecting to the washing machine. It broke down because it got brittle after the freezing. Yet, it already made a huge mess. We paid a lot to have it repaired and today, all is back to normal.

Flooding and <a href=”http://www.napoleon.cc/cottage/”target=”_blank”rel=”external”title=”Midland Cottage Inspections” >waters leaking inside the house has many causes, however the chief perpetrator is the washing machine. It is a no-brainer that this is a serious and health threatening situation, not to mention the expense. A substantial loss may be incurred from unattended leaks in faucets, toilets, hoses, hot water heaters, washing machines, roof pipes or pipes connecting from the meter to the house.

Imagine, 20 gallons of water each day wasted because of a faucet that was not closed tightly! If in a year, 7,300 gallons of water is washed away for nothing, you won’t find me laughing. It’s a tremendous quantity, don’t you think? What’s worse than that is a toilet with water seeping out. In a day, it can waste 100 gallons of water. If you total that in a year, that’s 36,500 gallons, imagine that!

One way to determine if there is a water leak in the house is to examine your water bill. If the amount does not correspond to your normal consumption, which is too high, then it is better to doubt that you have a leak. To know if there really is a leak in the house, simply shut off all the faucets and sources of running water in the house. Write down the reading on your water meter, this will serve as your basis. After almost an hour, come back and record the reading on the meter again. If the reading is higher, then you have a leak somewhere in the house.

It’s not hard to notice if the leak is big, but it can be difficult if the leak is small and nonstop. You’ll be able to know only if the floors are starting to come off or if it is starting to have a mold and mildew smell.

Examining your pipes under the sinks and tubs, dishwashers, and washing machines for indications of fractures and deterioration are just a few of what you can do with regards to locating leaks in the house. Blocked pipes are usually caused by hair and debris stuck on shower drains, trash trapped in toilet bowls, and hardened grease or food remains jammed in the kitchen drain, and these can be the reasons for leaks in the house. Check all pipes and hoses running from appliances and outdoor faucets, and install water alarms, automatic water valve shut off units, automatic shut off for washers (wish we had installed that one!), and replace washer hoses with flood check hoses.

Water related damages cause millions of dollars a year in losses. Generally, most insurance claims submitted are for damages caused by poor plumbing systems and almost 2,000,000 households have that. Don’t let your home be one of these statistics.

Do you want to ensure that you never find a drip repeatedly when you get home? Acquire Floodchek hoses at Safe Home Products.

Home sales continue to cool in June

Real Estate

Home sales continue to cool in June.  Statistics released by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) show that the number of newly listed homes and sales activity declined in June 2010.

Seasonally adjusted national home sales activity via the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) Systems of Canadian real estate Boards receded 8.2 per cent in June from the previous month. Led by lower activity in Toronto and Calgary, sales declined in almost 70 per cent of local markets.

Tightened mortgage regulations and anticipated interest rate increases cooled sales activity throughout the second quarter, resulting in a decline of 13.3 per cent from near-record levels in the first quarter. As expected, these two national factors contributed to a widespread decline in activity, with transactions down in all but a dozen or so smaller markets.

Actual (not seasonally adjusted) national sales activity was 19.7 per cent lower in June 2010 compared to last year, when activity almost reached a new record for the month. Actual sales activity in the second quarter stood 2.8 per cent below levels reported in the second quarter of 2009. For the year-to-date, transactions are up 13.6 per cent compared to the first-six months of last year. This gap is expected to shrink as the year progresses, since activity trended upward over the second half of last year and is forecast to continue easing over the second half of 2010.

The number of newly listed homes on Canadian MLS® Systems in June 2010 declined by 6.8 per cent from the previous month, following a monthly decline of 4.8 per cent in May. A declining trend in new listings will help maintain the balance between supply and demand, and temper home price volatility.

The national average price of homes sold via Canadian MLS® Systems rose 4.9 per cent on a year-over-year basis in June to $342,662.

The national average price can be skewed by changes in provincial sales activity. The national weighted average price compensates for this by taking into account provincial proportions of privately owned housing stock. It climbed 6.3 per cent on a year-over-year basis in June 2010. Similarly, the residential average price in Canada’s major markets was up 5.7 per cent year-over-year in June, while the weighted major market average price rose 8.7 per cent.

The number of months of inventory represents the number of months it would take to sell current inventories at the current rate of sales activity, and measures the balance between housing supply and demand. It stood at 5.7 months at the end of June 2010 on a national basis. This is up from 4.2 months one year ago, when it fell to its lowest level since the economic recovery began. The rise in the number of months of inventory was widespread, with increases from year-ago levels in all provinces, except Manitoba and Prince Edward Island.

The seasonally adjusted number of months of inventory stood at 6.9 months at the end of June on a national basis, the highest level since March 2009. It may rise further as sales activity trends lower over the second half of 2010, but an expected decline in the number of new listings should stabilize the balance between supply and demand.

“The housing market is becoming more challenging for sellers,” said CREA President Georges Pahud. “Buyers are in less of a hurry, so sellers should consult with their local REALTOR® on how to best price and present their home to attract purchase offers.”

“National home sales activity is easing due to fewer and more cautious first-time home buyers,” said Chief Economist Gregory Klump. “With interest rates on the rise, housing affordability and home sales activity are expected to continue to erode over the second half of 2010. While the pricing environment is becoming more challenging, a recovering economy and job market will provide support for housing activity and prices.”

PLEASE NOTE: The information contained in this news release combines both major market and national MLS® sales information from the previous month.

CREA cautions that average price information can be useful in establishing trends over time, but does not indicate actual prices in centres comprised of widely divergent neighborhoods or account for price differential between geographic areas. Statistical information contained in this report includes all housing types.

MLS® is a co-operative marketing system used only by Canada’s real estate Boards to ensure maximum exposure of properties listed for sale.

The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) is one of Canada’s largest single-industry trade associations, representing more than 99,000 REALTORS® working through more than 100 real estate Boards and Associations.

Further information can be found at http://www.crea.ca/public/news_stats/pdfs/media_july15rpt_e.pdf

For more information, please contact:

Spencer Callaghan, Communications Officer
The Canadian Real Estate Association
P: 613-237-7111
E: [email protected]

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