When Is the Right Time to Talk to a REALTOR®?

When would you talk to a car salesperson?

 Probably only once you’re ready to buy a new car. You would do some initial research (perhaps on the internet), get an idea of what you want, and then go to the dealership to meet a salesperson, test drive the car and make the purchase.

 Although that approach may work when you’re buying a car, it’s not the best approach when it comes to real estate.

 You see, successfully buying or selling a home requires a lot of planning and legwork. You want the process to go smoothly, the right decisions to be made, and the best possible deal to be negotiated.

After all, this is the purchase and/or sale of your home!

 So, the best time to talk to a REALTOR® is as early in the process as possible. In fact, even if you’re just thinking of buying or selling — and simply want to explore the possibility of making a move sometime this year — you should have a conversation with a good REALTOR®.

A REALTOR® will answer your questions, provide you with the information and insights you need, help you avoid costly mistakes, and make sure you’re heading in the right direction.

When you are ready to buy or sell, having worked with a REALTOR® early in the process will help ensure you get what you want.

 So talk to a good REALTOR® when:
 • You have a question about the local market.
 • You want to know what your home might sell for today.
• You’re interested in checking out homes currently available on the market.
• You’re in the midst of deciding whether or not to make a move.
• You’ve decided to buy or sell.

Getting a good REALTOR® on your side early in the game makes everything a lot easier for you.
Looking for a good REALTOR®? Call or email Ian today. 613-222-2662 or ian@royallepage.ca

“Closing Day” Terminology You Need To Know

Closing day is an exciting time. After all, you’re moving into your new home! However, it can be stressful as well. The last thing you need is to be confronted with something you don’t understand. So here is a quick list of common “closing day” terms.
 • Disbursements. This is the allocation of funds to the appropriate parties, such as the seller. Your lawyer will take care of this for you.
 • Possession. This is the moment on closing day when you are legally able to take possession of your new home. It’s usually when your REALTOR® or lawyer hands you the keys.
• Title. This is a legal document that identifies the property and its owner.
 • Closing costs. These are expenses, excluding the selling cost of the property, that are due on closing day, such as legal fees, reimbursement for pre-paid utilities, utility deposits, insurance, and taxes.
• Closing adjustments. These are expenses pre-paid by the seller that need to be reimbursed on closing.
 There may be other terms you come across on closing day as well. Don’t worry, a good REALTOR® can help make the day go smoothly for you and your family. Looking for a good REALTOR®? Call Ian today. 613-222-2662 or ian@royallepage.ca

Ottawa residential real estate market remains relatively flat in the first quarter of 2015-

Canada Newswire – Wed Apr 15 2015, 6:00am ET

Quality listings continue to sell despite a delayed spring market

OTTAWA, April 15, 2015 /CNW/ – The Royal LePage House Price Survey released today saw prices for homes in Ottawa remain flat in the first quarter.

The average price for standard two-storey homes and detached bungalows increased 2.0 per cent and 1.9 per cent year-over-year to $407,000 and $404,167, respectively. Standard condominiums also saw a modest increase in average prices, rising 1.4 per cent to $262,167.

“Similar to last year, we have seen a slow start to the spring market, but quality listings in the right areas are still finding buyers,” said John Rogan, broker of record, Royal LePage Performance Realty. “At quarter end, inventory levels were comparatively low, which suggests a continuation of a balanced market in the months ahead.”

Rogan suggested that the slow start to the spring season could be due to several factors that have inspired inactivity amongst buyers and sellers, including an expectation of interest rate stability, a dreary and prolonged winter, and a looming election scheduled for fall 2015.

Nationally, Canada’s real estate market is experiencing a soft landing, characterized by slower than normal home price increases. Much higher price increases were observed in the country’s two largest urban markets, which combined to send the national average values upwards, partially obscuring the broader national trend.

During the quarter, the average price of a home in Canada rose between 3.8 per cent and 6.6 per cent year-over-year in the first quarter. When broken out by housing type, the survey showed a year-over-year average price increase of 5.3 per cent to $451,463 for standard two-storey homes, while detached bungalows rose 6.6 per cent to $405,895. During the same period, the average price of standard condominiums climbed 3.8 per cent to $261,782.

The steady softening of prices in most markets across the country was first observed in the mid-year 2014 Royal LePage House Price Survey. In recent months, two unanticipated factors disrupted the natural housing price cycle: the steep decline in oil prices late in 2014 and the Bank of Canada’s subsequent reaction in lowering the overnight rate early in 2015.

“Canadian home buyers, with the last decade’s recession still top of mind, have been very sensitive to shifting, broad economic factors. The oil shock has been unsettling for the national economy, consumer confidence and by extension, the housing market,” said Phil Soper, president and chief executive, Royal LePage. “That said, lower prices at the pump and the confidence boosting move by the central bank to lower interest rates have been supportive. With these factors combined, we have a soft-landing for housing after several years of robust expansion. We define a soft-landing as a market in which home prices are flat or increasing slightly, giving the economy and family incomes, a chance to catch up.”

“On balance, we believe we will not be seeing the kind of appreciation observed over the last three years any time soon, as markets work through the current cycle and align with broader economic conditions,” continued Soper. “In terms of downside risk, we do not foresee a sharp decline in home prices, particularly in today’s low interest rate environment.”

About the Royal LePage House Price Survey

The Royal LePage House Price Survey is the largest, most comprehensive study of its kind in Canada, with information on seven types of housing in over 250 neighbourhoods from coast to coast. This release references an abbreviated version of the survey which highlights house price trends for the three most common types of housing in Canada in 90 communities across the country. A complete database of past and present surveys is available on the Royal LePage website at http://www.royallepage.ca( (www.royallepage.ca) ). Current figures will be updated following the complete tabulation of the data for the first quarter of 2015. A printable version of the first quarter 2015 survey will be available online on May 15, 2015. Housing values in the Royal LePage House Price Survey are Royal LePage opinions of fair market value in each location, based on local data and market knowledge provided by Royal LePage residential real estate experts.

About Royal LePage

Serving Canadians since 1913, Royal LePage is the country’s leading provider of services toreal estate brokerages, with a network of over 16,000 real estate professionals in more than 600 locations nationwide. Royal LePage is the only Canadian real estate company to have its own charitable foundation, the Royal LePage Shelter Foundation, dedicated to supporting women’s and children’s shelters and educational programs aimed at ending domestic violence. Royal LePage is a Brookfield Real Estate Services Inc. company, a TSX-listed corporation trading under the symbol TSX:BRE.

For more information visit: http://www.royallepage.ca( (www.royallepage.ca) ).

SOURCE Royal LePage Real Estate Services

God Made A Realtor

I attended a Video Training workshop today and was shown this. I'm not certain if this is Paul Harvey Jr. or senior, but it does remind me of Paul Senior's radio spots I first started listening to in University. Watch and enjoy.

https://youtu.be/nXQusdbG4vw

Busy spring season arrives amidst March snow banks

Members of the Ottawa Real Estate Board sold 1,208 residential properties in March through the Board's Multiple Listing Service® system, compared with 1,184 in March 2014, an increase of two per cent. The five-year average for March sales is 1,236.

"Sales increased month over month, with 356 more properties sold in March over February, a 41.8 per cent increase," says David Oikle, President of the Ottawa Real Estate Board. "Indications of a fast approaching spring market were noted in February, and these numbers are proof that Ottawa is indeed experiencing an upswing in sales."

March's sales included 228 in the condominium property class, and 980 in the residential property class. The condominium property class includes any property, regardless of style (i.e. detached, semi-detached, apartment, townhouse, etc.), which is registered as a condominium, as well as properties which are co-operatives, life leases and timeshares. The residential property class includes all other residential properties.

"The average cumulative days on market came in at 83 for the month of March, lower than the average of 99 days in February and 119 days in January indicating that properties are starting to move faster as we enter the second quarter of 2015," explains Oikle. "Year-to-date sales for the first quarter of 2015 are 1.8 per cent higher than the first quarter of 2014. Average sales price has also increased, ever so slightly, by 0.8 per cent. So far, the 2015 resale market in Ottawa remains steady and strong."

The average sale price of residential properties, including condominiums, sold in March in the Ottawa area was $361,572, an increase of 0.7 per cent over March 2014. The average sale price for a condominium-class property was $251,666, no change over March 2014. The average sale price of a residential-class property was $387,141, no change over March 2014. While average sale price information can be useful in establishing trends over time, it should not be used as an indicator that specific properties have increased or decreased in value, because the average sale price is calculated based on the total dollar volume of all properties sold.

"The hottest segments of our market in March were sales between $300,000 to $400,000, followed by the $200,000 to $300,000 price range," says Oikle. "Residential two-storey homes continue to be the highest sold property class, followed by bungalows and one-level condos. In addition to residential and condominium sales, OREB members assisted clients with renting 593 properties since the beginning of the year."

Courtesy od the Ottawa Real estate Board

April 8, 2015

Toronto condo market booming again; While banks and other lenders return to the market, the latest wave of completions and sales signals recent lull could be over

The Globe and Mail – Mon Mar 2 2015 Byline:TAMSIN McMAHON After years of slow growth, Toronto’s condo market has come roaring back to life. Builders were putting the finishing touches on nearly 10,400 new condo units in January, eight times more than the monthly average over the past decade, Bank of Montreal senior economist Sal Guatieri said in a report last week. The vast majority of the new condo units have already been sold. Still, the influx of new units has helped push the number of unabsorbed condos – those that have been built but not sold – to a 21-year high. It is a dramatic rise for a city whose condo market has been at the centre of concerns among federal regulators and international organizations such as Deutsche Bank about rising levels of household debt in Canada. The latest wave of Toronto condo completions and sales could mark a new upswing after a lull in the market. Sales hit a fourand-a-half year low last fall, while new condo completions had been falling for the past 18 months. Much of the new supply is the echo of a building boom that began in early 2012, when developers started construction in more than 37,000 new condo units in the city, well above the long-term average of 25,000 units a year. But the January condo boom also reflects the fact that banks and other lenders are returning to the market, now convinced the city’s condo sector isn’t poised for collapse. Under pressure in the past from federal regulators, such as former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney and former finance minister Jim Flaherty, lenders had largely retreated from Toronto’s condo market, working only with well-known developers and often requiring a high number of presales before they would agree to finance construction. But officials in Ottawa have grown quiet and banks are now eager to fill holes in their loan portfolios, several lenders told a commercial real estate conference last week. “It’s a very competitive market out there,” Frank Margani, executive vice-president of strategy and development at Fortress Real Developments, told the RealCapital forum. “Portfolios are down and everybody is scrambling to get their piece of the action.’ ” Lenders are now willing to finance as much as 75 per cent of the value of a project, up from 70 per cent in recent years, said Chris Milne, vice-president of real estate banking at the Bank of Nova Scotia. Some have also eased up on their presale requirements, typically asking that developers have buyers for at least 65 per cent of their units, confident that builders will eventually find buyers for unsold units. “There’s very little walk-away in the market,” Mr. Milne said. “We’re very different from the U.S. People sign with their name.” With condo projects growing larger, more complex and more expensive, lenders have also been getting more creative about how they finance them, increasingly turning to syndicated loans involving multiple lenders, Mr. Margani said. Still, many say the market doesn’t appear to be headed toward the speculative boom of the past, when prices rose as much as 9 per cent a year, encouraging investors to flip their units for profit. Prices are growing at half that pace today. Investors are now looking to hold onto their units and rent them out and they have established a price ceiling of about $600 a square foot to keep prices from outstripping rent. “It’s actually sort of the magic number for the investors to still be interested,” Mr. Margani said. January’s boom in new condo completions is likely to prove temporary and the numbers of new units should start to fall later this year, predicted Royal Bank of Canada chief Robert Hogue. Even as they are growing more aggressive about lending to the condo industry, banks are becoming more realistic about about where the condo market is headed. “Sales are not what they were in late 2007 when you could sell a high-rise condo in a week it seems,” Mr. Milne said. “Now it takes awhile.”

Solar Power From Your Rooftop

The bandwagon for solar power has been gathering speed lately, thanks to falling installation costs, greater energy saving potential, smaller components, and increased awareness of threats to the environment. In addition, governments are getting on board, with some removing legal and social barriers, or offering rebates for homeowners who install new efficient systems. Depending on your home’s exposure to the sun’s rays as well as the angle of your roof, you can achieve significant energy savings with new models of solar panels, some of which have advantages such as adjustable panels and moveable footings. As a result, homeowners willing to look into solar panel options could be rewarded with a power source that not only can reduce their conventional energy consumption, but also generate extra money (provided their grid is equipped to receive energy and issue rebates).

Your home at a glance

Have you ever driven up to a restaurant and your first impression was disappointing? Perhaps the windows looked dark and gloomy, the façade was worn and unattractive or for some other reason it just didn't look like a tempting place to eat. It could still be a fantastic restaurant – a real gem. But, your first impression has soured your anticipation. If you still walk through the front door, it will likely be with the expectation of being disappointed. This scenario often plays out in the real estate market as well. A buyer drives up to a home for sale and quickly forms an impression based on what he sees "from the curb". That's why you'll hear real estate experts talk about the importance of "curb appeal". It's one of the most important selling points of a property. If you plan to put your home on the market, you obviously want your home to look as attractive as possible from the street. Fortunately, there are many simple things you can do to improve curb appeal. For example, you can trim shrubs and hedges, plant flowers, clean the walkway and driveway, paint the front door and garage door, and clean the exteriors of the windows. All these projects are relatively easy and inexpensive. Yet, each can make a dramatic improvement to how your home looks at first glance. Don't be like the great restaurant that’s hidden behind an unkept façade. Make sure your curb appeal reflects the overall value of your property. Looking for more advice on selling your home quickly and for the best price? Call today.