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Housing crisis, Sensational headlines and Solutions
Over the past few weeks, the news has been sensational, shocking, and explosive. When it comes to our Provincial government and their attempts to deal with what is being called a “housing crisis” it seems that everyone has an opinion of how to fix the issue or how to dismantle the efforts being taken to…
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Experience from the 90’s Helping Home Sellers in 2023
A quick review of mortgage rates in Ontario looks something like this; eeek!The Bank of Canada started to increase rates last March and we have seen the lending rates have increased from .25% to 5%. These increases have happened over 10 resets of the lending rate. No one can argue that mortgage rates are higher than…
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When Statistics don’t tell the Truth
Here is a snapshot of Oshawa, Whitby and Clarington:Average Detached Home sale: July/23 August 21/23Oshawa: $906,000 $874,000Whitby: …
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Can you Buy a Home Making $90,000/year?
Sometimes it happens to the best of Realtors. I hosted an open house 45 minutes from my office on the weekend and when I got home, I realized I had the key in my pocket. Early this morning you would have found me zipping up north to put the key back into the lockbox. On…
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Is it Time to Head in the Opposite Direction?
We recently saw a concert at Ontario Place. It was the Tadeshi – Trucks band, and if you like Southern guitarists, you would love this group of Southern rockers. I thought as we were waking into the show, literally in a sea of people, that we had really no control over what direction we were headed and it…
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What can Barbie teach us about Real Estate?
Barbiemania has hit the world! So far, the movie has had $775,000,000 in box office sales! With a budget of $150,000,000 this means that it will be a blockbuster hit that will be around for years to come and has been a great investment for the production company behind the movie. What can be learned from the movie, other…
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Why Experience Matters
Something fascinating happened over the past few weeks. I was contacted by a Seller who had listed his home with a friend, and after a few weeks he terminated the listing and approached me to see if I could sell his home. His friend, an agent from Toronto gave him a “good deal” and brought…
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Have Higher Rates Slowed the Market?
Homes are hanging around a bit longer than they have for the last few months before we see sold signs placed in the yards. Prices are softening a little and the number of home Buyers touring is dropping. Is this the effect of the mortgage rates going up last week? Having worked the past 37 summers selling…
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Are there any Benefits to Mortgage Rates Rising?
The Bank of Canada is expected to increase rates again in the next week. Currently, 5-year mortgage rates are between 5 – 6%. The variation is based on if the downpayment is below or above 20%. In Ontario, with less than 20% down and CMHC mortgage insurance, the rates are lower than if more than…
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Entertaining the thought of Selling, then Renting
Baby Boomers, Homeowners and why Renting Makes Perfect Sense. Homeowners who have lived in their “forever” home for decades are struggling to maintain their properties and to care for them. I have noticed that once a homeowner is in the 65 – 80-year-old range, things such as shovelling snow, cutting grass and general maintenance start…
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