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The Homes That Gave Up: What Expired Listings Reveal About Real Estate in 2025
In real estate, there’s a quiet heartbreak called the expired listing. A homeowner stages, scrubs, paints, hides their life in the oven, and lives in an endless state of “show-home readiness.” Then—sixty, ninety, one-hundred-twenty days later—the listing expires, unsold. The dream doesn’t crash; it just quietly times out. From early August to the end of…
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Small Upgrades, Big Returns: How Simple Fixes Can Help Your Home Sell
Every now and then, a home sale reminds me just how much the “little things” matter. Recently, we worked with a family who sold quickly — not to the first buyer who toured, but to the second, who paidthe full asking price. Before listing, I had walked through the property with the sellers and shared…
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When Trust Breaks Down: The Silent Risk in Real Estate
Trust is the invisible currency of professional life. When you hire a lawyer, an insurance broker, a financial advisor, or a real estate agent, you’re not just buying a service — you’re buying confidence. Confidence that your interests will come first, that your money will be safe, and that the rules of the game will…
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Pay down the mortgage or Play the stock market? That’s the $200,000 question
Every so often, a client calls with a question that makes me think, “Now that’s a nice problem to have.” Recently, someone reached out after receiving a $200,000 inheritance. Their question: “I’ve got a $400,000 mortgage on my home. Should I invest this in the stock market or pay down my mortgage?” Let’s break it…
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Durham Rentals 2025: The Lease You Could Do
Finding a rental in 2025 should be simple. You find the place, sign the lease, and move in. Easy, right? Not exactly. We recently worked with two tenants who had everything landlords dream of: excellent credit, solid employment, glowing rental history. And yet, the hardest part wasn’t finding a place—it was running the gauntlet of…
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Tariffs and Real Estate Sales: Playing the Long Game
It has been quite a year. The administration in the USA changed on January 20th. Immediately there was a threat of tariffs on all Canadian products that was slated to begin on February 1st. As we approached the first of February, the tariffs were paused until the beginning of March. You would have to live…
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Choose Local (Even when deciding on a Realtor to work with)
This is a story about a home and 3 agents. Let me set the stage. Over the past week, I placed a “fixer-upper” bungalow on the market. It was something that would work for an investor to buy and create an apartment in the lower level. (Legal or not.) The home was in poor condition…
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What the Canadian Real Estate Association means with a ‘Spring Boom’ Prediction
When the Canadian Real Estate Association predicts a spring boom because of; What do they mean? Are they missing any key predictors that may cause a change in real estate over the next few months? Let’s take a look. Pent-up demand: I think we all know what this means. However, how does it apply to…
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Parents Helping Kids Buy Homes Today
With a career spanning almost 4 decades I have worked with clients as young as 18 and as old as 98. One thing I have experienced, is when a homeowner is in the 65+ range, they start to look at where they will direct their assets. These can be their personal residence, rental properties or…
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Small Changes – Big Impact
Over the past decade prices for homes have spiked. The average detached home in Durham Region was selling for $444,000 a decade ago and currently the same homes are selling for $991.000. When values increase as dramatically as they have the results are damaging to Buyers. Add to this mortgage rules that lessen the borrowing…
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