With all that is going on in the media regarding the economy and real estate, this question comes up frequently.  I thought I would compare the past few years in terms of listings and sales volume by month.  The data is for Residential Sales in the Greater Charlottetown Area, including Stratford and Cornwall, back to 2005.   

While inventory is up and the sales volume is down, prices have remained fairly steady in this area.  It is interesting that June, July, and August sales were actually UP compared with 2006. 

The charts provide a pretty clear picture of the trends in the past few years - click on the chart to enlarge them.

  

 

Since I started working as a Realtor, I have had lots of people asking me questions about my new career.  I thought it would be fun to do a FAQ's of the questions that are common:

Q:  Is it OK to call your Realtor on a weekend / evening / holiday?

A:  Absolutely!  I'd say at least 50% of my business is done outside the traditional 9 - 5 work day, and I'm sure it's the same for other agents.  It only makes sense as people who work during the day need to use their time off for the majority of house buying and selling tasks.  (I was showing houses on Good Friday and Easter Sunday this year.  The homeowner was ok with it, so I was too).  Realtors never sleep.  Well, they do with their iPhones tucked under their pillow.  I have lots of clients who send me emails at all hours of the day and night- I do respond to them when I am awake but I also have a young family and I do schedule time to spend with them as well.   I pride myself on getting back to people in a quick and efficient manner. Go ahead try me at kelly.lantz@century21.ca. 

Q:  How do you get paid?

This is often gently brought up, especially when I offer to work as a 'buyers agent'.  I get paid strictly on commission, not salary.  The commission is paid from the proceeds of the sale from the owner of the property. Quite often, it is shared between a selling agent and the listing agent. After that an office (broker) will usually deduct a portion for the services the office provides and any expenses that are owing.  So, when I act as a buyers agent, the services are provided free of charge to the buyer - you can't beat that fee!

Q:  Can you show me a house listed with another agent / company?

Yes, I sure can.  I can show you any property that is listed within the MLS system.  I can set up the appointment and research the house to give you all of the background information you need to help you make an informed decision (ie. what upgrades have been done, when did it last sell, and for how much etc).  When I was house hunting for my second home, I didn't know Charlotte could show us houses listed with other agents so I was calling the agent who's sign was on the lawn.  She soon set me straight :)

Q:  Do you work full time?

Not in the traditional sense of Monday to Friday, 9 - 5.  But I probably average 30 - 40 hours per week most weeks.  In the summer it was more like 50+ hours - lots of evenings and weekends, but I still manage to get to spend at least part of every day with my boys.  My cell phone hours for July were really high, I think I must have been on the phone most of the month.  In my opinion, it would be difficult to be a part time real estate agent.  The schedule works for me though, as my husband is home on the weekends and he always has a great list of 'boy adventures' lined up for our sons.  And I am able to pick them up after school through the week.

Q:  What is it like working with your Mother in Law? 

It is actually really, really fun working with Charlotte.  I think she was nervous at first at the idea of me coming to work with her, but we get along great.  Not to say there aren't moments of stress of course, but usually if one of us is stressed, the other is calm so we balance each other out.  Charlotte has been an agent for 10 years, so she is a great person to go with for advice and support.  She is also smart and fearless, and more like a friend to me than a mother in law.  Working as a team is perfect  for me, since there are always last minute things that come up, or scheduling conflicts - I can always rely on Charlotte as a back up plan.  Even to go on vacation, it is really a luxury to have someone taking care of my clients for me. 

Q:  Do you like being a Real Estate Agent?

I do.  It feels like a good fit for my past work experience - a combination of sales, marketing, PR, and a degree with a major in Psychology :)  I have met some great people and made some wonderful friends, and I really enjoy working at Century 21.  No two days are never the same, and there is never a dull moment. 

Would you purchase a home online?  Without ever seeing it in person?  Charlotte and I did a final walk through today on a house that will close tomorrow with our clients who were seeing their home "in real life" for the first time.  Our clients were from out of province and relocating back to PEI, so we spent the past few months working with them online to find the right home for them.  Circumstances on their end meant that they couldn't travel to PEI to view the house for themselves, but they wanted to have a house lined up before they arrrived.  They are a young couple with 3 children under the age of 4 (the youngest being just seven weeks, born on the day our offer was presented and accepted!). 

We worked closely with our clients - virtual tours uploaded for them to view, working with home inspectors, electricians, and extended family members on their behalf.  We sent out rough sketched house layouts for them to view and after much searching, we found the perfect house for them.  The minute they saw this house listed, they thought - wow.  The minute Charlotte and I saw it on their behalf, we thought "WOW" - perfect match. 

So after about 6 months of phone calls and emails, we finally met face to face today - to show them their new home for the first time.  And I am so happy to say that they loved it in person as much as they loved it online.  It was so great to meet them in real life for us too, though I certainly felt like we *knew* each other.  I felt a bit like a matchmaker - this time matching the house to the client.  We are so happy for our new friends and the house they chose, and wish them every success here starting their new life in Charlottetown.

Online shopping has so much potential!

Posted by Kelly Lantz @ 7:13 PM on 04/06/2008

I have clients arriving tonight from Vancouver BC, the opposite coast of the country.  They are lovely couple, relocating here to Prince Edward Island, and we have been working 'virtually' together for a few months now.   I had to stop and think for a minute, have we ever spoken on the phone?  The answer is no - all of our communications have been by email.  Over the months we've emailed about what they are looking for in a home, where they want to live, what it's like to live here on PEI, and quite a bit of other non-real estate related chats.  They even sent a bouquet of flowers to the office for me at one point when they thought they had to cancel their trip and felt bad for the time I'd spent looking for properties for them!  But the trip is back on, they are arriving as I type.

We are meeting for lunch tomorrow, I am really excited to finally meet them in person.  We have a great itinerary of properties to view over a few days and I am hoping they find something they fall in love with.   The home selling process is definitely an evolving one and the technologies available today offer so many options.

Charlotte and I are on "Agent Duty" this weekend starting tonight (Thursday).  I absolutely LOVE agent duty.  Before I had my Realtor liscence and was working as Charlotte's assistant, I couldn't do the duty time but now I can do mine and hers as well, and I volunteer to cover for anyone at the office. 

What I love about the agent duty is the "what if" factor.  What if  someone calls into the Century 21 Office while I am on duty to list their Million Dollar home on the water in Brighton?  What if someone calls to say they want to view the $500,000 custom built home on the golf course in Stratford?  The chances of either of these things happening are slim I know.  But the fact that there is the tiniest possibility that it *could* happen is so exciting to me.

When I am on duty, I swear I almost jump out of my skin every time the phone rings - and the phone rings non stop at Century 21 so it makes for exciting times in the office.  I love talking to people about houses so I am always happy, no, THRILLED to take duty calls, no matter what the subject.  I have had a few great ones so far that will hopefully turn into real clients for me in the near future.  Until then, I will remain on high alert, waiting for the next call.  So if you have a house to sell, or if you want to buy one or if you just want to chat about houses, we are your weekend duty agents for this weekend, and I have lots of duty shifts for March.  It's like having a scratch and win ticket everytime the phone rings - you just never know!

I have been working as a sales assistant at Century 21 for the past 5 months.  I completed the real estate course and exam on February 8th, and last week was my first official week as a lisenced agent.  Normally I work with my mother in law, Charlotte Lantz but my first week was spent solo, as Charlotte left on February 11th for a well deserved vacation to see relatives in Buenos Aires. 

Since Charlotte's departure, I have sold one house, submitted a new listing, and had agent duty 3 times, a very exciting first week as an official agent.  I would love to surprise her with a few new listings and / or houses sold by the time she gets home on February 26th.  

Further impressing me with her technological skills, Charlotte emailed us this picture of Brodie standing in front of his cousins home in Buenos Aires, the first day they arrived.  I can't wait for Charlotte to come back though, not for the workload but rather for her company and fun we have together!

We are currently working with a number of clients who are moving to PEI from "away" and thought this information was worth posting:
 
Provincial Taxation of "Residents" vs "Non-Residents"
 
When selling to Non-Residents of PEI (a Non Resident is defined under Section 5 of the Real Property Tax Act as someone who has NOT lived on PEI for 183 consecutive days), Members should be aware that the provincial taxation rate will be approximately 50% more than "Residents", that is, someone who has resided here the requisite 183 Consecutive days.
 
This taxation rate for "Non-Resident" status continues if the party does not meet the above requirement.  If the party, once they move here, has resided here for 183 consecutive days and can prove it, they can apply for the Provincial Tax Credit which reduces their assessment rate to that of "Resident".  This credit is NOT retroactive.  It takes effect only from the time of change of residency status and must be applied for using the form here: www.taxandland.pe.ca.