szabolcs: Executive Townhouse Condo - $234,100 - 06/04/09 03:53 AM
Executive 3 bedroom, 2.5 bath 1,600 sq ft townhouse condominium, in Historic downtown Galt location. Minutes walk from the bus stop, Farmer's Market, Boutique shopping, restaurants and cafes. Take a romantic river walk, or enjoy the summer concerts and festivals all on your doorstep!
Features of this fine home:
Rare 3 Storey Unit with 3 Bedrooms Oversized Jacuzzi Tub in Ensuite Unique French Doors to Juliet Balcony Full Double Garage Possibility of Adding a Loft Walkout Basement Custom Backsplash in Kitchen Finished Rec Room With a Door Cathedral Ceiling in Master Bedroom At 1630 square feet, this open concept home truly … (0 comments)

szabolcs: The "Team" Trend - 06/04/09 02:42 AM
Everyone and their cousin, is working in a team these days. But if you want to be blown away by the number of people on a team trying to sell your house, listen to this: "I have a team of 380 agents!" -- do you believe me? Because that's exactly what MLS is, we all have access to the same database, the person listing your home, in all likelihood, isn't the one bringing you the buyer. There is a reason why the red SOLD sticker, reads "SOLD by MLS".
And as far as sign recognition goes, have you ever stopped at … (0 comments)

szabolcs: 4 Stats That Make Sense - 06/04/09 02:39 AM
Here are 4 stats that make sense and every REALTOR® should be able to tell you right off the bat!
1) Days on Market. This information can be used to inform the customer how long homes are sitting on the market. The better you price the product, the faster you can expect to move it. Don't make the mistake of pricing too high, as the house will sit on the market and become stale. Even price reductions may not achieve the desired result, and both parties will eventually become frustrated with the process.
2) Sold-to-Ask. Show your clients what the market … (0 comments)

szabolcs: Northstar - Update! - 06/04/09 02:36 AM
There has been a $5MIL settlement reached with Northstar Aerospace. This comes from a class action lawsuit launched by residents in what's known as the Northstar Zone, approximately 400 homes in and around Bishop, Concession, Dunbar, Grand Valley and Coronation Blvd. TCE was discovered to have leeched into groundwater, and has affected air quality in homes near the Northstar plant. It's a chemical typically used as a degreaser for metals. Northstar is in the process of remediation and is actively cleaning up the area.
Here is the full release. Have a look at the map of the affected area.
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szabolcs: myhomeplanner.ca - 06/04/09 02:32 AM
Genworth Canada, mortgage insurance agency, has launched a web-site called myhomeplanner.ca. It's a neat little web app, that let's you specify your moving date, and it gives you a nice little calendar with icons showing your upcoming tasks. So you'd add Home Inspection, Property Insurance and Status to a list of tasks, then each of those tasks could be represented by a different icon, and visually shown to you on a calendar. It also has a countdown to your closing date.
Along with this feature, is included a bunch of calculators and other resources that make the home buying process a … (0 comments)

szabolcs: Housing Market Update - May 2009 - 05/04/09 02:45 AM

Housing Market Update - May 2009
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szabolcs: Market Knowledge - 05/04/09 02:31 AM
Did you know, that only 10% of agents attend the local MLS meeting in Cambridge Ontario, on a regular basis?   It's a great opportunity to preview up to 10 homes each week.   I even find out about homes coming up for sale before they ever hit the market.   My knowledge of the available housing inventory, and preview into where the market is heading, allows me to accurately price a home based not only on market data, but seeing your competition first hand.  Can you see how that is a huge benefit to you?
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szabolcs: Are you working with the wrong agent? - 05/04/09 02:28 AM
"Please help; do you have a buyer for my house?" It's a common request, but not always as desperate as the seller sounded this time. The answer in most cases, sadly is "no". I alone can only provide service to so many buyers. But that's the power of the MLS system; there are a host of other agents that may have buyers for your home. They just need to be told about it. And that job falls on the shoulders of your Realtor, and the place to do it, is the MLS meeting. I'll talk in another article about the importance … (0 comments)

szabolcs: Real Estate Hotspots: Kitchener - Waterloo - Cambridge - 04/22/09 08:55 AM
So what's going on in the real estate market, I mean really going on?   The most important thing to remember is that it is regional, so take with a grain of salt, all those national statistics that newspapers love to throw at us.   They are not a true representation of what's really going on in your own backyard.
As far as where you should be investing, you should be looking at areas where the population and income levels are both on the rise.  Government spending on infrastructure such as highways, light rail, subways and round-abouts are always a good … (0 comments)

szabolcs: Ontario Harmonized Tax - 04/22/09 08:48 AM
Did you know that plans to harmonize the Sales and Provincial taxes could negatively effect your real estate transaction?  It would apply to not only New Construction homes over $400,000 but will also affect resale home transactions.  PST would now be applied to legal fees, real estate fees, appraisal fees, moving expenses, staging services, landscaping, and more services usually associated with real estate transactions.
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szabolcs: Home Energy Audit - 03/01/09 12:37 PM
A Home Energy Audit is something that is required before you begin making energy efficiency improvements to your home, if you plan on applying for Provincial and Federal rebates through the ecoENERGY program.
It's also something that could be mandatory in the coming months by the Ontario Government, as laid out in the Green Energy and Green Economy Act (Bill 150). Part of this Act could force home owners to pay for an Energy Audit, costing about $300, before putting their house up for sale. What this means is that you'll begin to see the EnerGuide sticker on the Electrical Panel … (3 comments)

szabolcs: How's the market? - 12/02/08 03:27 AM
How's the market?  It's the one question we seem to be hearing over and over again.  The market can typically fluctuate within three types of market conditions:
1. Seller's Market
2. Buyer's Market
3. Normal or Balanced Market
And a good indicator of market conditions is to interpret the number of months of listing inventory.  This is arrived by taking the total number of listings on the market, and divide that by the average number of sales per month.
This will give you the number of months of inventory.  4-6 months is a Seller's Market, 6-8 months indicates Balanced and 8-10 … (2 comments)