There were no bargains to be had in March as brisk Kitchener Waterloo residential MLS sales carried over to power of sale activity. There were 10 properties sold under power of sale in March. The average list price to sale price ratio was 99% and the average days on the market for these sales was just 27. The Royal Bank, Bank of Montreal and Firstline/CIBC ...
Posted by Jeff Gingerich
on April 16, 2011
First-time sellers of Kitchener Waterloo real estate often struggle with this question. Twenty-two years of selling real estate has taught me there is an ideal time to sell every home. Choosing the wrong time of the year to sell can cost a seller thousands of dollars in hard earned equity. Other times, it can result in an expired listing or a ...
Posted by Jeff Gingerich
on April 6, 2011
The new year is always an exciting time in real estate and as I survey the year to come, 2011 will be no exception. First, let's look back and see how we did with last years forecast. My Kitchener-Waterloo Real Estate Sales Forecast 2010 called for a return to a more traditional market where 2/3 of the buying and selling was done between January and June. The ...
Posted by Jeff Gingerich
on January 10, 2011
Power of sale activity continued to trend upward on the Kitchener-Waterloo Real Estate Board in March with 12 sales versus 11 last month. Of note, 10 were in Kitchener and 2 in Waterloo. The scarcity of properties for sale resulted in a brisk 24 days on the market for these sales and a list price to sale price of 98% on average. The lenders at CIBC and TD are ...
Posted by Jeff Gingerich
on April 18, 2010
To me, urgency is part of the the appeal of the NCAA basketball tournament known as March Madness. It's win or go home. It appears buyers adopted this attitude in March as MLS sales activity in Kitchener-Waterloo saw year-over-year increases of 9% in average price and 38% in unit sales. March unit sales in K-W totalled 546 besting the 507 sales in March ...
Posted by Jeff Gingerich
on April 6, 2010
Federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty announced the following changes to insured mortgages effective April 19, 2010:
1. Properties that are not owner-occupied now require a 20% downpayment.
2. Owners wanting to refinance their existing insured mortgage will be limited to 90% loan-to-value versus the current 95%.
3. Borrowers wanting a variable rate mortgage will now ...
Posted by Jeff Gingerich
on February 16, 2010
Residential power of sale activity in Kitchener-Waterloo continued to decline in November. As of December 15, 2009, there were 9 active properties on MLS under power of sale in K-W versus 11 in mid-November. Four of these properties were condominiums and the remainder detached houses. The home above is in the exclusive area of Kiwanis Park. Note the challenge the photographer ...
Posted by Jeff Gingerich
on December 15, 2009
In my last post, we looked at the consequences of higher interest rates upon the renewal of your mortgage. Here are 10 tips designed to protect you from becoming overextended financially in this event.
1. Don't buy too much home. Avoid the temptation to overspend based on what you qualify for. Downsize your expectations and upgrade when you have more equity. Remember ...
Posted by Jeff Gingerich
on July 3, 2009
As Realtors, we are certainly thankful for the resurgent real estate market Canada-wide. Low interest rates have been instrumental in increasing affordability to entice first-time buyers into the market. Real estate is local so let's look at a typical scenario in Kitchener-Waterloo. A couple buy a detached home for $250 000 with 5% down and get a 4% mortgage with a 5 year ...
Posted by Jeff Gingerich
on June 25, 2009
The Canadian Association of Accredited Mortgage Professionals(CAAMP) has released the results of a spring survey titled The Canadian Residential Mortgage Market During Challenging Times. Their findings may surprise based on the prevailing doom and gloom within the media. For those that have a mortgage, 40% have at least 50% in home equity. If we include those ...
Posted by Jeff Gingerich
on April 25, 2009