Residential real estate sales in Kitchener Waterloo fell year-over-year with 330 recorded through the MLS this November and 367 in November 2010. However, much like October, the decline can be attributed to plummeting new home sales. Just 19 new homes sold in November 2011 through MLS versus 49 and 63 in the previous Novembers.
Resale homes sold in November homes totalled ...
Posted by Jeff Gingerich
on December 5, 2011
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
Buying your first home in Kitchener Waterloo can be confusing enough. Recently, the federal government made 3 changes to mortgage policy through the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation(CMHC) that created further confusion. While I read a great deal about the changes, the analysis of the impact of the changes was sorely lacking. So if I'm a first time buyer in ...
Posted by Jeff Gingerich
on January 22, 2011
At the risk of sounding self-serving, the answer is no. While conventional wisdom suggests you have 3 agents in to price your home, there is a potential pitfall to this approach. It's human nature to want to get as much as possible when selling your home. Unfortunately, the simple act of having 3 Realtors in to price your home will often result in an inflated asking price. ...
Posted by Jeff Gingerich
on January 4, 2011
In sharp contrast to era of "foreclosure-gate" in the United States, residential power of sale activity in Kitchener Waterloo continues to represent a small percentage of the market. Active listings under power of sale on the Kitchener-Waterloo MLS totalled 15 as of mid-November which equalled October's total. Of note, 93% are in Kitchener and 7% in ...
Posted by Jeff Gingerich
on November 16, 2010
Real estate is a serious business and part of our job for our clients is to alleviate stress. One way to accomplish this is through laughter. While listening and laughing to Century 21 Colonial's Kelly Lantz get "punked" by a local radio station, I was reminded of my own moment of real estate apprehension. It was a cold January day in 1996. I was the "duty" agent ...
Posted by Jeff Gingerich
on September 11, 2010
The home pictured above is currently for sale in the wonderful Westvale neighbourhood of Waterloo(note I'm biased as I live there). While attending an open house, I spoke with the listing agent who related a curious story to me.
It seems in an effort to save commission, the seller initially chose a discount real estate brokerage to market the home. During one of the ...
Posted by Jeff Gingerich
on July 13, 2010
The sign above brings a bit of levity to the topic of For Sale By Owners(FSBO). First, what is a For Sale By Owner? This is a seller trying to sell their property without the use of a real estate agent. The most common reason is to avoid paying a commission to a Realtor. Many will "co-operate" and pay a commission to a buyer's agent and some refuse to pay anything. However, ...
Posted by Jeff Gingerich
on May 31, 2010
Real estate sales in Kitchener-Waterloo continued a strong surge as April's 539 residential MLS sales represented an 11%increase over the 487 sales in April 2009. The average sale price of $285,643 spiked nearly 10% over last April's average of $259,802. The market still favours sellers as they received, on average, 98.7% of their asking price. The average days on market was ...
Posted by Jeff Gingerich
on May 14, 2010