In my daily travels, I'm often asked "How's the market?". I'm happy to report at the end of June 2010 that we have a "good" residential market in Kitchener and Waterloo. The first 4 weeks of June saw 442 MLS sales in K-W versus 525 in June 2009. Now those seeking sensational headlines might lead with "K-W home sales decline 16%" and they'd be right. However, a closer ...
Posted by Jeff Gingerich
on June 30, 2010
Bargain hunters continue to be denied and bankers delighted as May residential sales of Power of Sale properties continued to show strong results. There were 8 MLS sales under power of sale in K-W in May with 1 in Waterloo and 7 in Kitchener. The average days on the market for these homes was only 32 days and the list-to-sale price ratio was a ...
Posted by Jeff Gingerich
on June 25, 2010
As noted previously, houses that sell for a million dollars are rare in Kitchener and Waterloo. In fact, the MLS database for the Kitchener-Waterloo Real Estate Board goes back to 1988 and only 34 such sales are on record. It may then surprise you to learn that 7 million dollar homes have sold through MLS already this year versus 4 in all of 2009. This is certainly encouraging ...
Posted by Jeff Gingerich
on June 4, 2010
Residential real estate sales in Kitchener and Waterloo continued a strong run in May with 480 sales reported through MLS. Sellers remained in control of the market with an average list to sale price ratio of 98% and a brisk average of 34 days on the market. Resale homes accounted for 94% of these sales.
So how does this compare to May 2009? Unit sales actually declined ...
Posted by Jeff Gingerich
on June 3, 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
April 2010 didn't bring the rain we typically associate with the month nor did it bring a shower of power of sale listings. Active residential MLS listings under power of sale in mid-May totalled 10 which is the lowest total seen this year. Rising house prices, an improving local economy and continuing low interest rates have all contributed to this "good news" story. ...
Posted by Jeff Gingerich
on May 22, 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
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
Power of sale activity in Kitchener-Waterloo continued an upward trend. In February, there were 11 residential properties sold under power of sale through the Kitchener-Waterloo Real Estate Board. Interestingly, all were in Kitchener. The continued strength of the residential resale market meant there were no bargains to be had as lenders received, on average, ...
Posted by Jeff Gingerich
on March 16, 2010