A recent encounter with a private seller on behalf of a buyer client left me dazed and confused. As a big Seinfeld fan, the closest I could come to describing it was the episode where Elaine makes a new group of friends and Jerry describes them as a Bizarro world.
Here is the scenario. A buyer client expressed an interest in seeing a privately listed property. ...
Posted by Jeff Gingerich
on November 3, 2011
How's the market? As a Realtor, I hear that question a considerable amount. The answer varies depending on your location. Currently in the Westvale area of Waterloo, there are 11 resale houses for sale from $259,000 to $499,900. To put that number into perspective, in the Huron Village area of south Kitchener, I found 11 properties for sale ...
Posted by Jeff Gingerich
on April 19, 2011
Another week is behind us and it seemed everywhere you looked, protest and political upheaval dominated the news. This serves to remind Canadians how fortunate we are to live in a democracy. It also brings to mind another thing we sometimes take for granted. Here is another of the top 10 things I love about living in Westvale:
#4 A Safe Neighbourhood ...
Posted by Jeff Gingerich
on February 23, 2011
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
I had the good fortune to visit Vancouver for the Century 21 Canada Conference this fall. It certainly is a beautiful city and I can definitely see the appeal of living there. However, I struggle with the cost of housing. Here is a current example. The home above is listed for sale at $795,000. It's described as "that perfect fixer upper in an amazing ...
Posted by Jeff Gingerich
on December 8, 2009
Real estate sales have defied expert predictions as evidenced by Vancouver sales rocketing ahead 117% year-over-year http://tinyurl.com/lmpz9g However, markets are local in nature so let's look at the Kitchener-Waterloo market year-to-date and where the market is heading in the months to come.
Year-to-date MLS sales to the end of August '09 totalled 3422 ...
Posted by Jeff Gingerich
on September 16, 2009
I get irritated when I see Realtors make misrepresentations in advertising. Unfortunately, they appear all too often and the reason is a lack of accountability. Gone are the days when the broker manager had to approve your ad copy before it saw the light of day. Today, I read about a great new listing that included among the features "backs on greenbelt". For many, this ...
Posted by Jeff Gingerich
on August 10, 2009
Residential real estate in June 2009 provided a bit of sunshine in an otherwise gloomy economy. Kitchener-Waterloo shows approx. 569 sales through the Multiple Listing Service which surpassed June 2008's total of 564. Of note, 75% of sales were under $300 000 and new construction accounted for only 6% of the totals. The average days on the market ...
Posted by Jeff Gingerich
on July 3, 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