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
The Olympic cauldron and our Canadian athletes weren't the only things on fire in February. Preliminary MLS data from the Kitchener-Waterloo Real Estate Board indicates a strong seller's market in K-W with 382 residential sales. Sellers received a sizzling 98.9 per cent of the asking price on average! Resale homes totalled 341 ...
Posted by Jeff Gingerich
on March 2, 2010
The beginning of 2010 has brought about increased residential power of sale activity in Kitchener-Waterloo. As of February 15th, there were 11 properties listed on MLS on the Kitchener-Waterloo Real Estate Board under power of sale. This marks a significant increase over the 5 power of sale properties active on January 15th. The median asking price was $249,900 and ...
Posted by Jeff Gingerich
on February 20, 2010
While Florida saw snow in January, Kitchener-Waterloo received much less than normal. This relatively mild weather and continuing low interest rates led to an active residential real estate market in K-W in January. Preliminary sales through the K-W Real Estate Board indicate 290 residential sales. This represents a 34% increase over the 217 sales of January ...
Posted by Jeff Gingerich
on February 3, 2010
The headlines are hard to avoid these days as the mainstream media rush to report December real estate sales in Canada at an all-time high. The Canadian Real Estate Association reports that the number of sales nationwide was up 7.7% in 2009 over 2008 and prices were up 5%, on average, versus a drop of 1% in 2008. As I've stressed before, markets are local and ...
Posted by Jeff Gingerich
on January 18, 2010
Kitchener-Waterloo residential real estate continued to post solid gains year-over-year in December. A total of 242 properties sold through the Kitchener-Waterloo MLS in December, 2009 versus 172 in 2008 for an increase of 41%. Interestingly, the median sale price declined slightly to $264 848 compared to $265 858 in '08. The average days on the market for December was a healthy ...
Posted by Jeff Gingerich
on January 4, 2010
There has been a great deal of talk in the mainstream media recently surrounding the possibility that Canada is in a housing bubble. First, what is a housing bubble? According to Answers.com, a housing bubble is "a run-up in prices fuelled by demand, speculation, and a belief that recent history is an infallible forecast of the future." It begins with an increase in demand ...
Posted by Jeff Gingerich
on January 2, 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
November unit sales in Kitchener-Waterloo were up a sizzling 76% over November, 2008 according to figures released by the Kitchener-Waterloo Real Estate Board. A November record 422 properties changed hands versus 240 in November, 2008. Another November record was set as the median sale price in K-W hit $248,750 versus $234,500 in 2008, an increase of 6%. The return of consumer ...
Posted by Jeff Gingerich
on December 7, 2009
Today's post deals with the challenges of buying a home in a seller's market. First, let's look at a bit of recent history. In November of 2008, fear and uncertainty were in the air. Overextended sellers were anxious to unload their properties at a discount. Buyers, following years of a seller's market, were finally in control. Unfortunately for buyers, ...
Posted by Jeff Gingerich
on November 28, 2009