Did you know… Banks can only finance the Appraised Value or the Offer Value, whichever is lesser of the two? The appraisal method of determining value for residential real estate is the Comparison Approach, and appraisers use the same database of information as REALTORS to determine property values. Appraisers determine value based on what Buyers are willing to pay for a property ...
Posted by Szabolcs Pall
on February 7, 2012
Location, location, location is simply no longer enough.
You need to start thinking about Timing when trying to get the most out of your investment.
Of course location and size of the home will always be at the top of anyone’s list when assigning value to a property, that’s likely never going to change. But another important factor these days is price. ...
Posted by Szabolcs Pall
on February 6, 2012
Smooth sailing for home sales in September Members of the Ottawa Real Estate Board sold 1,202 residential properties in September through the Board's Multiple Listing Service® system compared with 1,071 in September 2010, an increase of 12.2 per cent. The five-year average for September sales is 1,160. Of those sales, 280 were in the condominium property class, while 922 were in the residential ...
Posted by Szabolcs Pall
on October 5, 2011
Thinking of selling privately?
Did you know a private sale is not as straight forward as it sounds? Buyers that see a home for sale ‘by the owner’ often see a bargain. The problem for the seller is that the buyer thinks they, and not you are entitled to the savings in real estate fees. With this mindset, a lowball offer is usually the result and any perceived “savings” ...
Posted by Szabolcs Pall
on July 6, 2011
March sales back to normal after HST-fueled 2010
Members of the Ottawa Real Estate Board sold 1,232 residential properties in March through the Board's Multiple Listing Service® system compared with 1,495 in March 2010, a decrease of 17.6 per cent. The five-year average for home sales in March is 1,256. Of those sales, 296 were in the condominium property class, while 936 were in the residential ...
Posted by Szabolcs Pall
on April 5, 2011
My brother recently asked about what I thought was the best smart phone on the market. Sure there are tons of web-sites dedicated to this stuff, and he has probably read them all, but like most anything you purchase, it’s often best to ask someone who’s had some firsthand experience with the bloody things.
And it’s with that in mind that we decided to host a live session ...
Posted by Szabolcs Pall
on March 17, 2011
How’s the housing market? It couldn’t be any better if you ask me, and let me explain why:
While the Residential Unit sales on the Ottawa Real Estate Board are down, our Condominium Unit numbers are up from last year at this time. And let me remind you, that we had a record breaking year in 2009 which makes the numbers even more impressive. Residential prices have increased approximately ...
Posted by Szabolcs Pall
on December 29, 2010
Did you know that a home is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it? This notion of a "good deal" is only in the minds of the buyer and or seller. A home properly exposed to the market by a motivated seller for a sufficient amount of time will eventually sell for the price the market is willing to bare. This is called Market Value, and will not always be the Listed Price. ...
Posted by Szabolcs Pall
on December 13, 2010
Did you know that while CREA (Canadian Real Estate Association) is predicting that home prices next year will be down approximately 2.2%, they will have increased by 1.5% from over 2009. To put it into perspective, your $350,000 home may decrease in price by about $2,500. This is hardly anything to get into panic about, and please remember, that it's the local stats that matter. ...
Posted by Szabolcs Pall
on June 3, 2010
We're faced decisions throughout our normal day, and usually get them right without much difficulty.
But while each of us is well equipped to make every day decisions, it’s not always so simple. When we consider selling our home, that decision is one that obviously requires much greater scrutiny. Consider the following:
How much equity do I currently have? - The amount of money you ...
Posted by Szabolcs Pall
on June 1, 2010