Selling your home now is different from what selling your home would have been earlier in the year. The rules have changed because the market has changed. We’re no longer playing the same game. One of the ways I know this is because it’s been a while since I’ve heard someone say “Any monkey can […]
I sit and I watch and I listen to them debate. And I wonder to myself “Can one of these guys really be President?” And then I catch myself and remember “There are as many points of view as there are people because everyone’s different. And just because someone thinks a certain way today doesn’t […]
We just finished talking about the huge role land value plays in determining overall value in central Toronto and about whether a townhouse will be as good an investment in the long run as a similarly priced detached or semi-detached home. (See What’s Value? if you’d like to refresh your memory) Today we’re going to […]
“Under all is the land.” That’s the first thing I remember reading when I took the real estate licensing courses way back when. I also remember thinking to myself “Why’s that so important? Sounds like it could be a quote from the bible or some other historical text. I can’t imagine it having too much […]
When I was in real estate school 20+ years ago we spent a lot of time on the concept of Fair Market Value. The definition we were given was something along the lines of “the highest price a buyer will pay and the lowest price a seller will accept when neither is under any undue […]
Corinne and I just started working with new clients who are looking for their first home. Young professionals. Smart. They ask a lot of questions and they catch on quickly. They sent us this email yesterday: “We saw this home on realtor.ca. It looks like a very nice home in a good location. Do you […]
I’ve been told that I’m a highly disciplined and extremely organized individual. This isn’t all that surprising given that my mother says I was a little soldier when I was a young boy. She used to put a watch on my wrist and tell me to be home when the big hand was here and […]
It’s no secret that housing prices in central Toronto have been on the rise for almost 20 years now, but how does this happen? One answer could be that it’s magic. A more accurate answer would be that it’s the result of supply and demand. But what about the nuts and bolts of how it […]
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – there’s nothing more important than setting the correct list price when you’re selling. Watch this short video to make sure you don’t make this costly mistake.
If you’ve been following along diligently the past few weeks, you know what stale listings are and how to avoid them and you’ve seen firsthand what happens in the life of a listing. Now it’s time to find out when you should bite the bullet and reduce your list price because that’s your best move. Price […]
We just finished discussing stale listings – what they are, why you don’t want your listing to go stale and what you can do to avoid that from happening. Now let’s look at a simulated real life example to see what happened when Jim and Jen’s home was on the market because this’ll give you an […]
Real estate is a language unto itself, full of terms and expressions that have special meanings. A stale listing is usually thought of as a listing that’s been on the market for a while and hasn’t sold. How long does it take for a listing to be considered stale?Depends on the circumstances. It might take […]
Human nature is funny. How you feel about things depends on how you look at them. Attitude is everything. There’s a saying in real estate circles that goes something like this: “You know it’s a fair deal when the buyers think they paid too much and the sellers think they got too little.” In other […]
There’s no question that pricing is the most important factor when it comes time to list your home for sale. The list price you choose affects your sale price and how long it takes for your home to sell. It’s no wonder so many people ask me “What’s your pricing strategy?”. The fact is, I […]
It doesn’t matter if you’re buying or selling, it’s absolutely crucial to estimate fair market value. But have you tried to figure out prices lately? It’s no easy feat. I know because I try to do it every day. It used to be that I could look at a home, factor in its list price […]
In a hot market like the one we’ve had here in central Toronto for the past several years, a lot of buyers have hard times finding homes to buy. Because demand is stronger than supply, there just aren’t enough homes to go around. This has resulted in some buyers (often with the help of their […]
You may not be interested in Lytton Park specifically, but what’s going on there right now is very helpful in understanding how the residential real estate market works in central Toronto. Lytton Park is undervalued. It hasn’t been scientifically proven, but that’s what I think. Here’s why: First, some background. Lytton Park is an established, […]
When it comes time to estimate the fair market value of a home, all that matters is this: “How much are similar homes selling for?“. Why is this all that matters? Because if you’re buying, why would you pay more for Home A when you can buy Home B, which is very similar, for less money? […]
For different reasons, some people prefer to sell their homes without listing them on MLS. It may be because they don’t want the hassle of buyers parading through their homes or because they think they’ll save on the commission or for some other reason. Whatever their preference, my view is that they’re entitled to do […]
Lots of people don’t enjoy buying or selling a home, partly because of how the system works. When you want to buy something in a store, one look at the price tag tells you how much you’ll have to pay. When you want to buy a home, you can look at the list price, but […]
