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Sellers: Should You Have A Pre-Listing Home Inspection Done?

Feb 22nd, 2012
by Jason Bondy-Sawyer.
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Should You Have A Pre-Listing Home Inspection Done? Photo

Before listing a house for sale, I always advise my seller clients to have a pre-listing home inspection done. In my experience it’s best for everyone involved (the sellers, the buyers, and the realtors) to know the condition of the home before an offer is presented. Any reasonable buyer is going to make their offer conditional on having a home inspection anyway, so why not nip potential problems in the bud?

If we’re holding back offers on the property, then having a pre-listing home inspection is even more essential. I’ve seen plenty of buyers decide to “sit this one out” and not participate on offer night because there was no pre-listing home inspection available.

Sure, buyers have the option of getting their own pre-offer home inspection done. But not everyone is keen on spending $400-$500 and a few hours of their time on a property that they might not even end up getting (more on this in a future blog post).

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Toronto Real Estate Market Report: January 2012 Statistics

Feb 7th, 2012
by Jason Bondy-Sawyer.
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Toronto Real Estate Market Report: January 2012 Statistics Photo

Following is TREB’s market report for January 2012:  Greater Toronto REALTORS® reported 4,567 sales through the TorontoMLS® system in January 2012. This number was 8.8 per cent higher than the 4,199 sales reported in January 2011. Sales growth was strongest for low-rise home types in the regions surrounding the City of Toronto.

“A favourable affordability picture bolstered by very low posted fixed mortgage rates has kept home buyers confident in their ability to achieve the Canadian goal of home ownership,” said Toronto Real Estate Board President Richard Silver.

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Viewing Properties At Night? Be Sure To Take A Second Look During The Day

Jan 25th, 2012
by Jason Bondy-Sawyer.
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Viewing Properties At Night? Be Sure To Take A Second Look During The Day Photo

When most people picture themselves shopping for a home they imagine doing so on the weekend, during the day. After all, this is when the majority of open houses happen and it’s generally the easiest time for people to coordinate a couple of free hours.

In a busy city like Toronto however, realtors and buyers are out there pounding the pavement at all hours.  A lot of my buyer clients find it easiest to meet for viewings during the week, after work.  I’ve shown properties as late as 10:30pm on a weeknight.

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Toronto Real Estate Market Report: December 2011 Statistics

Jan 10th, 2012
by Jason Bondy-Sawyer.
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Following is TREB’s market report for December 2011:Greater Toronto REALTORS® reported 4,718 transactions through the TorontoMLS® system in December 2011. The December result capped off the second-best year on record under the current Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) boundaries. Total sales for 2011 amounted to 89,347 – up four per cent in comparison to 2010.

 “Low borrowing costs kept Buyers confident in their ability to comfortably cover their mortgage payments along with other major housing costs,” said TREB President Richard Silver. “If Buyers had not been constrained by a shortage of listings over the past 12 months, we would have been flirting with a new sales record in the Greater Toronto Area,” added Silver.

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Five For Friday

Jan 6th, 2012
by Jason Bondy-Sawyer.
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Five For Friday Photo

It’s roundup time!  Let’s take a look back at some of the more interesting articles and photos that popped up over the past few weeks…

#5.  What Apocalypse? Housing Market Predictions For 2012 [Infographic]

Five For Friday Photo     On December 28th, the folks over at BuzzBuzzHome  posted an informative infographic illustrating the CMHC’s major predictions for the 2012 Canadian real estate market. The total number of units is expecting to increase by 1.9% over 2011. And the average price is expected to increase by 1.2% over 2011. Read the full article here. (more…)

What’s In Store For The 2012 Real Estate Market?

Dec 31st, 2011
by Jason Bondy-Sawyer.
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Last month, the Toronto Real Estate Board posted the above video to their YouTube channel. In the video, Senior Manager of Market Analysis, Jason Mercer, takes a look back at the 2011 real estate market and a look forward to what we can expect in 2012. Warning: the video is over 25 minutes long! Not to worry – I sat through the entire thing myself and have summarized the main points below (you’re welcome).

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Happy Holidays!

Dec 26th, 2011
by Jason Bondy-Sawyer.
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Happy Holidays Photo

I’d like to wish all of my loyal blog readers, clients, family and friends a safe and happy holiday season.

Happy Holidays everyone!

If you’re thinking of splurging on a new home this holiday season and would like to know how I can help, feel free to contact me for more info.

Toronto Real Estate Market Report: December 2011 Mid-Month Statistics

Dec 20th, 2011
by Jason Bondy-Sawyer.
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Toronto Real Estate Market Report: December 2011 Mid-Month Statistics Photo

Following is TREB’s market report for mid-December 2011: Greater Toronto REALTORS® reported 2,699 transactions through the TorontoMLS® system during the first 14 days of December. This result was 11 per cent above the number of transactions recorded during the same period in 2010. On a year-to-date basis, sales amounted to 87,407 – up 4.3 per cent compared to 2010.

“We have had the second best year on record for transactions under the current Toronto Real Estate Board boundaries. Households have continued to take advantage of affordable home ownership options across the diverse array of housing types available in the Greater Toronto Area,” said TREB President Richard Silver.

Toronto Real Estate Market Report: November 2011 Statistics

Dec 7th, 2011
by Jason Bondy-Sawyer.
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Following is TREB’s market report for November 2011:  Greater Toronto REALTORS® reported 7,092 residential transactions through the TorontoMLS® system in November – up 11 per cent in comparison to November 2010. At the same time, the number of new listings was up by 14 per cent in comparison to last year.

“We have seen strong annual sales growth through the 2011 fall market. The increase in transactions has been broad-based, with strong growth across low-rise and high-rise home types throughout the Greater Toronto Area,” said Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) President Richard Silver. “The market has also become better supplied, with annual new listings growth outstripping that of sales. As this trend continues into 2012, we will see more balanced market conditions.”

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An Upgraded Version Of Realtor.ca Is Now Available!

Dec 3rd, 2011
by Jason Bondy-Sawyer.
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An Upgraded Version Of Realtor.ca Is Now Available! Photo

There are a number of websites available that allow the public to search for properties currently listed for sale.  Many of these websites belong to real estate agents (take my website, for example).  Some belong to real estate brokerages (check out my brokerage’s site here).  And then there are sites like Zillow.com (in the states) and Zoocasa.com (here in Canada).

Probably the best known and most widely used of these public sites is Realtor.ca (formerly mls.ca).  If you’ve used the site before, you know that it does have some limitations… Having said that, a handful of useful upgrades to the site were released on November 29th.

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