Kitchener Waterloo Real Estate News
May 30 2018
Wednesday May 30 2018. In this week’s Kitchener Waterloo Real Estate News: five months in, Cycling, 21 Ontario cities compared, home pricing infographic, clutter, Kik, Wealthsimple, lessons learned, how’s the market?
End of May
We are almost into June already and that means the end of the Spring market. Most people like to move in the summer months and closing dates will get shorter. Lawyers like to have at least three weeks before closing so at this time of year 30-60 days closings are the norm. Thirty days is plenty of time.
We have been hovering just above 900 active listings in Kitchener-Waterloo over the past three weeks. I think at some point over the next three weeks our inventory will start to shrink again. Home sellers know that most buyers want to move before September too.
However, as a qualifier, I have to say that it has been an unusual year so far and we never really know what lies ahead.
Waterloo Region – a hub for cycling activities
Routes and events are in place for everyone from bike tourists to competitive cyclists. Here is a comprehensive guide to tons of bike links.
What are the least, and most expensive Ontario cities for homebuyers
Here are the price to median income ratios for 21 Ontario cities.
- #1 Thunder Bay
- #9 Waterloo
- #13 Cambridge
- #15 Kitchener
- #21 GTA
Ever wonder what’s keeping GTA detached home prices from falling?
Months of inventory, or MOI, which compares how many homes are available for sale against the number of sales in a given month. If there are 30 homes for sales in the month, and 10 houses sell, you have an MOI of three. A high MOI usually leads to lower prices, as there is enough supply to meet demand.
How to price your home correctly [INFOGRAPHIC]
Pricing a home can be tricky and can cost a homeowner thousands if not done correctly. Here we highlight some strategies to help you get started to help you understand how a professional may price your home correctly.
What is clutter?
There really isn’t any universal definition of clutter. I define it as “stuff” that distracts potential home buyers. I have a simple philosophy when it comes to staging and that is less is more. The stuff keeps potential buyers from seeing the beauty of the home. Here are a few items that become clutter once the home is for sale:
- Wall calendars.
- Refrigerator magnets.
- Too many house plants, real or fake.
- Too many books
- Doilies
- Throw-rugs
- Extra dining room chairs
- Large ottomans
- Large coffee tables
- Extra end tables
- Large collections of almost anything
- decorative pillows and blankets
- Family photos
Kik, Wealthsimple among Canada’s 50 most financially attractive tech companies
The Narwhal List 2018 report examines a set of young Canadian companies with the potential to become strong global companies. The report ranks private Canadian companies according to their financial velocity, which is the amount of funding a firm has raised divided by the number of years it has been in existence
3 real estate related money lessons from a guy who learned them the hard way
When you’re buying a home, know what you’re getting. Because — as you’ll come to understand from lessons two and three — buying the wrong property at the wrong time or without full information can lead to years of trouble.
What is it about living near water?
Here is a visit to Ko Panyi: Thailand’s Floating Village
How’s the market?
When people find out I’m a realtor and with new clients and friends and neighbours, a common question is, “How’s the market?”
Currently it is hot. It’s unbalanced. It’s finding a new equilibrium. The market is a little slow. Listings are low. Prices are steady…
Truth is, we talk about “the market” in general terms because just like a farmer’s market, a flea market or a supermarket, the real estate market is made up by a lot of different segments: condos, freeholds, bungalows, two stories, apartments, townhouses, student housing, retirement communities, downtown, uptown, suburbs, price ranges, starter homes, investment properties, fixer-uppers, turn-keys, pre-construction, new, heritage…and different segments are always behaving somewhat or very differently.
