January 17 2018
Kitchener Waterloo Real Estate News
Wednesday, January 17, 2018. In the news: the kitchen reno, Q4 stats, the gym, 2018 outlook, buying a house, bathroom design, Canadian tech companies, tea, 5 economic charts, what the dog thinks…
Waiting for the doors
The kitchen reno is going slow but well. The cabinets were put in, but the doors weren’t ready yet. I went back in and touched up the ceiling paint and filled some holes, hooked up the dishwasher and installed the overhead fan. Because the cabinets were slightly different shape than the old ones, I also had some more paining to do.
I like doing this kind of work. Just me alone in the house, listening to a podcast or two.
The doors will come in next week.
Waterloo Region had Canada’s biggest home price increase in Q4
The aggregate price of a home in Waterloo Region increased 24.6% year-over-year to $490,271 in the fourth quarter. The median price of a two-storey home jumped 25.1% to $519,970 while the median price of a bungalow increased 24.9% to $448,855. The median price of a condo rose 12.6% to $286,868.
Renters love the gym—but only in theory
82% of respondents say an on-site fitness centre is important in apartment buildings, but 42% note they rarely or never use those facilities.
Canadian real estate market outlook 2018
News flash: Canada’s real estate is actually balanced. Most markets will simply flatline before rebalancing by the end of the year.
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22 things Realtors wish you knew about buying a house
Buying a house is not like buying a pair of pants or a package vacation to a resort in Mazatlan or even a brand new car. Those things are easy. There is not a lot at stake.
Buying a home is also something that most people don’t do more that two or three times in their lifetimes. Here are things that buyers need to know.
Q: What bathroom design features are out of style?
A: They say that kitchens and bathrooms sell homes. Since a complete bathroom renovation costs on average $6,000. Here are some bathroom design features that today’s buyers don’t really like (and why):
- The all white box = stark
- Minimalistic design = not enough storage
- Too funky! = death to disco
- Ginormous tub = used once a month!
- His and hers sinks = would rather have the counter space
- Medicine cabinets = too small to be useful
- Subway tiles = so 2010
11 Canadian tech companies to watch in 2018
By no means are these the only eleven companies to watch this year, but here are eleven.
5 charts that put Canada’s 2017 real estate ups and downs in perspective
Between red hot first quarter prices and major policy bombshells like Ontario’s Fair Housing Plan, 2017 was one to remember for the Canadian housing market.
It’s hard to keep track of everything that went down but here are five charts that show 2017’s major real estate events.
Tea if by sea, cha if by land
We drink a lot of tea at my house. Oolong, Earl Grey, Peppermint, Camomile and a bevy of other flavours of that wonderful beverage. I have sometimes wondered why the world has two words for tea. Here is why.
Dog days
They say that the family dog knows when there is something going on because it senses the changes in routine. Cats too. My mothers old cat knew when she was about to take a trip. As soon as the suitcase came out, the cat would go and sit on the hood of my mom’s car. It was the only time it did that.
So why not people? We feel things too. We intuitively see the signs that signal to us what is about to happen. For me, with my economist’s brain, I track everything. Every morning, as part of my morning routine, I check and record:
- My websites’ traffic
- The real estate hotsheet’s statistics of new listings, solds and expired
- The number of homes currently for sale in KW.
After a very busy fourth quarter, it seems, (it feels), it looks like it is extremely busy for the first two weeks of January.
