March 7 2018
Kitchener Waterloo Real Estate News
Wednesday March 7 2018. In the news: competing offers, KWAR February stats, REIN ranks Waterloo Region #2, curb appeal, an airbnb, KW looking for tech talent, a seller’s market, rural living in the UK and US compared, the LRT.
10 weeks in
Ten weeks into the new year and at the risk of being redundant, it still is what it is. We are where we are. The KWAR press news release (below) confirms what we, who are actively working in this real estate region know in our heart of hearts and what we experience on a daily basis — it is still very much a seller’s market. Listings are low causing prices to rise. New listings are waiting a week before taking offers. Competing offers are not uncommon.
Properties that my clients were interested in sold in February for an average of 6% over list price. So far this year, I’ve visited 85 properties. The majority of those sold for over asking price — 61% of homes my clients were interested in sold over asking in February.
If you are reading any national news about soft markets and falling prices, that’s not happening here. At least not yet, likely never.
Kitchener Waterloo Association of Realtors February News Release
Number of sales down compared to last year. Prices up. Compared to February 2017:
- Detached home prices are up 5%
- Apartment style condominiums are up 6.8%.
- Townhomes are up 14.1%
- Semis are up 6%.
Read the press release here.
REIN ranks Waterloo Region second best real estate market for investment
The Real Estate Investment Network report expects 2018 to be a year of “choppy waters and changing winds” across Ontario, but forecasts several communities as being able to outperform the provincial trend, including Ottawa, Waterloo Region, Hamilton, Barrie and Brampton.
Q: What are the best ways to create curb appeal?
A: You only get one chance to make a good first impression.
Here is what you should do before listing your home for sale:
- Power wash the exterior of your house
- Pick up any any debris including any natural debris like tree branches and leaves
- Make it interesting with something colourful — like: flowers in the spring, patio furniture in the summer, planters in the fall, lighting in the winter…
- Repair or replace any damaged concrete or patio stones
- Get a “signature rock” for your front yard
- Plant ground cover for any problem areas where grass does not grow
- Paint your front door a colour that pops
- Fix up the exterior: repaint chipped paint, replace the doorbell, take down any privacy signage, security cameras…
- Consider your neighbour’s curb appeal too, and approach this one very carefully.
Toronto condo owner discovers unit listed on Airbnb behind her back — with more than 70 reviews
Units rented out without owners’ consent can violate condo, tenant legislation, experts say
Waterloo Region tech companies still struggling for talent
There are an estimated 2,000 to 3,000 vacancies in the tech sector
3 charts that show that the Canadian housing market isn’t as cool as it might seem
The RBC economics team uses data from the Canadian Real Estate Association to track Canada’s sales-to-new listings ratio over the past 13 years. A ratio of between 40 and 60 per cent is considered a balanced market, with readings below and above indicating a buyer and sellers market, respectively. While national sales dropped in January, so did listings, causing the national sales-to-new-listings ratio to spike past 60 per cent, indicating a seller’s market
In the U.K., rural residents live about two years longer than city dwellers; in the U.S., it’s the opposite.
There are several reasons for this. Read here.
LRT
It was an exciting day one late afternoon last week. I was driving down Caroline Street in Uptown Waterloo with my youngest daughter and we saw, both of us for the first time, the testing of the ION. It was really a thrilling site. After all these years of talk and debate and construction, it’s here!
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Kitchener Waterloo Real Estate News
