September 19 2018 Kitchener Waterloo Real Estate News

Kitchener Waterloo Real Estate News

September 19 2018 

 

Wednesday September 19 2018. In this week’s Kitchener Waterloo Real Estate News: buying leads and online reviews, fast growing local companies, the autumn market, amalgamating Kitchener-Waterloo, moving less often, pricing too high, sharing your swimming pool, home sales rise, the Bronx

Realtors buying leads and online reviews

I’m working on a post for Keithmarshall.ca about realtors buying leads and about online review sites. Although I think its great that realtors are finally moving away from traditional print media, it’s a shame that more and more websites are popping up trying their very best to capture potential home sellers and home buyers and realtors with promises that they cannot keep. These websites are not providing any real service except sending consumers short lists of agents that have paid to be on the list. It is a shame and a sham…and a scam. It makes me want to scream.

Kitchener-Waterloo’s Fastest-Growing Companies 

Keyspire, TextNow, Smile.io…are just some of the local businesses on the list of Canada’s fastest growing companies. 

What to expect in the Autumn KW Real Estate Market

It’s essentially a shorter and less hectic version of the Spring real estate market and depending on the year, can be either a great time to sell or a good time to buy. What is it this year? It’s a good time to sell.

Should Waterloo Region be one big city?

Amalgamation arose as an issue in Waterloo Region in 2008 when a grassroots group proposed that Kitchener and Waterloo should merge. But it died out after the 2010 municipal election when the issue was put to a vote. Kitchener citizens were in favour and Waterloo citizens were not. Now Premier Doug Ford has incited the issue again.

Not moving  

When I started in real estate I was told that on average people move once every seven years. Now it is once every ten years. Why is that?

Is your list price too high?

If your home’s list price is too much greater than its market value, it can sit on the market for months and months. As little as 5% over true market price is sometimes too much. Home buyers are pretty connected these days. They can spot an over priced listing and they will not approach you with an offer. They will wait you out or move on to more reasonably priced homes.

A swimmingly good idea for the sharing economy

If the sweltering heat and humidity this summer (and last week) have you dreaming of putting in a pool, a pool that’s not in your budget, you could simply swipe for one instead. Swimply, the Airbnb-style pool rental site, has just launched in Canada.

Home sales rise by 0.9 per cent: CREA

The number of homes sold in Canada saw their fourth consecutive increase in August, rising 0.9 per cent month-over-month to 39,366 from 39,028 and coming as roughly half of all local markets saw a month-over-month uptick.

Revisiting the Bronx

In the early 1990s, the subway’s old “Redbird” cars ran up the elevated Simpson Avenue Station, and past a smoking Joe Camel billboard. Fires raged and burned buildings stood in ruin. I saw dogs sleeping on a discarded couch in a vast, empty lot facing the 41st Police Precinct, famously nicknamed “Fort Apache” because it recalled a besieged army outpost in Native American territory. 

Come together

I guess I’m getting old and cranky. When I drive around the region, I hate seeing road-workers leaning on their shovels. One guy will be digging a hole or operating a tractor and three will be standing around the hole, smoking, chatting or taking on their cell phones.

I know a young man who was hired for the summer at one of our local municipalities. He said, they took a lot of coffee breaks and not a lot of work got done between them. The same seems to be true for office staff at our city halls (now I’m really in trouble).  

Just like I’ve been trying my best to avoid news about Donald Trump, I’ve done the same for Doug Ford. But rumours of cutting down the number of councillors in the Toronto and local stories about merging our local municipalities into one have filtered through to me and maybe it’s not such a bad idea. Isn’t it true that 70% of our services are already at the regional level. What exactly do the city governments do that isn’t redundant and couldn’t be done better at a regional level. I don’t know. I’m just asking. 

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