Kitchener Waterloo Real Estate News
Wednesday March 4, 2020
Wednesday March 4, 2020. In this week’s Kitchener-Waterloo Real Estate News: data, millennial movements, closing costs, parking spots, stress test adjustments, Toronto-Waterloo Corridor, China’s air pollution, selling under average…
1
Swimming in data
The problem with real estate is that we are always looking backward. It matters less when the market is rising that we list homes based on the sales data of recent comparables. But it matters more when we are advising our buying clients how to win a house over 9 or 19 other competing bids. I know that I have been pontificating about this for some time now, but the reality is that we have so much data at our exposure that we squander. We rely more on gut instincts and guess work where with a little bit of math we can make better decisions. It is pretty easy to predict where the market is going. It is pretty easy to see the big picture, when you deep dive into granular level data. With that in mind, it is pretty easy to outbid the bidders and win the house.
2
Waterloo Region is the sixth-most popular destination for moving millennials
Housing costs are a huge influence when deciding to move here.
3
Average closing costs in Ontario cities compared
Waterloo $43,015
Kitchener $36,664
Cambridge $32,143
How much cash do you need in your city?
4
Parking spots at unbuilt condo in Toronto selling for almost $200k
Prices for 387-square-foot studio units will start in the low 700’s and the largest units available will go for more than $2m.
5
Stress test adjustment will have a minor impact
The recent adjustment to the stress test means that average-income Canadians will be able to buy an extra $13,500 in real estate.
6
Five charts that show Toronto-Waterloo Corridor is a global tech superpower
The Toronto-Waterloo Corridor is a great place to live, work and play
7
Canadian real estate prices climb at fastest pace in almost two years
Ontario and Quebec real estate prices see the largest increases
8
China’s air pollution dropped dramatically after coronavirus lockdown
China’s lockdown in order to curtail the spread of the novel coronavirus has had one unexpected side-effect — a sustained drop in air pollution. Maps
9
At the end of the day you’ll just never know
I had an email the other day from a guy in Kitchener thinking about selling his home. He asked that with homes so easy to sell if it make sense to list with an agent and have to pay a commission. It’s a good question.
I’m guilty of saying that even a monkey could sell a house in this market. Selling is not hard. Even with bad photos, even “as is” and even for private sellers, if finding a buyer is considered success then success is nearly guaranteed. The hard part of selling is attracting multiple offers (at the same time), dealing with the bully offer when it comes in and hence maximizing your sale price. It’s not rocket science, but it could be tricky. You don’t want to leave money on the table.
My intuition is that you might net out about the same profit with an agent minus commission as without an agent (and no commission). I don’t think you will do any better — I actually think you will do worse. I don’t follow the private home selling sites but one mere listing did make my spreadsheet and I noted that it sold for 3.4% over list price where the current average is 10% over.
10
Further Reading:
From urban to suburban and back again
Kitchener-Waterloo Real Estate News: spreadsheets, videos, Toronto-Waterloo Region corridor, Waterloo Region’s growth, airbnb, condo prices, narwals, sales down, new cities, data…
Seven things to look for in a great neighbourhood.
