Some Exciting News!

I am so excited! Well, it has happened. I am so proud to now be a Member in Good Standing of the Institute for Luxury Home Marketing. What does this mean? I don't know where to start. In order to become a Member, I had to attend a specialized training course which covered such topics as demographics of the affluent, lifestyle segmentation, trends and amenities in today's luxury home product, and creating a marketing plan for the multimillion dollar property. A programme developed by Laurie Moore-Moore, President of the Dallas-based Institute for Luxury Home Marketing and Author of the book, Rich Buyer, Rich Seller! The Real Estate Agent`s Guide to Marketing Luxury Homes.

Most people do not have a million-dollar home, so why do my clients care. Every client is a million dollar client, no matter the price point! Skills learned in this course help me to keep my level of service at it`s very highest. The Luxury Market in The Highlands is still relatively small, growing each day, but I want every client to feel and be treated like a million bucks!
Being a Member gives me some additional perks. Along with the additional training, I have access to tools and resources that other agents do not have for marketing purposes, and super-important -- an amazing network of other highly skilled, trained and respected real estate agents across Canada and the United States for my clients moving from one area to another.

All this, along with the Power of ReMax and the branding of The REMAX Collection (a marketing programme designed specifically for luxury properties), I am ready for this year`s market! If you have questions about either of these programmes, wish insights into the current state of the market in Haliburton Highlands, or my unique marketing plan designed specifically for you, give me a call anytime! My cell phone is always on...705-935-1011.

2015's Luxury Market Review

Last year I did a little summary of the Luxury Market in The Highlands and it seemed well received. Time flies, so it is time to review last year's market.

The Highlands is a technicolour  tourist area! Big, small and everything inbetween. Our 600 lakes provide everything from the quiet, private retreat to big boating. And the area is growing! Minden and Haliburton, the two main towns, have both seen growth this past year but the best part is that even though the area is growing, we will never get too big. This keeps our market stable during tough times, and growing the rest of the time. People who discover the Highlands never want to leave!
 In my previous blog I noted that the Luxury Market, although still young to the area, has been growing in leaps and bounds. Between 2013 and 2014 the market grew 38% in number of sales from 5 sales in the whole tourist area that were over $1,000,000 to 8 sales. In 2015 we had 11 sales over $1,000,000.
The lakes that these sales occurred were all over the map! A small, private lake with pure privacy, mid-size lakes such as Mountain and Kushog, chain lakes such as Twelve Mile, Soyers, and Kashagawagimog, and of course the two larger lakes - Kennisis and Redstone. The smallest waterfront was 95 feet, ranging up to 1,273 feet (excluding the private lake which really skews the numbers). Again, the number of sales in a whole year is small, but looking at the big picture of area and market growth - the luxury market is continuing to climb as more luxury cottages are built. The increase from 8 sales to 11 sales in one year is a 28% increase.
At the beginning of February I am travelling to Mississauga to upgrade my training on latest marketing trends and learning from industry leaders in the Luxury Marketing industry. I am so excited...keeping on top and up to date so that I can offer the best possible service for my clients. I will let everyone know how the training went....stay tuned!

Luxury Properties

Haliburton County has seen a rise in luxury properties in the past few years. People have been moving away from other traditional high-end vacation areas and noticing what they can get for their money in the Highlands. Taxes are considerably lower than neighbouring tourist areas. The trade off is the size of lakes. We do not have a Lake Joseph in our County. What we do have is 600 lakes of varying sizes. Our lakes have a wonderful mix of the beginner cottager, the old traditional family cottage, and the beautiful new cottages with spectacular views and amazing water frontages. There are large, grand boating lakes, chains, and quiet, exclusive lakes. In 2011 there were 31 waterfront listings at a price range from between $800,000 and $2,800,000. Through all that choice, there were only 6 sales in that price range. The reason? Buyers do not yet think of Haliburton County as a choice for their luxury vacation property. Some of the properties in our area are outstanding, but we do not yet have a lot of buyers. Time will fix this, but it does show opportunity for Buyers to look at our County now. As more and more luxury properties are being built, there will eventually be more and more on the market. Because we are a "new" area to this specialty market, values will only grow, so a purchase now could provide good gains in the future. Worth considering!