2014 - Steady and Healthy

Another real estate year is almost complete. The market is settling down with distractions such as Hunting Season arriving, and people needing to close up, clean up and secure homes and cottages for winter. For me personally, this was a banner year in real estate in the Highlands as I continue to grow my business, but let's talk about what YOU are interested in! How was the market in general, in the Highlands?
Firstly, PLEASE be careful about what media says about the real estate market. Fear-mongering is big business, people actually benefit from providing scary reports. It is important to speak to someone in the vicinity of where you are selling or planning to purchase. Every region, community, lake, price range, has it's own market. What is happening in Toronto or Vancouver has no bearing on what is happening in a small town, or Central or Northern Ontario.
Even each Cottage Country has a different market (such as The Kawarthas, The Highlands, or Muskoka). Your price range also has a huge impact on market trends. Where is the bulk of buyers for a cottage - $250,000 to $300,000? $400,000 to $500,000?
So down to business - The Highlands! 2011 and 2012 were not the best. Media was reporting tough times, and Buyers came looking for deals. Sellers were not willing to drop their prices, therefore many deals were written, but not that many came together. Last year our market settled down. Prices were not gaining, they were staying steady. This is good news for both the Buyer and the Seller - a balanced market. This year it looks like there will be some small gains in values, but nothing to make Buyers nervous. This again results in lots of sales.
In May 2014 our board saw 1,423 listings on the market, the highest number in the past 3 years, with the most sales happening in August - 511. This is a slight increase from 2013 with 505 sales in August, and a bigger increase from August 2012 of 426. Since May of 2014, each month's statistics show increased sales and listings from the previous year. It is a healthy market!
If a property is priced correctly - it will sell. That's the bottom line!
The Highlands offers a variety of recreational options, from the first-time cottager looking for something on a back road, or close to lake, under $100,000, to direct waterfront at every price range. Our luxury market continues to grow each year, with cottages on the market at $800,000 to $2-3 million.
Thinking of moving to the Highlands? The Residential market, too, is on the rise. Minden and Haliburton are both seeing growth. Minden just received a Dairy Queen, last year received a Canadian Tire, and there are rumours of more. Haliburton just got a Tim Horton's (yes - I said it -- and you thought everyone already had one!). The social groups, activities and culture of the area is very strong. Buyers are looking for that combination of wanting to simplify their life, reduce their expenses, and still have convenience. Of course, growth in residential properties means growth in business....everyone wins!
Can't wait to see what 2015 brings!

Myths Busted

There is a disturbing trend in real estate these days. The ability of people to google, check mls, zoom on Google Earth has empowered Buyers ....mostly in a good way! Buyers are educated, they know what they can get for their money, they can check the neighbourhood and search out statistics. All good.
What it has caused though is a sense of "I know the market", "I watch mls", "I will just work with the listing agent". Here are some points to keep in mind:
1. Knowing what is for sale does not tell you what a property ultimate sold for - there is often a big gap! Therefore a Buyer can easily overpay;
2. What you see on the internet is often deceiving. Good photos can make a property look incredible, and not show the drawbacks. Equally so, and more importantly.....bad photos can have you overlook the perfect property, extending your search time;
3. MLS does not provide a good feel for different areas. A property in the Haliburton Highlands compared to a property in Muskoka or The Kawarthas are not all equal. Your Realtor can explain why there are differences and what your money truly should get you in each individual market;
4. Calling the Listing Agent each time you see a property causes extra work for you, the prospective Buyer. The Listing Agent, until a Buyer Representation Agreement is signed, is working for the Seller. They do not know your likes, dislikes, price point, area of interest. Therefore you continue to call agents, only to find out that the property is not for you, and you start again.
4. Working with the Listing Agent does not give you a better purchase price. At the end of the day, the Brokerage gets paid, and the Seller wants the price that the Seller wants. The listing agent will sell the property - if not to you, then to someone else, all they have to do is wait. Remember, the listing agent's job is to get the Seller the best possible price for their property, not create a fire sale so they can get paid quicker.
One of the scenarios that we are seeing today is a couple drive to the area on Saturday to look at cottages. They have 4 appointments with 4 different listing agents (tough to coordinate to start with!). The couple sees each individual property - none are what they are looking for, they have lost a full day with no results, and each of those 4 agents knows nothing about the Buyers or their goals. The day is a loss, and the next weekend the couple start the dance all over again!
Here is what should happen: the couple talks to 3 or 4 different agents to get a feel for each of the agents. Are they a good fit? Are they truly interested in my goals? In my wishlist? Do I get a sense that this agent will spend time on my behalf? Do they seem to have a knowledge of the listings currently on the market and the area/town/lakes? Once the "right fit" is found, the legwork is in the hands of the Buyers' agent. That agent will look at what is on the market, with their knowledge of each lake (big, small, weedy, good boating, good swimming, quiet), they will weed out the listings on lakes that don't fit the Buyer's wishlist. Then they will look at factors such as seasonal, access, water frontage, # of bedrooms, move-in ready or needing tlc.....THEN, and only then, will they forward possible properties to the Buyers. The Buyers only look at properties that are true candidates. A date is set, the Buyers come up, and the agent takes them to each of the potential properties. The Buyer may not like what they see...that's o.k. It's a process. But that initial meeting is also crucial, because the agent is going to learn even more about you by your reactions to the properties that he/she has shown you that day.
Buying a property should be fun and exciting....not a huge amount of work. Let someone be on your side, work for you, and care for your happy ending.

Social Media in Real Estate

It's a cunundrum (spelling anyone??).....we tweet, facebook, blog, email, text, advertise in newspapers, magazines, on multiple websites. To be a real estate agent today you have to know all the latest trends! I attended an interesting seminar with a social media (he says there is no such thing as social media) expert named Gary Vanderchuk. The seminar was amazing, but his comments really make you think. Do true buyers and sellers come from tweets and facebook pages? I thought not, but Gary says yes. I have attended many seminars as I believe it is key to keep my education and skills at the highest level possible in order to do an outstanding job. Every one of these seminars said you had to be on Twitter and Facebook, but I never truly "got it" until I heard Gary speak. I am of the "middle age" group of people that are embracing this change with gusto - I love my phone, I love my toys - but I wasn't "raised" with them. I now see that the future buyers and sellers of real estate are being raised on them. Twitter is the new newspaper. I hear the comment regularly that "no one wants to know what I ate for breakfast", and it is true there are those out there that send that type of info into the world. But after using Twitter the last couple of months, what I really see is that it is a newsfeed. You can connect with every business, every company, every group, every individual that has a connection to you, your family or your personal interests. You know when there are changes in companies, when new products are launched, when a new amazing YouTube video is sent out, and now....when new real estate listings are available. It does become an addiction - constantly wondering what's new? Something else I have realized - although millions of people have twitter accounts, they don't actually tweet. They only use them to follow people/companies and news. How soon before we won't know what a newspaper is?