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Where to Buy and Sell This Week
Where to BUY in Toronto This Week: Toronto Home Buyers should take a serious look at purchasing in transit-friendly Dovercourt this week.
Why This Week: Dovercourt is located in the Toronto Real Estate Boards W2 district, where active listings jumped a whopping 36% from the end of August and are up an encouraging 15% from September of last year. With 38 freehold properties currently on the market and a median list price of $699,000, Dovercourt is a great place for home buyers seeking to spend between $600,000-$800,000. [..]
F**k There’s Multiple Offers
In the lazy days of summer, under-listing your property to attract multiple offers can be a risky strategy and one better used post Labour Day. However, while inventory has shrunk to summer levels, buyers are out there in droves making multiple offers a common occurrence, even in the middle of August. I recently had a few clients bid on properties which attracted 7 or more offers and sold for over 15% above list price, a valuation higher than what the sellers would likely have obtained in the spring. [..]
Where to Buy and Sell in the GTA This Week
When you bought or sold your last property, did you ever question your timing? Most of us involved in the Real Estate game in the GTA over the past 10 years probably feel like we did fairly well with our purchase or sale, given the way the market has performed. But post purchase or sale, did you wonder whether you should have waited a week, a month, or maybe a few months to buy a home or to cash in on that downsizing opportunity?
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Summer Selling
We have entered the summer selling season (say that 5x fast!). The average month-over-month selling price typically declines from June to July and the volume of sales falls as many Buyers shift their focus from home buying to cottaging, camping, and patios. As we head into the summer months, determining the correct pricing and marketing strategy can become tricky and patience is important. Monitoring current inventory levels in your neighbourhood can play a significant impact on ensuring you achieve the best possible sale price for your property. For instance, inventory levels are up over 30% since the end of June in East York and surrounding areas north of the Danforth. So unless you have the top property in your price range here, your offer night could turn into flop.
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Which comes first? The purchase or the sale?
One of the most difficult decisions in Real Estate for home owners looking to move is deciding whether to Buy or Sell first. While there is no easy answer to this question, there are a number of things to consider when determining what will be the right choice for you.
Sign up for our Relatively Speaking blog – Win a trip to Montreal!
To celebrate the launch of RelativeRealty.com, we are giving away a trip to Montreal! We’ll set you up with a 2 night hotel stay at the Intercontinental and give you $1000 for travel costs and spending allowance! All you have to do is sign up to our Relatively Speaking blog to be automatically entered to win.
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Do I Really Need A Real Estate Agent to Sell My Home?
I received a call this winter from a friend who had recently tried to sell her condo privately. She seemed frustrated with the process and wasn’t sure what to do next. After the property sat on the market for 60 days without an offer, she felt she made a poor judgement call by not hiring a Full Service Agent. The worst part is that, unlike a typical commission-based relationship with a Realtor, she will be out $3,500 (the non-refundable listing fee charged by her private sale website) if she is unsuccessful in selling her unit.
This is one of the biggest disadvantages of selling your home privately instead of with an agent. If your Agent is unsuccessful at selling your home, there is often no cost to you; whereas when you sell your home privately, you are taking on all the risk and paying your selling costs upfront whether you achieve a successful sale or not.
Are you paying too much property tax?
Property taxes are a reality for any homeowner and a necessity to our city, but have you considered if you’re paying your fair share?
Last fall, MPAC sent out its property assessments for a four year period beginning January 1, 2012 which saw a 23% average increase in property values from its previous assessment date of January 1, 2008.
Although I speak with the odd homeowner who is outraged to see such large increases in their valuation knowing the increased assessment often leads to higher property taxes, most of us don’t give this assessment a second thought, and many of us are excited to see how much our properties have appreciated over recent years. [..]
