Sellers

The Hamilton‐Burlington real estate board has just reported 819 property sales through the MLS for the month of January. This represents almost an 11 per cent increase in sales over the same month last year. They have also reported that 7.7 per cent fewer listings were taken in January 2012 compared to January of last year. The average sale price of a property has also risen 4.2% over last year’s average, yet the inventory of available properties has dropped by almost 12%

“The story for the month of January,” said RAHB President Cameron Nolan, “is that while sales have edged up compared to last year, we are seeing significantly fewer listings than normal. Our listing inventory is the lowest it has been in some time.”

What does this mean for you?

I hate to sound cliché, but now is a great time to sell. We are seeing a flood of buyers hitting the market right now. The most obvious reason would be the record low mortgage rates lenders are able to offer, but I think the weather also has something to do with it. Historically, people didn’t buy in January/February because who wants to go running from home to home in 3 feet of snow with temps in the minuses. The grass is green and the temps are up causing an early start to the spring market.

Buyers are out and ready to purchase, but there isn’t anything to buy right now. Everything that is in relatively good condition and priced well is selling after only a few days on the market. This has resulted in an upward pressure on prices. If you are considering selling your home this year, you may want to do it sooner than later. Once the spring hits and everybody starts putting their homes up for sale, the market will become more balanced causing a downward pressure on pricing.

Get into the market while inventory is low and you will get more money for your home.

Considering Buying or Selling Your Home?
For more information on buying or selling real estate in Burlington, Hamilton, Oakville, or Toronto, or if you have questions about current market trends, staging properties or mortgage interest rate information, I’d be happy to answer all of your questions to accommodate all of your real estate needs.

Sean Kavanagh
Sales Representative

For more information on my Home Buying or Home Selling System, contact me at
Email: sean.kavanagh@century21.ca
Web: www.seansells.ca
Facebook page: SeanKavanaghC21

Building Lasting Relationships and Exceeding Expectations
Masters Diamond Award Winner – 2010 & 2011, Masters Ruby Award Winner – 2009

Oakville Real Estate – CENTURY 21 Miller –TOP TEN Office*
______________________________________________________________________________
Office: 905.845.9180 | Fax: 905.845.7674 | millerrealestate@century21.ca
Oakville Real Estate, Burlington Real Estate, Milton Real Estate, Mississauga
*For CENTURY 21 Canada in 2010 and 2011, Based on Gross Closed Commission

The last time you sold or bought a house, what did you get from your Realtor to say ‘Thanks for your business’? A bottle of wine, a bouquet of flowers, a gift card? How would you like to earn enough Airmiles for a return flight to Montreal, Chicago or New York City!

Let me send you on a vacation with my 2011 Airmiles Giveaway Program.

BONUS Air Miles Giveaway!!!! From now until January 2012, earn DOUBLE the Air Miles on all full service listings

Selling Side = $300,000
Buying Side = $500,000
= 1500 Airmiles

1500 Airmiles can earn you a round trip ticket to Montreal, Chicago and New York City. If you aren’t planning on flying anywhere soon, use those points to buy yourself a new iPod Nano, Bose speaker system or Blue Ray disk player. For more details on the Airmiles rewards, visit www.airmiles.ca.

My wife and I recently bought and sold with Sean, and we were absolutely blown away by his top notch service, dedication, accessibility, and responsiveness. His marketing of our town house was great and very in tune with the current technology being used by many buyers. He found the perfect home for us to buy, with all of the features we were looking for. Sean provided us with great service, and helped us into our perfect home. Thanks, Sean for your great work!

Scott and Lindsay Kirkwood

If you are thinking of buying or selling in the near future, please give me a call so you can receive this same great service. Be sure to click on the testimonials section so you can see what other satisfied clients have to say about my service.

If you are preparing your home for sale and want to help your realtor sell your home quickly for maximum dollars, start with setting up for the photo shoot. Today’s buyers are very visual and will look at photos before they will even read the wonderfully written description full of details and dynamic adjectives.

The first step in this process begins with hiring a realtor that provides professional photography services to showcase your home online. When you are choosing a realtor, ask to see other homes they have, or had, listed so you can see the quality of photography. Many real estate boards allow realtors to use up to 20 or more photos on each MLS listing. Be sure your realtor maximizes the amount of quality photos they are able to use.

Click here for an example of what you should be looking for!

Here are a few hints on what you can do to get ready for your real estate photo shoot:
1) Be sure the photo shoot is scheduled when the sun is in front of the home. Sun coming from the back will make the front look too dark.
2) Ensure the windows are closed and window coverings are open.
3) Remove vehicles from the driveway, kid’s toys, garbage cans, garden hoses, etc..so the exterior shots are clean and uncluttered.
4) Trim all trees, bushes, hedges and grass (and don’t forget to rake and sweep up after!)
5) If you have patio furniture, create a comfortable living space. People will want to envision themselves sitting out in the yard…..so make it feel welcoming.
6) Be sure to have the photographer take photos of all the special featured of the home. If you just remodelled the powder room, or installed a new back splash in the kitchen, be sure you get photos of it.
7) Less is more! Declutter and remove all items that do not add to the beauty of the room.
8) Replace all light bulbs that have burned out. Small details like this can reflect on how a buyer feels the seller looks after their home.
9) Depersonalize your home. If you have a photo collection of little Timmy covering the entire refrigerator, take them down for the photos.
10) And whatever you do…….make sure all the toilet seats are down!

These are just a few hints of what you can do to help present your home in the best light. If you have any questions about staging your home and photography, please feel free to call me at 905-220-9198.

Spring time is when a lot of home owners decide to put their homes up for sale. The internet has done wonderful things for the real estate industry by giving sellers the opportunity to market their homes on many real estate websites.

When you are choosing a realtor, one of the first questions you should ask is “how will you expose my listing to the market?” If the realtor begins and ends with ‘The MLS”, then you should run for the hills! You need a realtor who understands technology and how to use it to give your listing maximum exposure. The realtor needs to have at least one real estate website (preferrably more), must be active on social medial channels, utilize video through YouTube and regularly write blog posts about the listings they service. many realtors these days rely solely on the exposure of the MLS, and that isn’t enough anymore.

To see what a realtor should be doing to market your home, CLICK HERE

SELLERS: My high tech online marketing arsenal will provide maximum internet exposure for your property. In todays tech world you need a realtor who understands technology and knows how to use it to get homes sold.

BUYERS: My research of current market conditions will assist you in making the most informed choices. With integrity and hard work, I aim to exceed your expectations, address all of your real estate needs and find you the home of your dreams.

“Sean is fast rising star in the real estate profession. He is a shining example of today’s new realtor: he seamlessly combines his ease and ability in the use of leading edge technology with a warm and comfortable personal approach that is evident to colleagues and clients alike.”

My goal is to build lasting relationships and exceed expectations of the services real estate professionals provide. I will listen to your needs and work tirelessly until you are 100% satisfied with my service.

For More details on my real estate services, contact me at 905-220-9198 or sean.kavanagh@century21.ca

Roofs have always been a concern for buyers, but I think with all the recent shows on TV (e.g. Holmes Inspection), people are becoming more concerned with the condition of the roof as the effects of water damage are quite scary. Every time Mike Holmes identifies roof damage, interior walls are coming down and men in radioactive protective gear show up on the scene to remove all the mould! If you know that your roof will need replacing in a year or two, do yourself a favour and re-shingle the roof before you go to market to avoid losing buyers. On the average home, re-shingling can cost between 3,000-5,000 dollars. Home sellers will get that money back in the asking price as you can compare your house (with a new roof) to the one that sold next door that needs a new roof. The perceived value of a new roof is often much higher than the cost of the improvement.

So, pay for the work ahead of time to give potential buyers one less issue to deal with. Translation: one less issue to try and bring down your asking price!

For a free market evaluation and inspection of your property, call or write today at 905-220-9198 or sean.kavanagh@century21.ca. I would be happy to sit down with you to discuss how to get top dollar for your home.

The last time you sold or bought a house, what did you get from your Realtor to say ‘Thanks for your business’? A bottle of wine, a bouquet of flowers, a gift card? How would you like to earn enough Airmiles for a return flight to Montreal, Chicago or New York City!

Let me send you on a vacation with my 2011 Airmiles Giveaway Program.

BONUS Accommodations Giveaway!!!! Not only will I give you Airmiles for your flight, all full service listings will also be entered into a draw to win a one-week (7 nights) vacation stay at multiple resorts worldwide.

How this works:

2 Transactions – Buy and Sell = 2 Airmiles for every $1000

Example:

Selling Side = $300,000
Buying Side = $500,000

$800,000 x 2 Airmiles/$1000 = 1600 Airmiles

1600 Airmiles can earn you a round trip ticket to Montreal, Chicago and New York City. If you aren’t planning on flying anywhere soon, use those points to buy yourself a new iPod Nano, Bose speaker system or Blue Ray disk player. For more details on the Airmiles rewards, visit www.airmiles.ca.

Note:
a) 1 transaction (Buy OR Sell) earns you 1 Airmile for every $1000.
b) Only full commission listings and purchases qualify for 2 Aimiles/$1000.
c) Only full commission listings qualify for the Bonus Accommodations Giveaway.

1. Your property won’t sell because it’s overpriced. It is very difficult to accept that your house may not be worth as much as you think it is worth. A house is only worth as much as the last sale, of similar structure, in your neighbourhood OR what a buyer is willing to pay for a home. It is also a mistake to add every dollar that you have spent on your house and add it to the sale price. It is a difficult exercise, but sellers should always try to look at things from a buyer’s perspective and ask themselves, “Would I buy this house for this price?”

2. Your property won’t sell because your photos are “less than impressive”. The vast majority of home buyers now start their property search online, so your property had better look fantastic in photo. Today an internet view should be considered your first showing and if the photos impress, then you can hope for the second showing when they actually come to the home for a visit. People want to feel like they have been through a tour of the home when they view the photos online, so satisfy them by using as many photos as you can.

3. Your property won’t sell because it shows badly. This is a test for the senses. Do you have a dog, do you smoke in the house, do you cook with strong odour ingredients? Do you have mildew around the bathtub or shower, are the carpets stained, are the windows clean? Are all the dishes washed and put away, beds made, clothes off the floor? How is the lighting in the home? Is it too dark for evening showings? Do you still have every family photos and heirloom displayed prominently in the home? Is the grass cut or walk shovelled?

These are all things to consider when you look at how your home will show. When choosing your realtor, be sure to ask if free staging is part of their client services. This way you can be sure not to miss any of these important details.

4. Your property won’t sell because you’re invisible. With over 90% of buyers starting their real estate searches online, you have to expose your listing on as many real estate websites as you can. Long gone are the days of simply listing your home on the MLS and waiting by the phone. Be sure to hire a realtor that understands this and ask to see how he/she plans to expose your home to the market. With twitter, facebook, linkedIn, YouTube, company websites, blogs, kijiji, Craig’s List,… Today’s buyer comes from the internet, almost exclusively. The more places you expose your home to, the greater chance of it selling quickly for close to your asking price.

5. Your property won’t sell because it’s unavailable to show. The first 2-3 weeks is the most crucial for any new listing. If you plan on listing your home, you must be prepared to live at the mercy of the BUYER. If you don’t want to show your house because Mom is visiting from out of town, OR because you have temperamental pets, OR if you have children that need their uninterrupted scheduled naps, you should reconsider listing your home at a time when ‘anytime is a good time’ to show the home. One of the big mistakes sellers seem to make is when they turn down a showing with instructions to come back at a different time. “They can’t come at 2:00 because the game is on….tell them to come back at 6:00!” By 6:00, the buyers have decided 2 things: 1) you really aren’t interested in selling your home anyway and 2) they have decided to buy your neighbours home. If you are not prepared to open up your home at the convenience of the BUYER (not seller!) you should reconsider listing your home. As with an overpriced listing, a house that stays on the market too long will become stigmatized and prey for the bargain hunters……if you get any offers at all.

6. Your property won’t sell because of the time of year you listed your home. I do understand that many sellers cannot choose the time when they list their home, but for the people that can choose the time of year to list their property, please know that it is harder to sell a home with a pool in November than it would be to sell in March or April. Buyers will not only want to use the pool once they take possession, but if purchased in the winter, they will not be able to check all the mechanical workings of a closed pool. Also, bargain buyers will know getting rid of a home with a pool will be difficult in the late fall/winter months and use that to their advantage to get your list price down.

Also, if you are planning on selling a family home, do not list in the middle of the summer. Most families will want to be in their new home by the middle of the summer so the kids can get used to the new neighbourhood and can develop some friendships before the start of the school year. So, if we assume the average close on a property is 60 days and it takes on average 30 days to sell your home (depending on the market), you need to think about listing the home at least 60-90 days before the middle of summer.

7. Your property won’t sell because your listing is tired and stale on the market. Okay… yes, you overpriced your home initially when you first came on the market a year and a half ago. Now, finally you’re truly priced where you believe should be, but your listing has become tired and stale. Everyone who is looking for your type of property already saw your home when it first came to market. It is sometimes a good idea to remove the listing from the market and then re-list it to give it a fresh start.

This strategy only works, however, if all of the other 6 points listed here are taken care of. Remember, in a healthy market, your home should never become stale or tired if you have:
a) Priced it properly
b) Have attractive photos displaying the finer points of your home. AND the more photos the better!
c) It showing in tip top condition
d) Exposed your listing to the market in numerous and various methods marketing
e) Made your home easy and available for other agents to show your property
AND
f) Considered the time of year you are listing your home.

2010 has been a very busy year in real estate despite all of the changes that have happened within the industry. With all that has changed, it was interesting to note, however, that buyers still seem to have the same things on their wish list when they go out in search of their next home. Here is a list of the top 5 items that buyers still deem most important when they go out to buy a home .

1) Granite is Still King – You just have to walk into a kitchen store, or even your local home depot, to realize that countertop options are endless. Fantastic products are coming on the market more frequently (Corian, Quartz, polished concrete, etc…), but most buyers still see granite at the top of that list. I am not telling home sellers to run out and replace your countertops today, I am simply suggesting that if you plan on making some improvements in the kitchen, be careful when you decide on your countertop material. Buyers still look at granite as the Cadillac Top and a kitchen with granite will dramatically increase the saleability of the home.

2) Closet and Storage Space – I have had more buyers walk out of homes due to the lack of closet and storage space than anything else. We live in a consumption society and families now come with a lot more ‘Stuff’. Today we collect more ‘Stuff’, so we need more space to store the ‘Stuff’.

3) Master Bedroom Size – Many buyers still want large master bedroom sizes. Even though this one is hard to correct from a seller’s stand point, there are things you can do to the room to make it look bigger. Remove all large furniture pieces (if you have a post bed in a small master, remove the posts), declutter and repaint the walls a light, neutral colour. You can’t change the size of a room, but a brighter bedroom with less ‘Stuff’ will make it seem bigger.

4) Hug a Tree, We are Going Green! – I am having more and more buyers asking me about the efficiency of the home. As a seller, it is a good idea to have an energy audit on your home. Even if you are not going to sell, it is important to find out where you are losing energy and wasting money. However, if you are going to sell, you will want to know how energy efficient is your furnace or air conditioner, how much heat is being lost from the windows, how insulated is the attic, etc…These are just some of the questions you can have answered with the energy audit and you can be sure these are some of the questions potential buyers will be asking when they come in for a visit.

5) Move in Ready Condition – It wasn’t too long ago people wanted to find a ‘Fixer-upper’. For the most part, unless you are in the business of flipping houses, those days are gone. People are now looking to find a home in ‘Move in Ready Condition’. Many people still find housing prices very high and don’t have the financial resources to update the home once they move in. Even if they do have the financial resources, people lead busy lives and feel they will never have the time to do it themselves OR don’t want to be inconvenienced by having a parade of contracted help coming into the house to bring it up to a standard they can live with.

As we get closer to the holidays we can expect activity to slightly slow down compared to the rapid pace we saw in the spring. Even though the market may be slowing, there is no reason to panic as long as you adhere to a few rules that will help improve the saleability of your home at this time of year.

1. Keep it Neutral! Decorating a house to your specific taste is fine if you plan to live there, but if you plan on selling, potential buyers may not share your same taste in home decoration and colour choice. For a few hundred dollars, return all your walls to a neutral colour to solve 2 major issues. Potential buyers are often turned off by extreme colours or wallpaper. I know it is easy for them to remedy themselves, but most buyers will leave the showing with a negative impression of the home if the colours don’t match their taste. The other issue is also related to the first. Many buyers these days do not want to do much work when they take possession of a home. By painting all the walls with a fresh coat of neutral colour, you will give the buyer one less thing to do once they move in!

2. Less Is More – Minimize and ReduceRemove some of your furniture and decorations before you go to market. This will make your home seem more spacious and less personalized. Take down some of the family photos and kids artwork so the potential buyers will have an easier time imagining themselves in that space.

3. The Nose Knows! Keep it smelling fresh, but not too fresh! Whatever you do, do not over compensate and Fabreeze the heck out of your house. I have had buyers walk out of showings because the sellers have used too many strong scented candles or over used disinfectant sprays. It is best to eliminate strong BAD smells, but don’t overdo it! Be mindful of what you cook while your home is on the market, if you have pets, keep an eye on the litter box and try to smoke outside. Strong smells…..Good or Bad…..will have buyers running for the door.

4. Small Changes Make BIG Differences Do not think you have to do major renovations to sell your house. Major renovations should be done for you to enjoy in a house you plan on living in. It is rare a seller will get all of their money back from major renovations, so focus on the small stuff when you plan on listing your home. Repainting, replacing hardware on drawers and cabinets, light switch covers, small fixture replacements, etc… can take a little time, cost a bit of money, but can add significant value when selling your home.

5. Don’t underestimate the importance of “Curb Appeal” You know what they say about first impressions! And remember, the front of your home is the first photo people will see when your home is listed on the MLS. If they don’t like the first photo, they won’t click to see the second. You don’t have to spend thousands on landscaping, but keep the grass cut, remove the weeds from the garden, trim the bushes and trees, sweep the walkways (or shovel in winter). The path to your front door should be a clear and welcoming one, not an obstacle course!

6. Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff…..Just Fix It! I always get the question with sellers, “should I do these repairs or should I just let the buyer look after them?” Just like point number 4, if it is small and won’t take up too much of your time, then fix it! If you don’t, it will not only take away from the aesthetic of the home, it may give the impression you do not look after your home. If you give off that impression, buyers will wonder what else needs to be repaired….the roof, the furnace, etc. Also, you don’t want to give the buyer small reasons to ask for big reductions!

Follow these simple rules and you will be sure to sell your home even in the slowest of markets.