Every week we continue to be inundated with stories about housing and whether or not areas have under-bidding or over-bidding. We wait in breathless anticipation to find out where the deals are being had, much like the annual Black Friday or Boxing Day sales. This is a recent phenomena, one that was never really a big part of the action back in the day. Since the buying world partly lost its mind in 2016 and then fully lost its collective mind in 2019-21, it would seem there

A client called me recently asking about the benefits of land leases. I had to choke back on this one but did carry on. I asked why on earth would they be asking about this. Strictly a personal opinion here, but a Land Lease is very similar to a condo purchase. And I have NOT been a fan of condo purchases for my clients. For a myriad reasons. In short order – you are buying the air space that you live in and really nothing more. You are subject to monthly maintenance fees tha

Over 20 years ago I finally decided I wanted to make Real Estate my life. I had worked in television in a multitude of capacities and then transitioned to a VP job with the Canadian Football League. At the time I considered it to be my dream job. But in the back of my mind for many of the previous 10 years I had always wondered what the world of RE held. I would call a friend every spring and ask how the market was and what process would I follow. After the 4 th straight yea

This one might be a little out there but work with me, please. Quick question. How many local businesses are you aware of? And no I don’t mean eateries like Jesters or Marwans. Even Haugens who has been here for a looooong time. I have witnessed their menu first hand since 1970. Still great. Yummy – but I digress. No, I am talking about those manufacturing places, Industrial or not. We often hear about there not being enough manufacturing and such to offset taxes and supply j

Have you ever heard the adage that you better not assume something because it could make an ass out of U and me? Or the old saying Never Judge a Book By It’s Cover? Both are excellent pieces of advice. Because assuming something could be more hazardous than you think. In his amazing book called Blink, Malcolm Gladwell tells the story of a car salesman in the Midwestern United States that at one point was the most successful salesman for his particular brand of automobile. The

It’s that time of the year again when all the best and worst end of the year lists come out so I thought, hey why not? Except this isn’t a list. It’s a collective look at what has happened and maybe some crystal ball gazing in what might happen next. Please don’t hold me to any of this. Merely my thoughts on what might happen. The past year provided many with a more realistic look at the Real Estate market. We know this market is like all others – it goes in cycles. The up cy

It’s that time of the year again and I always want to send my list to Santa for things to wish for. Against all logic I thought I would share here: 1. Awesome clients like I have had in the last few years. It makes the job a joy and really NOT a job. These people have dreams and wishes and being able to fulfill some of their aspirations is inspiring to me. Especially when they find THAT place. Especially first-time buyers. Matt, Hannah, Sarah and Anujan, Anthony and Jenna, Ro

It’s easy to take cheap shots at a person or a situation. We seem to be overrun with bad news or salacious stuff that we just can’t turn away from (hello Mr. President). Train wreck anyone? So I thought what about talking about the positives in this profession. There are lots of them, but it would seem it’s easier to turn over rocks and see the slime underneath and make a big deal about that. Trust me. There are many good people in this business. People that care. People that

Had to laugh at a recent headline in one of the on-line so-called expert sites regarding Real Estate. The BIG NEWS was that “Underbidding” was back and prevalent in many GTA neighbourhoods. Underbidding? Since when did THAT become an issue? Like when someone is asking $1.2 Million for a property and you have the temerity to offer them $1.1 Million? Excuse me, but isn’t that what used to be considered the norm? Seller lists a home for X dollars. Buyer sees home and puts in off

I was recently reading a monthly report on a local internet news site about house prices in the Durham Region. It got me to thinking. I read those as do thousands of others, but what are we really to believe? Reason I ask is I have mentioned this before in a piece I called Tell Your Numbers To Shut Up in October. And it made me wonder. What DO people believe? Many of the Real Estate boards would have you believe that what they speak is the gospel truth. And I think some could

The Real Estate landscape has certainly changed in the last 2 years (ya think?). What used to be a crazy ride for buyers and sellers has almost died out completely. High interest rates and seller greed finally caught up with the market. Buyers that were once throwing money at sellers with no thought about it are now sitting back and patiently waiting for the next shoe to drop. Or at least interest rates. We had one drop in September and more on the way but it will be a long w

Nobody said it would be easy. But it’s all a matter of perspective. By it I mean finding a good and reliable mortgage broker. In many instances the decision can be an extremely simple one. You have a relative or a very close friend that you trust implicitly to give you the best quality service and really look out for your best interests. Even these scenarios come with a certain level of risk. As long as you ask the right questions and stay engaged in the process you should be

Was sitting with close friends the other night and we got to talking about needs in a home purchase. Now I have always believed there is a vast difference between a need and a want. Most times buyers confuse those two so called priorities. A need is something you absolutely MUST have. Number of bedrooms. Good sized living area large or small lot depending on your needs. Access to schools and transportation. Hospitals if you are older or in need of health care. That list could

It’s That time of year again and in honour of the scary season how about a look at some scary stories in the Real Estate world? More than a few of those for sure. First one up. Years ago I had clients looking in Prince Edward County. They weren’t sure what exactly they were looking for so we showed as many as possible. We came across one place that looked like the owners were big collectors. Sure enough every room seemed to have lots of stuff in them. The lady I was showing t

I know the title sounds like a bit of a joke to many, but there ARE Realtors out there who care and carry themselves and their business with honesty and integrity. Really. But too often we hear about the “bad apples” and there are more than a few of those. Recently a brokerage was in the headlines for all the wrong reasons. Their trust account was audited and the was a $10 million dollar shortfall. The case is still under investigation but may have also cost one of the higher

The title of this week’s piece comes from a classic baseball book written in 1970 by then Seattle Pilots pitcher Jim Bouton. It is a CLASSIC. If you have never read it, do yourself a favour and set aside some time to do so. What he was saying was loosely based on a line from a Peanuts comic strip that said “Tell your statistics to shut up”. At any rate it was credited to his manager at the time Joe Schultz. Now there was a character. What this is all leading to is that you ca

I was perusing the listings the other day and came across something I have seen all too often in the last 20 years. An agent not doing their job properly and clients dictating what they feel the market should be doing. That, folks, is a recipe for disaster no matter how you cut it. A good agent (or at least a semi-competent one) will do their homework prior to going to listing appointment. Armed with pages of data that is RECENT the agent can pretty much give their client a g

It’s That time of year again and in honour of the scary season how about a look at some scary stories in the Real Estate world? More than a few of those for sure. First one up. Years ago I had clients looking in Prince Edward County. They weren’t sure what exactly they were looking for so we showed as many as possible. We came across one place that looked like the owners were big collectors. Sure enough every room seemed to have lots of stuff in them. The lady I was showing t

Events over the past few weeks have led me to some navel gazing and asking just what IS the role of a Realtor. Actually I also get asked that question often. Some people still believe they can do a better job of selling their home themselves. And to those that do, I say you go for it. A few years before the pandemic hit there was a general feeling that getting into Real Estate would be a cakewalk. Limited hours. Huge payday. Really not much to do to grab that dough. That was

A question I get asked from time to time and ask my self more times than I care to remember. How DO you build loyalty? Back in the day, it was an accepted fact that people had their doctor, banker, lawyer, realtor and on and on. People had a true allegiance to the others they did business with. It was a true symbiotic arrangement and both parties usually benefited from that agreement for a long time. Not any more, it would seem. It’s been said that 15% of all buyers will just