2009 Will Be.......

A time for Buyers and Sellers to meet.


Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) just released their 2009 projections for KW and Guelph. They are predicting a drop of 6% in solds in KW and 7% in Guelph over the projected 2008 numbers. Interestingly they are also showing a slight increase in new listings, 1% in both markets. This shows a move towards a balanced market.

Where are you planning on living in 2009, Buyers Rd. or Sellers Ln.?

If you are living on Buyers Rd. I have good news for you. The market is moving in your favour and that usually means that prices will stabilize or drop, depending on how steep the fall is. If it falls to where the CMHC predicts then it will more than likely just be a stabilizing of the market.

Are you looking at moving on to Sellers Ln.? Don't worry I have good news for you too! The savvy home seller will know that in order to sell in an equalized market they need to be aware of their local market and be sharp with their pencil. You see the average home seller will not want to see or hear about market equalization. They will say things like "That guy across the street got this much last summer." and "No way am I giving my house away." You are a progressive thinker and you know that in order to get a leg up on that guy you need to offer a better value to the market that is not buying at the same rate as last year.

The intersection of Buyers Rd. and Sellers Ln. is a busy place to be. Value is the traffic light that gets you through safely. With out value this intersection can be costly. Sitting and waiting on Sellers Ln. with no one stopping along Buyers Rd. is a frustrating circumstance.

Value comes in many forms. Increase in product like adding in new flooring or appliances is a way to add value. Another option is to decrease price. I have spent my whole business career telling people not to sell on price. Selling on price is not a winning situation because it usually means you are sacrificing profits to do so. If you are looking at decreasing your price you need to be sure to decrease your costs as well. In looking at the costs of selling, the biggest factor that you can adjust is the costs of marketing your home.

Before you start on your journey down Sellers Ln. make sure that you will not get stuck at the intersection waiting on traffic to stop.