Zuzu's Petals

I love the holidays. It means time honoured classics appear on every channel of your TV. You pick the ones that mean the most to you and your clan and plop down for your very own holiday tradition.

If your family is missing any of the following from your list of favorites, you may want to add them.

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (which made it's way into this blog already). The coming of age for Clark Griswold learning to screw up the family Christmas like only a Griswold can.

A Christmas Story. The best Christmas movie ever (not to mention the large Canadian connection). A story told through the 4 eyes of young Ralphie Parker on his quest to get the ultimate present. The Red Ryder Carbon Action 200-Shot Air Rifle.

Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. The longest continuous running Christmas TV special). Join Rudolph in his journey to the island of the misfit toys. I am not giving away the ending but let's just say Santa has a bright idea!

It's a Wonderful Life. The immortal Jimmy Stewart as George Bailey. As I sat this year and went on the journey of his life in Bedford Falls it had a whole new meaning for me. George was a second generation owner of a small town Building and Loan company. The lessons are many in this amazing piece of American film like George's lack of extravagance. Although he always wanted to travel the world he always choose the good of those close to him over his own dreams. He didn't take the big payday that Mr. Potter offered. Will you remember the importance of what you have? Family, friends, drafty old houses?



This year as watched, as if for the first time, Mr. Potter buy up the town through the woes of the Depression, it struck a chord with me. Thinking about the coming year and it's importance to our economy's strength or weakness. Will 2009 be the year that the Potters of our world take over or will the everyday man power through the struggles? Will you let other's prosper at your expense or will you decide to Pay Yourself?


I wish you a happy and prosperous New Year and look forward to more real estate thoughts through 2009. I hope that when you look into your pockets in the coming year you find Zuzu's Petals, I know I will.

M

Real Estate Market Analysis

Get that brain geared up for the ride. This one is a roller coaster to the sky!

Buyer's market, seller's market or balanced market, how do you know? Most information points to anything over 8 months active inventory is a buyer's market and anything under 6 is a seller's market. The grey area in the middle is boring ol' balanced. In a seller's market prices increase and in a buyer's market they decrease. In the lifeless balanced market they generally hold flat with moderate increases due to inflation and costs of selling.

Here in Waterloo Wellington we are holding our own versus the troubles being yelped about across the country. KW is showing the best of the three communities with 4.44 months of active inventory but there was a massive drop in the active listings in November as expired listings that did not sell came off the market. Guelph is up next with 6.18 months of active inventory and finally Cambridge with 6.88 months. Balanced market, sounds humdrum.

But wait, there's more....

To understand today's numbers lets put them into perspective. Last year KW was 2.22, Guelph was 3.33 and Cambridge was at 3.61 months inventory based upon solds versus active homes in the market for November 2007.

The real estate market is at a point now where it has reached such a height it has nowhere to go. This roller coaster ride has been a long one. Here we are perched at the top of a colossal hill looking back and wondering "Now what?"






Let's ride the balanced market for a bit. The foreboding drop makes balanced seem a little less mundane.



M

WOW! She REALLY Loves Her Job!!

WOW did I get a lot of comments through email and on Facebook about our "I Love My Job" video posted last week.

That original video was 1:48 and was taken from nearly 1 hour of video shot with Brian. There was so much great footage that we decided to do a more in depth look at the job. One that showed where Sue came from and how that passion grew within her.

The result is "I Love My Job - The Sequel"



We are lucky enough to have five really amazing Private Sale Consultants working for us here in Waterloo Region and Wellington County. Their level of passion and excitement grows everyday with every client they meet. The stories of the clients paying themselves thousands of dollars fuels them. To know that you were the reason they saved $15,000 is very rewarding. Here is what Ian and Ana Luxton of Cambridge had to say:

"PropertyGuys.com has been an invaluable service for us. We sold our house in just over two weeks and saved a ton of money! Our local Sales Representative ,Christine Menard, was wonderful at guiding us through out the process of selling our home privately. If we ever sell a home again, we would not hesitate to use PropertyGuys.com once again. We have also been recommending this service to all of our friends, several of which have gone ahead and listed with PropertyGuys.com as well."

Our aim for these videos is to extend this passion out to people that may not have had the opportunity to work with us as a client but have an interest in what we do. To light the fire within that "real estate junkie" that always wanted to get into real estate but didn't agree with the traditional agent role.

Are you that person? Is your passion burning? Did these videos throw gas on your fire within?

Send us an email.

November Statistics and other thoughts

Is this the bottom?

Stats for all areas (KW, Guelph and Cambridge) show dramatic declines in the sold properties over last year. This is an expected slow time of the year but year over year would take that into consideration.

It seems that across the country things are bad. CREA just announced that in November prices dropped by 10% and sales are down 42% at the national level. Mackenzie Walsh, an agent from Calgary, comments in this CTV News Story. She explains that real estate is a cyclical industry and when things are up they are up and when they are down they are down. Right now she is trying to reassure her clients that things will pick up. For her sake I hope it happens before her contracts run out.

One thing that has always bugged me about traditional real estate is their exclusivity to your house for 3 months (the most common term in a listing). Once you sign that listing you are theirs, no matter how poorly their service. You can get out of the contract if both parties agree. Since the agreement is generally not with your agent but their broker you may find it difficult talking the broker into releasing you.

As a home seller I want more flexability in the sale of my home. I want to be able to change things when I need to. If someone is not living up to their end of the bargain they need to move on. As a home seller I want the flexability to take my listing down over the holidays or if I feel that I want to wait for a few months till the market is a little stronger. As a home seller I don't want to be tied to paying a set commission rate. If an agent brings a buyer through my home I am sure to want to work with them at a resonable rate. As a home seller I want fexability to market my home in places that I look. Not just where an agent decides he/she might want to advertise it.

As we head into the unkown and watch the market correct, take control of your flexability so you can adjust to fluxuations in the market as needed.

M

Tiny Bubbles Made Him Happy

If tiny bubbles make you happy than it could be said that GIGANTIC bubbles would leave you in mind numbing bliss.

There is plenty being said about the real estate bubble these days. With the intrusion of the US media in our lives it is hard not to ignore their problems and sometimes shoulder them as our own.

Fact is our housing markets are very different. The issues that have been plaguing their bank and mortgage industry are not ours. We were protected from smart government and ethical bank executives (yes there is such a thing).

Do we have a "housing bubble"? When you examine the market across the country it sure does look like things were falsely inflated. Cities like Edmonton, Toronto and Vancouver are showing substantial drops in their average price. A "market correction" is in place but nothing to the extreme our neighbours to the south are experiencing.

So where exactly did this "bubble" come from? When my son is in the bath, I may not see where the bubbles come from but using all 5 senses I can come to a hypothesis. If we look beneath the surface we can see things that we may not have been able to see due to our viewpoint.

You purchased a house for $200,000 3 years ago. Your life has changed. Things are moving and shaking in your life, better job, new family member, hey time for that bigger house. You find the house that you want, listed in the neighbourhood perfect for that little bundle of joy of yours. $350,000, Hefty increase in mortgage but that is what you were expecting. You have been watching the market and know that house prices have gone up. Your estimation is around 5%. The agent that you bought your house with comes in to give you a free "market evaluation". He tells you you are lucky because in the 3 years you have owned the house it has increased by $15,000. More than you expected! Problem is when he takes his cut ($10,750 + GST) your increase is less than his commission. Not to mention all the other costs like legal and Land Transfer Tax. You decide to list for $225,000 in order to get your increase you need.

This situation happens over and over in city after city. As people sell homes with agents the market increases on an intangible, unsubstantiated, overblown cost associated with the sale. Anytime the market is falsely increased it will correct. Ask anyone that had Nortel stocks in the last 15 years.

I came across this video and could not ignore it's strong message.



Mind numbing bliss is the stink coming from those popping bubbles.

M

"Honey The Lights Are Up"

Sometimes we would prefer to not have to do the work.

If you are thinking about listing your house in the spring, now is the time to start the work. No matter how you plan to market your home, through an agent or privately, you have the same work to do. Let's work our way through a list of things that you need to start considering now.

• Product - Do you know what staging is? There is more to presentation then just a quick tidy up and vacuum. An outsider, or 3rd party can come in and look at your home with a keen eye. Sometimes it's as simple as moving some furniture and changing a room colour.
• Curb Appeal - This is an off-shoot of product. The warmth of the sun may not be gracing your gardens in the coming months but that does not mean you can't start planning what needs to be done with the exterior of your home. Make some plans, visit some landscaping websites, or talk to a contractor.
• Renovations - Another off-shoot. Are you in need of a new kitchen? Did you ever get the deck put on? Think about ROI (return on investment) if you are considering any major investments.
• Maintenance Items - How old is your furnace filter? Do your windows need caulking? If you have a maintenance schedule for your home keep it handy. A prospective buyer will be impressed with your diligence.
• Pricing - You need to start watching the market now. What are houses on your street selling for? Are they sitting for a long time? Do you see "New Price" stickers in the neighbourhood? Watch the market and keep in tune. If you are really uncomfortable with this area talk with an appraiser.
• Exposure - This is the last part of the Home Selling Trifecta. Although you may not be ready to put your house on the market it does not mean you shouldn't neglect this now. If you are considering and agent first consider the cost associated. If you are OK with the big spend then interview. Don't take someone's word for it. Find out what your money is going towards, where are they spending their time? If you are thinking of selling privately make sure you look at a company to help you with both the marketing and the process. Look for a local Private Sale Professional that can assist you through the entire process.

Now that you have your work cut out for you I am going to show how your hard work can turn out, thanks to Clark Griswold.

Happy Holidays and watch out for cousin Eddy!

M

She Loves Her Job

As a Private Sale Consultant there is no better feeling than getting that call. It often goes like this:

Ring Ring Ring

"Good Evening PropertyGuys.com. This is Chelsey, how can I help you?"

"Chelsey it's Leanne on Activa."

"Hey Leanne. I was just thinking about you. How are things with that offer?"

"We SOLD! I can't believe it!"

"That's awesome, congratulations! We'll make sure to get the SOLD sign up first thing tomorrow. I am so excited for you!" "Do you want to mark it SOLD on the website yourself or do you want me to take care of that for you?"

"Can we? That would be great. We'll do that tonight." "Chelsey I just want to say thanks. You helped us out so much. When we were doubting things you gave us the confidence we needed. Because of you, we just saved like $14,000"

"Even better Leanne, you paid yourself for the work you put into it."

As a private seller you can find yourself in an area you are not confident in. There maybe terms you are unsure of or situations your not sure know how to handle. It sure is nice to have someone there that you can count on. Someone that has the knowledge you need. Someone that is as excited as you are when you sell your house. Not because they are getting paid for it, but because they were with you every step of the way. Someone that you leaned on when the times were tough, like the time you did that open house. The weather was so bad only your noisy neighbour came over.

A resource like this is key. Not just to a home seller but also to a company like PropertyGuys.com.

Want to see just how passionate a Private Sale Consultant is?




Are you stuck under those fluorescent lights? Are you looking for some freedom?

Get feisty, drop us a line.

M

Pricing. Don't Screw It Up!

I think everyone I know has gone to that school.

Human nature is to screw up and learn. Those that don't will fall pray to making repeated mistakes and die in the jaws of Darwinism.

Keith Church, Broker of Record for the local Prudential brokerage in Cambridge, sheds some light on a situation that we see all to often.

People that over price their homes will usually blame their selling mode ie:specific agent or marketing company. The one area that agents really have an advantage over a private sale marketing company like PropertyGuys.com is that they will push to lower the price of your home with such passion, such fury. They will even use old fashioned guilt so that you feel obligated to lower your price. Sure it depends a lot on your circumstances, but we all have a budget to work within. The agents, they just want to get paid.

As Keith points out, if this person had priced their home properly they more than likely would have sold. Being $285,000 over priced is not going to get you what you want, trust me on that.

Sure you can find an agent to take your listing at a ridiculously high price. Sure you could list it with a company like PropertyGuys.com. Sure you could throw that hardware store sign on the lawn and wait for someone to drive by. Until you have it priced right you are waisting your time (and everyone else's for that matter).

Get an appraisal done, have multiple agents come through to give an opinion on value, do your own serious investigation. What ever you do don't just throw darts. Do some digging. Price is not everything, you have to pay attention to the Home Selling Trifecta for sure, but PRICE IS KEY.

Even the "stupidity" of $399,000 vs $400,000 is something to think about. Here an agent "dumbs it down" for all of us.



M

Show Me The Money!!

"If we can't tell you how we spent your money, we don't deserve it."

Ever been to the dentist? When you leave you get an itemized bill explaining exactly what was done and how much you were charged for each procedure. Imagine your bill just read

Dental Visit - $1,243.78


Now imagine the letter that would come back with your insurance claim.

DENIED - Insufficient Data


When you get a bill from your lawyer take a close look. Everything is itemized, right down to faxes, phone calls, and photocopying.


On your next real estate transaction look at the line related to commissions, assuming that you are not in the 25% of people buying and selling privately.

How exactly was the money spent? Is his golf membership listed? What about the Porche and Range Rover? Maybe her spa and manicure day? No no I am sure it cost plenty to put that crooked sign on your lawn. Ohh and the listing on the internet with the WONDERFUL photos of your kitchen table and the railing of your deck must have cost big! Did you see your house in the paper? It was just under the part that said he was "Top 1% in the world" and how he has "sold over $400 Million in real estate".

Let's be honest, if I am going to cut you a cheque for $15,000 I want you to justify it. The real estate model that my parents knew is archaic. The 5-7% commission system was built to feed a hungry machine. If only 30% - 50% of homes are selling then the few that sell are paying for all the others to try.

If you price your home right and it sells then the guy up the street decides to "try the market" and over prices by $20,000. You just paid for his advertising. Hope he said thank you.

Next time you sell a home and are thinking of using an agent ask for a detailed break down of how your commission is to be used. Tell them to include the dollars and cents specific to your house. Tell them to "Show You The Money!!"



I promise. No more Tom Cruise this week!

M

You Can't Handle The Truth!!

If it walks like a duck it probably is, right?

Real estate agents are really nice people. They come over to your house, hold your hand through a stressful situation, explain all the complicated terms like closing costs, land transfer tax and conditional offer.

If you ever feel the need to talk with an agent, list your home for sale privately. They will be falling over themselves to get your attention. Calls, emails, letters, bottles of wine (Thanks Mr. Brown!).

Agents are the first to tell you all the scary issues that are looming without them. Even their ads in the paper likening themselves to surgeons. Maybe you've seen it? "Sure, you could sell your own home. You could also do your own appendectomy." I love that one.

In A Few Good Men, Jack Nicholson immortalized Col. Jessop. Remember "You want me on that wall. You need me on that wall."



How dare we live in homes within the very market that agents provide and then question they way in which they provide it. Just pay your 5% and say thank you and go on your way. Otherwise pick up a sign and put it on your post.

Either way you'll sell.

M

Winter Real Estate: Can You Sell a Gift Wrapped House?

Door bells ring, are you listening.

It's the elusive winter home buyer!

We often hear that the spring is the best time to sell a house. If you try selling in mid winter you are crazy......nutty.....looney. Fact is many homes continue to be sold through this time. December - February accounted for 18.16% of all the property sold in Waterloo-Wellington over the last 12 months. In contrast March - May equalled 31.07% of all home sales over the same period. No one would claim that the winter would be better in the summer right?

Why not?

Your house is decorated nice, it's practically gift wrapped. It smells like turkey and pine half the time. Most people are feeling rather festive with the holidays around.

Don't discount this time of year. Almost 1/5th of all homes sold last year were sold during this time. For the buyer it is a great time to shop as well. People that went on the market after the summer hoping to catch a wave are now anxious to sell. They are adjusting their prices and looking for the right hook to draw in the buyer.

As the houses grow stale the buyers look for that new property, fresh on the market. Like a child bounding towards the impending mess of the presents they leap and hastily put in an offer on the "new house" up the street from the one they have been watching.

Is it your house being unwrapped this holiday season?

Give the gift of real estate.


Just make sure you dig out your sign!

M