What Does It Mean For a Home Seller If House Prices Fall?

How do you handle a drop in the market as a seller?

If we know anything about the stock market it is there is one key fundamental and two key ways to achieve it.

Fundamental - Buy low. Sell high. 

Achievement method one - Look for quick short term gains.  Under valued stock and/or companies that are on the verge of something new, big or wonderful. (Usually individual stocks) 

Achievement method two - Buy something stable and dependable now and put it away and know that in 25 years it will be worth more than it is today. (Usually mutual funds or bonds)

The housing market really isn't that different.  If you buy in a hot market you are poised to get quick returns. For the most part the big gain in housing happens over time.  If you purchased just before the market crashed in the early 90's and tried to sell after the crash, you would have lost thousands. That same house would show a total value increase today worth much more than any loss you would have felt.  Long term smooths out the ups and downs of the market with a general overall increase.

With fear starting to penetrate into the media about the "cooling of the market" people are starting to wonder what will happen. How will people deal with the news that their house they just purchased 2 years ago is worth 10 or 15 percent less then what they bought it for?  Is that even going to happen?

The good news for us here in the Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge and Guelph is that predictions for 2013 are to be steady through the year.  The bad news is if there is a correction in the major markets it could send a spiral through the media that will affect the market here.

As someone looking to sell a home in a market that is flat at best with potential for decline the most important factor in selling is price.  Anyone looking to buy will also be aware of the market conditions and they will be looking for homes that are more aggressively priced.  If you purchased a few years ago for $300,000 and your home has only seen a moderate increase and market value is $310,000 a $15,000+ real estate commission puts you at a loss. A $1,500 marketing package puts you at a gain plus gives you the advantage of being better priced then your competition using a real estate agent because in order to break even they end up over pricing at $320,000.

Typically in a volatile market it is best to hold on for the long term increase, specially with the low interest rates.  If you have to sell though, you really need to look at the dollars and sense (yes I meant sense and not cents).

M

Why Would You Buy A Home?

The question comes up often. Most people fall into the purchase column because that is what we do, right. We go to school, get a job, rent an apartment, save up some money, buy a house, buy another one, maybe one or four more, then we rent again, move into a "home", then we die. Life in Canada.

So does it make sense to buy a home? Their are plenty of people on either side of this argument. On the purchase side their are countless realtors, mortgage brokers, bankers, etc. Against the home purchase plenty of economists and investment people. The loudest voice against purchase seems to be Garth Turner. He is far from shy about exposing people "talking out their ass" about purchasing.

Let's look at the basic math as it sits today to see if Garth is right.
Here is a rental townhouse in the north end of Cambridge that is available for $1,350 per month. Cost to rent this home for the year would be $16,200. Lets look at this over the 25 years it would take to purchase a home because we know that you pay more interest at the front and less at the end. Assuming that rent will not go up (err on the side of caution) the cost of renting this home for 25 years would be $405,000. WOW. What would it cost you to purchase?

We recently had a comparable home in the same area sell. It sold for $240,000. Again erring on the side of caution let's assume your mortgage was at 6% over the 25 years (although it is 3.79% today I would think it will go up over the next 25 years). So calculating this with 5% down ($12,000) your mortgage would be $228,000. With monthly payments of $1,458.76 your annual costs are $17,505.12 (a little more than renting) and the total paid over the 25 years is $437,627.41. $32,627.41 more than rent, right? Wrong. You still have the equity in the home. When you take away the $240,000 in equity (again not looking at inflation) total cost of the home was $197,627.41.

The only other thing to consider is the $12,000 you put out as a deposit and the $100 or so a month you saved in the rent situation. Let's assume that money was invested to see if it evens out. Investing the $12,000 deposit plus $100 a month at 6% (equal to the mortgage amount to be fair) works out to $123,225.53. Subtract that from the cost of rent and your cost to rent was $281,774.47, or $84,147.06 more than buying a home over 25 years.

So I will leave it to you whether you will buy or rent. Whatever you do don't get pushed into anything you are not ready for. Specially if it seems like Dr. Suess is the one doing the pushing...


M

New Year, Old Problems?

How do we figure out the last piece of the puzzle?

Last year turned out to be a fairly strong year for real estate (even after the doom and gloom of the "Next Great Depression"). With any good year there are still problems that exist. When we are sitting on a strong real estate market what inevitably happens is people get caught up in the dollars and feel their home is worth way more than what the market is willing to pay.

The stats for 2009 show KW had their second best year in home sales. But what do the rest of the numbers tell us? Let's have a look.

For the Waterloo Wellington area MLS sales in 2007 were 13,093 based on 19,573 listings. These means that 66.89% of the homes listed sold. 2/3 of all homes listed sold, a very strong year and a seller's market for sure. This means that as a seller you were in a stronger position than a buyer as decidedly more people were selling than not selling.

2008 showed a reverse of this seller's market. MLS sales for 2008 were 11,573 based on 20,292 listings. Less solds and more listings, not looking good. The List to Sell Ratio dropped to 57.03%. Still not a bad ratio but an adjustment of 10% year over year effects the market. This is a common occurrence after a strong market as more and more people jump in to "ride the wave" and get their piece. People see what their neighbour got and then proceed to ask more for their house (and this continues to perpetuate). As the market price pushes up buyers either become more cautious or they just can't afford the costs of ownership.

Which way did 2009 go? I still don't have the Dec numbers in but Jan-Nov show 11,325 MLS sales (sure to be above 2008) based on 18,811 listings (expected to be under 2008). So as it sits the List to Sell Ratio has increased vs. 2008 but is still well under 2007 at 60.20% (Jan - Nov).

So where does this leave us in 2010? What is the piece of the puzzle to keep a strong housing market? I believe that the increase in 2009 is directly related to the lowered mortgage rates we saw. If these rates continue through 2010 then we will see a slight increase over 2009 as the first few months of last year we were still getting our feet under us. If the rates move up with any swiftness we will see a quick spike as those approved under the lower rates will make rash buying decisions and then a stall in the market slowing sales.

All in all our 2010 looks like it should be OK. Could be worse, we could live in the US...


M

Cudos Mr. Turner

Garth Turner has had a tumultuous run to say the least.

He has worn many hats in his days. From author to lecturer to syndicated newspaper columnist to TV personality to entrepreneur to 2 time MP. He may just be best known in Canada for standing up to Stephen Harper and getting the boot from the conservative caucus.

In his book "Greater Fool" he looks at where we are heading in the world of real estate. He does not see a rosy future.

Garth continues his thoughts from his book on his blog by the same name. A recent post includes a letter from a local RIM employee that recently sold his home privately in Waterloo.

"Mr. RIM" has $95,000 in equity saved up in his $244,900 house. The one thing that Garth does not expand on is the fact that had this RIM employee used a Realtor they would have used up 13.53% of their equity.

$244,900 x 5% = $12,245
$12,245 + 5% GST = $12,857.25
$12,857.25 / $95,000 = 13.53%

When we are considering whether to use an agent we make choices on a cost of 5% of our home. Unfortunately most of us don't own our home, the banks do. In the case above "Mr. RIM" only owned 38.79% of his home yet he is expected to pay the entire selling fee charged.

When you are looking at the future of your financial life you should look at the big picture not simply what is in front of you. Watch for what lies beneath the water, not just the majesty of what protrudes above the surface. That is a mistake made by so many in the past. Are we not supposed to learn from their mistakes?


M

Who's Playing Monopoly?

What is your barrier to entry?

Truth of the matter is real estate agents have, for all intensive purposes, a monopoly on the real estate game. In a recent article in the National Post, Garry Marr wrote about the dominance of MLS over the market since it started some 50 years ago.

In it he focuses on two different MLS systems. One for the consumers and one for the agents. The agent's version is much more robust and complete where as the consumer facing one is a knock down version. With today's privacy laws it will not be changing anytime soon, nor should it.

The real story here was that $131.9 Billion in real estate transacted through the MLS last year. That constitutes an estimated $6.595 Billion in commission pulled from the pockets of hard working Canadians. Was this necessary? This is a societal loss of billions of dollars done $15,000 at a time. Are you next?

I feel a need to answer a question that some may ask. Is a monopoly bad? Let's call on expert Phil Holden, an economics professor in Greece, to answer the question in this video from Youtube (unfortunately he has disabled embedding).

Is it coincidence that all the downsides experienced in a monopolistic situation Phil speaks about are alive and well in today's real estate industry?

To lighten the mood slightly here is Ernest's view...


Remember that no matter how bad it gets it can always get worse.

Communist Monopoly anyone?


M

Buyer's Are Asking

The most important question in real estate is how much?

Pricing your home correctly up front will save you more time, hassle and MONEY than you care to know about. I am going to enlighten you anyway.

When a house on your street hits the market what is the first thing you do? Hit the computer and get nosy, right? Do you judge it? Rooms, decorating, layout, PRICE? Imagine all the people that jump on to the website where you are listed and judge your home. Once they have looked and judged will they ever be back?

So how the hell will you get the right price, specifically in this market?



Using "old" data is a starting point. If we don't learn from our history than we are doomed to repeat. Looking at trends and future market is what will propel you to the front of the pack.

The most important thing that Stacy points out is right at the end. Did you catch it? "Price your house below others in the market and get it SOLD!"

M

So How Did This All Happen?

More importantly where did it all go?

We have all read the stories in the newspapers. We have all seen the reports on TV. Does anyone really understand what happened to the US economy? Is it as simple as banks lending money to people who could not afford to pay it back? If it were stock markets would not have crashed the way they did.

Here is a video that takes you through sub-prime mortgages, Wall Street vs. Main Street, and credit default swaps. Visualization is much easier to comprehend then the Wall Street Journal.

My favorite part is the depiction of the "less responsible"!

So what is next for those of us on Main Street? Hunker down, pay off your debt and get back on the right side of the balance sheet. With interest rates so low you can pay off your debts (mortgage, credit card, line of credit) quicker and easier. Extra payments on your mortgage or increasing your monthly payments are applied directly to the principle.

M

GST Has Risen Again

This trooper has a new name...Harmonized Sales Tax.

The Ontario Budget released last week announced the plan for a harmonized sales tax like our friends in Atlantic Canada. For those of you buying homes after June 1st 2010 this new tax will not be charged on resale homes. There are some increases on tax charged on new homes, dependent on the value.

Where this tax increase will hit the everyday consumers is when purchasing a service related items. Service oriented businesses like lawyers, hair dressers, car repairs, accountants, real estate agents. That's right real estate commissions are subject to GST today and as of June 2010 taxes will increase to 13% on all commissions charged by a real estate agent.

Here is how deep this will effect you, the home seller.

Today: $300,000 x 5% commission = $15,000 + 5% GST = $15,750

June 2010: $300,000 x 5% commission = $15,000 + 13% HST = $16,950

Of course there is a way to avoid this HUGE increase of $1,200 in costs to you. As a matter of fact you can REDUCE it by thousands. Sell your home privately and you only have to pay HST on the fee of your marketing. Let's look at the same example, but as a private sale.

Today: $300,000 x 0% commission = $0 + $1,500* + 5% GST = $1,575 ($14,175 Savings)

June 2010: $300,000 x 0% commission = $0 + $1,500* + 13% HST = $1,695 ($15,255 Savings)
*PropertyGuys.com Elite Package

So as it turns out this new HST thing gives you even MORE savings selling privately. What a Trooper.


M

Seeing The Future of Joe Schmo

He is reading the mind of the North American culture.

He being Seth Godin, author of best sellers like Purple Cow, Permission Marketing and most recently Tribes.

I recently read a tweet (post on Twitter) from @ebloch about one of Seth's blog posts talking about the decline of agents in today's world. Travel agents, insurance agents, real estate agents. Anyone that is a middleman in a transaction is in danger of being replaced by a cheaper, faster, more efficient way. He goes as far as to say that it may even be a consumer with a computer.

This is nothing new to me, I see it every day.

I am going to draw your attention to a quote from the blog.

"Think about how anonymous the typical real estate broker is. He will sell almost any house or represent almost any buyer. When selling a house, he has a fiduciary responsibility to represent that house to the best of his ability. Just like every other broker. The great real estate brokers do far more than this."

This quote describes perfectly the term "Joe Schmo Agent" from PropertyGuys.com radio commercials and marketing materials. Does an ordinary agent deserve the extraordinary fee charged in the transaction? What have they done in order to justify their fee?

It seems everywhere we go these days we run into an agent. I'll bet at least one person you know from High School is an agent today. Why do we have so many Joe Schmo agents out there? I'll let Seth explain it...


With nothing stopping people from becoming agents in the Tiger Woods Market, with no "Dip", we have become overrun by the unexceptional.

M

The Tiger Woods Years

I swear I didn't write that on the photo.

Last week a "Real Estate Investment Specialist" by the name of Don Campbell was on The Hour (click to watch). Strombo's laid back interview style allowed for a light easy going interview that talked about all sorts of things.

Here are some of the snipits that I took from the interview.

1. The market is adjusting and people that are expecting the same outcome as the last few years are nuts. If you were a player over the last 3 years you did well, anyone could have done it. It was the "Tiger Woods Years". There was no failing. Things are down now and people are still expecting the high return. There is a home in Cambridge that I was watching. The owners bought a little over a year ago and now have it on the market for almost $100,000 more than they paid for it. They are now on their 2nd agent (over 3 months listed) and still way over priced for today's market.
2. Now is a good time to buy especially in an area that is growing. We are lucky enough to be one of the areas that he keyed in on along with Barrie/Orillia, Hamilton, Edmonton and Calgary. As an aside if you are a first time home buyer it makes even more sense with programs available for you.
3. If you are looking at investing in property you don't have to buy where you live. Look at the hot spots, where your investment will grow the most and focus there. He really thought Hamilton was an area poised for growth, looking at access to commuter transit and it's proximity to GTA and KWC.
4. If you want to live in Toronto because you like the "city life" look at renting. You will not be "house poor" and still be able to save up for a deposit when/if you are looking at investing in a property down the road.
   

What does this mean for us here in Waterloo Wellington? Well if you are looking at selling a home you can expect to be at an advantage over any of your friends in the GTA. Sure their house may be worth more than yours but you won't lose as much as they will. If you are looking at buying for a principle residence or an investment property, go for it. You will be fine as long as you are thinking 5-7 years down the road.

You may not pull off a shot like this but he is the best...


M

Don't Feel Like An Ass

It's a valid question.

Before I give you an answer you need to answer a question for me. Are you buying for the first time or are you moving on up?

For our primordial buyers
(I just couldn't resist the star burst. Who doesn't love a good star burst?)

I am hearing time and time again that first time home buyers (FTHB) are going to be what kick starts the stall in the housing market. It's kinda like the food chain. FTHB buy the starter home which allows the young family to move up to the single family home which allows the growing family to move up to a bigger home that gives them room to breath and allows the empty nesters to move down into a condo.

So is it a good time for the FTHB to buy? Given that mortgage rates are at their lowest point in years, government programs are increasing, house prices are dropping it makes more sense now than ever before.

You're an old pro
Are you ready for an upgrade? Can you afford to if your house value has dropped? Not only can you afford it but you can profit off of it!

You must remember that you are buying and selling in the same market and that it all fluctuates together. The time you would loose is when you are either down grading to a smaller home or if you are not repurchasing at all.


Take advantage of this buyers market because any equity you have sure as heck can't buy you love.


M

Culling The Herd III

Who will be the last cow standing?

Not only are the local agents in peril of market shrinkage even the brokerages and brands are in jeopardy from market changes and corrections.

As more and more agents leave the business there are less and less desk fees being paid to the brokerages. As brokerages struggle to pay their bills so will big names that we all know. I suspect that we will see more agents get away from the big names on the signs and the independents start to take off as just another way to lower their costs.

Cost cutting has started on the backs of the local print media. How do I know? This recent article in the Record is not solely related to business advertising. The week-end home papers are half of what they were last year.

Maybe they can go out on a limb and try something different, like Microsoft.


M

Real Estate #'s Buried In Snow?

I can understand why the president of the Real Estate Board of Cambridge would want to try and paint a pretty picture but let's call a spade a spade. Lipstick on a pig only gets the farmer in trouble.

In the Cambridge Homes insert on Friday February 20th there was a "report" by C Warrington, Twire. In this "report" Mike Toffner, President of the Real Estate Board of Cambridge, stated that January house sales were up 14% over December. It is true that January house sales were up over December. The stats that I find released from the board show December had 95 houses sold and January had 109. Here is the issue with this glamorized statistic. Traditionally January increases over December, that is the norm! Poking around I found stats that show last year it went from 124 to 177 and the year before from 151 to 196. Telling us that January house sales are up over December is like saying the we had more snow in January than July. If they told us that there was 35% less snow this year than last year and snowfall has dropped by more 50% in the last 2 years it might mean something.

Now snow fall has not changed like that for us here in Cambridge but the housing market has. So far since October when the economic crisis became a part of our everyday lives we have seen continual 30%+ drops in housing sales versus last year. In January that was also coupled with a 4.9% average price decrease over last January.



Things may not be pretty but let's not stick our heads in the snow, or worse, shovel it on our neighbour's head. Maybe the Real Estate Board of Cambridge needs a Shovel Cam!

M

The Latest, Greatest, Wonder Tonic To Sell Your House

That's right boys and girls, gentlemen and ladies. This wonder tonic will calm your worries, ease your troubles and make you sleep like babies.

I am not talking about a scheme or a plot just come and see it, I promise you'll want what I got.

Your house has sat through a few of the seasons. Over and over you have thought but it is obvious to me the reasons.

Now you must ask "How much for your tonic?" Well that all depends on just how much you want it.

This magical solution is amazing and bold. You will exclaim "It was that easy to have it marked SOLD!"

I will now reveal the most amazing and intoxicating nectar. One that will change FOR SALE to SOLD before you can say "bring on the home inspector."




No really!! As you drive around town watch for the signs. The ones with the tonic can no longer hide. Soon they will be marked SOLD and you will be jealous because you didn't believe and thought I was overzealous.




Now if you decide that I am truthful about my wonder drug. I am the man you should come to.(shameless plug)

Don't go shopping around town to compare. The price of this sign from others is not fare.

They will cost you so much of your hard earned dough. You will want to stay far away from those ordinary Joe Schmoes.

January Monthly Real Estate Stats

It seems everyone has the same question.

Where is this market going?

Waterloo Region MLS stats are out for January 2009. The market is adjusting, make no mistake. Another month of sales decreases for the agents. Nearly 1/3 less homes SOLD means money is not flowing into the brokerages. Expect to see less agents in 2009.

Average prices are starting to drop, as we have been expecting, with a 5% drop versus January of last year. Expect this to continue.

If you are currently selling your home, note that prices are dropping. If you are thinking of selling, find an appraiser that uses a forecasting tool and not just past history. When the appraiser tells you that your house is worth less than you might have anticipated, don't be surprised.

If your home was worth $300,000 last year, today it is only worth $285,000. Interestingly if you SOLD last January with an agent at $300,000 you would have ended up with today's lower value ($300,000- 5% commission = $285,000). Today if you SOLD that same house with an agent you would end up with $270,750 ($285,000 - 5% commission). So now the market has taken away 5% and the agent has taken away 5% and you are left with a $30,000 hole in your pocket.

Don't worry though. According to this video, in Ontario we have an increase in affordability. That should help!


Is it all doom and gloom? I couldn't do that to you. 1st quarter 2009 PropertyGuys.com Waterloo Wellington is up 11% for SOLDS year over year.

"Trust" The Experts

He is looking out for your best interests, right?

I have always had issues with people that use high pressure sales tactics. Just doesn't seem right to me. Everyone has to eat and sales is an art, but it does not take much to go from sales person to con artist.

I am not saying real estate agents are con artists. I am saying that their "system" is set up to encourage people to question their morals. More now than ever.

Let's go through some role playing. Humour me.

You are a real estate agent. Times are tough. The market has shown SOLDS down over 30% over the previous year for the last 3 months. You know it because you have not had a deal go through in 4. An "opportunity" arises. Would you question your morals? Most wouldn't.....MOST.

The problem here is agents only get paid when the deal goes through. What is stopping an agent from taking the low road? What is stopping the sales person from doing what they do best, sell you on the property. It may not be the best for you, it may even be a bad deal.

If you are an agent you are screaming at your computer right now saying "I build my client base through a network of referrals. I can't treat a client like that." I hear you. Don't bite the hand that feeds you. What if you have no food and haven't for months. Now you have a buffet staring at you, tempting you, calling you. Temptation can reach us all. It goes back to the "start" of humanity with Adam and Eve.

People's nature is to paint the world in a way that makes sense to them.


Did she really believe what she was saying? Absolutely. Why would she knowingly lie and tell millions of people to loose everything they have. Why would she send them away from their Garden of Eden?

M

Culling The Herd

They say that every farmer knows the importance of getting rid of the sick and the old.

There is some talk going around in the real estate world that the changes in the Canadian market will result in less agents in 2009. According to CREA there are 97,000 agents in Canada. Although it is hard to find a number it is estimated that we have over 1,300 real estate agents here in the Waterloo Wellington area. Those 1,300 agents were responsible for 11,426 SOLD properties in 2008. That works out to just under 9 deals per agent or less than 1 deal a month.

Here is where the numbers get interesting. Those estimated 1,300 agents were responsible for just over $3 Billion dollars in real estate SOLD. That works out to $150 Million in commissions paid or $115,000 per agent for the year. Not to shabby for less than 1 deal per month.

So what happens when we start to see the decreases in SOLDS like we have for the last 3 months? Well the way the traditional real estate works, less SOLDS means less money for the agents. My experience with agents is that taking anything less will not happen. So the natural selection process will take over and ensure that the weak and feeble will not survive.

Why do they feel the need to band together? What is the mentality to this herd? Here is an interesting perspective.






In listening to the "psychology" of the herd it seems only natural that Private Sale is growing at the rate it is. Don't look now but you may have a star on your belly.

Welcome to the Private Sale Revolution.

M

December Real Estate Stats And The 2009 Market

Well the news is out. It confirms what we all new.


This linked Record article shows the stats for Waterloo Region for December (and 2008 as a total) had dramatic decreases from last year with MLS SOLD properties

The good news is the sky is not falling.

First we must remember that 2007 was a phenomenal year. Second is MLS is losing ground to competition. The stats for PropertyGuys.com here in Waterloo Wellington show a different story than what the "traditional" real estate model shows. Year over year for December SOLD properties increased by 46.1% and when you look at the entire year of 2008 vs 2007 the increase was 32%.

1/3 more people paid themselves in Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge and Guelph in 2008.

People are choosing a cost effective alternative to listing their home with real estate agents. When you sell your home you need some level of comfort. For most a sign on the lawn and an ad in the paper falls short. Some just prefer the all encompassing feeling that an agent can bring, no matter the cost.

I had lunch with an agent today. His opinion of the market for 2009 was pretty bleak. He is going to ensure his clients are focusing on pricing their home not only on past market trends but also on future market trends. This means that with an expected decrease of 5% in the market he will be adjusting his clients accordingly in their expectations.

If you are looking at listing your home and have not purchased one yet you are sitting in the driver's seat. In a market like ours, having an offer not conditional on sale is the ultimate tool for negotiations.



Give yourself a strong start in 2009. Be a CHAMPION!!!

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

What is Real Estate?

When some one says to you "I'm in Real Estate" what exactly do they mean?

I own a house. Am I not in Real Estate?

Whether you live in Cambridge, Guelph, Kitchener or Waterloo you are lucky enough to be living in an area that is predicted to to be sitting on top of the worst of this pending storm. So your mutual funds are down 20%, your stocks in the tech and auto sector are not worth too much these days, but that little nest egg you have been slowly building on over the last 10-15-25 years is now prime. The market is at an all time high and you are ready to cash in and downsize. Are you not in Real Estate?

What about you, the guy that owns a few properties around the University. You're in Real Estate, right? I mean you have actually been earning a profit over the years. Sure there has been the odd kegger that got out of hand and some set backs in the "maintenance" of the property but they are all paid off and awaiting liquidation so you can buy that ever so cheap Florida condo on the beach. Sounds like Real Estate to me.

You're a lawyer. You have many clients that have relied upon your expertise in their transaction to ensure everything went just right. Every once in a while it didn't go according to Hoyle, but you got it straightened out, as always. No doubt, that's Real Estate!

I can go on. Stagers, appraisers, home inspectors, movers, duct cleaners, framers, electricians, appliance sales people, real estate agents, furniture sales people and of course Private Sale Professionals. There are many people that rely on Real Estate for something in life. The Real Estate industry is far reaching. Don't think that your decision to move or not move is changing just your life. When you make that decision you set the economic ball rolling. It is your hands that hold the economic house of cards.

We are not in the same boat as our friends to the south, or at least Mr.Harper keeps saying so. Watching a video like this sure makes me think that a slow down in our market here in Guelph or KW or Cambridge seems like small potatoes.

If you are looking at downsizing your home or selling off one of those rental properties, be sharp with your pencil and pay attention to what the market tells you. You don't have to sell, you don't have to give it away, just watch your costs!.

M