My Thoughts on The Market... as a Realtor

February 09 is coming to a close this weekend, and I must say, I have had a great month selling Real Estate. Both in Commercial and Residential Resales.

Of course, in my business, I never feel like I'm busy enough, but given the fact that I have heard from others that they have been having a terrible Winter, I don't feel too bad about where I am. Besides, historically this is always the slowest time of the year to be doing deals. Please make sure you return to this page to view the Market Stats for February when I post them on the Second Tuesday of the Month.

(I will be posting the previous month's Market Data on this page on the Second Tuesday of the Month, with Graphs and a commentary on the month)

It's definately going to be tougher to get homes sold than it was 2 years ago where you could get some Joe Blow agent to list your home for 1% commission and it be sold in a week. Those times are gone. The days on Market number is creeping up, meaning it is taking far longer to get homes sold in this market. The most important aspect of Selling in a down market is to be priced properly. Followed by making sure your home shows its best.

Entrusting a Full Time Realtor that knows the local market is going to be the most valuable move you make when listing your home. They are aware of Neighbourhood sales and have likely even got a chance to view the home and have the knowledge as to why properties sell for what they do. Knowing the comp's is a crucial element, and I'm not just talking about looking at the pictures that were on MLS, I mean getting in the home and taking a good look around.

Fun Facts about Real Estate in Newmarket/Aurora:

- As of Feb 27, 2009, there are 617* Realtors registered with Brokerages in Newmarket/Aurora... this does not include the surrounding towns... that is a lot of Agents. 426 of which are registered with Newmarket Brokerages, 191 with Aurora Brokerages.

- IN 2008, the most expensive home sold in Aurora was sold for $4,200,000.00. A home located within the gated Community of Adena Meadows**. In 2008 the most expensive home sold in Newmarket was sold for $910,000.00. A home located on Coventry Hill Trail**.

*Stat from Realtor.ca

**According to the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB)

When Disaster Strikes, is your Family Prepared?

Written By: Georgette McCulloch - Our Homes Magazine

Submitted by Joshua Kearley - Continuity Inc.

Steve Carter, his wife and two children were on their way home to Mississauga, Ontario last summer after a fun, relaxing weekend at the family cottage in Haliburton when his cell phone rang.......

“It was my neighbour telling me there was smoke coming from our upstairs window and the firemen were on the way,” Carter recalls. “We returned home to see three fire trucks and firemen pumping water into our home to contain the fire.”

For Carter (his last name has been changed), panic and fear set in. “All I could think about was ‘what did I leave on my desk in my office upstairs?’” The good news is that no one was hurt. However, most of the family’s possessions were either destroyed or damaged and they had no real record of what was inside.

It took about three weeks to identify 65 per cent of what we actually lost in the fire,” Carter says. “We then learned that we were under insured because of the unique furniture and art collection that was lost in the fire. Trying to remember the make and model of the things we had only made this disaster worse. Not only could we not remember what we had, the ability to prove to the insurance company that we actually owned those items was another headache.”

If a disaster struck your home, would you be prepared?

"Since the dawn of time, people have been taking pictures of their stuff,” says Joshua Kearley, Director of Home Recovery Planning, a company based in Richmond Hill. “But what happens is, they take pictures, and then put them in a binder on a shelf. Good that you did it, but it’s not much help when a fire destroys your home.” Kearley’s company takes digital photos and videotapes the contents of your home. You get a copy and a copy is stored on Home Recovery Planning’s secured server. If and when you need access, Kearley’s company will send the inventory directly to the insurance company for you.

But that’s just one part of the overall strategy to protect your family and your home. Kearley also advises clients to complete an on-line Family Emergency Plan, which includes emergency contacts for the whole family, escape plans, medical information, prescriptions and a pet plan.

Every family should also have an emergency survival kit with food, water and solar power products – enough for a family of three to survive for 72 hours.

Michael Freeman, President/CEO of Insurers Financial Group, urges families to be pro-active and implement a plan.

“We realize our clients have spent a lot of hard-earned money to create homes for their families,” says Freeman. “It’s important to understand the need to take the time to create a plan to protect what you value. As an insurance broker, we continually tell our clients they need to inventory their possessions. However, it is only a suggestion – the rest is up to them.”

The Carters learned their lesson the hard way. “Once I heard about the concept, it was a no brainer for me,” Carter says. “I don’t recommend anyone put themselves through what we had to go through as a family.”

We now have an accurate depiction of all the items in our home, stored off-site, a family response plan so we don’t sit around wondering what to do, and an emergency survival kit, in case something like this happens when we’re at home. Heaven forbid this ever happens again, but I sleep better knowing we have all the right tools in place.”

For more information on how you maybe able to protect your self from the Terrors of Disaster, contact:

Joshua Kearley

Director of Continuity

Continuity Inc.

jkearley@continuityinc.ca

http://www.homerecovery.ca/

Ice Damming - What Can You Do?

Ice damming is a phenomenon that occurs when snow accumulates on the roof at the point where the warm side of the roof meets the cold side of the roof. The area I am describing is where the outside wall meets the attic space or just beyond where the soffit ends.
The snow higher on the roof will melt and run down the roof with part of it refreezing just a couple of feet above the eaves trough, creating a dam effect. The water just above the dam may then work its way under the shingles.
This issue may present itself as just a stain or dripping at the ceiling near the wall edge or at an exterior door or window on the top floor.
Most newer houses will have an Ice and Water Shield for the first few feet above the roof edge, that may help keep water from entering the home. The only problem is that the ice and water shield tends to end at the area where the problem may occur.

Ice Damming may occur higher up on the roof when certain conditions exist:
- Inadequate or inconsistent insulation.
- Poor attic ventilation.
- Air leakage from the house into the attic.

There are also roofs that may be more susceptible to ice damming, such as low slope roofs or roofs that have poorly designed valleys. Your Canspec inspector will inform you of vulnerable designs when inspecting a home.

Many products exist that may help to alleviate symptoms of ice damming:
- A roof rake.
- Heating coils (use a lot of energy).
- Ice melting chemicals.
- Shoveling the roof (high risk of injury).

Using axes and shovels and even rakes to break up ice dams can cause a lot of damage to the shingles. I have heard of someone having success putting ice melting chemicals in their eaves trough (in a nylon material).
None of these solutions really gets to the root cause of the problem and will not be as reliable as just solving the problem.

When investigating an ice damming issue the first place to start is in the attic above where the water is presenting itself. How is the insulation, and ventilation in the area?
The single biggest factor in elimination of ice damming is ensuring that warm air from the house is not entering the attic. Warm air can enter the attic from improperly sealed attic hatch, pot lights, plumbing vents, chimneys etc…..
Ice damming can be corrected by a home owner, but you have to be aware of things like how to walk in the attic and how to spot design issues and poorly sealed areas.
If in doubt I would always encourage a home owner to contact a specialist.

- Article Submitted by James Waters, Canspec Home Services

*When purchasing my own home, I entrusted the services of Canspec to carry out the Home Inspection and was 100% satisfied with their work and communication as a Buyer!

Should I pay down my mortgage or invest in my RRSP?

This question is a common one, especially when extra cash becomes available and you need to make decisions about how to best allocate your dollars for long term benefit. There is no easy answer and the decision can be a very personal one.

Here are a few tips that can help you make the right choice for your personal circumstances.
Pay off all non-tax deductible high interest rate debt first, such as credit card balances or consumer loans. Then consider using the extra cash for mortgage pre-payment or RRSP contributions.

If you have an uneasy relationship with debt, then eliminating all your debt including your mortgage should be your priority. In other words, if you cannot sleep at night because you worry about your debt load, pay it off as fast as possible. After the debt is brought to a level at which you feel comfortable, then your priorities can more comfortably shift to building your savings. After all, paying off your mortgage is the least risky of all strategies and for highly risk-averse investors; this may be the best choice.

When deciding whether to put extra cash towards your mortgage or towards your RRSP take into consideration the rate of interest paid on the mortgage versus the expected rate of return earned on your RRSP. If you expect to pay a consistently higher rate of return on your mortgage than you expect to earn on your RRSP then it’s likely a good strategy to pay down the mortgage as fast as possible. You can then shift your strategy to savings when the debt is paid off. This is a good rule of thumb in many cases.

Rates on most mortgage debt in recent years are relatively low. As a result, many investors are looking for a way to lower their debt load, but not exclusively. They also want to take advantage of tax-efficient investing in their RRSP to grow their nest egg.

Many investors use a common two-step strategy for using extra cash which can simultaneously achieve the goal of paying down their mortgage faster while also building their RRSP.

1. The first step in the strategy is to invest the extra available cash in the RRSP.
2. The second step in the strategy is to use the tax refund generated by the extra RRSP contribution to pay down the principle of the mortgage.

In certain situations, this strategy can result in the maximum financial benefit over the long term.

The term and interest rate on the mortgage along with the expected return on your RRSP savings are all relevant when making the decision about where to allocate extra cash. Each situation is different. In order to see how all the variables interact, it’s often useful to use a financial calculator specifically designed to assess the impact of various strategies on your long-term financial picture. These types of calculators are available on the Internet and through your financial advisor.

Talk to your Dundee Financial Advisor when extra cash becomes available. Together you can determine the best way to generate maximum benefit from your dollars in a way that suits your personal situation.

This article comes courtesy of:

Scott Munro Financial Advisor
Dundee Wealth Management

Newmarket Home Sales Statistics

Sales Ratio's Down

Sale volume is the key to what has been going on in our local market. IN a balanced market the Sale-Active listing ratio should be between 0.4 - 0.6, but since May 2008, the volume of sales to listings has been on the decline. Unfortunately due to some very motivated sellers, we have also seen a slight reduction in the average sale price compared to that of 2007. However, the 2008 average price in Newmarket was down by only $264.00 to $339,822 compared to 2007's average for the year of $340,086. When you

consider that 2007 was the all time best year year reported on the Toronto Real Estate Board with 93,193 sales in the GTA, we feel that comparing to 2007 data, today's sales data will of course pale in comparision. How long can you really expect to have "The Best Year" on record???

My recommendation is to do what makes sense in your life NOW. If you already own a home and need to sell it to upsize... then don't wait. Yes homes that you might buy may come down in price, but so will your home... And first time buyers, get out there while the mortgage rates are still great! You are the ones that fuel this market. If more first timers start buying then we can have more people upsizing... and up the chain we go.

*All statistics are gathered from the Toronto Real Estate Boards MLS Sold Statisitcs.

Welcome

This Blog has been created to help the consumers become aware and up to date with the current real estate trends and data to help make better informed decisions when it comes to buying, selling and leasing real property.

Working as a Real Estate Sales Representative in Newmarket, Ontario since January 2005, I have gained a lot of experience from working with my Father, Doug Toombs, a previous Broker/Owner in the Coldwell Banker Brand. I intend to update this blog weekly, at a minimum, with many different topics of discussion and will encourage feedback and comments from readers.

I hope you enjoy what you read and will be back to read up on different topics.

Sincerely,

Darcy Toombs, Sales Representative

Coldwell Banker Southlake Realty Inc., Brokerage

615 Davis Dr, suite 101

Newmarket, On

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