If you've been house-hunting this year, you may have noticed that it's been slim pickings for listings on the MLS. 

House listings across the country have been steadily declining for 6 years and are now less than half what they were in 2015:

How did we get there? From the 1970s through to the 2010s, Canada grew by an average of 3.1 million people and built on average 1.3 million new single-family homes each decade.

But then in the 2010s, population growth surged to 4 million but new homes built fell to less than 1.1 million:

Unfortunately for prospective buyers, this shortage of single-family homes may persist until we see a substantial increase in construction activity.

If you want to discuss, reach out anytime, always happy to chat.

There are numerous reasons why you might need to sell early in the year. Perhaps you even need to sell this month! Whatever your reasons, preparation is key. Make the right moves now and your sale is likely to go smoothly and successfully. 

Follow these tips: 

1.    Make a list of what needs to be done around the property to prepare it for listing. That includes decluttering, cleaning, getting needed repairs done, and so forth. 

2.    Schedule those tasks. On a calendar or planner, block out ample time to do everything on your list. Give yourself a time buffer because things can often take longer to do than expected. 

3.    Get help.  You don’t need to do everything yourself.  Consider hiring a painter, contractor, cleaning service, and other professionals. Outsourcing can reduce a lot of the stress of selling while ensuring your property is prepared in time. 

4.    Dispose of unwanted items that may  have accumulated over the years in the garage, basement, and closets. You can have a yard sale, sell stuff online, donate items to charity, or take them to your local recycling centre. 

5.    Free up your schedule during the period you expect your property to be on the market. You want your home to be accessible for showings as often as possible, giving prospective buyers a lot of flexibility when scheduling. 

The idea is to get your property as “sales-ready” as possible — as early in the year as possible. That way, when it comes time to list your home, you won’t have to scramble to get it ready. The hard work will be done and you’ll be able to focus on selling your property quickly and for the best price. 

Want more tips on preparing your home for sale? Call today. 

When you have a buyer coming to view your property, you want to make the best impression possible. So, you do the usual things. You clean, tidy and declutter. However, some details are easy to forget. For example: 

1. Is there a mat by the front door for shoes, umbrellas, etc.? 

2. Did you air out the home as much as possible to get rid of any lingering odours from a pet, recent cooking, etc.? 

3. Did you empty trash bins? 

4. Is the buyer (or his or her agent) aware of any doors that may have special locking mechanisms? If so, leave a note with instructions. For example, “To open the patio door, pull up the deadbolt lock at the bottom.” 

5. Are there any kids’ toys on the floor that might accidently get damaged or be a tripping hazard

6. Did you make arrangements for pets? If you must leave a pet home during the viewing, leave a note with any necessary instructions, such as, “Please don’t let the cat out.”

The better your home shows to buyers, the more likely you are to get an offer.

Remember the last time you had a family discussion about what to have for dinner? Chances are, there were some disagreements! In fact, it might have been agonizing trying to get everyone to settle on the same dish. Now imagine getting everyone to agree on what type of home to buy!

Obviously, you want family members to be in harmony when looking for a new home. The more everyone is on the same page, the smoother the process will be.

Here are some tips worth trying:

Make a list. Have everyone list the top three features they want in a new home. You might find that family members are closer to agreement than you thought. Also, family members will likely not be disappointed if they get two out of the three features they want.

Have a family meeting. Set a goal to have a clear profile of the kind of home you want by the end of the meeting. Be prepared for some lively discussion, but also be firm that a decision needs to be made.

Be understanding. If a family member insists on a particular feature, ask why. It might be trivial, such as having a shopping mall within walking distance when driving or taking transit is relatively easy. On the other hand, the desired feature might be something truly important and worth considering.

Manage expectations. Explain that not everyone will get what they want and that you (or you and your significant other) will do your best to accommodate everyone’s wishes. There’s no perfect solution.

Depending on your family, it might be difficult to make sure everyone is happy with the home you end up buying. However, by using these tips you can ensure that everyone will at least feel they’ve been heard. Then, once you start building memories in your new place, everyone will start to feel like it’s home!

Have you ever considered selling your home and moving out-of-town? One concern that might be holding you back is the uncertainty involved in finding a home in an unfamiliar place. What are the best neighbourhoods? What are homes selling for in that area? What is it like to live there?

There are many ways to find out.

- If possible, spend a day in the area. Walk some of the neighbourhoods. Visit schools and parks. Check out the local shopping and other amenities.

- Talk to someone who lives there. This will give you firsthand insights into the area. You can facilitate this through a Facebook post where you ask to chat with a local resident.

- View current listings in the area online. Most listings include helpful data on safety, demographics and other information.

- Get a handle on home prices by finding out what a home like yours is currently selling for in that area. That will give you a baseline to determine what you can expect to pay.

What’s the bottom line? There’s no need to let uncertainty about finding a home in a different town or city hold you back.

Home insurance seems to be getting costlier every year, with basic premiums continuing to rise as more homes are exposed to added risks attributed to extreme weather events, accidents, vandalism, and outright theft.

This leaves homeowners in a difficult situation, but there are things that can be done to help ease rising costs.

First, examine your current policy and talk to your agent/broker about your coverage and premiums. You might, for example, agree to increase your deductible to decrease premiums. Meanwhile, you may also be eligible for discounts, based on client profiles such as bundled policies (e.g., auto & home), claims history, and payment punctuality.

Other discounts may be available based on steps taken to protect your home from potential damage, such as installing a backflow valve or sump pump. Or, you may qualify for lower insurance rates if you have recently improved your home’s structural integrity, such as its foundation or roof. Your policy premiums might also benefit from other investments in your home’s infrastructure, like upgrading your heating, wiring or plumbing, or installing a centralized fire and security system. You’ll need to determine whether the cost of these improvements will be offset by lower insurance premiums over a reasonable period of time.

There’s no doubt about it. Preventing mice from entering your home is much easier than evicting them once they’ve moved in. If you take just a few simple precautions, you can avoid the trip to the store to buy traps or the call to the exterminator.

Here’s what the experts recommend:

• Trim back tree branches that are within two feet of the siding or roof. Mice can jump horizontally as far as 15 inches.

• Make sure weather-stripping on doors and windows seal tightly. Mice can easily squeeze through weak spots and gaps, especially where stripping meets at a corner.

• Don’t leave open packages of any type of food — birdseed, apples, etc. — in the garage. That’s like telling the mice, “The buffet’s open!”

• Inspect the outside of your home and look for evidence of mice near walls, doors and windows. Look for mice droppings, which look like black rice.

• If you see a mouse outside your home, don’t shoo it away. Instead, watch where it goes. The mouse might show you how it’s getting in.

Taking these precautions will significantly reduce the chances of mice becoming unwanted guests in your home.

Is there a neighbourhood you drive through occasionally and think, “Wow. I’d love to live here. What a fantastic area”?

Why don’t you take that thought any further? Maybe you think getting into that neighbourhood just isn’t doable – at least, not right now.

Perhaps you’re worried about the home prices or the current lack of homes for sale in that area. Maybe there’s some other reason, such as the possibility of higher mortgage payments.

Of course, those are all valid concerns. But why not find out whether or not they would genuinely hold you back?

For example, if you’re wondering whether you can afford a home in that neighbourhood, you can find that out with a reasonable degree of certainty. You can:

• Get a current market value assessment so you know, approximately, what you’d likely get for your home.

• Find out the average selling price of homes in the target neighbourhood.

• Calculate what you’d be able to put down on a new home.

• Find out how much mortgage you’ll need and what your payments would be.

Once you’ve taken a closer look at the actual numbers, you might discover that a nice home in your desired neighbourhood is within reach.

So, get the facts you need instead of assuming you can’t get into the neighbourhood you want.
The fact might be, you can!

Call today if you’d like to explore that possibility. I can help you get the facts you need.

Imagine you’re viewing a home for sale. You venture to the basement, check out the furnace room, and notice the water heater. Is it owned or rented? As a potential buyer, you’d want to know. 

Now imagine a property you’re viewing has a brand-new gas fireplace. Nice! Is it under warranty? Is that warranty transferrable to you if you buy the home? Again, you’d want to know. 

So, when you’re selling, it’s important to pull together all the necessary records you will need in order to answer these types of buyer questions. After all, if a particular warranty transfers to the new owner, that’s a selling point. 

Take the time to find receipts, warranty certificates, and other documents related to: 

• Renovations (such as a bathroom makeover) 

• Major repairs or replacements (such as a new air conditioner) 

• Service prepayments (such as a lawncare service paid annually) 

• Purchases of major appliances and other items 

Keep in mind that you may have purchased extended warranties or maintenance agreements at the time of purchase. Those may transfer to the new owner. 

Also note that some guarantees or service agreements transfer automatically while others require the new owner to initiate that transfer. 

These documents could potentially add a few more benefits to buying your home. So, it’s worth the time it takes to dig them out! 

Is it really possible to improve your kitchen’s look for about the cost of a gourmet dinner with the family?

Obviously, you’re not going to be able to do anything major, such as replace the cabinets within that budget. But there are many surprisingly low-budget ways to spruce up the kitchen. Here are a few ideas: 

• Do you have old cabinets? You’d be surprised how much newer they can look simply by replacing the knobs and/or handles. Pick a colour that blends, rather than contrasts, with the cabinets. 

• Does your sink have a few stains? That’s not unusual! There are special cleaning products available to get out the toughest stains without damaging or scratching the sink’s finish. 

• Lighting can have an enormous impact on the look and feel of a space, particularly the kitchen. Experiment with new lighting ideas. Try different bulb wattages and choose the right color that is the closest to natural light, like 2700 or 3000 kelvins. Consider a new lighting fixture that looks good and distributes the light more pleasantly. 

• Often you don’t need to upgrade anything – you just need to do a little redecorating. Consider new window coverings like shades that give you privacy but still let the light in. Declutter to create a greater sense of space. Play with such design touches as placing trendy cookbooks on the counter, adding a plant, or putting an attractive fruit basket on the counter. 

Sure, depending on your choices, some of these ideas may cost you more than a few hundred dolars. However, any of these low-budget improvements can make your kitchen look considerably more attractive. 

You’ll notice the difference. And, if you’re selling, so will buyers.