November 2010 Monthly MLS Statistics

Here are the statistics for November 2010:

	K-W This Month	K-W Last Year	Cambridge This Month	Cambridge Last Year
Avg. Sale Price	$ 282,624	$ 283,858	$291,408	$272,832
Percentage Change	-0.4%		+6.8%
Properties Sold	484	543	196	224
New Listings/Sales Ratio	78.7%	82.0%	58.2%	59.1%
Properties For Sale Now	1949	1710	821	814

October 2010 MLS Statistics

The fall numbers continue to lag behind last year's fall numbers, but it's fairly stable out there. Prices continue to stabilize, and although it's not brisk, there is plenty of activity. Here is the article in today's Waterloo Region Record with some more detail.

Here are the statistics for October 2010:

	K-W This Month	K-W Last Year	Cambridge This Month	Cambridge Last Year
Avg. Sale Price	$ 302,596	$ 264,788	$278,626	$251,054
Percentage Change	+14.3%		+11.0%
Properties Sold	444	572	200	220
New Listings/Sales Ratio	52.4%	77.4%	51.7%	61.9%
Properties For Sale Now	2095	1944	914	915

Are We an Apple or an Orange?

If you read some of the news articles about the recent Competition Bureau agreement with the Canadian Real Estate Association, you could truly be confused. But here are some clear facts:

1. You MUST be a licenced Realtor to post a listing on the MLS system. As a Realtor, this seems pretty simple. We all pay a lot of money to join and maintain the system. Nobody is going to say a one-time user can have my services without some strings attached.

2. Listings can be posted by a licenced Realtor without any contract for service. If you read my blog regularly, you know that I think that this is alright. It is somewhere between making your own coffee at home and Starbucks. Some people will desire this level of service. From a selfish point of view, I know that the listing salesperson cannot contract outside of the law, and may be liable, should there be a legal issue in the transaction. This will add stress to our Errors and Omissions policy costs which, in my opinion, is already too high.

3. 85% to 90% of Sellers and Buyers use a Realtor to buy or sell their most valuable asset. There is true value in the services we provide. When this MLS issue hit the press a few years ago in the US, things changed a bit for those buying and selling privately, but those 85/90 numbers did not change.

4. Prudential Grand Valley Realty is a full service brokerage.We're not interested in doing someone a favour by putting their listing on MLS as a favour to "test" the market. You're either an apple or an orange. There's no in between.

A Special Day Today

I was overwhelmingly inspired by my son today. That's something that seems to happen more often as my two sons have grown up to become their own person.

My oldest son, Craig, ran in his first ever 10km race today in Niagara Falls, ON. In his own words, he was a couch potato four months ago, and he made a plan, and set a goal back in the summer to run in the race today. It was the culmination of a lot of hard work, commitment and perseverance. In his first ever long distance race, he finished 33rd out of 445 runners at a time that averaged faster than an 8 minute mile.

I am proud of him not just for finishing the race in such good order, but mostly for his committing to a long term goal and attaining it. We all can learn from that! Congratulations, Craig!

MLS and the Competition Bureau

I have been quiet publicly about all the press we have been getting over the past months on the Competition Bureau and the Canadian Real Estate Association coming to a resolve over the user rights on the MLS system. I just received a memo today about the vote that is happening on October 24th to ratify CREA's negotiation with the Competition Bureau. Here's what is going to be different after the ratification: NOTHING!

The press and for sale-by-owner spokespersons have predicted and incorrectly reported that non-realtors will soon be able to list their homes on the MLS system and that the system has been broken. This is completely untrue.
The Competition Bureau has no problem with the Three Pillars of the Canadian MLS System... The Three Pillars had said: only a Realtor could place a listing on MLS; only a listing Realtor can act as an agent for the seller of the property and assist them during the entire time of the listing contract: and a listing Realtor must agree to pay the co-operating Realtor compensation that must be more than zero.

The second pillar is the only issue that has been under discussion and being clarified. The new agreement apparently specifies that CREA and Boards/ Associations cannot prevent or discriminate against “mere postings” or against members who offer mere postings. CREA has always maintained its rules do no such thing. The new agreement recognizes that seller contact information is limited to the member-to-member portion of an MLS® System and recognizes seller contact information will not be published on REALTOR.ca. Essentially the fine print is changed, but the fundamentals remain the same.

What happens from here? The discussion has brought forward awareness to a level of service between a full service realtor and selling privately... a licenced realtor who will "post" your house on MLS but give you no service or advice. The public and the market will decide whether there is a demand for this minimal MLS service.

A good analogy I have heard is about a cup of coffee... You can make it at home in your own coffee maker relatively cheaply. You can go to McDonald's or Tim Hortons and be served for a higher price, or for a higher price yet, you can go to Starbuck's and sit on a leather couch, use their wireless internet, and read their magazines. They all have their advantages and their price.

We're betting the house that most people still want service and good solid advice.

Here's an article in the Globe and Mail from October 15th about this.

September 2010 MLS Statistics

Here are the statistics for September 2010:

	K-W This Month	K-W Last Year	Cambridge This Month	Cambridge Last Year
Avg. Sale Price	$ 281,469	$ 260,087	$272,946	$256,023
Percentage Change	+8.2%		+6.6%
Properties Sold	500	521	188	251
New Listings/Sales Ratio	60.3%	61.0%	40.1%	61.4%
Properties For Sale Now	2095	1944	914	915

First Right of Refusal on a Property

It's been known to happen occasionally that a couple of neighbours, friends, or just acquaintances get together and talk about a property that one of them owns. The other party indicates that, for whatever reason, they would like to buy the property when the owner wishes to sell.

They can enter into a legally binding agreement where the potential buyer has the first right to buy it. If the owner has an offer from another party, he must run it by the first party and either get them to waive their right, or proceed with a deal. The original first right may include a clause on price, such as they must match the price or percentage over. The agreement have a minimal consideration (like $ 1.00) or may have a significant amount of money payable to the seller/owner. There can be many scenarios.

These agreements may seem good to the owner/seller, but they are usually just a plain bad deal. You see, when it comes time that the owner is motivated to sell, they must disclose to any prospective buyer that they have this previous agreement. The new buyer loses their enthusiasm very quickly when they find out a third party has the opportunity to match or "up" their offer. As a result, the seller ends up with no offers - the first buyers is waiting for another offer and there is no other offer.

The best thing the seller could do is give no agreement in writing but tell the first buyer he will talk to them first before they proceed to market the property. The buyer will have first opportunity, but will have to commit of release right away.
This scenario can have many angles, but it is almost always best for the seller/owner not to enter into a contract.

Do You Love What You Do?

I have just returned from a short trip to Chicago and did some touristy things there. Among the tours, I visited a Cubs game at Wrigley Field. The second oldest baseball stadium, it has always been a favourite of mine and I am very thankful to have an opportunity to see it live.
There were many thinks I noticed there that day, but one that really stuck out that was unexpected was the staff/ushers. They were all older people in their 60's or 70's, and it was obvious that they all really loved what they were doing. I assume they get paid for their work, but I'd be willing to be that they'd do it for nothing if they had to.
It's fun being around people like that. Taking pictures, escorting you to your seats, and selling concessions was fun for them. It made the whole experience that much more pleasurable and one of many memories I will keep from the day.
Does your real estate agent love what they do? Is it fun to be around them? Do they make the stress of buying or selling a house more fun? Good questions to ask!

August 2010 MLS Statistics

Here are the statistics for August 2010:

	K-W This Month	K-W Last Year	Cambridge This Month	Cambridge Last Year
Avg. Sale Price	$ 280,493	$ 256,305	$276,033	$257,350
Percentage Change	+9.4%		+7.2%
Properties Sold	475	586	187	240
New Listings/Sales Ratio	62.0%	80.6%	42.2%	63.0%
Properties For Sale Now	2098	1940	871	965

July 2010 Monthly MLS Statistics

Here are the statistics for July 2010:

	K-W This Month	K-W Last Year	Cambridge This Month	Cambridge Last Year
Avg. Sale Price	$ 284,344	$ 281,589	$287,923	$250,396
Percentage Change	+1.0%		+14.9%
Properties Sold	499	654	237	283
New Listings/Sales Ratio	60.7%	73.6%	66.9%	63.6%
Properties For Sale Now	1327	1305	911	868

June 2010 MLS Statistics

Here are the statistics for June 2010:

	K-W This Month	K-W Last Year	Cambridge This Month	Cambridge Last Year
Avg. Sale Price	$ 290,880	$ 267,457	$276,517	$267,771
Percentage Change	+8.8%		+3.2%
Properties Sold	634	721	254	307
New Listings/Sales Ratio	59.5%	74.9%	50.2%	60.7%
Properties For Sale Now	2198	2144	992	1099

May 2010 MLS Statistics

As the national statistics are released, it appears there is a slowdown in sales in the major markets (Toronto and Vancouver). This is obviously due to some high prices that apparently people are not prepared to pay any more. I don't think this applies locally. The stats say that we're marginally behind May in 2009, but, I remember that after our mini-recession, May was an excellent month last year. I think we're still boom mode here.
Here is the article in Saturday's Waterloo Region Record with some more detail.

Here are the statistics for May 2010:

	K-W This Month	K-W Last Year	Cambridge This Month	Cambridge Last Year
Avg. Sale Price	$ 294,307	$ 269,710	$285,059	$265,455
Percentage Change	+9.1%		+7.3%
Properties Sold	653	703	277	290
New Listings/Sales Ratio	58.5%	66.5%	54.1%	59.3%
Properties For Sale Now	1312	1549	931	1117

Monthly MLS Statistics for April 2010

We're definitely in a boom market. Sales volumes are at or near peak, and prices are definitely going up. Agents are complaining evry day that there are not enough listings. Good listings are sold quickly, and often with multiple offers. The press is saying it's a concern about the upcoming HST and the threat of higher interest rates. This may be true, but it's a good spring market with some pent up demand from last year having an effect. It is hard to say how much longer this will go on, but right now there is no end in sight.

Here is the article in Thursday's Waterloo Region Record with some more detail.

Here are the statistics for April 2010:

	K-W This Month	K-W Last Year	Cambridge This Month	Cambridge Last Year
Avg. Sale Price	$ 289,017	$ 256,083	$277,729	$261,630
Percentage Change	+12.9%		+6.1%
Properties Sold	724	643	308	249
New Listings/Sales Ratio	65.6%	60.9%	63.4%	46.4%
Properties For Sale Now	1129	1578	881	1150

Canadian Sunshine Kids Spokesperson

We're please to announce that for the first time, Canada has its own Sunshine Kids Spokesperson! He is Geoffrey Reyes and he is a high school student in Abbotsford, BC. We will be making arrangements to have him into the Waterloo Region to speak at one of our events some time this year.

Here is his bio:

Geoffrey’s first experience with the Sunshine Kids Foundation was on the 2009 Haunted Halloween Getaway in New Orleans, Louisiana. “I believe that the trip down south was the most gratifying experience I've ever had. The people I met who were apart of the organization were so kindhearted and welcoming; making every kid feel like they belong. This trip was the first time that I actually socialized with young people who have been through cancer like myself. I made a lot of friends and we all joked around and had such a great time together. We were all cancer patients, but being together in those precious moments made me forget about all the wrong in my life, it made me have a greater appreciation for the smaller things that we tend to forget. The trip down to New Orleans changed my life.”

“I believe what this Foundation does is so amazing. I specifically loved the fact that my neighboring American friends would be joking about how Canadians say eh, and how our Canadian bacon isn't really bacon. The Sunshine Kids helps show us that we are not alone in our life struggle and anything can be done with a smile on your face.”

Geoffrey was diagnosed with Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia in January 2009. Before he was diagnosed he was feeling very fatigued and had no appetite for a couple of months. Then the symptoms intensified, which included stomach pains. He went to a walk in clinic for the third time after being misdiagnosed and then was sent immediately to the hospital. He takes 6 pills a day that kills his white blood cells and red blood cells to control it. He spent over 2 months in the hospital before things started to get better.

“I found out I was going to be a Sunshine Kids National Spokeskid after a bad day of school. My mom informed me at the end of the day with a note full of excitement exclaiming the news. I was very ecstatic. I am very honored by representing this great organization.”

Geoffrey enjoys long walks on the beach, basketball, bowling, guitar, friends, and his family. He has two dreams in life; Finish school to become a teacher and meet Selena Gomez.

Realtors and the Competition Bureau

We're getting lots of press lately. That's probably an understatement. Lots of agents, friends, and business acquaintances have asked for comments. It is going to change our business, for sure. But, perhaps not in the way that some perceive.



Everybody would agree that the media likes to pump a story up and sensationalize it. That is a fact of life. But some of them have reported incorrect information. When the smoke clears (probably in the fall), only licenced realtors will be able to list properties on the MLS system. The issue between our association, the Canadian Real Estate Association and the Competition Bureau is not about private individuals being able list their properties on realtor.ca. The Bureau is perfectly fine with this. Many media people have incorrectly said that this was the issue.



The issue is about agency and the old requirement that the realtor had to have a full agency agreement with the seller for the length of the agreement in order to list the property, and that is no longer a requirement. The tribunal will decide on how this is all going to work out, but CREA already has agreed in principle to this matter.



The new rules will allow licenced realtors to list a property on the MLS system without giving them agency representation. We could also assume that the realtor and seller would be doing this service at a reduced rate, since the seller is getting very little service for the fee.



What this does, is create a new level in the hierarchy of fees and services offered when selling a property. At one end of the scale, you can buy a black and orange sign at Home Hardware and stick it on your lawn. At the other end of the scale, you can hire an educated professional realtor with a many tools, backed by an MLS system data base and cooperating agents (with buyers), for a bigger fee to do all the work for you and get you through the process. In between there are many more choices.

The analogy I heard recently was about coffee. If you have a desire for a cup of coffee, you can brew a cup at home yourself quite cheaply. You have to go to the store to buy the beans, you have to invest in a coffee maker, but it is quite cheap by the cup. Presently, you can go to McDonald's in the morning and get a cup for free. At Tim Horton's you can pay $ 1.40 and even have a chance to win a barbeque or a car. Or you can go to Starbuck's and pay $ 4.00 for a great cup of coffee. The last I checked, all four choices are getting lots of customers and doing well.

Like Starbucks, we have many, many happy clients who will continue to use our services and see real value in what we do for them. But the rest have more choices now.

March 2010 Monthly MLS Statistics

Prices are definitely going up. For the third month in a row, there is a significant increase in the average sale price on both real estate boards. At the recent Prudential convention in Austin, Texas, an American speaker said (and it's true on both sides of the border) that there has never been a better time to get into the market. Interest rates are at historic lows, and prices are very affordable. There's also the issue of upcoming interest rate increases
Here are the monthly statistics for March, 2010.

	K-W This Month	K-W Last Year	Cambridge This Month	Cambridge Last Year
Avg. Sale Price	$ 276,695	$252,383	$264,436	$255,074
Percentage Change	+9.6%		+3.6%
Properties Sold	731	497	299	209
New Listings/Sales Ratio	64.5%	54.0%	52.8%	40.2%
Properties For Sale Now	1815	2303	849	1049

February 2010 MLS Statistics

I think by now it is pretty much common knowledge that we're experiencing one of the best spring markets in recent memory. But something jumps off the page in this month's numbers. For the first time in a year and a half, it looks like prices are starting to creep up. I don't get a sense of this from the day to day activity around the office, but the following statistics indicate that there is movement. We'll keep an eye on this, to see if it's just a blip, or if there really is a change happening.
Here are the monthly statistics for February, 2010.

	K-W This Month	K-W Last Year	Cambridge This Month	Cambridge Last Year
Avg. Sale Price	$ 276,891	$246,846	$280,996	$245,689
Percentage Change	+12.2%		+14.3%
Properties Sold	553	369	242	154
New Listings/Sales Ratio	62.6%	49.1%	56.8%	35.6%
Properties For Sale Now	1705	2117	748	953

HST Simplified

A group of us from the office recently attended a seminar on the Harmonized Sales Tax and how it will affect the real estate transaction. I thought I would pull out the main key points and post them here. In some ways it is confusing, and in others, it is not.

Like the GST, the HST is a value added tax which means the consumers bears the majority of the brunt of its impact. The speaker the other day said that generally, in a real estate transaction, there will be about $ 1500.00 in extra tax to be paid. It doesn't seem that obvious because different costs are the responsibilty of different parties, and sprinkled over different service costs.

The services that are subject to HST are the following:
* Legal fees (buyers and sellers)
* Real estate commission (sellers)
* Chattels (IE appliances) (buyers)
* High ratio insurance premiums (buyers)
* Fire insurance premiums (buyers)
* Home inspection fees (buyers)
* Moving costs (buyers and sellers)
* Appraisal fees (buyers)
* Surveys (buyers)
* Title Insurance (buyers)

Resale homes and residential income properties are not subject to the tax but commercial properties and new home sales are subject to the tax.

As before, it seems that builders will continue to include the HST in the sale price and have buyers sign the rebate back to the builder on closing. However, the rebates drop off starting at $ 350,000 and are maxed out at a $ 400,000 sale price. It appears that builders are now saying that the buyer will have to pay the HST on any house with a sale price over $ 400,000. This will hugely affect the price on houses over $ 400,000.

There is a transitional period on new home sales for properties where the agreement was done before July 1st but the closing was after July 1st.

In the end, it is best that you talk to your real estate professional, builder, or accountant before moving ahead to make sure you understand all the complexities.

January 2010 Monthly MLS Statistics

Statistics at this time of year can be very misleading because it is such a short time span, and it is traditionally a "ramping up" time for a busy spring market. Also, we remember that that market was very slow at this time last year, so that skews the numbers as well. What I will say though, is that the market is very brisk and agents are very busy. This will be a very busy spring market, for sure. I am not sure if we are going to see price increases or not, but for sure it will be busy.

Here are the monthly statistics for January, 2010.

	K-W This Month	K-W Last Year	Cambridge This Month	Cambridge Last Year
Avg. Sale Price	$ 278,825	$248,215	$278,527	$239,405
Percentage Change	+12.3%		+16.3%
Properties Sold	416	254	140	106
New Listings/Sales Ratio	47.4%	28.9%	32.7%	22.6%
Properties For Sale Now	884	1323	695	876

Prudential 2009 Award Winners

Congratulations to all our Award Winners, who excelled in production over the past year. All will be recognized at our annual Awards Breakfast held on Thursday, April 1st at the Charcoal Steak House.

Chairman's Circle, Platinum Award

Jose Bairos & Nina Deeb


Chairman's Circle, Gold Award

The Hube Team

Mike Milovick & Eric Klimstra


President's Circle Award

Dorinda Orser Team


Leading Edge Society

Wayne Canning

Janet Good

Christian Krieger & Bonnie Williams

Mary McMurran

Nino Orasanin

Annette Escobar & Sheldon Barclay


Honour Society

Andrew Fielding

Jade Ho

Rena Miller

Tamara Martin

Lucy Schito

David Kivell

Marie Miller/Jerry Jarman

Sachin Naphade


Rookie of the Year

Stacey Chaves, Cambridge

Tawn Nguyen, Kitchener

2009 Annual Statistics

2009 was another interesting year in real estate.

We started the year mired in a recession, but the Canadian market came out of it the spring, and by April and May we were putting together good numbers. As a result of this, our statistics lagged behind last years numbers right though until the fall when we caught up, and, as you can see, we actually ended up the year ahead of last years number.

We receive national numbers through the press on a regular basis, and I warn that they should be taken with a grain of salt. The numbers show an average from across the country... and that's exactly what they are. An average. What is happening in Calgary has been very different than what has happened in Toronto, Vancouver, or Waterloo Region.

In southwestern Ontario, things are good. Our employment has a limited tie to manufacturing and as a result, unemployment has not played a huge factor. Interest rates continue at historic lows, and anyone in the business will tell you that this has been a big help to buyers.

We look to 2010 to be a good year. We don't see any big increases in values on the horizon, but prices should hold or increase marginally. As I write this, there have been increases in value in the higher valued homes, mostly because of the cheap rate of borrowing. Barring the unforeseen, it should be a good year.

Here are the Region's annual numbers:

	K-W This Year	K-W Last Year	Cambridge This Year	Cambridge Last Year
Avg. Sale Price	$ 261,379	$264,294	$258,415	$256,044
Percentage Change	-1.1%		-0.9%
Properties Sold	6456	6114	2672	2521
New Listings/Sales Ratio	64.6%	61.1%	52.7%	49.9%

December 2009 Monthly MLS Statistics

Here are the monthly statistics for December, 2009.

	K-W This Month	K-W Last Year	Cambridge This Month	Cambridge Last Year
Avg. Sale Price	$ 255,105	$256,807	$262,099	$245,442
Percentage Change	-0.7%		+6.7%
Properties Sold	356	222	150	94
New Listings/Sales Ratio	78.9%	53.1%	83.3%	44.1%
Properties For Sale Now	879	1220	696	736