Robert Morrow

The days of single-purpose cell phones is coming to an end. The Apple iPhone, and devices like it, are preparing to put a lot of power in the hands of consumers.

On demand real estate services will be a primary positive result from such emerging technologies as they hit the marketplace as workable functions of these new products. Many US companies are betting that consumers will use mobile devices in the same way as they use the Internet, given the ability to do so.

And that's the problem.

Many in the Real Estate world disagree that consumers will use mobile devices to search through lists of data to find a property of interest... at least not with current technology. Mobile devices are used to seek out information on specific items. If the experience is fast, clean and simple, then consumers will adopt the technology.

But entering property information while driving or sitting aside the road looking at last-minute searches, is an unlikely scenario. It's much more comfortable, faster, and safer to do that part of the search at home, and then just key the results into their GPS. The consumer interface--even on the iPhone--isn't that friendly yet. Audio, video and photos need to be tailored to mobile devices in order to provide a persuasive consumer platform. It will be intersteing to watch as the industry listens to and adapts to the changing needs fo the real estate public over the coming years. Of course, Apple and Google, amongst others, are working on the problem too; not a bad set of creative partners.

*paraphrasing from Marty Lachance, REM, 10/08

Robert J. Morrow is editor of www.HamiltonHomeReview.com, an online real estate magazine serving Greater Hamilton, Ontario. Click here for a FREE SUBSCRIPTION sent to your email monthly. Click here to receive new Hamilton area listings in your email daily.

It's a slow economy and there are no easy answers. However, the basics still apply:

1) The home is too "lived in" and lacks visual appeal. Clean everything and lose anything personal. What's personal? Anything you wouldn't consider leaving for a new owner to enjoy.

2) The home lacks style and freshness. Would IKEA, Sears, or The Bay recognize any of your furnishings? If it didn't cost more than $5,000 per item, then it has NO current style.

3) The furnishings and layout make the property appear small. Do you like a huge, king size bed? Guess what... a single bed--even in a master bedroom--will appeal more to buyers than your masterpiece of wood and metal.

4) The kitchen and bathroom are dated and would be costly to change. Everyone (men included) look at kitchens first and bathrooms second. If those rooms don't meet their standards, forget the rest of the home.

5) The owner has a design scheme too personal to the owner. If you've made your second bedroom an office, consider reinventing it as a second bedroom. A third bedroom is good for an office but every home needs at least two (2) bedrooms, more likely three (3).

6) The house is cluttered and apears untidy, unappealing, and small. Junk takes up space. What is junk? Anything you wouldn't be proud to leave for the new owners.

7) The carpets and decorations are old and the viewer feels too much work will be required. Carpet is cheap...and even the low quality, low ounce carpeting looks better than 1970s shag!

8) The home is not dressed to appeal to the majority of buyers. Don't try to explain why your dining room is ideal as an office or bedroom. Turn it back into it's intended use...at least until the buyer signs the Purchase Agreement.

9) There are repairs that need completing, but the owner does not know reliable tradespeople to approach--or none have returned their calls. Many REALTORS(R) will suggest you don't repair certain things but, rather, negotiate repairs into your final sale price. If that's your plan, be sure you can tell a new buyer who can fix it, when they are available, and, essentially, what it will cost.

10) The economy. Of course that has an affect. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. But remember, when you sell your home--for less than what you had hoped for--you will recoup that when you try the same tactic on the owner of the home you intend to buy next!

The City of Hamilton has approved a $1.6+ million dollar purchase of Ancaster's industrial park by a company that is essentially a division of the Tim Horton Donut chain.

The 9.66 acre lot, purchased by Fruition Fruit and Fills is most likely the site of the Canadian icon's new roasting facility. As outlined in the company's 2007 Annual Report, the board of directors approved the development of a $30 million dollar coffee roasting plant in Southern Ontario.

Councillor Lloyd Ferguson would not confirm if the company was a Tim Hortons division as the details of the deal were discussed in camera at council Thursday night.

What does this mean for the Greater Hamilton area? Jobs...secure ones...soon!

Will it make the coffee around town as fresh as it used to be when yours truly was employed by the Timbit empire? Time will tell!

Robert J. Morrow is editor of www.HamiltonHomeReview.com, an online real estate magazine serving Greater Hamilton, Ontario. Click here for a FREE SUBSCRIPTION sent to your email monthly. Click here to receive new Hamilton area listings in your email daily. Robert is also a former marketing executive for Tim Donut Limited.

Finance Minister Jim Flaherty pledged today to triple the amount of mortgages the government can buy from banks to as much as C$75 billion ($61 billion). He also reduced the cost for banks to tap a government loan insurance program by 50 basis points after it went unused at the initial premium of as much as 185 basis points, or 1.85 percentage points.

What does this mean to the average Buyer contemplating the purchase of a home?

Flaherty admits that Canada's banks are amongs the world's safest but does that assure consumers that our banks can still provide not only competitive rates of interste, but realistic ones?

Today's announcement was a ``constructive step'' that ``helps ensure consumers and businesses have access to credit and Canadian banks continue to operate from a position of strength,'' said Gordon Nixon, chief executive officer of Royal Bank of Canada, the nation's biggest lender by assets, according to a statement.

The finance minister met with banking executives earlier today in Toronto to discuss the changes. The U.S. recession and the global financial crisis are ``major shocks'' to Canada that will likely require more interest-rate cuts, Bank of Canada Senior Deputy Governor Paul Jenkins added earlier today in Toronto.

Canada's central bank today also said it will inject an additional C$8 billion into the banking system to temporarily buy up ``non-mortgage loan portfolio'' assets. And the state- owned Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. today bought C$7 billion of mortgages for five years at an average yield of 3.78 percent, in the third phase of the purchase program.

The mortgage purchase plan has been the ``most effective'' measure and will remain more popular than loan insurance because it's a cheaper way of raising cash, said Eric Lascelles, chief economics and rates strategist at TD Securities in Toronto. Taken together, the steps should reduce bank financing costs and ``possibly'' make credit cheaper to consumers and companies, he wrote today in a note to clients.

Info paraphrases from: Theophilos Argitis in Toronto at targitis@bloomberg.net; Greg Quinn in Ottawa at gquinn1@bloomberg.net.

Robert J. Morrow is editor of www.HamiltonHomeReview.com, an online real estate magazine serving Greater Hamilton, Ontario. Click here for a FREE SUBSCRIPTION sent to your email monthly. Click here to receive new Hamilton area listings in your email daily.

This blog, amongst many others, has received many complaints--from both consumers and industry participants--that the new www.realtor.ca had "flaws", and didn't work as well as www.mls.ca.

In the recent edition of "Realinfo", a publication from the REALTORS(R) Association of Hamilton/Burlington, the writer states that "Based on member and user feedback, the MTC {Technology Council} is also reviewing some usability and design options. These are being tested with consumers.They effectively address identified navigation or usability issues.This includes complaints that photos are too small, the thumbnai information is not sufficient and listings are too hard to find. Changes affecting these features will be implemented as soon as possible."

"Effective November 20, the existing zoom level restriction will be removed. This was originally installed to avoid situations where a property not displaying an address could still be located on the maps. This is now much less of a concern, because 85% of all properties now allow for display of address. Elimination of the zoom level restriction will also resolve some consumer complaints. For example, some result displays now show only the "500 property" warning simply because there are too many properties in the area selected, even if it is the lowest current zoom level. The change will mean users can zoom in as close as they want to view the listings they want. This change will also resolve the complaint of the map continuously zooming in and out. This occurs because the visitor has selected the lowest possible zoom level, but keeps trying to go lower."

"CREA also continues to work on making the site compatible with MACs and Firefox browsers."

Will such changes actually improve the site? Only time will tell. But at least this means CREA is listening...doesn't it?

Please give www.realtors.ca another shot...and let us know what you think.

*above paragraphs reprinted unabridged fromRealinfo, November, 2008.

Robert J. Morrow is editor of www.HamiltonHomeReview.com, an online real estate magazine serving Greater Hamilton, Ontario. Click here for a FREE SUBSCRIPTION sent to your email monthly. Click here to receive new Hamilton area listings in your email daily.