Harry Logan

WINNIPEG – October 2011 has the second best real estate sales on record for this month. Less than 2% off the strongest sales performance ever in 2007. Year-to date dollar volume is already the highest achieved in WinnipegREALTORS® 108-year history with $2.67 billion dollars worth of MLS® sales.

October 2011 helped get the fourth quarter off to a great start with everything up in double-digit percentages. New listings rose 11%, sales were ahead by 13% and dollar volume reached 20%.

October MLS® home unit sales increased 13% (1,076/949) while dollar volume was up 20% ($256.9 million/ $214.2 million) in comparison to the same month last year. Year-to-date Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) sales are up 7% (11,486/10,754) while dollar volume has increased 12% ($2.67 billion/$2.39 billion in comparison to the same period last year. Nearly 70 % of all MLS® listings entered on the market this year have sold thus far.

Owing to improvement in the overall number of residential real estate listings coming on the market in the last few months, inventory has improved and created a more balanced market. One indicator of this development in October is the total sales price to total listing price ratio falling under 100%. This means there is less price pressure on listings and in fact 56% of homes sold in October went for less than list price.

The average days on market to sell a residential-detached home was 29 days, 3 days slower than last month and only one day off the pace set in October 2010. The average days to sell a condominium in October was 26 days, 9 days quicker than last month and 5 days faster than October 2010.

Please feel free to call Harry Logan @ (204) 667-7653 if you have any questions about the Winnipeg Real Estate Market or if you'd like information about buying or selling a property in Winnipeg.

Great Starter home or Retirement home or rental property in Winnipeg. Monthly Payments are less than $800/Month (Including Property Taxes!). This recently remodeled home has 2 Bedrooms plus a den (could be 3rd Bedroom) a High Efficiency Furnace, Newer Soffits, Fascia & Eavestroughing, New Paint, New Carpet and Vinyl Flooring, 5 Appliances included (3 BRAND NEW Stainless Steel Appliances have never been used), a huge deck, an oversized single detached garage and a new fence. What a great house for the price. Don't miss this one, call Harry Logan today at 204-667-7653 to arrange your own private showing or see it at the Public Open House Sunday November 6 from 2-4 PM.

Winnipeg - When most people buy a home they get a mortgage to help finance some portion of the purchase price. When you get a mortgage you are almost invariably going to be asked by the lending institution, if you would like to get insurance on that mortgage. Most people want to do the right thing and protect their family in case the unthinkable happens, so they say yes to getting the bank's mortgage insurance. They make it so simple, you tick a box or two, initial here, sign there and badda bing, badda boom you think you and your family are covered should the worst ever happen.

There are two main reasons I dislike the "Bank's" mortgage insurance.

First is that the insurance is essentially a declining benefit policy. So you take out a mortgage and the insurance premiums are based on what the initial balance of the mortgage is. But as you pay off the mortgage and the amount of the payout goes down, your premium stays the same. So if you start with a mortgage of $200,000 and after some hard work and diligent saving and investing you pay down your mortgage to $100,000 and then you get hit by a bus they pay out $100,000 but your premiums all along were based on the original $200,000 that you borrowed.

Secondly, most Banks and Lending Institutions in Canada use a form of insurance that processes the policies on what is called a "Post Claim Underwriting" system.

What that means is you have now qualified for the "right" to make premium payments on the insurance policy and should a claim ever arise then the insurance company starts going through your application with a fine tooth comb. If you missed something or did not quite understand something and incorrectly filled in the application form, your claim is disqualified and they will simply rebate your premiums and deny your claim. This can be DEVASTATING on a family who is already dealing with the loss of a loved one.

Check out this CBC Marketplace video that explains the the perils and pitfalls of taking your lending institution's mortgage insurance when buying your Winnipeg home.

The way I recommend that you protect your family is to get term insurance from your favourite insurance broker.

I have two reasons for suggesting this route instead of going with your bank's insurance.

First the underwriting is all done up front. They'll take a blood sample or two, you'll step on a scale, they'll take your blood pressure and make you do all the other fun stuff that goes along with getting insurance, but once they say Yes, you KNOW that you have coverage. With the bank's insurance, they don't start going through your medical files until after you've made a claim and then it's anybody's guess if you're covered or not.

Secondly, the term insurance is a "defined benefit" policy so the pay out does NOT decline as the mortgage balance does. So in the example used above, your payout would be $200,000. Your family can take $100,000 and pay off the house and then use the other $100,000 to help sustain them while they are coping with the loss.

Please feel free to contact Harry Logan at 204-667-7653 if you have any questions or if you'd like to discuss this further.

WINNIPEG – Balmy summer weather in September created summer-like real estate market activity which led to a third consecutive month of over 1200 MLS® housing unit sales. As a result, it makes September 2011 WinnipegREALTORS® best September in 108 years. September 2010 was the previous best September on record.

September MLS® housing unit sales increased 6% (1,214/1,142) while dollar volume rose 12% ($278.4 million/$248.0 million) in comparison to the same month a year ago. Year-to-date MLS® sales are up 6% (10,410/ 9,805) while dollar volume has increased 11% ($2.42 billion/$2.18 billion) in comparison to the same period last year. Two out of every three of the 15,300 house and condo listings entered on the MLS® market this year have sold.

For residential-detached home sales in September, the most active price range by far was the $200,000 to $249,999 with 26% of total sales. The housing market under $100,000 continues to erode with only 4% of the housing market and the longest days to sell of 41 days. The average days on market to sell a residential-detached property was 26 days, 2 days quicker than last month and 3 days faster than September 2010.

Condominium sales were dominant in the $150,000 to $199,999 price range with 39% of total sales. Only 2% of sales were under $100,000. Average days on market in September was 35 days, 5 days slower than last month and 2 days off the pace set in September 2010.

Call Harry Logan at 667-7653 if you have any questions about the Winnipeg real estate market or if you'd like a no cost or obligation market evaluation of your house.

Before selling your Winnipeg home, it is a good idea to examine each room for unfinished or needed repairs. It is very likely that you might need a portion of drywall replaced or cracks caulked outside your bathtub. These small repairs might seem unnecessary, but can easily turn out to be the difference between selling your house that day, or weeks later.

You need to find a Winnipeg general contractor fast! You could easily call up the neighborhood handyman, but it is important to hire someone that has insurance and works for a legitimate business. If the repairs to be done are quite complicated, or involve power tools, the handyman should have insurance. Just one miss with a powertool can end up in a lawsuit if it happens on your property.

Another thing to keep in mind is the cost of the project. Many contractors charge by the job instead of hourly, which could either work in your favor, or end up costing you a lot more! A Winnipeg contractor who offers a free assessment of hours, cost, as well as materials needed is what you need to be looking for.

It is also important to go over his or her credentials, as well as work experience. This will give you a good idea of the quality and quantity of relevant work the contractor has completed.

Bottom line, the contractor must be willing to listen to your input and concerns about the work to be done. There must be a good communication line between you and the contractor, allowing any issues or barriers to be resolved before extra time or money is wasted.

When selling your Winnipeg home you will need someone immediately to fix any outstanding repairs or problems in your house. Hire a repairperson with a solid background in terms of employment and training, affordable price, strong communication skills as well as someone that offers premium insurance. Following these guidelines will help you get a faster sale when you are selling your Winnipeg home.