KEN DEVOE - Century 21

I was recently told by a client that I do not act like other Realtors?

HMMM I really did not know how to take that. A few days later I asked her what she meant by that. She said I was easy to get along with, that I thought of her best interests.

Isn't that good? I thought that was good.

She ended up buying a house. I think she made a wise decision. There were others that were grossly higher in price than the one she picked. All I did was I gave her some of my time and answered her questions honestly.

Why did that make me unlike other Realtors. I would hope all Realtors would do that, I would hope that all Realtors have the clients best interest at heart. When I meet someone who is buying or selling a home, I try to balance between professional and friend, get to know your wants as a person as a couple or as a family and then work to find the best possibilities. One of the problems in this industry of real estate is we cannot not watch other Realtors interact with their clients. I wonder what would make people say 'you do not act like other Realtors' Apparantly the comment is a good thing, I am getting more people call me saying my friend needs a home or my sister is thinking of selling. So I may not be like other Realtors, I may care a little bit more, I may spend a little more time to make sure you have the right house.

I really think MOST Realtors are good, there are different personalities but most have your best interests in mind. Everyone is different, every Realtor is different.

My philosphy is to spend as much time needed to help you find your best options in a home, to get you that home at the best possible price and to make sure you are ok with the process. I have always been different, I guess I am OK with that. So if you are looking for a new Realtor in Red Deer or Central Alberta give me a call 403-350-1192

Thanks for reading

Ken Devoe Century 21 Red Deer

Today I spent the morning with a lady who is thinking of selling her home. Nice lady, hard working husband and four adorable kids. A normal Canadian family. They want to make a move but they bought in the last few years when the real estate market was hotter than now, prices were higher. There are many people in Central Alberta like this family, they bought a house in 2007 or 2008 and now its value is lower than before. Its hard for us as realtors to go to a home and tell people that they are going to lose money. This particular lady knows whats happening and really was not that surprised. We talked about everything from improvements to saleability. Saleability is what I think I excell at. Saleability is how much interest your home will have on the market right now. Like I told this lady today there are two reasons your home will sell. Price and marketing. An overpriced house will not sell in todays market, there are to many to choose from and buyers know them all. Secondly is marketing. Marketing your home is what every realtor should do. Does your realtor market properly? My listings are advertised at least 10 ways. One of my listings has been viewed over 2000 times on different websites, 2000 times over the past 45 days during the Christmas period. Thats a number I am proud of. Real Estate is a competitive business and I am proud to have a top ranked Century 21 website www.kenismyrealtor.ca across Canada.

I want to be your realtor.

I want to market your home to as many people in as many ways needed to sell it.

I want to help Central Albertans find their next home.

Ken Devoe - Century 21 Advantage

Red Deer Alberta

One of the questions we hear is Whats the market doing? As most of you know our real estate market is like any real estate market. Its always volatile. It goes up and goes down, depending on the season and economic state. Right now we are good. Lots of sales and lots of choice. Last month in Red Deer there were 111 sales of single family homes. Thats just homes, no condos, townhouses or mobiles with an average sale price of $339,495. I was watching the news from Edmonton last night and their report had the average price in Edmonton last month at $374,000. Right now there is 319 active house listings in Red Deer, so roughly about 1 in 3 will sell. Lots of sales, lots of choice and lower prices over the past few years. Over the past two years the range in avg sales price per month has fluctuated from $297,000 to $368,000. there are always reasons why one month might be higher, such as one month we might have 10 houses over $500k sell and the next we have none, so that will always have repercussions on the avg sale price but over time we have seen prices go up. In the past 3 years we have seen the avg sale price go from $308K to $339K with 100 sales in July 2006 to 111 sales this past July. The market is healthy, houses sell that are priced in todays market and are in show condition.

Thinking of buying a house in Red Deer? Now is the time. Prices are stable, interest rates are at a great 4.19% and choice is amazing.

Anywhere in Central Alberta is a wise choice. Always something happening, always somewhere to go in a short drive time.

Thinking of moving? Relocating to Central Alberta? Call Ken Devoe at Century 21 Advantage with any questions you may have.

Cell 403-350-1192

Email - ken.devoe@century21.ca

As most people know there were a lot of house sales in Central Alberta over the past few years. There were ‘bidding wars' over houses because the supply did not match up to the demand. As sales are now back to a normal pace there are fewer multiple offer situations for a sale but they still occur. Houses that are priced right, at a fair market value, or priced below market value are always desirable. These homes are still being bought and are sometimes wanted by more than one family. As a buyer its not a great position to be in but you still have a shot at getting that home. My advice in this situation would be to know your top price you would be willing to pay and make a wise business decision. If you get the home great, if not we find another.

Most people do not know the proper protocol for multiple offers. As soon as the buyer has written an offer on a property the buyers realtor will call the sellers realtors to inform them of the offer. If the sellers realtor is dealing with another offer then he/she must inform all interested parties of all offers. All parties must know that they are in competing offers. This allows all buyers the opportunity to make their best efforts to be the sellers best option. When the sellers realtors receives all offers he/she will sit with his clients and talk about all offers. Price is always one of the top issues but conditions on the sale are always a big hurdle especially if one of the buyers have a home to sell before they can proceed with the purchase of their new home. When the sellers hear all the offers they have a few options.

They can:

• 1) Accept one offer and reject all others
• 2) Accept one offer and accept another offer as a back up
• 3) Counter one offer and set the rest aside until negotiations are final on the first offer
• 4) Reject everything

Rejecting all offers is never a good thing. I always recommend to my clients to work with the offer that shows the best promise.

Things to keep in mind while you are in this situation.

All parties must know of the multiple offers.

All buyers must know there is another offer on the desired home.

Only the seller knows what each offer contains. The other buyer will not know what your offer is.

Multiple offers is a tough situation to be in as a buyer. As I said go with an offer you are comfortable with and see what happens. Always look out for your best interests and never spend more on a property than what you can afford. If you have any questions about multiple offers please call Ken Devoe at 403-350-1192 or email at ken.devoe@century21.ca .

Thanks for reading.

Hello again, February 2009 was a good month for Red Deer sales, 113 compared to the 62 sales in January 2009. Compared to the 171 sales in February of 2008 we are still considerately lower but we can see consumer interest and confidence is coming back.

A great article come from the Globe and Mail, take a minute to read:
http://business.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090304.whousing0304/BNStory/Business/home

Spring is coming and so are buyers. Call me to be your new Red Deer Realtor.