Marg Scheben-Edey - Collingwood, Ontario

Do you ever wonder how your own behaviours and expenditures as a home owner stack up to the norm?

According to a report released by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), approximately 1.7 million households across 10 major city centres spent almost $21.3 billion on renovations to their primary residence in 2008. About 35 percent of households spent $1,000 or more on these renovations.

Other highlights from the survey include:

* The most popular reno was painting or wallpapering a room, with 28% of those who renovated stating they had undertaken this type of renovation in 2008. Remodelling a room or installing wall to wall carpeting or hard surface flooring came a close second at 27 percent.

· Of those households who renovated in 2008, about 75% did alterations and improvements to their homes, 46 percent did maintenance and repairs. The survey further noted 19% completed both maintenance and repairs and alterations and improvements in 2008.

· The main reason for renovating given by the renovating respondents was that they wanted to add value, update or to prepare their home for selling. Second most popular was that the dwelling needed to be repaired.

· Renovating to increase energy efficiency was popular in Halifax and Ottawa in 2008.

· The majority of those households who renovated, hired a contractor to do all of the work (39%); while 30% did the work themselves or with help of family/friends and approximately 25% both hired a contract and did some of the work themselves.

· Of the homeowners surveyed across the 10 major centres, an average of $12,600 was spent on renovations, which is down approximately $200 from 2007.

· The survey found that householders living in older homes spend more on renovations. $20,000 on average was spent on renos to home built between 1921-1945, while in newer homes built between 2006-2008 spent around $7,500

· Of the renovating households, 46% stayed on budget with their renovation costs, while 38% went over budget.

· Close to half (46%) of all homeowners included in this survey indicated having an intention to undertake home renos of more than $1,000 in 2009. This is more than the number of households who DID undertake renos in 2008 (35%.)

• The number one method of paying for renovations in 2008 was from savings (almost 75%) as opposed to around 26% using credit cards or lines of credit.

I was so excited after reading a news release about the old Tremont Hotel building in downtown Collingwood, Ontario, that it was hard to get to sleep.

As I mentioned in another post on the subject, the Tremont building has sat neglected and abandoned since the town purchased it several years ago with the intention of tearing it down for parking. Since the building is located in the Heritage District and is considered to be an exceptional heritage asset, it would have been a horrible shame. Thankfully, the current council stopped to reconsider that decision and ultimately put out a request for proposals to the public.

Recently, Collingwood council accepted a proposal from local residents, Richard and Anke Lex. Rick is a developer and also the current president of the local chapter of the Architectural Conservancy of Ontario and a noted heritage proponent within the community. Anke is an artist specializing in gorgeous maiolica pottery. The combination of their skills are a perfect fit for a plan that is an exciting model of combined heritage preservation and environmental sustainability.

According to the media release, "The project involves the preservation, restoration and revitalization of an important designated building in the Collingwood Heritage Conservation District and its adaptive reuse to provide commercial opportunities and live/work space for the creative sector. The building will incorporate sustainable and environmental measures along with heritage preservation. Some of the green energy components that the building will feature include solar PV and solar thermal as well as grey water recycling and heat recovery." I think the concept of live/work units is a fantastic approach that is sure to garner significant interest.

For the town, this plan may also solve the other problem residents have expressed about the lack of parking for the new library being built next door. The Lex's have confirmed that their plan allows the Town of Collingwood to retain over three quarters of the property for parking. The Lex's state that work is to commence this summer and that it will include restoration of the building's 1889 façade.

This is a wonderful example of an adaptive reuse of a heritage building that will have new life in a sustainable fashion. Instead of becoming landfill, this landmark building is now destined toill become a jewel in the downtown core.

Ha! Got ya with that headline! Read on...

Back in September 2007, I wrote about our foray into the world of real estate investment. Hubby and I purchased a condo in Collingwood, Ontario that we rented to a fantastic family and, we are still very happy with our decision. There's more though. One never knows where things can lead and many things have happened since then.

First, I was elected to the board of directors of the condominium corporation last year. It's been a tremendous learning curve but one I am so glad to have taken on. Having book knowledge of the Condominium Act and all of the inner workings of a corporation is quite different than having practical knowledge as I do now. Our little corporation may in fact be one of the more complex ones in the area for a variety of reasons and has therefore exposed me to a very wide range of issues from how parking is enforced to condo budgets, reserve studies, property maintenance and management.

When the condo development was first built, it had a playground for the children but over the years, it fell into disrepair and ultimately, it all but disappeared. Residents have called for its refurbishment for a long time now but money was an obstacle. This week, all that has changed.

At our last annual meeting, we put forward the idea of establishing a task force of residents to put together a business plan. It was astounding to see almost every single person at the meeting step up and volunteer to be on the committee. For the next two months, they worked together. Our own tenant used his engineering skills to pull together a design. The parents of one of our residents donated a swing set and slide. Other people donated time and equipment for land preparation and, a local company donated tires for edging and playing. Before you know it, we had a very workable plan at a relatively minor cost.

This past week-end, we called for volunteers and the turnout was outstanding. From 8 am to 6 pm, residents, property managers, owners and others worked side by side to build the playground. It was accomplished in a day. There was a BBQ. There was lots of laughter. The kids starting playing before the work was finished. It was an amazing day. More than building a playground, it was building a community.

The June stats are in and there are some pleasant surprises and some very positive news. Look at this chart:

For the third straight month in a row, we saw the number of MLS® listings for the month drop below 2008 levels with 11.6% fewer new listings when compared to June 2008. The BIG NEWS however is this... for the first time in 14 months, the number of sales for the month exceeded the previous year. Yes, for the first time since April, 2008, the number of sales last month exceeded June '08 by a substantial 16%.

June also had the highest number of sales (206) by month since last August. With listings down by 13% over last year and sales up, the tell tale sales-to-listing ratio tells the story of a market quickly returning to balanced market conditions. While the YTD ratio sits at 26.22%, the ratio for the month of June climbed to 39.77%.

Looking strictly at year-to-date (YTD) figures for the first half of this year, the average residential sale price was down about 2.9% compared to the same period as last year however, this is not an indication of actual values. The absence or presence of sales in the high or low ends of the market quickly impacts averages.

As has been the case for many months now, the majority of sales activity has taken place on properties priced below $300,000. Most sales (86) were between $150,000 to $250,000 followed by the 250,000 to 350,000 bracket with 49 sales. There were also 21 sales priced between $350,000 to $500,000. Notably, there were 2 sales over the $1 million dollar mark in June and another 5 sales between $500,000 and $800,000. Most luxury home sales have occurred this year in the last two months suggesting that we are seeing signs of renewed interest or confidence in the upper-tier market.

Looking at individual areas is always interesting. For example, Clearview had a great month with 22 sales reported in June compared to just 7 in the same month a year ago. In Collingwood, sales were on par while they were up in numbers in Grey Highlands, Blue Mountains and Wasaga Beach. Meaford had 4 fewer sales than in June '08. All of these continue to gain strength each month. The 12-month average RESIDENTIAL sale price sat at $273,941 at month's end.

Sales of condominiums held their own again with 24-25 sales in each of the last three months returning to the levels we saw in the summer of 2008. Vacant land sales have risen substantially to monthly levels not seen since the records set in the summer of 2007. Over-all, residential properties on average are selling at 95-95% of their asking price.

Buyers are continuing to voice that they feel we've reached and perhaps passed the bottom of the market and that they feel now is the time to buy. They see the return to competing offers and rising interest rates and express more confidence that prices have bottomed out. Having said that, the properties that sell are generally only those that are well-priced and well presented. Buyers are looking for value and opportunity plus, they still have a great deal of choice with 2130 properties currently available for sale in the Georgian Triangle area.

Note: All data was obtained from the MLS® statistics provided by the Georgian Triangle Real Estate Board.

One of the things I've enjoyed most about being part of the Active Rain family is connecting with REALTORS® from all over the continent. There's a dynamic, intelligent and caring community of people in our business and, I've always learned or been inspired by the posts I've read.

Two of the people I've had a chance to meet on a couple of occasions now are Kathy Clulow and her hubby Barrie from Uxbridge, Ontario. Last week they made the very good decision (shameless plug alert) to have a mini-vacation in the Collingwood - Blue Mountain area and we were able to get together for lunch. I always learn something from our conversations and very much enjoy the time spent together.

Kathy shared a few photo's with me from their recent trip. The first was taken at Northwinds Beach in Craigleith which is known as the home of board sailing. Timing is everything and here she captured a kite boarder in mid-flight:

The second shot here is a remarkable capture of the Inukshuk at Sunset Point Park in Collingwood at sunset.

Isn't it awesome? As the Collingwood, Blue Mountain and Wasaga Beach areas are vacation paradises, I'm guessing some of you reading this may also visit our area this summer. Consider this your invitation to lunch!