Ty Lacroix

Condominium living is a popular option for many Canadians as it can be a relatively carefree housing option. Currently, in some parts of the country, one out of three new homes built is a condominium.

Most newspapers now include a condominium section which recognizes the increasing number of people who already live in—or aspire to live in—a condominium.

This Guide has been created to help you become an informed condominium buyer and to help you make the best choice. Please see the glossary at the end of the Guide for full definitions of some of the terms used.

The Guide will give you the basic background information you need to get started on the path to condominium ownership. It will identify important questions to ask—and the people you should be asking—before you make this important purchase.

At the end of the Guide, we've provided you with a condominium selection checklist to help you narrow down the choice between the different types of condominiums you might see.

This Guide provides a general overview of the purchase of condominiums. It is not intended to provide legal or technical advice. It is recommended that you retain appropriate legal and technical professionals to guide you with any condominium purchase you may consider.

Go Here to read the guide.

In Part 1 we covered how to generate commissions within 45-60 days; Part 2 is about building a stable business.

#2: Create a “Customer List” and Make Them Your Primary Market

You already know that research says 77% of all real estate transactions occur from a relationship – they know the agent or are referred from a trusted source.

Here’s something you don’t know: If you built a “Customer List” (database of personal contacts) with 300 people (homeowners),(See my “How to Farm The Right Way” report) and the average home ownership period is, for example 7 years, (nationally it’s 5.8 years), then 42 of those people will buy or sell every year – good market or lousy market.

Wow! Is this getting your attention?

600 people on your database and its 84 transactions every year from that list. 900 people and its 128 deals a year – and so on. And don’t forget, that doesn’t include referrals they could send you – it’s just the number of direct transactions that come from that group.

Now hold on. Before you start thinking you just hit “easy street”, there’s something you need to understand. These are not just “random” people. I’m talking about people who know you or know OF you.

The higher the “quality” of contact on your list (i.e. the better they know you), the more responsive they’ll be to your regular contact. This means the more inclined they’ll be to think of YOU FIRST when they think real estate

So the “real” question is: WHO will get all those deals?

ANSWER: The agent who farms the best.

The one who’s stayed in contact (at least once a month, every month), deepened the relationship, provided on-going value to their list, and demonstrated they’re a true professional committed to the relationship for the long haul and worthy of the client’s business over any other agent.

Are you willing to become that agent…the one who captures 77% of all transactions, holds such a high personal market share they generate huge income regardless of market conditions?

You are? OK, good because next I’ll show you…

How to Build Your “Customer List”

Building a Customer List is easy if you put your mind to it. Here’s the best way to go about it…

STEP 1: Start with all the people you know and create what I call the “My List”.

STEP 2: Put every new and old client on the list.

STEP 3: Put leads you generate on your list. Many successful agents make it a point to add 2 people a day, and soon have 500 contacts their first year (and got 10 to 20 deals just by putting people on the list).

STEP 4: Also, the other parties to any transactions you complete go on the list (hint: their agent will forget about them, so they’ll easily be yours when they buy or sell again).

STEP 5: Create “strategic alliances” with professionals who have clients that could be yours and get a “host endorsement” of your services: accountants, insurance brokers, etc. Consider reciprocating by introducing them to your clients as well. The credibility of the existing relationship is transferred to the endorsed person.

Final note: purge your list every 6 months to remove lower quality people. Within 12 to 24 months you’ll have a small, highly motivated group of people sending you consistent business month-in and month-out.

How Often Do You Contact Your “Customer List”?

You must plan on monthly contact to make any inroads. Commit to monthly or don’t even start. The Direct Marketing Association reports that the optimum contact time is every 21 days. There have also been studies out there that say for every month you forget about your Customer List, you lose 10% of them – another reason for monthly contact.

Finally, CREA reports that the “average” contact program takes between 8 and 12 months to “start” working. (Side note: You can cut that time in half with some programs that have worked for me but even if it takes 10 months to start the “market share engine” producing, that’s still a great deal, and considering most agents never get it going).

Watch for Part 3 which will cover the most critical part of this 3 part series which is what is your return on investment and why for all marketing and prospecting, you should be aware of the actual return on investment and not guess about it.

“Hi Lucy, I’m stuck in the elevator!” I had a listing appointment to do a CMA for an apartment condo in a high-rise building. She buzzed me in and my next conversation with her was, ’Hi Lucy; I’m stuck in the elevator”.

“Oh no, are you OK?” she asked. “I’m fine, thanks”. She asked “Do you want me to call 911 or the building manager?” “The building manager should know what to “, I replied. She called both 911 and the building manager. (She had given the 911 operator my cell number and when called I said that I was fine and I would call them in a few hours if I was still stuck.)

The building manager called me and said he had called the elevator company and should be here in about an hour. OK, I replied, I’m fine, I have my laptop with me, my blackberry and I can still do some work.

My listing appointment seller was quite worried but I assured her I was fine, it was not her fault and I asked her if she would mind answering a few questions and if she was near a computer? If so, I could do most of my listing presentation on line, show her what I do and don’t do, testimonials from past clients, my sales to listing ratio etc. She was and I presented to her about 85% of my regular presentation over the phone,stuck in an elevator. ( I should add I was interrupted numerous times (for whatever reason I don’t know) by the building manager and someone from the fire department just checking on me.)

My first reaction was, don’t you know I’m busy, I’m doing a presentation right now! I actually considered putting my cell on call forward to my answering service.

Anyway, I got out in about an hour and a half, met my seller, finished the rest of my presentation and wrote up the listing.

In 27 days the condo apartment sold in a building where the average is 64 days!

So, in the end, as a REALTOR, always be prepared, be organized and control whatever situation you find yourself in. Oh yeah, my elevator speech: “I’m stuck in your elevator!”

“Where is the condo market headed, in Canada & specifically London Ontario?” I was asked this question today by a client who wants to sell her condo in Toronto and move to London Ontario. Below is part of what I emailed to her.

The oversupply of condominiums in Canada is becoming a concern as two-thirds of all housing starts are condos and the supply of completed but unoccupied condominiums is high.

Vancouver & Toronto lead the way in new construction and as an example; Toronto has 132 high-rise buildings under construction compared to 17 in Chicago or 86 in New York City.

In a report by Bank of America Merrill Lynch, if Toronto condo developers stopped developing and completed their existing projects, there would be enough to supply the market for five years! The report also stated that between 40-60% of the sales of pre-construction units are to investors!

What is going to happen when units are on the market longer, are not selling and supply out paces demand? Yes, prices tumble and turmoil accelerates the uncertainty of real estate which in turn can affect all of Canada.

In London Ontario, we too have many new condo projects under way but the majority of units being built are one floor townhomes with amenities that are attracting the Boomers and the high-rise buildings are actually attracting the Boomers with very few investors on the scene.

As I wrote yesterday in my blog about why London Ontario will not experience a real estate bubble burst, the stability in London and the new demographic changes for the fore seeable future are quite positive.

Will the housing market crash in London Ontario? Is there a real estate bubble in London Ontario? For the last few months, economists, the heads of three of Canada’s major banks (BMO, CIBC & RBC) agreed that the market is reaching its peak and though they do not foresee a crash, they feel that prices are likely to decrease this year and perhaps decrease for 2-3 years. (Some predict 25% across Canada)

Some are even predicting gloomier thoughts, such as a real estate bubble ready to burst. That may be so for cities like Toronto, Montreal, Calgary or Vancouver where new home and condo construction is at an all time high.

I don’t think we will see this decrease in prices in London Ontario for the following reasons:

• The average selling price for a home in Canada at December 31, 2011 was $347, 801 while in London the average price was $244,430 which shows that London has not seen the influx of investors, speculators or the herd mentality which believe if prices are rising, that they should jump in and buy a home so that they do not miss out and benefit from those soaring prices. So as a result, housing is perceived as an asset that can only rise in value and the herd just keeps on going in debt and piles it on.
• It is believed that median house prices should be no more than three times larger than the median household income. Today, prices stand at 4.6 times the median income across the major cities in Canada yet London is a little under that 3 times the median income level!
• Interest rates are at their all time low which usually means a real boom for home buyers but with debt ratios for the average Canadian rising, inflation being curbed to a minimum and tighter lending rules, London historically has stayed the course with real estate prices being less than the Canadian median.
• I am seeing more and more Baby Boomers moving to London because of lower housing costs, London’s great medical facilities, the resurgence of downtown London, the multitude of recreational facilities, golf courses and situated between two of the Great Lakes, Lake Huron and Lake Erie. These folks have cash or little debt, are leaving the larger centres and are cashing out on the rising prices in their communities.

Is London Ontario immune to the rest of Canada? Of course not but the influx of middle class newcomers to London with money will keep our real estate market stable for years. By no means should we ignore the global economy either but as demographics change, a house or a condo changes from bricks and mortar to a home.