Blue Mountains, ON

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!

One of my clients sent me the most beautiful picture a few weeks ago and I'd like to share it with you.

These folks immigrated to Canada from the U.K. in order to improve their quality of life. They bought a lovely rural property on the Niagara Escarpment just south of Collingwood in the stunning, Pretty River Valley. Now, they take the time to smell the roses so to speak and, they notice things others may take for granted.

Case in point: on a walk down their country road one night a few weeks ago, they took this picture which looks north from their home toward Georgian Bay. You can clearly see the yellow glow of lights over Collingwood and the white hues over the night ski runs at Blue Mountain.

Of course, you can't help but notice the stars.

My client wanted to take the same picture last night during Earth Hour but alas, it was too cloudy and he couldn't get a shot. I wonder what it may have looked like. I know that our neighbourhood was 70% dark. How about yours?

A few weeks ago, I learned a lesson in the obvious. It was a lesson about how easily we can sometimes take things forgranted.

While showing properties in Blue Mountain to some buyers who were here from Asia, one of them asked me what the difference was between a cottage and a chalet. It seems that in our discussions and in her research about Ontario real estate, the two terms came up at different times and she was curious.

It got me thinking about how I intrinsically just know the difference but it was challenging to explain in a way that made sense when I said it out loud. So, since then I did a little homework on Google and interestingly, the terms have different usages in different parts of the world.

Generally speaking, Webster's Dictionary defines a chalet as "A wooden dwelling with a sloping roof and widely overhanging eaves, common in Switzerland and other Alpine regions." In our part of Ontario, we typically refer to any mountain-oriented, recreational homes as chalets. For example, a stucco dwelling used for vacations and week-ends would typically be called a chalet around here. I've even heard many people refer to their condominium as their chalet.

In Canada, the term "cottage" usually refers to a vacation or summer home, often located near a body of water. However, according to a reference on Wiki, this type of property is more commonly called a "cabin" in Western Canada, Newfoundland and Labrador, a "chalet" in Quebec, and a camp in Northern Ontario, New Brunswick and in some northern US states. Here in the Collingwood area, people tend to call a waterfront, vacation home a cottage. A small and humble rural property might be referred to as a cabin.

"I'm going to the chalet this week-end to do some skiing" or, "We're going to the cottage this summer" are phrases you'll hear often. Very generally, the location and seasonal use will dictate the default term used.

When you think about it, it's not a wonder that someone who grew up outside of Ontario may become confused about these terms. Either way, they are very nice to have!

I know that statistics and charts can be a bit mind numbing. On the other hand, they are the story that we need to know telling us where we've been and where we might be going.

I like to watch certain stats in particular: the number of new listings, the number of sales, the number of price reductions but most of all, the sales to listing ratio. That is perhaps one of the better indicators of what is going on in the market.

Let me explain this little ratio thing. It's calculated by dividing the number of sales by the number of listings. It gives us a snapshot of what percentage of the listings on the market are selling. We look at them both on a monthly (or weekly) basis and also year-to-date. Although there are divergent opinions, generally speaking, a sales-to-listing ratio of over 50% suggests that it is a SELLERS market. Under 40% is a BUYERS market and in between, is considered to be a BALANCED market.

Right now, the sales to listing ratio is under 30% as one may expect. That means less than 30% of properties on the market are selling. It's clearly a BUYERS market right now.

To simplify this ratio study, I thought it might be a good time to have a pretty chart so you don't have to read and analyze the stats:

Watch the black trend lines. When they start moving toward each other, that means the market is showing signs of improvement. Of course, if they move apart, its not such a good thing if you are trying to sell.

So for all you analytical types out there, I feel your need! Hope this fills some brain space.

After you have established the right asking price, have prepared and staged your luxury home, it's time to begin marketing the home for sale.

Remember the question most sellers ask is "Will you advertise my home in the Globe & Mail?"  Let's think about that.  What we want to find is a suitable buyer.  Less than 5% of buyers can afford an upper-tier home and even fewer (less than 1%) of buyers in South Georgian Bay buy a property valued at over 1 million dollars.  Where are those buyers and how do we find them?

I can hardly imagine someone sitting down to read ads of out-of-town properties for sale unless they have some interest in the topic.  Secondly, if they do, I doubt they suddenly discover South Georgian Bay for the first time and I doubt even more that any ad, usually 30 words or less, will cause them to make a new life plan.  No, in reality, the buyer likely already has an attachment to the area be it in past vacations, friends who have invested or moved here or maybe they already own property in the area.

This buyer is affluent and educated.  If they are in the market for a luxury home, the probability is extremely high that they will search on the internet for available listings to see what's out there.  They will visit the area and will likely solicit the recommendations of family or friends to find a good area.  They'll drive around, right down some addresses and head back online for details.  They'll eventually hire a local REALTOR® if they are serious.  In other words, they are not looking for a two line ad in a paper that cost some agent hundreds of dollars to run with no results.  Trust me on this, I know.  I know, oh how I know!  They are using the internet, signage and salespeople as well as family and friends.

So, a good start for a new listing in this category is for the listing agent to host an Agent Open House inviting other REALTORS® to view and learn about the home.  If you can't sell the agents, chances are you'll have a tough time selling anyone else.

Secondly, make sure the house is easy to show and that the owners are absent during the showing.  Most clients ask that the listing agent be present in the background and therefore available to answer specific questions that might arise.  Make sure the keys work, the alarm system is addressed with the agent, that the house is in top notch showing condition and that pets are removed from the home.

Now that the house has been priced, prepared, staged, shown to other agents and is easy and ready to show, the real marketing begins. Naturally, that involves signage, placing the listing on the MLS® Multiple Listing Service and preparing feature sheets. But there's more.  Much more.

Coming Soon:  Marketing A Luxury Home in Collingwood ~ Blue Mountain;  Part 3

Related Posts:

Selling a Luxury Home in Collingwood - Blue Mountain

Marketing a Luxury Home In Collingwood ~ Blue Mountain; Part 1