About Durham Municipality, ON

Who doesn't need a little push every now and then. I have just viewed an awesome clip courtesy of "Walk The Talk". I'm not sure if this has been around the block a few hundred times, but in case even just one of you hasn't seen it I thought I would post it and share. Pretty powerful... click here...http://www.walkthetalk.com/the212movie.php?refsource=&campaign= it really gave me a new perspective. Let me know what you think.

As the word spreads about Home Staging , more and more people are choosing to have their homes staged by Professional Home Stagers before putting them on the market. Is this something you have thought about? If not, why ? Did your Realtor advise you about staging your home before listing it?

Some savvy Real Estate Agents know the importance of properly presenting your home in it's best light and that is why you will see more and more agents working with Home Stagers or Staging homes as part of their marketing package. What does this mean for you? It means that your home will be assessed by a Professional Home Stager who has trained to prepare your property with the 'eye of the buyer' in mind. If your agent doesn't suggest hiring a home stager, ask why? It is in your best interest as a home owner to market your home in the most innovative way that you can. Shouldn't this be something that your agent informs you about? Don't wait until your agent suggests a price drop. Staging your home in Durham Region can cost as little as 1% of the asking price or less depending on what needs to be done.

A Professional Home Stager will make an appointment with you to do a walk through of your entire home. At this consultation appointment the Stager will give tips on things you can do to make your home more appealing to a wider variety of buyers.She may make recommendations for paint, furniture placement, and even refer trades people to help with your project. You can choose to do these tasks yourself or have the Home Stager complete some or all of the project. Before having an open house, the Home Stager can come and put the finishing touches on everything from ~ placing decorative items in the rooms, to dressing the bed. The choice is yours.

Staging is already a Hot marketing tool in the City. Can you afford not to be one of the first in your neighbourhood to stage your home before putting it on the market? Think of the edge this will give you on the competition!! If you live in the Uxbridge or surrounding area, call Kathryn for a chat about how staging your home will give you an advance on the competition!! Make your home stand out from the crowd! Stage it First!

Kathryn can be reached at 905-852-0383 or by email at kathy@stageitfirst.ca

We hope you are enjoying Old Man Winters’ days of January. As Canadians, we certainly know how to cope with the frigid temperatures, but bring on spring please.

The Toronto Real Estate Board has just released it’s annual report of the real estate activity for 2007. From our neck of the woods, we have some interesting numbers we would like to share with you.

Sales in December propelled 2007 statistics to a record setting 93,193 homes sold. That is the first time in TREB’s history that over 90,000 sales were recorded.

In the North District, 771 sales were reported with an average sale price of $420,508.(month of December 2007) .

Annual figures for the Uxbridge area are: 592 Homes Listed, 322 Homes Sold, $395,813 Average Price, selling for an average of 97% of asking price.

We look forward to another brisk year of helping people find their dream home ….either moving up or scaling down there is a home out there to suit your needs. If you are thinking of selling your home this spring...remember, in our market spring starts in February… get a head start on the competition.

Kathy Clulow

Sales Representative

We’re never too busy for your referrals.

We want you to be our “Customer for Life”

As always, for up to the minute real estate information visit us on the web at
www.myuxbridge.info

* all figures from the Toronto Real Estate Board ‘Market Watch’ Jan 08

Did I get your attention? No, this is not a slam on Realtors. Just a little insight so stagers keep doing what we are doing. Dane's post got me thinking.

As for the lack of push from the majority of Realtors... 10 years ago I sold Real Estate in Durham Region, and at that time "Home Inspections" was in its infancy. I remember how eager the Home Inspectors were. They would come to the Tuesday morning realtor meetings trying to pitch us on the importance of their service. They would get the usual responses "Why would someone pay for something that anyone could do...a buyers father or brother or friend can check over the place?" or "marketing tool for us?...Why should we (the realtor) pay for an inspection for our clients? The list of negative responses was long. (Sound familiar?) Now look at how far they have come. Buying a house without a home inspection is ludicrous. Full legal clauses have been created to remove liability if a buyer is crazy enough not to get a home inspection. I believe Staging is in exactly the same place Home Inspections were ten years ago. With time and with knowledge it won't be long before people are saying..."Selling a home without staging? ...that's ludicrous!"

Promote your business on the HomesByOwner of Durham Region website. We provide maximum exposure for you with our For Sale By Owner company.

We offer various packages to suit every budget.

• Pic-A-Pro - Your business can be displayed in anyone of the appropiate categories. If available, your logo can be included and a link created to your website.
• Additional Links - These ads are displayed on the right side of every page in the Durham Region HomesByOwner.com website. If available, your logo can be included and a link created to either your website or a custom page describing your business.
• Property Listings - When a buyer uses the property search feature and browses the listings, they will see a random Pic-A-Pro's ad periodically. This is another area to display your Pic-A-Pro ad and get maximum exposure on the HomesByOwner of Durham Region website. If available, your logo can be included and a link to your website.
• Properties Main Page - When a buyer clicks a specific property or uses the direct web address to go for a detailed look, a Pic-A-Pro's ad will be displayed randomly on the same page. This package will provide excellent exposure for your business.

Contact Durham Region Homes By Owner for more information.