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Thinking of Buying Your First Home in the Oakville, Mississauga or Burlington Area?-First Time Home Buyer's Seminar

Jo-Anne Smith- Oakville, Burlington and Mississauga Region Real Estate, Ont: Real Estate Agent in Oakville, ON

Thinking of Buying Your First Home in the Oakville, Mississauga or Burlington Area?

You Won't Want to Miss Our FREE First-Time Homebuyer's Seminar !

Being Held on Wednesday, November 18th from 7-9pm at
TD/Canada Trust on the corner of Prince Mi
Buying First Home in Oakvillechael and Dundas in Oakville.


Becoming an informed buyer will save you time, effort and potentially 1000's of dollars as well as providing you with the knowledge you'll need to make a wise investment decision in today's unpredictable marketplace.



Bring a list of questions you've been wondering about and have them answered by one of our panel of experts.


Presentations will be given by the following home buying professionals:


Every registrant will receive a FREE Home Buying Package filled with valuable information on the home buying process and valuable cost-saving certificates that will save first time homebuyers hundreds of dollars when buying their first home.

In addition, each registrant will be entered into our FREE DRAW for Valuable Door Prizes !*

Come out for a relaxing and fun-filled evening!

SEATING is LIMITED so Please REGISTER EARLY by

Contacting either Jo-Anne Smith or Denise Bayne at 905-469-8888 or Click on this link to

Register For First Time Homebuyer's Seminar By Email


Mark Your Calendar and Call TODAY.

*must be present at the seminar in order to win

Jo-Anne Smith, the author of this article, is a REALTOR® with Sutton Group - Quantum Realty Inc., Oakville, Ontario and welcomes your real estate inquiries. To contact her, visit www.Oakville-BurlingtonHomes.com

Buying In A Seller's Market - House Hunting 101

Jenny Kotulak  Oakville Real Estate: Real Estate Agent in Oakville, ON

Real estate markets are determined by supply and demand. Markets can fluctuate from a buyer's market to a balanced market to a seller's market and back very quickly for a variety of different reasons.

A seller's market is one in which the buyers outnumber the available inventory. This results in putting the Oakville seller's market, Oakville real estate, Jenny Kotulak brokerseller in a very solid position to sell quickly for top price. In order for a buyer to compete with a multitude of others looking in the same price range for limited product they must be fully prepared and educated.

  • Make sure you work with a REALTOR who will keep you abreast of new inventory as soon as it becomes available. Good agents will network with their colleagues to spread the word as to what they are looking for.
  • Be available to view the property as soon as possible. If you put in an offer before competing you are likely to get it for less money.
  • Do not submit a low ball offer. In a seller's market there will not likely be much movement in the price when it has just been listed. Sellers have the confidence that if they don't get their price from you they will wait for the next offer.
  • Make sure you are pre-approved for financing. This is not the time to be looking for a property that you aren't sure if you can afford or not. If you are going to make an offer conditional on financing make sure your bank or mortgage broker has all pertinent information such as income letters, amount of down payment, etc. and that you have discussed interest rate, taxes, maintenance and utility fees.
  • If you do get into a multiple offer situation make sure you put your best figure forward. Your chances to negotiate are slim if you are competing so go with your highest and best.
  • Make sure you are comfortable with your offer price when competing. You do not want to have remorse afterwards when you find out what the home sold for and you now wish you had put in a higher offer.
  • If you know you are competing and you want to prepare a strong offer you may want to do a building inspection on the property before you submit an offer. If satisfied you are able to submit your offer without this pending condition. The cleaner the offer, the better chance it will be accepted.
  • Stay positive if your offer or offers are rejected. Sit back and regroup. The right house WILL come along. Try not to feel pressured. Often times that may lead you to buy a home for the wrong reasons. Remember what your priorities were when you started out. Do not compromise just for the sake of "winning" a bid.
  • Consider renting short term until there is less pressure. If you are being transferred and not familiar with the area or prices it may be worth taking the extra time to explore and get a better feel for what neighbourhood would work best for you.
  • Make sure your REALTOR explains fully the multiple offer situation. It is important to know when offers are open and closed and how the negotiations will be handled. Strategy is very important when there are competing offers.

Remember, no matter what the market, the home buying process should not be overly stressful. No matter what your price range, you are looking for your future dream home. This should be an enjoyable experience. Make sure you choose a local real estate professional who will be your partner in this venture.

For information on the current seller's market in Oakville, Ontario contact Jenny Kotulak, Your Oakville Community Realtor.

Past President Oakville, Milton & District Real Estate Board

Orange You Glad It's Fall ?

Jenny Kotulak  Oakville Real Estate: Real Estate Agent in Oakville, ON

Fall Colours, Oakville, Ontario, Jenny Kotulak, photo,

Taking a walk through the ravines and trails in Oakville, Ontario this fall, you will notice a collage of colours. Living in Oakville affords you the opportunity to explore the many mature forested areas and creek banks. No matter what neighbourhood you live in in Oakville, there is always a park, greenspace, bike paths or ravines nearby. Sitting on Oakville's Parks & Recreation Advisory Committee, I have the opportunity to hear about the Town's future plans for new and existing parks. Now's the time to get out and enjoy the last of the fall colours.

If You Had A Million Dollars You'd Be - Buying In Oakville ?

Jenny Kotulak  Oakville Real Estate: Real Estate Agent in Oakville, ON

An article in today's Toronto Star with the headline " Pricey homes ride out the recession" led me to do some of my own investigative research on Oakville's "pricey" properties. Tony Wong the journalist who wrote the piece in the Star had this to say about Oakville.

"In Oakville, a favourite with Bay Street bankers, prices were down by almost 20 percent earlier this year. But prices have bounced back: this year's most expensive sale was a waterside home for $7 million."

The Star reporter is correct, the highest sale to date in 2009 in Oakville was a $7 Million Dollar property, but it wasn't on Lake Ontario if that's what he means by waterside. The home located in Oakville's east end was north of Lakeshore Road and next to a park although it did have over 3/4 of an acre of it's own parklike property. The newly built custom home offered 13,000 square feet of luxurious living space. Dundurn Castle, Hamilton,Ontario, Jenny Kotulak, photo

There have been 157 homes sold this year so far with a price tag of $1 Million dollars plus. Seven properties have sold between $3 Million and $7 Million. Of the 157 properties, 93 of them sold between $1 and $1.5 Million dollars.

The average sale price was $1,632,339 with the average days on market being 68 days.

How do these statistics compare to 2008?

For the same time period in 2008, Jan 1. - Nov. 4, 153 homes had sold for $1 Million dollars or more. Two homes shared the highest sale price of $5,500,000. Twelve properties sold between $3 Million and $5.5 Million dollars. Again the popular price range was between $1 - $1.5 Million with 87 transactions.

The average sale price was $1,688,563 with the average days on market being 52.

What do these stats show us?

  • # of sales up by 4 this year for same time period
  • Average price off by only $56,000 from last year same time period
  • Average days on market was 2 weeks longer this year same time period

For buyers looking to spend over $1,000,000 there are currently 162 properties available for sale in Oakville. The highest priced listing can be had for $11,900,000. There are 32 homes available over $3,000,000.

If Oakville is indeed a favourite with Bay Street bankers as stated in the Toronto Star, I would be more than happy to give those potential buyers a tour of available homes. Although inventory is depleted in the lower price ranges, the upper end affords a great selection of homes in all Oakville neighbourhoods.

Statistics Source :OMDREB Tarasoft Matrix

Photo Source : Jenny Kotulak - Dundurn Castle, Hamilton, Ontario - Not For Sale

Jenny Kotulak Broker

Your Oakville Community REALTOR

Past President Oakville, Milton & District Real Estate Board

Front Yard Curb Appeal Gone Wrong & How to Fix It

Nicole Hurst (Your Halton & Peel Home Staging Expert): Home Stager in Georgetown, ON

Cole House Design has recently attended a few fall open houses in the Halton region, and I was surprised at what we found. Although many of the homes had wonderful interiors, the outside of the houses had been neglected and or forgotten about. Although Mother Nature can sometimes throw us all a curve ball this time of year, especially here in the north, curb appeal is still very important when selling your home.

Here are some things that we found in the front yards of many homes we saw:

fallen leaves Although no one enjoys raking leaves...if potential buyers have to walk through piles of them to get to the front door, they may think the rest of the home has also been neglected.

trailer in the driveway When travel trailers or utility trailers are not being used, store them off-site while selling your home, not directly in front of the garage.

wasp nest If a family of wasps built a nest in your front window at the end of the summer, it is definitely time to deal with it. Something as big and ugly as this one was, would just scare buyers away...period.

radical paint colours Although this turquoise colour is likely cheery and bright to the current homeowners, it is over the top to most buyers. Always paint trim and garage doors in neutral colours to compliment your brick or stonework, not to make them jump out.

dumpster in yard While your house is listed, a dumpster may tell buyers that your home is under construction, that it is full of junk and you are finally getting rid of it, or that perhaps something is horribly wrong and you are dealing with it (like a flooded basement or leaky roof). It is always best to undertake clutter and construction BEFORE the house goes on the market, or take it off the market while you have necessary work completed.

dead plants If this is what greets potential buyers as they walk up to your home, they may wonder if the rest of your house is dead and lifeless as well.

front walkway neglect Although this home had a beautiful front walkway...most buyers would only notice the dirt spread over it, the grass growing between the flagstones, and the cheap plastic chair sitting haphazardly by the driveway. Not a good first impression!

can't see the house And on one final note. If potential buyers can't even see the house when they drive by...invest in a good pair of hedge clippers and trim those trees and bushes!

For more tips on curb appeal and preparing your home for sale, visit Cole House Design.

Next week we will be showing photos of what NOT to have in the backyard, while your home is on the market. Thanks for reading!

Sincerely,

Nicole Hurst - (President)

Phone 416-878-0338

Cole House Designwww.colehousedesign.com

(Cole House Design provides home staging and interior decorating services to those in the Halton, Peel and Muskoka regions of Ontario.)