About Middlesex County, ON

Blogs can be boring. I debated many times before I committed to start one. The main reason blogs can be boring is that creating interesting, meaningful content takes time and commitment. Many people see the trend of blogs, see the benefits behind developing a dedicated reader base and want the results – they don’t understand that the fabric of the result is in the content. Many do what they think is a short cut – they cut and paste market trends or other standard industry news into their blog thinking they are adding value. I would tend to disagree with this approach.

Don’t get me wrong, I am all for market trend summaries, thoughts on the marketplace in general and those types of entries – but a blog is supposed to be a personally opinionated medium. They are also intended to show the personality of the author and give people an idea of the person behind the writing. As you will notice, each and everyone of my entries is 100% original content. I intentionally inject a lot of opinion and personal views into my writing so people can benefit by agreeing or disagreeing with my viewpoints.

So in summary:

- if you want to see real estate statistics for London & area – go to www.lstar.ca

- if you want to read stats about housing prices, starts and other information, try www.cmhc.ca

- if you want to read about my listings, go to www.homeslondon.com

If you want to know what I think about real estate – you are in the right place!

link 2 realty ltd. Real Estate Brokerage & Andrew Young, Scotiabank will be presenting Free Real Estate Seminars to London Ontario.

Admission is free and open to anyone interested. Seating is limited, so reserve yours today by calling 519-642-0619 or email andrewr.young@scotiabank.com

Home Buying Seminar
Date: December 9, 2008
Time: 7:00 pm – 9:00pm
Location: Scotiabank 301 Oxford St. W, London

Thinking of buying a home or property? Come check out our Home Buying Seminar. Learn about: Renting vs. Buying, Legalities, the Real Estate Market, and more! Speakers will include a Real Estate Agent & Mortgage Specialist.

Mortgage/Investment Seminar
Date: December 19, 2008
Time: 7:00 pm – 9:00pm
Location: Scotiabank 301 Oxford St. W, London

This seminar is two in one! For anyone who wants to learn more about mortgages, or if you are thinking about investing in real estate, come check out our Mortgage/Investment Seminar. Learn about: Types of Mortgages, Investment Analysis, Legalities, Financing, and more! Speakers will include a Real Estate Agent & Mortgage Specialist. Guest speaker, Sean Galloway, City of London, will also discuss where London is headed and how to invest in its future.

For more upcoming dates, visit http://www.link2realty.ca/seminars.html

Thanks to you that have made a comment. Since my last post, I have successuly started my new website (www.robertmiedemaphotographer.ca) geared to Virtual Tours, taken addtional training in virtual tours, registered and become a business associate with my local real estate board (introductory meeting day after tomorrow), started and completed my first business portrait session in St. Thomas. and begun my "100 list. Not to ignore my portrait and wedding business, but I tell you, what a ride this new journey is taking me. This outreach (blogging) is totally new to me, so if I do it wrong, then bear with me. I need to take time a associate myself with others out there who are on the same path or have been on this path past. There is a lot to learn from each other. Take Care. Robert

When I first started in the real estate industry, it constantly amazed me the amount of turnover a newly developed neighbourhood would experience in the first 5 years. Over time I realized this is a natural occurance for many reasons. In my opinion the main reason is that a younger demographic tends to be attracted to new builds. The younger demographic tends to have more major lifestyle changing events that inspires moves.

I've worked with many sellers having a home under 5 years old - for this client it is imperitive to understand the new home buyer because they will quite often cross over into recently built resale. Below are some tips on how you can cater to new home buyers on the most important levels.

1) Bring out the list of upgrades: if you are in a position where he builder is still offering the same model or a very competitive model then you need to determine what they are offering a similarly equipped house for built new. Take a walk over and find out - it will be very valuable information.

2) Take credit for your post build improvements: decks, fences, gardens, shubs, patios, retaining walls, finished basements and more! All of these items cost extra from the builder, tally up your post build assets and hand them to your Realtor - these will help you build a case and crystal clear marketing tools.

3) Talk about the dirt: one of the downsides of building new is the dirt, muck and dust constantly present in a new development. With a recently built resale you can have all the characteristics of a new home and not live through the 2 years of dust. Make buyer's aware of the daily car washes they will need if they go the other way!

4) Sell it like it's a new home: there are distinc differences in how to effectively sell a new home versus a resale home. Undertanding this difference can be experienced by attending a couple of new home open houses hosted by builder reps. The new home buyer is interested in the small details - they want to know the breakfast bar is an upgrade, they want to hear how the 4 paint colours cost extra money... they are accustomed to this from he builder, so continue on that line of selling. On top of the new home selling techniques, layer in resale tactics and you'll have them won over in no time! Bring the details into focus by talking about quality of life, the area, the overal package of the home - help them fall in love with what is in front of them, some people find it daunting to pick all the colours and finishing themselves.

5) Work with a Realtor who knows what they are doing! If you live in the London Ontario region I have a great person! See www.londonhomebuilders.com for info!

Greg McCarvell

Gas prices are falling! Do you remember the last time gas prices were in the 70s? Just a month ago, we were looking at gas prices at 101.405. One year ago, they were 106.808.

If you didn’t fill up your tank during the week, you will be paying more to do so this weekend. Gas prices are higher during weekends, than weekdays.

Save money. I have a great website for you. Visit www.londongasprices.com. This website compares all gas prices in the London Area, and it shows you where you can get the cheapest prices.