London, ON

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.

It seems to be the overwhelming trend - first in the United States, the the Western parts of Canada, then Toronto and now even London - it's official - buyer's market is the new reality. I am writing this entry mainly because it's information I seem to be covering almost on a daily basis with my clients. If clients are asking, there is a good chance that the general public would appreciate the information as well.

Here is the bottom line: What does a buyer's market have to do with me and my financial health?

Fortunately, it's an easy answer. The logic I am about to outline is intended to put you in the correct state of mind to really evaluate if this is a "BAD" market. That is the wrong terminology - for some people a seller's market is a bad market - let me illustrate.

Thinking in CURRENCY terms
The most basic thought pattern I would like you to have is thinking of your investment in real estate as a different currency all together. Consider market shifts a differentiation between our Canadian Currency and Real Estate currency. Consider it like you consider trading Canadian money for American money. Here are some different scenarios:

1) A homeowner wishes to downsize. It is this client that could possibly feel the negative effect of a buyers market - WHY? The currency is depreciated against the Canadian Dollar (prices are lower)... therefore when they convert (sell) there home into Canadian currency, they are exchanging at a lower rate. What is the level of negative impact?

Here is the part of the thought pattern you need to be careful of... if a person is selling completely and then moving to a rental, yes they will feel the full impact. But remember, in this scenerio the client is downsizing. What is a typical downsize? Perhaps they are going from a property worth $300,000 to a property worth $250,000. This client will only feel the negative impact on the $50,000 difference. The other $250,000 is remaining within the same currency (which will eventually fluctuate back up). So if the market prices were down a drastic 10% compared to recent past, the actual loss is 10% of $50,000.

What this works out to is $5,000. Now in the big picture, would I advise a buyer to wait in their home until a market recovers for a $5,000 benefit? Probably not. Here is why: lifestyle. If you're downsizing, most likely you've already been putting it off for years. Secondly, nothing is 100% in real estate - I can't call a properties value within that small range - it's within the margin of error. Just make sure you buy properly and I would bet your cost to move is well worth the benefit of living where you belong.

2) A homeowner wishes to Upgrade. This is the client who will benefit from a buyer's market. You can reverse the above scenerio and the $5,000 gain goes in the favour of this client. You will be investing more into the real estate currency and buying it at a discount. Don't get wrapped up on selling price, the discount is in effect for the home you really care about - the one worth more money!

The ultimate winner is the first time buyer. They are able to act quickly on closing dates, wait until the right deal comes along and are moving into the market when prices are affordable.

I hope you find these thought patterns helpful in sizing up the buyer's market and how it effects you in real world terms.