March sales back to normal after HST-fuelled 2010
Members of the Ottawa Real Estate Board (OREB) sold 1232 residential properties in March through the Board’s Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) system compared with 1495 in March 2010, a decrease of 17.6 per cent. The five-year average for home sales in March is 1256. Of those sales, 296 were in the condominium property class, while 936 were in the residential property class.
"As you can see, last month was an extremely average one in terms of resale home sales, in a way that 2010 was certainly not. The effects of the introduction of the Harmonized Sales Tax in July were already being felt in March as buyers leapt into the market to try to avoid taxes on the services associated with a real estate transaction," said OREB’s President. "Years in which there are unusual market forces, such as the HST in 2010, tend to create skewed comparisons with subsequent years. Ottawa’s housing market is ticking along much as it usually does in early spring," she added.
The average sale price of residential properties, including condominiums, sold in March in the Ottawa area was $346,148, an increase of 4.9 per cent over March 2010. The average sale price for a condominium-class property was $253,763, an increase of 6.5 per cent over March 2010. The average sale price of a residential-class property was $375,364, an increase of 5.6 per cent over March 2010.
Source: OREB
Pre-listing Inspections - small investment, huge returns
You have listed your home on MLS®. Your agent has conducted numerous open houses, arranged for many viewings, and advertised the home on-line and in the paper. After all your efforts you finally have an Offer of Purchase & Sale that is contingent on a satisfactory home inspection. The Buyer's home inspection reveals that roof needs to be replaced, the furnace is reaching the end of its life expectancy, and numerous minor deficiencies exist. At best you are faced with agreeing to an amendment or the Buyer walks away from the purchase. How do you avoid this all too oft-repeated scenario? The answer is: prior to listing the home have a pre-listing inspection. Why? The facts are that a pre-listing inspection will save you time, effort and money.
According to the results of a recent U.S. home inspection industry survey, 81% of home buyers made their purchase decision contingent on a home inspection. Among these home buyers, 97% believed the pre-listing home inspection was a good value.
The vast majority of REALTORS® surveyed concur that the pre-sale home inspection sends a very strong message to home buyers:
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the seller is serious about the sale of their home
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the seller wants to have a smooth, non-chaotic and honest transaction
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the seller has taken the time and effort to assure the buyer that their home systems are functioning as expected
A pre-sale home inspection:
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helps the seller avoid negotiations to lower the sale price due to required repairs
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highlights the home’s assets and justifies the asking price
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provides the seller with an opportunity to obtain cost estimates and make any necessary adjustments to the list price
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will decrease the number of days on the market and attract more buyers
Source: Absolute Home Inspections
Kitchen Odours
One of the first things visitors notice when entering your home is its smell. Good or bad, unless your guests have a poorly functioning olfactory sense, they are going to notice the way your house smells. They might even sense an odour before ever opening the door to see the inside. Odours are your home's first impression, and if it's a bad one, you'll want to do something to rid your home of the offensive odour for good. This article is specifically about kitchen odours.
Some older homes do not have kitchen exhaust vents (or windows that open) and this can cause problems with odours. If possible and feasible the best fix may be to install an exhaust vent and fan. If you have some sort of substance or area spill, simply washing with soap and water may eliminate the smell. If not, there are many ways to address the problem. Cleaning expert Joy Krause tells how to eliminate kitchen odours with all-natural ingredients. See her HGTV.com article "Eliminating Kitchen Odours" http://www.ehow.com/how_2100972_eliminate-kitchen-odors.html which suggests the use of items such as vinegar, lemons, herbs, bleach, baking soda and cat litter for specific kitchen odour problems.
Ehow.com’s eExpert Ruby Bayan says, "The food preparation and cooking activities in the kitchen make it the area of the house most susceptible to generating and retaining odours". She offers complete five-step programs with instructions and a list of things you’ll need to get rid of odour sources and prevent odour causes.
In addition to the above methods there are many commercial products to neutralize or absorb odours that a little internet searching will find quickly. The former generally mask the odour and the latter generally absorb it. If you have general household odour problems websites such as Odour-Removal-Guide.com, Clorox.com or HomeDepot.com offer many useful suggestions and guides.
Source: Acker Home Inspections
Buyer Beware - of the low down payment
Some buyers, particularly first-time buyers, lose sight of the big picture. They focus on the down payment and don’t give enough consideration to how a mortgage interest rate can affect how much they pay for a property overall. A difference of a half percentage point can result in paying thousands more dollars for the same property.
If you’re looking to get into the housing market, a listing that’s advertised as requiring little or no money down can sound like a great deal. But is it really? Before you decide, you should consider who this type of advertising appeals to and why this pricing tactic is being used. You may just find that what sounded like a great deal can actually end up costing you a lot more money than you need to spend.
Low or zero-money payments listings will appeal to those buyers who don’t have a lot of financial resources to work with. Such buyers will typically have difficulty qualifying for a mortgage loan from a traditional lender. So why would a listing want to attract that kind of buyer? There are many different reasons. It may just be that the homeowner is anxious to sell quickly, particularly if they’ve already bought another property. Or it may be that there’s a lot of competition for sale in that particular area, or even on the same street and the sellers want to offer something extra to help their home stand out from the rest.
However, there are other reasons that will not benefit the buyer. One such reason is that the home’s price has been somewhat inflated, but the seller is hoping that the ‘zero money down’ tactic will attract those buyers that have few other options to choose from. They want to focus buyers on the aspect of how affordable it is to get into the property, rather than on the final cost. Whether or not the listing may be overpriced, a low down payment offer is often tied to the buyer taking out private financing – sometimes with the seller or someone connected to the seller – at a very high interest rate. In cases like this, what first sounded like a ‘bargain’ can, over time, cost you much more money than you’d pay for another comparable property with traditional financing.
The bottom line here is that you should exercise caution where properties advertise a low down payment. Here’s where your real estate professional can help, by providing you with a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) of other homes in the area. This will help you determine if a home has been properly priced within today’s market. Your real estate professional can also advise you on current mortgage rates and creative financing options. There’s no reason why you shouldn’t consider a low down payment listing – just go into it with both eyes open. With some expert advise from your real estate professional, you can make an informed decision that’s right for you.
Source: Money Matters
Make Windows Ultra-Clean
Use this solution. Put 1/4 cup rubbing alcohol in a 1-qt. spray bottle and fill with water. Give it a shake, and it's ready to use!
Sayonara, stubborn streaks.
All you need is a small squeegee, a sponge and two squirts of dish detergent in a bucket of water. Use the sponge to wet the window with the solution, than squeegee the streaks away!
Smart paper towel substitute.
Hate the lint left behind by paper towels? Use coffee filters to clean instead. Your windows will shine.
Use the news.
The best trick for drying off windows and leaving them without lines is newspaper. Crumple up a piece and wipe away excess liquid.
Lemony clean.
Clean your windows and scent your home at the same time. Add a 1/4 cup lemon juice and 1/2 tsp. dishwashing liquid to 1 cup of water, put this mixture in a spray bottle for a green glass cleaner that smells great.
Great idea.
Wash the windows when the sun is not shining directly on the glass. The sun’s heat causes the windows to dry too fast, which can lead to streaks.
Source Pillar to Post
Dust-Free Fans
Want to guarantee dust-free breezes through your house? Clean all your fans the expert way and cut down on allergy symptoms.
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Take them apart.
Do you have a standing or desktop fan? Unplug it and snap off or unscrew the front grill. Wipe the blades with a cloth dipped in a 50/50 mixture of vinegar and water and run the grill through the dishwasher on the top rack.
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Grab a dryer sheet.
To keep the blades cleaner for longer, use a dryer sheet and wipe both sides of the blades to stop static cling from attracting dust, and then reattach the front grill.
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Step up to the task.
When ceiling fans need serious cleaning, get out a ladder to reach them. A long handled brush is good for regular maintenance, but if blades are very dirty, it’ll just send dust flying. After cleaning, spray blades lightly with furniture wax and rub in to repel dust.
Important: Put a piece of tape over the ceiling fan switch in the "off" position before you start.
Don’t Forget...
To reverse the direction of your ceiling fan blades to blow down in the summer. Push the switch on the side of the motor so it spins counter clockwise.
A TIP
Do you have stubborn greasy build-up? Wet the bristles of an old toothbrush with spray cleaner and gently scrub the surface of the blades.
Source Pillar to Post
Spring Cleaning
What is it about spring that makes people want to clean house? One moment you’re hanging up some clothes in the closet, the next you’re digging through the boxes on the top shelf, dividing things up into "keep" and "donate" piles. I know I’m not the only one who’s experienced this phenomenon. So why not make this instinct work for you? If you’re considering putting your home on the market anytime in the next few months, or if you’ve already purchased a new home and will be moving soon, having a clean, clutter-free home is about to become very desirable.
As with any big task, having a system in place is essential. Some people like to do their cleaning in large blocks of non-stop time; others find it more manageable to tackle it in 15-minute bites. Figure out which type you are and make a plan. If you’re the former, choose one or two rooms to work through on a given day and then proceed to other rooms from there. If the latter, set a timer for those 15 minutes once a day, commit to cleaning a given area, and go for it.
Start by removing all objects and knickknacks from surfaces and giving the room a good dusting and vacuuming. Then, before you put everything back where it was, take a good look at all of those smaller items and decide which ones you really love and want to continue displaying, and which could be stored away or re-homed. When you’re considering selling your home, know that the fewer personal items you have on display, the easier it will be for potential buyers to imagine their stuff in your home.
Now it’s time to open the dark closets and drawers and peer inside to see what you need to keep and what can be donated or disposed of. Socks with holes in them? Trash. Good-condition clothing and shoes that no longer fit or are not to your taste? Your local shelter, thrift store or community support organization would be thrilled to have them. If you have collectible items or valuable clothing you want to get rid of, check out eBay and local resellers to see if your dusty stuff might even earn you a little mad money.
The basement is a scary place in many people’s homes; it’s where we put stuff we just don’t want to deal with, so it can be the toughest to clean out. However, consider the merits of a clutter-free basement: using waterproof storage bins for smaller items and placing stuff on shelves off the floor can drastically reduce the amount of damage to your personal items in the event of a flood; an organized basement allows you to quickly find whatever you’re looking for, from camping gear to wrapping paper; and not having stuff stacked against the walls shows potential buyers that your foundation has nothing to hide.
The best thing about spring cleaning is that it costs only your time. If you’re selling your home, coming home every day to a neat, uncluttered house saves you the hassle of cleaning up every time someone wants to view your home. On a Friday at 5 p.m., that alone may be worth its weight in gold.
Source: President’s Pen (OREB)
Prepared by Robert Daley, Sales Representative, Coldwell Banker Rhodes & Company Brokerage |
