How to Save Thousands of $$$ When Buying a Home - on the price and on future costs!

By improving the energy efficiency of a home a buyer can not only save up to 20 or 30%  on utility costs, but can also qualify for up to a 10% rebate on a CMHC mortgage loan premium.  Also, the goverment is temporarily providing grants and rebates for home owners who improve the energy efficiency of their homes.

So, with the cold weather coming, many are moving in that direction, as this article below from Propertywired.ca outlines.

This is an opportune time, as homeowners begin to retreat indoors as the colder weather comes, to consider ways in which to make homes more airtight- and energy efficient and environmentally friendly. Similarly, for Real Estate and Mortgage Professionals, there exists an opportunity to guide and be a source of information- for both the how and why behind these home renovations.

Daryn Young, a mortgage broker with MortgageIntelligence, there is no time like the present to both add value to your home, and in the process reduce housing costs associated with energy consumption and the like: "A home that needs upgrades can still be your perfect home as long as you're willing to put in the work," says Young.

"With some careful planning, making your home more energy-efficient can save you money in the long run."

There are several compelling elements that are currently present to incentify homeowners to consider upgrading their homes.

There can be real impact in increasing cash flow towards the family budget, as there are a couple of financial incentives. As Daniel Natareno, Mortgage Agent, Mortgage Intelligence told Propertywire.ca, this kind of investment in a property can contribute substantial cash flow into a household: “By investing in home upgrades, many people in the long run are saving on expenses...I had a client who saved, on average $250 on monthly expenses after making upgrades.”
Natareno suggests that the changes need not be major to make an impact either. Every little bit counts: even things like windows, caulking, new insulation and a new furnace."

Adding to the savings too are several tax rebates and programs available to those that are so inclined- that will do much to offset costs. The Federal government offers a tax rebate through their ecoEnergy Retrofit program for homes that undergo renovations to upgrade their energy efficiency. Similarly, homeowners who upgrade their homes may be eligible for refunds of 10% on mortgage loan insurance premiums- and the surcharge for amortization extension is waived as well, supplying savings from several different avenues.

Natareno says, “These rebates can be put back into the mortgage, and the debt paid down relatively quickly.”

Also, for clients who are interested and who qualify, the current interest rate environment provides an optimum opportunity to leverage equity in a home at a reasonably low cost to actually increase the value of the asset.

With the changing of the seasons, as well as increased availability of a myriad of incentives for homeowners to go green with their homes, there exists an opportunity for both mortgage professionals and realtors alike to be able to share this information with clients, present themselves as a knowledgeable resource, and contribute to a client’s perception of value-add.

Natareno, agrees: “It all goes towards making a home more marketable. It goes a long way to be able to say that a home has gone through an eco energy audit, or is an energy star rated home... This is a chance to educate clients about what is available (i.e. Renovations, purchase +improvements mortgage).”

Natareno also says that this is a great chance to sit with prospective sellers and build a cost analysis – to see what it would cost to make these eco friendly changes- and consider doing them to make a property more marketable.

For purchasers, Natareno says that he recommends that, as part of an offer, purchasers request two visits prior to closing date, and that for one of these visits they should bring a contractor or even an eco energy auditor to consider doing a purchase +improvements mortgage, so that a home can be energy and cost efficient right from the start

This is the home you've been waiting for - check out this video tour!

Don't miss out!  Contact me today for a private viewing or for more information...

In Honour of Halloween, "Scary Houses for Sale........"..

We all grew up talking about "the" haunted house in the neighbourhood which, as adults, we realized were actually just "scary looking" homes.

In honour of Halloween, here is a link to a slideshow of "scary" homes for sale.....enjoy :)

http://www.cnbc.com/id/44806478

Hot New Listing!

I have a great listing coming out this week...if you know someone who is looking for a very contemporary, custom-built home in the upscale neighbourhood of Hopewell Heights in Breslau, let me know.  Loads of built-in features and upgrades.  Gourmet kitchen, magnificent great room with gas fireplace.....Be the first to see it this Thursday!  More details in a couple of days.....

Brand New Coldwell Banker Listings Hot off the Press......

Check out our new on-line listing booklet here http://issuu.com/kwtreb/docs/cbpbr102011?mode=window&viewMode=doublePage

If you want more information or would like to see any of these please let me know.

7 Strategies for Home Sellers

Set an offer date - for now. Agents still believe it’s wise for homeowners to hold off receiving offers on a property for sale until a specified date. That way, more potential buyers have a chance to see it and the increased traffic may bring competition.
But some agents are nervously watching to see if offer dates go by without a single bid as the fall market gears up. When that starts happening, agents will recommend switching to a strategy of “offers welcome any time”.

If you’re planning to sell your house eventually, perhaps it’s time to stop procrastinating. In September, the average price of a home in the K-W rose by 3.9 per cent year-over-year to reach a record high of $295,845. Home prices may drop somewhat once the Bank of Canada begins to raise interest rates - likely in early 2013.

If you’re shopping for a mortgage, consider signing up for a five-year term. A number of the banks have lowered their 5-year fixed rates again in recent days, points out economist Robert Kavcic of Bank of Montreal.

Prepare to negotiate if you’re a buyer purchasing higher end property's as there are always an abundance of those listings and they take the longest to sell.  Buyers should be well-armed with sales figures about comparable listings before they make an offer.

Sellers need to set realistic asking prices for a balanced market - particularly if they are dwelling in the upper echelons, says Ms. Lindsay. If you’re not priced to attract attention, buyers will not pay attention to you. There are still buyers out there but the recent fluctuations in financial markets - along with fears of a global economic downturn - can be unnerving for consumers.

Do you sell first or buy? If listings are scarce you may have to shop around for a while, so buy first.  However, if there are lots of listings or if you are selling a property with less appeal - say it’s on a busy street or is badly in need of renovations - you need to sell first if you can’t afford to carry two properties.

Don’t overstretch when buying a house and pay down existing debt. Canadian consumers are more indebted than they have ever been, according to Statistics Canada figures released this month. In the second quarter, the ratio of household credit market debt which includes mortgages, consumer credit and loans, to disposable income rose to 149 per cent form 147 per cent in the previous quarter. Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney has cautioned Canadians to rein in credit-fuelled spending. Some market watchers fear the housing market has become too frothy as a result of a willingness among buyers to take on huge mortgages.

What Makes a Good Neighbourhood?

My Fall Newsletter is out - click the link and get the scoop!

http://www.coldwellbankerpbr.com/newsletter/realestateupdate_Fall2011-kimlouie.pdf

Home Value Increases Sustainable

According to a story from Property Wire Canada, fear of a housing bubble appear to be unfounded.

 

Amidst calls for continued controls over borrowing- and possibly more government intervention in the mortgage arena, Jim Flaherty suggests that things, largely, are fine the way they are.

 

There have been a number of warnings lately about the possibility of a real estate asset bubble being created, with home prices steadily increasing, and household debt getting further stretched.

Speaking at a news conference, Flaherty was quick to point out that, although the market is humming along nicely, there have already been effects taking root in the market, from changes made earlier this year. There has been a slowdown in many regions of the country. In short, he feels they have a handle on it.

"We have seen in the past year some softening in the Canadian housing market, in part due to the tightening of the insured mortgage market rules that we did earlier this year … That's an appropriate result from that tightening. It will take clear evidence of a bubble in the housing market in Canada, which we have not seen."

So what would constitute a housing bubble in Canada? Flaherty says, “If we saw dramatic surges in prices in some part of the country. There's some demand in Vancouver in particular, particularly from the Asian people coming to Canada who are investing in real estate. So there's some demand there that is unusual in terms of the entire country, but overall across the country there's been some moderation, which is good."

Of particular concern were markets like Vancouver and Toronto that had experienced meteoric increases in property prices, mostly due to an influx of foreign property investors- but as Flaherty suggests, this is generally limited to a few small pockets of the country, and would be inaccurate to characterize the national picture as such.

Prices in these markets continue to appreciate, but are very much on the radar for these policy makers- although they feel that there is not cause for concern there either.

Fall is Here....What are you going to do with all those leaves?

The beautiful sight of leaves turning colours heralds the inevitable Fall chore of raking.  What do you do with all those leaves?

Below are the links to the City of Kitchener and Waterloo's websited which outline the procedures for leaf collection and drop offs.

http://www.kitchener.ca/en/livinginkitchener/leafcollectionlandingpage.asp

http://www.city.waterloo.on.ca/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=1431

Roasting the PERFECT turkey!

If you are reading this you've either roasted turkeys before and they haven't come out the way you wanted or this is your first time - either way, this video gives you all the basics you need to impress your guests.

Click this link to watch the video....and Happy Thanksgiving! http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/food-and-wine/thanksgiving/video-roast-the-perfect-turkey/article1738362/

Top 10 excuses from drivers when caught with their cell phones

"I wasn't using it - I just like to hold it." is my favourite excuse!

Here are the top 10 reasons used by Drivers in BC as police cracked down on cell phone use in September as reported by the police.

This is a bogus law.

It was my boss on the phone – I had to answer it.

I wasn’t using it – I just like to hold it.

Sorry officer, I didn’t see you trying to pull me over because I was on my phone.

But it was an emergency call to my wedding planner!

My Bluetooth died.

Driver: I’m using my speakerphone. Police officer: No, you’re holding your phone in one hand 

     and steering with the other.

I’m not driving; I was stopped at a red light.

I wasn’t talking, I was checking my messages.

I was just checking the time.

Seriously though, I use the Motorkr in my car and it works great - it is also an FM transmitter as well so I can listen to the phone conversation on my car stereo as well as play music from my Blackberry.

You can check it out yourself here http://www.ebay.ca/sch/i.html?_nkw=motorokr+t505&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=

K-W condo sales and values up as well as single detached home values

According to third quarter results, the average single detached home in K-W is up 3.7% on a year to date basis and condo sales are showing the best results.

Please check out this link for more information  http://www.kwar.ca/condominium-sales-remain-strong-in-k-w/

Canadian House Prices Continue to Rise, including K-W

Canadian Housing Prices have risen to record levels, according to the latest release of the Teranet National Bank National Composite House Price Index on September 29th.

For the eight month in a row, prices for resale homes increased- which sets a new record.
The index examines resale housing prices in six metropolitan areas. For the month of July, prices rose by 1.3% from the month previous. The index now rests at 146.51.

Also, this marks the fourth month in a row where an increase exceeded 1%.
Not only that, five of the six areas surveyed reached record breaking highs in July. The exception was Calgary, where the housing market is still feeling the after effects of the recession. Prices there are still down 8.8% from their pre-recessionary highs in 2007.

Annually, prices have gone up by 5.3%. Vancouver, still enjoying the flood of foreign investment money into their market, led the charge, with prices in that city rising by 8.5%, year-over-year. Toronto as well, saw significant price advances, year-over-year.

Looking at monthly gains by regions: prices went up by 2.3% in Calgary, 1.7% in Toronto, 1% in Ottawa, 0.9% in Vancouver and 0.5 % in Montreal, while Halifax registered the only decline- 0.9%.
Markets across the country appear to be heading into- or are already in- balanced territory- with the exception of Toronto, where a lack of inventory is contributing to a tightening of the market.

According to MLS data, in Kitchener-Waterloo the average home price (including all types of homes) for 2011 up to September is $294,919.  The average home price in 2010 was $275,114.

Thanksgiving at Home - 7 Modern Thanksgiving Day recipes

Are you planning on entertaining at your home this Thanksgiving?  There's nothing like a home full of friends and family and the smell of turkey.  Here is a link to a Globe and Mail article with 7 new modern recipes to try out.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/food-and-wine/entertaining/tips-and-trends/peking-turkey-anyone-7-modern-recipes-for-thanksgiving/article2186834/

If you find your home is a bit small over the holidays, give me a call.  We can get you into that bigger home by Christmas!