Recent Blog Posts by Jeff Gingerich

I get Air Miles when I sell my home in Kitchener Waterloo?

  Many of my clients are pleasantly surprised when I tell them they'll receive Air Miles travel miles when they sell their Kitchener Waterloo home.  In fact, if they are buying real estate in Kitchener Waterloo, they also receive Air Miles.  Choose your Realtor carefully as unfortunately, the offer only applies to Century 21 clients and not to those buying a Century 21 home ...

When is the best time to sell a home in Kitchener Waterloo?

The best time to sell a home in Kitchener Waterloo is generally in the spring months.  For example, April 2012 saw 510 MLS sales while October 2011 saw only 348.  The reason is demand peaks in the spring months as most families want to move in nice weather and before the kids go back to school.  High demand will also mean a higher sale price as April's average of $312,285 ...

Kitchener Waterloo Real Estate Sales Flourish in April

Kitchener Waterloo residential real estate sales flourished in April with 510 sales reported through MLS.  Of these 44 were new or to be built and 466 were resale homes.  These results were up substantially over April 2011 which saw 459 sales including 39 new and 419 resales sold through MLS. Included in the resale homes was the luxury home pictured above in Kiwanis Park.  ...

Seller's Market Continues in Kitchener Waterloo Real Estate

As anyone who tried to buy a home in March will tell you, Kitchener Waterloo real estate remains a seller's market.  Residential MLS sales in March totalled 482 with 33 new and 449 resales.  New homes sales were resurgent as the 33 sales represented an 8% drop over the 36 sold in March 2011.  This is good news for Kitchener Waterloo homebuilders as regular readers ...

Kitchener Waterloo Power of Sale Update

Despite repeated warnings of unsustainable debt levels for Canadians, Kitchener-Waterloo power of sale activity remains muted.  Currently on the Kitchener Waterloo MLS, there are 7 active properties under power of sale.  They range in price from $180,600 to $434,900.  They have been on the market just 25 days on average reflecting the lack of properties for sale in ...

Kitchener Waterloo Real Estate Sales Update February 2010

While the mainstream media speculated about a Canadian real estate bubble, it was business as usual in Kitchener Waterloo in February.  Preliminary results from the Kitchener Waterloo MLS show 344 residential sales in February 2012 versus 377 in February 2011.  Continuing a trend seen last fall, a decline in new home sales in the Twin Cities was ...

What Do I Need To Get A Rental Housing License In Waterloo?

Following a wild ride with a great deal of controversy, the City Of Waterloo Rental Housing licensing program takes effect April 1, 2012.  If you are planning on applying for a license, you should contact the Electrical Safety Authority for an inspection to obtain the required ESA certificate.  Contact info is 1-877-372-7233 or visit http://esasafe.com. If, like the ride pictured ...

Kitchener Waterloo Real Estate Update November 2011

Residential real estate sales in Kitchener Waterloo fell year-over-year with 330 recorded through the MLS this November and 367 in November 2010.  However, much like October, the decline can be attributed to plummeting new home sales.  Just 19 new homes sold in November 2011 through MLS versus 49 and 63 in the previous Novembers. Resale homes sold in November homes totalled ...

October Update For Kitchener Waterloo Real Estate

Kitchener Waterloo real estate sales for October remained on solid ground with 348 residential properties under contract through MLS.  This represents a slight gain over October 2010's total of 345 sales.  Resale homes were significantly higher with 342 sales versus 318 last October.  Much like September, the real story is the precipitous decline of new ...

Robust Kitchener Waterloo Real Estate Sales Push Prices Up Nearly 6% in August

Low interest rates continued to entice Kitchener Waterloo homebuyers into the market in August as 351 residential MLS sales were recorded.  This is down slightly over the 369 in August 2010.  However, August 2010 saw sales of 41 new homes versus 17 this August.  Sales of used homes or resales in August were up 2% year-over-year. Readers of this blog will recall ...

July Real Estate Sales In Kitchener Waterloo Were Hot, Hot, Hot

Central air conditioning and swimming pools were popular features for Kitchener Waterloo buyers as 367 MLS properties changed hands during our July heat wave.  Of these, 27 were new construction and 340 were resale or used homes.  As detailed previously, we achieve a better understanding of the current market by looking at just resale homes.  The ...

Kitchener Waterloo Real Estate Update April 2011

Record rainfall dampened April 2011 residential sales as Kitchener Waterloo recorded 455 MLS sales, off 16% from April 2010 results.  New home sales totalled 38, an increase over the 31 sold in April 2010.  Resale unit sales were off 18% year-over-year.  There was some good news as April sales averaged just 39 days on the market and an average price of $305,379 versus ...

Kitchener Waterloo Power of Sale Report March 2011

  There were no bargains to be had in March as brisk Kitchener Waterloo residential MLS sales carried over to power of sale activity.  There were 10 properties sold under power of sale in March.  The average list price to sale price ratio was 99% and the average days on the market for these sales was just 27.  The Royal Bank, Bank of Montreal and Firstline/CIBC ...

The Occupational Hazards of a Realtor

As occupations go, a day in the life of a Kitchener Waterloo Realtor is generally pretty safe.  However, while showing houses for sale on the weekend, I was amazed how many had no railings on the stairs to the basement.  I personally know 2 Realtors who suffered serious injuries losing their balance on staircases.  In one case, a lawsuit ensued and the Realtor ...

When Is The Best Time To Sell My Kitchener Waterloo Home?

First-time sellers of Kitchener Waterloo real estate often struggle with this question.  Twenty-two years of selling real estate has taught me there is an ideal time to sell every home.  Choosing the wrong time of the year to sell can cost a seller thousands of dollars in hard earned equity.  Other times, it can result in an expired listing or a ...

Kitchener Waterloo Real Estate Update March 2011

  With a long winter behind us, Kitchener Waterloo home buyers were out in full force in March.  Preliminary numbers from the Kitchener Waterloo MLS show residential sales of 457 properties in Kitchener Waterloo.  Of those, 36 were brand new and 421 were resales.  For comparison, in the pre-HST buying spree of March 2010, there were 546 March sales with 69 new and 479 resales.  For ...

Top 10 Things I Love About Living In Westvale #4

  Another week is behind us and it seemed everywhere you looked, protest and political upheaval dominated the news.  This serves to remind Canadians how fortunate we are to live in a democracy.  It also brings to mind another thing we sometimes take for granted.  Here is another of the top 10 things I love about living in Westvale: #4 A Safe Neighbourhood ...

Top 10 Things I Love About Living in Westvale Waterloo #9

After another busy week, it's Westvale Wednesday.  Here is the second in a series of posts on the top 10 things I love about living in the Westvale neighbourhood of Waterloo:  #9 The Westvale Carnival and Fireworks The Westvale Community Association holds a number of family events throughout the year and this is surely the most popular.  The annual event is held ...

Kitchener Waterloo Real Estate 2010 Review

Residential real estate sales in Kitchener Waterloo remained robust in 2010 with 4794 MLS sales.  This represented a slight decrease over 2009 sales of 4913.  Sales activity was particularly strong in the early months of 2010.  Buyers and sellers scrambled to beat the introduction of the Harmonized Sales Tax on July 1st.  Spring market activity was further heightened by ...

Kitchener Waterloo Real Estate Update November 2010

  While November has a reputation for dismal weather, real estate sales in the Twin Cities this past month were bright and sunny.  Residential MLS sales for Kitchener-Waterloo totalled 365 in November versus 413 for November 2009.  For those keeping track, this represents a 12 per cent decline.  However, it's interesting to note that in November, ...

Record Sales Continue in Million Dollar Luxury Homes in Kitchener Waterloo

Million dollar residential sales continue to set new records in Kitchener Waterloo in 2010.  Luxury home sales over 1 million dollars on the Kitchener-Waterloo Multiple Listing Service total 11 year-to-date.  The average sale price of these homes is a lofty $1,502,545.  The average days on the market for these sales has soared to 130 days or over 4 months versus 39 days ...

Kitchener Waterloo Real Estate Update October 2010

Regular readers of this blog will know by now that this monthly update is designed to answer the frequently asked question "How's the market?".  The residential real estate market in Kitchener Waterloo continues to be a sellers market.  Active residential listings on the K-W MLS at the end of October stood at 1251.  Of this total, 403 were new homes and 848 were resale properties. ...

Kitchener Waterloo Real Estate Update September 2010

The 4 month trend showing year-over-year monthly declines was broken in September as the 371 residential MLS sales in K-W were virtually identical to September 2009 results of 369.  The average days on market for September sales was 43 versus 41 in September '09.  The list-to-sale price ratio was 98% off slightly from the 98.2% a year earlier.  The median ...

The Funny Side of Real Estate

Real estate is a serious business and part of our job for our clients is to alleviate stress.  One way to accomplish this is through laughter.  While listening and laughing to Century 21 Colonial's Kelly Lantz get "punked" by a local radio station, I was reminded of my own moment of real estate apprehension.  It was a cold January day in 1996.  I was the "duty" agent ...

Kitchener-Waterloo Power of Sale Report July 2010

The surge in power of sale activity witnessed in Kitchener Waterloo in June carried over to July.  The Kitchener-Waterloo MLS reported 13 residential sales in July matching the 13 recorded in June.  The sales totals for these months represents the highest number of power of sales for any month in 2010.  Totals for January to May ranged from 8-12 so perhaps ...