| Recent Blog Posts by Jeff Gingerich | ||
The Bizarro World of Real Estate
A recent encounter with a private seller on behalf of a buyer client left me dazed and confused. As a big Seinfeld fan, the closest I could come to describing it was the episode where Elaine makes a new group of friends and Jerry describes them as a Bizarro world.
Here is the scenario. A buyer client expressed an interest in seeing a privately listed property. ...
Posted by Jeff Gingerich
on November 3, 2011
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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 ...
Posted by Jeff Gingerich
on September 11, 2010
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Let's Tell It Like It Is
I get irritated when I see Realtors make misrepresentations in advertising. Unfortunately, they appear all too often and the reason is a lack of accountability. Gone are the days when the broker manager had to approve your ad copy before it saw the light of day. Today, I read about a great new listing that included among the features "backs on greenbelt". For many, this ...
Posted by Jeff Gingerich
on August 10, 2009
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I'm Just Saying...As Realtors, we are certainly thankful for the resurgent real estate market Canada-wide. Low interest rates have been instrumental in increasing affordability to entice first-time buyers into the market. Real estate is local so let's look at a typical scenario in Kitchener-Waterloo. A couple buy a detached home for $250 000 with 5% down and get a 4% mortgage with a 5 year ...
Posted by Jeff Gingerich
on June 25, 2009
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Irrational Exuberance?The Kitchener-Waterloo Real Estate Board reports 527 residential sales in K-W for May 2009 representing a 9% increase over May 2008 sales. The average price declined year-over-year by 1.4% to $261,628. Right about now you're probably thinking "What about the Recession?" This increase in sales is being driven by low interest rates resulting in increased affordability. ...
Posted by Jeff Gingerich
on June 9, 2009
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It's Caveat Emptor When Buying PrivatelyCaveat emptor comes from Latin and embodies the principle of "let the buyer beware". When I think back to the tough times in real estate in the early '90's, I remember a number of new clients forced to sell who had bought a private sale during the good times in 1989-90. An analysis of their situation often revealed a number of issues. In many cases, they had overpaid ...
Posted by Jeff Gingerich
on June 5, 2009
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Who's Minding the Fort?Home security was the topic this morning at an education seminar offered by the Kitchener-Waterloo Real Estate Board. Kitchener-Waterloo Realtors in attendance were provided with excellent information from Divisional Inspector Doug Sheppard of the Waterloo Region Police Service. He indicated most break-ins are committed by males under 25 and the 3 things they're typically ...
Posted by Jeff Gingerich
on May 5, 2009
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Chicken LittleThere's an old fable about a chicken who thinks the sky is falling because he got hit in the head with a falling acorn. The moral of this fable is to have courage and not to be a "chicken". This "disaster is imminent" message is a common theme in the media today. It appears the residents of Waterloo Region know better.
In what can best be described as a stable market, ...
Posted by Jeff Gingerich
on April 3, 2009
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Just Say No!In the latest budget, the Ontario Liberal government intends to harmonize the Provincial Sales Tax(PST) with the Goods and Services Tax(GST) effective July 1, 2010. Century 21 Home Realty supports the Ontario Real Estate Association in strongly opposing this tax increase. We cannot afford added costs involved in buying and selling real estate at a time when ...
Posted by Jeff Gingerich
on March 28, 2009
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February 2009 Sales for Kitchener-WaterlooPreliminary sales figures for February 2009 point to mixed results. The Kitchener-Waterloo Real Estate Board saw 290 residential sales which paled by comparison to the 405 sales in February 2008. This equates to approx. a 28% decline in unit sales making it the lowest total recorded in this decade.
However, in my opinion, the glass is half full. Active listings ...
Posted by Jeff Gingerich
on March 3, 2009
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January 2009 Sales Results for Kitchener-WaterlooPreliminary figures from the Kitchener-Waterloo Real Estate Board show residential unit sales in January 2009 totalled 217. This figure represents a decline of approx. 28% from January 2008's total of 301. Active residential listings in Kitchener-Waterloo total 1240 or almost a 6 month supply. This would indicate a buyer's market.
However, to put our local real estate ...
Posted by Jeff Gingerich
on February 3, 2009
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November 2008 Residential Sales in Kitchener-WaterlooPreliminary results of unit sales in November 2008 indicate a market shift has occurred. In Kitchener-Waterloo, 240 residential properties changed hands. This represents a 40% decline over November 2007 when 400 properties were sold. There are currently 1330 properties for sale which equates to approximately a 5 1/2 month supply.
Posted by Jeff Gingerich
on January 6, 2009
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Realtors Now Required to Seek IdentificationEffective June 23, 2008, Realtors in Canada must obtain identification from clients and customers as part of a Canadian government initiative to fight money laundering and terrorist financing. This applies to both buyers and sellers of real estate. Full information is available at www.fintrac.gc.ca or toll-free 1-866-346-8722
Posted by Jeff Gingerich
on July 8, 2008
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