Recent Blog Posts by Jeff Gingerich

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.  ...

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 ...

Homeowners With Trees Have It "Made In The Shade"

With the recent record-breaking heat wave in Waterloo Region behind us, our thoughts turn to how to cope with such humid weather.  The common answer for most is central air conditioning and, for some, swimming pools.  However, with Ontario recently implementing time-of-use pricing, these alternatives are becoming increasingly costly. One time-tested solution for dealing ...

Luxury Home Sales In Kitchener Waterloo Poised For Record Results

Million dollar homes in Kitchener Waterloo continue to sell at record-setting levels this year.  Following 2010's record total of 12, there have already been 8 residential MLS sales over $1 million in 2011.  Luxury home buyers continue to have it their way as sellers are receiving, on average, 92% of the asking price, down slightly from 2010's ...

Luxury Home Sales In Kitchener Waterloo Continue To Flourish

After a record-setting 2010, sales of million dollar homes in Kitchener Waterloo are poised to hit new heights.  Million dollar residential sales on MLS already total 4 year-to-date in Kitchener Waterloo following 12 in 2010.  The average sale price for these homes was $1.219 million and it took 125 days to find a buyer on average.  Buyers are driving a hard bargain ...

The Mystery of the Disappearing Toilet

When I was a kid, I used to read a series of mystery books involving the Hardy Boys.  Each book would see the brothers tackle and solve a mystery.  Real estate doesn't have many but recently, when a client took possession of their resale home, a mystery ensued. Remember the excitement of buying your first home?  As a Realtor, the experience ...

What Does 2011 Hold In Store For Kitchener Waterloo Real Estate?

The new year is always an exciting time in real estate and as I survey the year to come, 2011 will be no exception.  First, let's look back and see how we did with last years forecast.  My Kitchener-Waterloo Real Estate Sales Forecast 2010 called for a return to a more traditional market where 2/3 of the buying and selling was done between January and June.  The ...

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 Power of Sale Report October 2010

In sharp contrast to era of "foreclosure-gate" in the United States, residential power of sale activity in Kitchener Waterloo continues to represent a small percentage of the market.  Active listings under power of sale on the Kitchener-Waterloo MLS totalled 15 as of mid-November which equalled October's total.  Of note, 93% are in Kitchener and 7% in ...

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 ...

Is Kitchener Waterloo in a Housing Bubble?

  The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives has just released a report titled 'Canada's Housing Bubble:  An Accident Waiting to Happen'.  The author is David MacDonald and he studied housing trends in the country's 6 biggest markets:  Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal.  Among other data, he compares provincial median household income and ...

Record Sales in Million Dollar Luxury Homes in Kitchener Waterloo

Million dollar residential sales have set a record in Kitchener Waterloo in 2010.  Luxury home sales over $1 million dollars on the Kitchener-Waterloo Multiple Listing Service have surged to 9 year-to-date.  The average price of these sales is $1,481,444 and the average days on market is 100 days versus a brisk 37 days for the broader market.  Sellers of these ...

Kitchener Waterloo Real Estate Alive and Well

There are days in real estate and in life where you come across things that just don't sit well.  I usually try and think things through but sometimes I still end up like the photo above...puzzled.  I found this gem while searching MLS for suitable properties for a buyer client.  I was equally puzzled by an article in today's National Post entitled "Variable ...

March Madness

To me, urgency is part of the the appeal of the NCAA basketball tournament known as March Madness.  It's win or go home.  It appears buyers adopted this attitude in March as MLS sales activity in Kitchener-Waterloo saw year-over-year increases of 9% in average price and 38% in unit sales.  March unit sales in K-W totalled 546 besting the 507 sales in March ...

2009 Kitchener-Waterloo Real Estate Sales Surpass Expectations

The headlines are hard to avoid these days as the mainstream media rush to report December real estate sales in Canada at an all-time high.  The Canadian Real Estate Association reports that the number of sales nationwide was up 7.7% in 2009 over 2008 and prices were up 5%, on average, versus a drop of 1% in 2008.  As I've stressed before, markets are local and ...

Kitchener-Waterloo Real Estate Update December 2009

Kitchener-Waterloo residential real estate continued to post solid gains year-over-year in December.  A total of 242 properties sold through the Kitchener-Waterloo MLS in December, 2009 versus 172 in 2008 for an increase of 41%.  Interestingly, the median sale price declined slightly to $264 848 compared to $265 858 in '08.  The average days on the market for December was a healthy ...

I'm Just Saying... Part 2

I had the good fortune to visit Vancouver for the Century 21 Canada Conference this fall.  It certainly is a beautiful city and I can definitely see the appeal of living there.  However, I struggle with the cost of housing.  Here is a current example.  The home above is listed for sale at $795,000.  It's described as "that perfect fixer upper in an amazing ...

Kitchener-Waterloo Real Estate Update November 2009

November unit sales in Kitchener-Waterloo were up a sizzling 76% over November, 2008 according to figures released by the Kitchener-Waterloo Real Estate Board.  A November record 422 properties changed hands versus 240 in November, 2008.  Another November record was set as the median sale price in K-W hit $248,750 versus $234,500 in 2008, an increase of 6%.  The return of consumer ...

What a Difference a Year Makes

Today's post deals with the challenges of buying a home in a seller's market.  First, let's look at a bit of recent history.  In November of 2008, fear and uncertainty were in the air.  Overextended sellers were anxious to unload their properties at a discount.  Buyers, following years of a seller's market, were finally in control.  Unfortunately for buyers, ...

Kitchener-Waterloo Market Update September 2009

The Kitchener-Waterloo Real Estate Board reports 375 sales in K-W for September 2009 which represents a 15% decline over the 441 sales reported in September 2008.  Of note, the end of $0 down and 40 year amortization program was rapidly approaching in September 2008 and sales were artificially high as a result.  The median price for September 2009 sales in K-W was a September record ...

Kitchener-Waterloo Power of Sale Report September 2009

As of September 15, 2009 there were 11 active listings under Power of Sale in K-W.  This represents a significant decline over the 19 in mid-August.  Of note, all 11 were in Kitchener.  As expected, the active market resulted in the sale of 16 Power of Sale properties in August versus 9 in July.  The low level of homes for sale will continue to mean Power ...