Don’t know about the spelling, but that’s the name of a song that was featured in the movie ‘Walk The Line’.

Folks, time’s-a-wastin’ on the opportunities in this market! A few months back, I wrote about how this market is a limited opportunity, sort of like the sales that car dealers have – limited opportunities. We are still in a ‘Perfect Storm’ of a real estate market, a never-before-seen convergence of reduced prices, lower rates than in history, and when it costs more to rent than to buy. It won’t last; it can’t, because as more and more sellers see the activity in the market, then more and more buyers will wake up and smell the roses, and then we’ll be in serious bidding wars again.

You just have to follow the conversations on FaceBook and Twitter, Active Rain and a few other places where Realtors gather, to get the picture of what is happening in the Canadian real estate markets. Scroll down a few posts and look at the charts in ‘This Month In Real Estate Canada’ and you’ll see what is happening.

Here’s a snip from a great post on http://Active Rain.com :

My little sister called me the other day and in an excited voice declared, “I think I might need to look at houses…It’s a GREAT time to buy a house right now, you know!”

After the pregnant pause ensued (the one where my condescending big sister brain struggled with my professional Realtor brain) I finally said, “No? Really? What makes you think that?” (You can tell which brain won out.)

“Well. I have a friend who just got a fantastic deal on a house and I think it might be time for me to think about looking!”

Ok, so which part of what I have been saying for months now did she mis

s? Apparently, the same part that ALOT of buyers are missing…that would be the part that sounds just like Charlie Brown’s teacher talking whenever somebody you aren’t listening to tells you something: Wah, wah, wah, wah…

Read the rest here

I’ve written before about the sort of herd mentality that surrounds buyers – when not a lot of people are buying houses, buyers seem to think the prudent thing to do is wait, because, after all, if it was a great time to buy, wouldn’t everyone be buying? Well, when everyone else is buying, prices go up, bidding wars ensue, and all the buyers lose. If that sort of buying is your preferred style, then I’ll be more than happy to help you. But if getting a great house at a lower price and at historically low interest rates is something that appeals to you, call me TODAY and let’s see if you can get in on this before it’s too late.

I know that a lot of people are worried about their jobs, but it costs less to buy than to rent, so unless you plan on living in your car when you lose your job, that’s really not a reason to wait.

The prize goes to those who take action. The action you need to take is to call me today at 905-208-7002

The latest from Keller Williams Research . . . (best viewed full-screen; manually advance slides)

Uploaded on authorSTREAM by chrisnewell

The bungalow is back in a big way all across North America. No longer just a downsizing choice, it’s a housing form that’s finding more and more fans among families.

With casual layouts, a comfortable human scale and most of the space on one floor, time-strapped families have greater opportunity to gather together.

Read the full story here

After a frigid winter that saw existing home sales plunge dramatically, the Toronto-area housing market continues to experience a fragile spring thaw.

The Toronto Real Estate Board reported 8,107 sales yesterday for April, down 7 per cent from a year ago, but less than the 47 per cent free fall experienced in January.

“Conditions in the resale housing market have improved markedly this spring,” TREB president Maureen O’Neill said.

Read More

Well, what a week this has been! On this past Monday, I called to make appointments to show 16 properties (I call this many expecting a few to be sold and one or two to say it is inconvenient). Out of the 16 I called on, 9 of them sold over the weekend!

By Tuesday morning, another 3 of them had sold. Fast forward to Wednesday, and I was looking to book some more showings; called on 12 properties and 7 of them were sold!

Now, there are multiple offers happening, although houses are not necessarily selling for over the list price. Agents from Windsor to Ottawa are reporting the same thing – multiple offers on houses that are easy to show, aggressively priced, and that show really well.

One thing I noted during my showings this week is that there are still a lot of sellers who haven’t caught on to the realities of the market. They are trying to sell a house that needs paint throughout, that has major dings and scratches in the trim and walls, and/or has filthy carpet, AND IS ONLY 5 OR 6 YEARS OLD!

These are NOT the houses that are selling, whether in single offers or multiple offers!

And I just don’t understand this, I really don’t. Why are these people doing this? Are they getting the right advice from their agent, and not listening to that advice? Is their agent even giving them the advice to make it pretty in the first place? What gives with this?

I don’t know about you, but in my 16+ years as a busy Realtor, I have NEVER met someone who loves having their house on the market for 40, 50, 80, 160 days! And it doesn’t need to be this way; it really doesn’t.

If you have your house for sale, are you getting feedback on the showings on your house? I seriously doubt that you are, for a couple of very good reasons:

1. Out of the last 100 houses I have shown, I have had 5 requests for feedback from the listing agents. When I get one of these requests within the first couple of days after I show a house, I respond, and I am very honest about the house, from my perspective of how well it shows and how it is priced. Question for you – does your agent tell you when showing agents say things need to be fixed / cleaned / changed etc.?
2. Most Buyer Agents don’t believe in giving feedback when it is requested. We try 3 times for each showing to get feedback for our listings, and it is hard to get. BUT, we do try, unlike most agents.

Okay, rant mode off, and on to the market data for last week. Doesn’t look a lot different than last week, although the average prices are up. You’ll see one price range where the average sale is higher than the average list; that is because of one particular house that sold in one day for 11% over the list price. It was definitely underlisted, and quite possibly that was deliberate. It sold for a realistic price.

And here is the updated Annual Summary:

I’m curious to hear your thoughts on the rant above, so please leave me your comments. Comments are welcome from agents, the general public, and anyone else.