Summer is the New Spring!

Well, hello and welcome to June. Looking back to last week on the North Shore, we see the highest Sales to Listings Ratio since early March of this year. Impressive numbers ! 46% sales to listings in North Vancouver, and 61% in West Vancouver. The phone is ringing. The stress test has loosened. People feeling a little more comfortable in their day to day lives, and venturing our & about a little more. Plus, add some sunshine to the demand for North Shore homes ( people want to live here!), and you have a winning combination.

BUYERS: There's a little more choice for you now, in all categories.

SELLERS: This is the PERFECT TIME to book a Strategy Session with us so that we can help you get your home looking beautiful, and on the market before everyone else lists and your competition gets going!

Book your Strategy Session HERE: 

In a normal housing market, whether you’re buying or selling a home, you need an experienced guide to help you navigate through the process. You need someone you can turn to who will tell you how to price your home correctly right from the start. You need someone who can help you determine what to offer on your dream home without paying too much or offending the seller with a low-ball offer.

We are, however, in anything but a normal market right now. We are amid one of the greatest health crises our nation has ever seen. The pandemic has had a dramatic impact on the journey consumers take to purchase or sell a home. To successfully navigate the landscape today, you need more than an experienced guide. You need a ‘Real Estate Sherpa.’

According to Lexico, a Sherpa is a “member of a Himalayan people living on the borders of Nepal and Tibet, renowned for their skill in mountaineering.” Sherpas are skilled in leading their parties through the extreme altitudes of the peaks and passes in the region – some of the most treacherous trails in the world. They take pride in their hardiness, expertise, and experience at very high altitudes.

They are much more than just guides.

This is much more than a normal real estate market.

Today, the average guide just won’t do. You need a Sherpa. You need an expert who understands how COVID-19 is impacting the thoughts and actions of the consumer (ex: virtual showings, proper safety protocols, e-signing documents). You need someone who can simply and effectively explain the changes in today’s process to you and your family. You need an expert who will guarantee you make the right decision, especially in these challenging times.

Bottom Line

Hiring an agent who understands how the pandemic is reshaping the real estate processes is crucial right now. Find that ‘Real Estate Sherpa’ to guarantee your journey is a safe and successful one.

The benefits of Home Ownership are many - and with interest rates at amazingly low levels today - the joys of Home Ownership may be closer than you think!

Our current world reality has closed cinemas and handcuffed the service industry - not to mention run up one major government deficit.

Several recent forecasts have predicted everything from near-collapse to rapid house price growth once the outbreak passes.

While I am feeling more positive than negative, about our housing market I am not going to make predictions. 

Here’s what we know for sure:

We anticipated April's numbers would be less favorable than those of March. Still, on the ground we see Sellers & Buyers finding ways to transact successfully, despite uncertainty. The good news is this situation is not systemic to the real estate or mortgage industry. If we’re not in a recession yet, we’re about to be in one. This time, however, most experts feel that housing will be the sector that leads the economic recovery.

BEWARE the articles in the MEDIA like the one we saw today whose headline reads, "BC Home Sales to plummet by up to 40% this month". What's the number you're going to remember here ? 40%, right ? But it's not until you read further in that it says, "compared to the same month last year". Spring is typically our busiest time for sales, and it is no surprise that this year is going to be different than last year! If you want to know what's going on in your neighborhood, talk to a Realtor who is working through this market and find out the true numbers in your area of preference. And you could also CLICK HERE

#realestate #northshore #realestatemarket #realestateagent #homeownershipmatters

• Virtual consultation!
  We will schedule an appointment by phone or video chat to learn what you are looking for in a home.

• Home Search!
  We will email you homes that match your search criteria as soon as they hit the market.

• Virtual Showing
  Depending on your preference, we can do a live or virtual tour.

• Electronically Sign
  You will sign your documents from the comfort of your current home.

• Virtual Inspection
  Home inspectors can walk through the findings via video and email you the reports.

• Virtual Closings
  In most cases purchase documents can be signed electronically

• Home Sweet Home
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  Contact us to start your home search today! 604 984 7253

• Believe it or not, there are lots of things you can do to prepare your house for a sale without even going to the store.
• Your real estate plans don’t have to be completely on hold even while we’ve hit the pause button on other parts of daily life.
• Tackling small projects from cleaning the corners you may normally skip to tidying up your yard are easy and necessary wins if you’re thinking of listing your house and making a move.

With more than a million Canadian homeowners trying to defer payments, many with little success, five mortgage brokers offer insight and advice

 By - Joannah Connolly Glacier Media Real Estate - March 26, 2020

You would have to visit your local pharmacy or science lab to rival the number of potentially dangerous chemicals in the average home. You likely store everything from fertilizers to acidic cleaners to gasoline and corrosive drain openers. Obviously, it makes sense to ensure that everyone in your home uses and stores such items safely.

For example, laundry detergent packs – which have become popular recently – are attractive to children. Keep them locked and out of sight. You should do the same with all laundry products. Even exposure to fabric softener pads can cause skin irritation to a child. Always read and follow the labels on household chemical products. Use and store them as directed.

Keep corrosive, such as harsh cleaners and drain openers, separate from other chemicals and in a place where, should they leak, they will cause minimal or no damage. Also never put a chemical in anything other then its original container. You don’t want to take the chance that paint thinner stored in an old water bottle, for example, is mistaken for water!

Finally make sure you have the phone number to your local poison control center in a handy place, such as your fridge door. You can find a list of numbers at www.CAPCC.ca

"Staging" you home is all about making the space in your home as appealing as possible to buyers. You may already know the basics, such as eliminating clutter. Here are some other tips that are less well known yet very effective:

• Chandeliers. Surprisingly, these are one of the simplest ways to make a foyer, dining room or living room dramatically more eye-catching. you can buy a good looking chandelier for a few hundred dollars.

• New linen. This is something many home sellers don't consider, but should. Replace any worn linen - sheets, covering, towels and even oven mitts with new ones. Believe it or not, new linen makes a big impression on buyers.

• Pedestal sinks. It may not be practical for you to replace a bathroom sink. However, if you are doing a renovation, keep in mind that pedestal sinks - especially in small washrooms - are a big hit with buyers.
  
  
• New appliances. A brand new fridge, stove, and dishwasher are motivating selling features to buyers. That's because new appliances can make the whole kitchen look brand new.
  
  
• Avoid multi-use rooms. Have a spare bedroom that doubles as a home office? That's a turnoff to buyers. Whenever possible, stage each room so that it has a singular purpose. A guest bedroom, for example, should be only that.

Want more tips on how to stage your home so that it attracts buyers? We have more ideas! In fact, every Seller receives a FREE STAGING CONSULT prior to listing their home for sale. Call us at 604-984-7253 to learn more.

It’s exciting to put a house on the market and to think about making new memories in new spaces, but we can have deep sentimental attachments to the homes we’re leaving behind, too. Growing emotions can help or hinder a sale, depending on how we manage them.

When it comes to the bottom line, homeowners need to know what it takes to avoid costly mistakes. Being mindful of these things and prepared for the process can help you avoid some of the most common mishaps when selling your house.

1. Overpricing Your Home

When inventory is low, like it is in the current market, it’s common to think buyers will pay whatever we ask for when we price our homes. Believe it or not, that’s far from the truth. Don’t forget that the buyer’s bank will send an appraiser to determine the fair value for your home. The bank will not lend more than what the house is worth, so be mindful that you might need to renegotiate the price after the appraisal. A real estate professional will help you to set the true value of your home.

2. Letting Your Emotions Interfere with the Sale

Today, most homeowners have been living in their houses for an average of 10 years. 

This is several years longer than what used to be the norm, since many homeowners have been recouping from negative equity situations over the past 10 years. The side effect, however, is when you live for so long in one place, you may get even more emotionally attached to your space. If it’s the first home you bought after you got married or the house where your children grew up, it very likely means something extra special to you. Every room has memories and it’s hard to detach from the sentimental value.

For some homeowners, that makes it even harder to negotiate, separating the emotional value of the home from the fair market price. That’s why you need a real estate professional to help you with the negotiations in the process.

3. Not Staging Your Home

We’re generally quite proud of our décor and how we’ve customized our houses to make them our own personalized homes, but not all buyers will feel the same way about your design. That’s why it’s so important to make sure you stage your home with the buyer in mind. Buyers want to envision themselves in the space, so it truly feels like their own. They need to see themselves in the space with their furniture and keepsakes – not your pictures and decorations. Stage and declutter your home so they can visualize their own dreams as they walk through your house. A real estate professional can help you with tips to get your home ready to stage and sell.

Bottom Line

Today’s primarily Seller’s market might be your best chance to make a move. If you’re considering selling your house, sit down with a local real estate professional to help you navigate through the process while avoiding common seller mistakes.