Archive for January, 2011

Not that I want to brag about my successful year last year (well, I guess I do – a bit), but I want to thank you all again for helping me achieve such great results.

First, some background.  Keller Williams Ottawa, the brokerage I work for, has just over 300 real estate agents and is the largest Keller Williams office in Ottawa and area.

The Brokerage accomplished $1,367,860,774 during 2010……yes – that is $1.3 Billion dollars…….and relates to 4,267 real estate transactions.

Some agents work in teams – groups of agents working together.  I work by myself, with my trusty admin support gal, Sue.  When compared to other individual agents in the Brokerage, my results put me in the top 10!!  I’m feeling pretty good about that.

So – once again, I thank you, my clients!  Now it’s on to an even better year in 2011!

Kris

The Federal Government tabled a series of new rules on January 17^th, aimed to slow down what it sees as a growing problem of household debt.

Most Canadians are careful and use good common sense when it comes to borrowing money and making significant financial decisions, but some have been attracted by low interest rates into making poor choices.  When mortgage rates go up, and it is expected they will, these folks may be unable to meet their financial commitments.

Here are the changes:

• The maximum amortization period of a mortgage has been reduced from 35 to 30 years (i.e. CMHC will no longer backstop any loan longer than 30 years).
• The amount that can be borrowed against a home has been cut to 85% from 90% of the value of the property
• Government insurance backing on lines of credit secured by homes has been withdrawn (i.e. no more home equity lines of credit). 

The adjustments to the mortgage insurance guarantee framework will come into force March 18, 2011.  The withdrawal of government insurance backing on lines of credit secured by homes will come into force April 18, 2011.

It is believed that the new regulations are unlikely to derail the country’s property market since it will target only the most at-risk borrowers.

If you have any questions about what this means for you, please give me a call.

Kris

And yet another year has flown by.  I thought it was strange to be saying and using “2010” and now I have to get used to “2011”.  I guess it should really be “Twenty-Eleven” or should it be “Two Thousand and Eleven”??  Neither slips off the tongue easily….perhaps because it’s a sure sign I’m getting older!!

OK – now for my 2011 New Year’s Resolutions:

1. I resolve to keep Customer Satisfaction at the very top of my priority list!
2. I resolve to grow my network of suppliers and service providers in order to best serve my clients better
3. I resolve to provide only first rate quality service to all of my clients
4. I resolve to continue to sharpen my listening and negotiation skills
5. I resolve to use my headset when on the cell phone in my car – ALL the time!
6. I resolve to lose 10 pounds! (A carry over from last year’s list!)

I would love to hear what your plans are for the New Year – especially if there is any thought being given to a move – or perhaps you are just curious to know what your house is worth on today’s market – or what the house down the street sold for last week.  Give me a call.

Kris

Today, if you want to sell your home, you have a number of choices.

Real Estate Agents have always been able to offer Flat Fee Service but what has changed is that now the “listing agent” can input the listing on the MLS® System of the Ottawa Real Estate Board but reduce their services to you!

So what, exactly, does this mean to a seller and what is a flat-fee listing?

A licensed real estate agent is asked to enter a listing  under an agreement whereby the sellers act as their own representative.  If they find their own buyer, there are no commissions involved.  If a buyer comes through their  presence on the MLS® System of the Ottawa Real Estate Board, they must pay a commission to the buyer agent only.  It sounds great but there are always two sides to every story.

From the seller’s perspective, the downside is as follows:

• The agent is not available to the seller for any assistance
  • The seller must handle their own advertising
  • The seller must handle their own open houses
  • The seller must book and handle all showing requests
  • The seller must handle all paperwork, contracts, offers
  • The seller must handle their own negotiations
  • The seller must handle all inspections (house, septic, well)
  • The seller must handle any issues or complications that arise

From the “listing agent” perspective, here is the impact on them:

• Everything the seller does reflects on the Agent since it is the agent whose name is on the  listing (poor photos, unanswered phone calls, inflated pricing, offers mishandled with buyer Agents, etc)
• Sellers stop thinking of the Agent who offers flat-fee listings as a full-service real estate agent and, if they decide this system isn’t working for them, tend to jump ship and go with a different full-service agent to get the home sold.
• If potential Buyers aren’t handled well, it’s the listing agent who gets the phone calls and complaints.
• The seller is only selling one home.  To create a profitable business from this model, an Agent would have to “list” many, many homes.
• An experienced Agent agonizes while watching a situation “go south” that could have been successfully handled with a full-service agreement

I have actually been involved with a number of these transactions during 2010.  From my perspective, as a Buyer’s Agent, here are some comments about my experience:

• Typically, the homes are overpriced and don’t show well.  The homes aren’t staged and there has been no advice given on how to show a home at its best.
• The Sellers are not responsive to showing requests.  Agents are used to receiving confirmations within an hour or so.
• Sellers typically want to be at home during a showing – this means we are working to their schedule, not to the potential Buyer’s schedule
• Photographs are usually not well done
• Listings usually don’t have virtual tours
• The Sellers don’t understand the Buying process, so the Agent (me) ends up assisting the Sellers (without remuneration) just to ensure that the deal goes through for my Buyer.
• Buyers are very educated in today’s market.  When viewing a home becomes difficult, the buyer will typically move on to the next, better priced home.

In summary, a flat-fee listing just might be the right scenario for some of you – but if I were a Seller hoping to save a few dollars when selling my home, I would carefully weigh the cost savings of this approach versus using a “Full-Service Agent” before choosing this option.  Most productive agents have invested significantly in providing their clients with the best service and the benefit of their experience when selling their home.  If this type of selling appeals to you, I would strongly urge you to contact me to discuss the ‘real’ costs associated with Flat-Fee Selling!

Kris

  We will soon have the Ottawa and area real estate statistics for 2010 – and I will gladly share those  with you – but for now, I would simply like to wish everyone a happy and healthy 2011 and thank you for helping me have a very good year in the real estate business in 2010.

My clients are very important to me – and equally important are the referrals they provide to others for my services.  Without these referrals, my job would be that much more difficult so they are greatly appreciated.

If you made New Year’s resolutions – I hope they were attainable ones and that you stick to your guns and make them happen.  If you didn’t bother to make any – you’re in a win-win situation from the get-go.

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

Kris