Real Estate Podcast with Andrew Bolton

What do you need to know about home inspections? Home inspections and the conditions of a home inspection are included in purchases and sales when multiple buyers aren’t competing for the home. Home inspections are something we haven’t had in many deals over the past three to five years, depending on where you live. Some people think that a home inspection can be used to reopen negotiations on the home after we have already agreed on a price. That is not how I work, and that is not their intention. I advise my clients that home inspections are for latent defects—things we can’t see as we walk through a home or things that we may have missed that are large and will cost money or affect the actual overall value of the home. This can be things like roofs, foundations, wiring, or leaking windows. We work with several very good home inspectors who do very thorough inspections. They then give you their opinion. But they are not meant as a negotiating tactic to get the seller to lower the price.   “I advise my clients that home inspections are for latent defects which will cost money or affect the actual overall value of the home.” When you’re buying a resale home, or something that isn’t brand new, you have to expect that there is going to be some upkeep, and some things that aren’t going to be perfect. That is already negotiated into the purchase price. We talk about this when we are putting an offer together and during the back-and-forth negotiation with the seller. If we do go through and find something such as water penetration or mold in the attic,that is when we can regroup and decide if the home is right for you and at what price. You can figure out how much it is going to cost to have the issue fixed and we can have the seller and abate the price correctly. Another good reason to have an inspection is that it gives you another two and a half to three hours to get to know the home better. Home inspectors also give you a list and walk you through all the systems of the home so you have a better idea of where things like the water shut-off valve are located. If you have any other questions about home inspections or real estate, you can contact me any time. I look forward to speaking with you soon.

The spring market has definitely sprung, and people have been asking a lot of questions about what’s going on. So, it’s time for a market update. To start off, we’re beginning to approach a balanced market for the first time in quite a while. Up until recently we were experiencing an extreme shortage of inventory. But now some areas are actually very much favoring buyers. However, sellers need not panic. We all know that 2017 was a great year for appreciation and sales, but this was partially due to the fact that we were in a slight housing bubble. Previously hot areas are now seeing depreciation rates as high as 30%. Again, though, this is not a cause for alarm. If you look at the big picture, you’ll notice that appreciation rates are still above where they were five years ago. What do all of these factors mean? Well, if you’re a buyer, now is the time to make your move. So, please get in touch. I’d love to help you seek out some great deals. My team and I can make sure that you are well-protected throughout your transaction. “If you look at the big picture, you’ll notice that appreciation rates are still above where they were five years ago.” Sellers, on the other hand, may want to wait things out. But if you are eager to list, my team and I can still get you top dollar. As a final note, I’d like to touch briefly on what’s going on in the condo market. The condo market has been outpacing the detached home market in terms of appreciation. However, while prices continue to go up, rising inventory has caused a lag in the number of sales. If you’re looking to purchase a condo, I would recommend waiting for a while to see where the market goes. Of course, all of this advice depends on your personal circumstances. I would be more than happy to work with you and make an individualized plan based on your situation and goals. If you have any other questions or would like more information, feel free to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

As promised, today I’m going to give you a quick look at the numbers from the 2017 market. Follow along in the video above to see a chart detailing the month-by-month changes in sales, active listings, months of inventory, average prices, and days on market. At the beginning of the year, we were at an all-time low for inventory, with just over 5,000 active listings in January. Sales increased between January and March, leaping from about 5,000 to about 12,000, which is quite a record for that time span. Throughout the rest of the year, active listings increased, though sales decreased following that March spike. You can see a graph that breaks down the trends of all property types in terms of months of inventory at 4:57 in the video. As I mentioned, in the beginning of the year, months of inventory were very low. At some points, we had less than a month’s worth of inventory on the market, and things were selling very quickly. It was a different story for the latter half of the year, with more inventory and longer days on market. Taking a look at the graph at 6:24, you can see that the York Region inventory spiked during the summer months, outpacing the Toronto area market, which stayed relatively steady throughout the year. We were definitely in a seller’s market in 2017. Looking at the average prices, we began the year in the $700,000 range and moved up to a peak of $920,000 in April before steadily dropping to $735,000 in December. “At some points, we had less than a month’s worth of inventory on the market and things were selling very quickly.” The average days on market was low in the first half of the year, with nine days being the lowest point of the year in April. As more inventory hit the market, that figure increased, which makes sense. The average days on market was 27 days by December. In 2016, we had 113,040 sales in all of the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB). This is a record figure for us. In 2017, however, we were much more in line with where we’ve been over the past five years, with 92,394 sales—a decrease of 18.3%. Next, let’s break down the year-over-year average sales price by property type: Detached home sales prices dropped 2.5% Semi-detached homes increased by 6.7%. Condo townhouses rose by 0.7%. Condo apartment sales prices soared by 14.4%. The average motion of all property types was +0.7% year over year. Comparing Toronto to York Region at 7:53 in the video, the two areas largely mimicked each other as the year progressed. For Toronto, the higher average sales price should come as no surprise, but the sharp drop we saw in August was almost a parity between the two regions. The Toronto prices jumped back up in September before declining through to the end of the year. I think that we’ll be seeing much more of the same in 2018. There won’t be as many crazy spikes, and I think there will be a fair bit of inventory across the board, creating some opportunity for buyers, depending on the style of home they’re seeking. In particular, it will be a great time for condo owners to sell. Toronto is largely insulated to the downswing we’ve seen in some of the outlying regions like the York Region. So what do all these statistics mean to you? That depends largely on your specific situation. If you’re trying to sell or buy or you want to see what the numbers look like for your specific area, I’d be happy to walk you though it. I can show you the numbers, give you an evaluation of your home based on the stats and the current market, and I’d be happy to walk you through the process. You’re encouraged to send this to your friends and family as well. Feel free to give me a call!

As you can see in the video above, I’m wearing my winter jacket inside. That’s because the windows behind me are old, leak cold air, and it happens to be -27 °C out there! If your house is anything like this, you’ll be really excited about a new program the government recently released called Green On. This program offers a lot of rebates for any retrofitting you might want done to your home. You can receive $500 per window up to a total of $5000. That’s a fantastic rebate! If you’re interested in installing a geothermal system in your home, you can get up to $20,000 in rebates for that, as well as some insulation rebates and incentives. Another exciting part of this program is its air source heat pump incentive. You can get air source heat pumps for smaller areas like an office or an apartment you may have. They can provide both heating and cooling, and you can receive up to $4,800 per unit. “Take advantage of this program while you still can.” For more information about this program, you can visit www.greenon.ca. This is a wonderful time to put some money back into your home, which brings me to an important question we received after our last email: If I replace my windows, will it increase the value of my home? The short answer is yes and no. A buyer may not see the value right away, but it helps in the negotiation process to maximize the value of your property. If you need some windows or sliding doors, call a professional in your area or contact me and Ill put you in touch with one of my trusted professionals. These programs don’t last forever and they’re not around very often. I know I’ll take advantage of it, and I’ll be nice and warm in my office, just like I hope you’ll be nice and warm in your home. Stay tuned for our upcoming market year-in-review for 2017. In the meantime, if you have any questions or you know of anyone looking to buy or sell real estate, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’d love to help you.