Wednesday, December 19, 2018

Real Estate Insider: December 2018 News Report






Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, Real Estate Insiders! 2019 is just about to start, so we thought we'd put together a handy collection of topics perfect for planning your new year resolutions on your property. When you have a few moments of rest from the hustle and bustle of the holidays, be sure to grab your favourite holiday beverage and check out just a few of the ways you can be prepared for the biggest plans of 2019!


Thinking of doing a huge home renovation? There’s no better advice to get than from someone who’s done it! Read this couple's 6 biggest lessons they learned while putting an addition on their home so you can prepare and limit the number of surprises along the way! >>

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Would you trade paying more interest overall for a lower monthly payment? That’s the argument this article is making for the 30-year mortgage in the wake of rapidly rising interest rates. Overall it is personal preference, so which is yours? >>



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Ever wonder what happened to the people who started investing in Real Estate right before the 2008 crash? Read this article to find out the biggest mistakes this Real Estate investor made when he started out, and how he eventually bounced back. These tips could help fast-track you to financial freedom! >>

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Don’t be afraid to ask the hard questions when it comes to your money and don’t let a shady salesman pressure you into signing anything you don’t fully understand! Here’s a list of 4 big rip-offs to look out for to help save you money. >>

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Preparation is the name of the game when it comes to investment properties. Make sure you’re prepared for many of the aspects of owning different types of investment properties! >>


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Step 1: Buy gifts.
Step 2: Spend time with loved ones.
Step 3: Shovel and salt the sidewalk.
Step 4: Go over your year-end financial planning checklistwe can help you with this last one! >>


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Owning a cottage or vacation home is a goal many people have, but does it make sense overall? Read here for some considerations to help you make this big decision. >>

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AirBnB is being used by many as a source of income to help offset the price of owning a home or investment property. Are you aware of the short and long term tax implications? Read here to see why it could end up costing you way more than expected. >>

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Team Lalovich never cuts corners when it comes to selling real estate, and neither should any other Realtor! Unfortunately, there will always be some that find the worst possible ways so save a quick buck; if it affects the sale price of your home, it should be a deal breaker! Make sure your Realtor of choice is doing everything they can to provide you with the best service, starting with the photos. >>

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“The Bank Profit Indicator shows the amount of profit per man, woman and child in Canada.” Find out this years number here! >>



Friday, December 14, 2018

2018 Year In Review: Local Real Estate Market Observations



Happy holiday season, Gang! Can you believe Santa is coming to town in less than 2 weeks? With the end of 2018 on the horizon, we wanted to take the opportunity to review some of the things we learned this year about our local (Windsor-Essex) real estate market. Here are some items of note that stood out to us.


Listings Are Still Down.

Per WECAR (Windsor-Essex County Association of Realtors), through the first 11 months of the year, listings were down from 2017 by 6% year to date. Everyone thought inventory was super low last year and that was one of the main reasons for the bidding wars.  Well, inventory got even lower this year. The supply and demand balance has stayed with the sellers this year.


Average Sale Price Is Up, Again.

Also through those same 11 months of the year as per WECAR, the average sale price rose 14% versus 2017. I don’t think this strayed much from our forecast. Having listings down again, upward pressure was put on sale prices. This is a healthy stat that should put us up with some of the best performing markets in Canada.


Unit Sales Are Down Quite A Bit

In that same timespan, unit sales were down 11% versus 2017. This isn't a good stat for realtors! Listings being down explains part of it but clearly there is less turnover. A partial explanation could be that sellers have increased their pricing expectations and these over-priced listings are sitting on the market and not resulting in transactions.


Total Volume of Sales Were Up Modestly

Sales volume rose 2% versus 2017 through the first 11 months of 2018 per WECAR. This stat is pretty easy to figure out when you combine sales prices being up 14%, combined with unit sales being down 11%. What also affects this stat is the fact that more and more of the sales seem to be in higher priced categories bringing up the averages.


Increased Interest Rates Haven’t Affected the MarketYet

With the Bank of Canada's increased interest rates three times this year, higher interest rates are making things less affordable in housing. This hasn’t translated into much decreased demand yet, but should interest rates go up a few more times in 2019, this could start to drive some people out of market.


Investor Demand Has Plateaued

The fever pitch of real estate investment demand seems to have levelled off. We had some listings this year that surprised us a little on the market reaction. The cap rate demanded by sellers and what buyers will accept seem to be at a standstill in 2018. Perhaps cap rates will increase a little next year and part of that may be due to the increasing interest rates mentioned above.


There Is A Serious Housing Shortage in the Rental Market

The vacancy rate in 2017 was down to 2.3% locally. The 2018 report still hasn’t been released but is looking like it will be less than 2%. We believe this stat is somewhat inflated; if you look around for vacancies for any decent buildings, they are essentially 0% with waiting lists. There are also long waiting lists for socially assisted housing. Combining this low rental supply with the booming housing market that is driving more people into the rental market and the situation is really dire for tenants. Something needs to be done about this at the governmental level as it seems to be getting more tight every year and market based solutions don’t look to be feasible.


Those are some of our 2018 real estate market observations. What are yours?