How Do We Plan to Continue Our Success in 2016?

Buying a home? Click here to perform a full home search
Selling a home? Click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation 
Call me at (905) 456-3232  for a FREE home buying or selling consultation

Today I had the opportunity to be a keynote speaker to over 400 of our agents. I talked about efficiency and production, and today I wanted to share with you a few points that I mentioned to the room. My address was all about what we have done to be successful in our market and what we plan on doing in the next year to become even better.

The first thing I discussed was speed. Our team did 44 transactions in 2015, while the company average was only 12. We used speed to accomplish this feat. Most homes in Toronto are selling rather quickly, many with multiple offers.  To sell quickly, you’ve got to be informed, and have the home ready to show right away. It’s all about how quickly you can respond in this market. We respond to offers within 45 minutes of receiving them at the latest, and technology is a big reason why we are able to do so.

Another thing that sets us apart is our concierge service. We hired a full-time concierge, Heather, this last quarter and she has been a game changer. Her job is to be a liaison between myself and our clients. She is someone our clients can call or text any time of day or night, no matter what questions they have.

Last year, we sold about one home per week. This year, we are planning on selling about two houses a week. We’re going to do this using the same strategy that has gotten us this far. We are going to continue to improve our speed, as well as our concierge service. 

If you have any questions for me or my team, don’t hesitate to give us a call or send us an email. We would love to hear from you!

What's Going to Happen in Toronto Real Estate in 2016?

Buying a home? Click here to perform a full home search
Selling a home? Click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation 
Call me at (905) 456-3232  for a FREE home buying or selling consultation

Welcome to 2016! Today we are sending out our first update on the 2016 Toronto housing market. Many of you have been seeing in the news that in terms of home sales and home prices, 2015 was huge. Can we expect more of the same in 2016? We've been getting a lot of questions about it, and today we're going to clear things up. 

We are anticipating another strong year of sales in Toronto. According to TD Economics anticipates a 1-3% dip in home prices over the next 2.5 years. That dip hasn't happened yet, and may not until the end of the year. 

As for what the market looks like right now, we have had a very strong start to the year. We've had 14 listings go on the market this month from just our office alone. January is starting out red-hot in Toronto, and we expect home prices and home sales to continue to go up, with prices dipping a bit later in the year. Another thing that may affect home prices is the unemployment rate. A 1% increase in unemployment could have a significant effect on prices. 

The sellers we are helping that are on the market right now are thrilled with the offers they've been getting and in many areas, homes are selling in less than 2 weeks for full asking price or more. 

If you have any questions, or have been thinking about buying or selling in Toronto, give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you!

Our Five Step Buyer Purchase Process in Toronto

Buying a home? Click here to perform a full home search
Selling a home? Click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation 
Call me at (905) 456-3232  for a FREE home buying or selling consultation

I’m here at York University, speaking softly because of hard-working students. Recently, we were hired by a law professor to help buy a home. He had some specific questions about the buying process. Today, I’ll review our five step buyer purchase process with you!

1. Separate your wants from needs. First, we figure out what our clients want versus what they need. It’s valuable to know both when working together. We spend some time creating a list of criteria on how to identify prospective properties. This allows my team to help find listings the buyer will admire and enjoy.

2. Get pre-qualified. We have several in-house lenders to meet with clients and get them pre-qualified for a future mortgage or another form of purchasing. We ensure they have the qualifications to go to the next step.

3. Meet and preview homes. This is the most fun part of the process. We meet with buyers to review listings on the MLS with our projector. We’re able to go over details about specific neighborhoods the client has in mind.

4. Review a buyer representation agreement. Ontario legally requires this document, signed by the buyer, to move forward. It discloses information on who is working for who. Luckily, it’s a flexible process where we are flexible to work with clients’ schedules.

5. Tour properties. We show and preview properties, that we hand selected as the best of the best, with our clients. We’re not just streamlining the entire MLS. We pick specific properties to cater to particular client’s needs. We want our customers to get the best value on their dream homes.

Typically, we’ll grab some coffee, take our time, and view properties before it gets dark out. We can pull up background information, see if we can get a pre-home inspection ahead of time, draft paperwork to make an offer, and start negotiating.

If you have any questions about this topic or others, give us a call or email today! We’d be happy to help and serve you.