Welcome to the RE/MAX Waters Advantage! Orangeville Real Estate Blog

Vlog #4 Orangeville Over Priced Homes.....You Need Good Photos...Don't you?

So I find myself talking to buyers of late about if a home is over priced or not and what difference photo's have on the property value. 

Vlog #3 Home Sold in 6 Hours!! Wow, My Clients Are Happy...Watch Video To Know More....

Judge for yourself...

Metz  Muifield model, 2196 sq.ft., 4-bedroom, 4-bathroom, fully finished basement with wet bar and 3 piece washroom, walking distance to schools and parks.  Gorgeous kitchen and master ensuite.  So much more.  These photos don't even do it justice. Over 60,000 spent on upgrades!!

Click here for the details...

Ooops, sorry I sold it firm in 6 hours at full asking price!  How great is that.  Watch the video to find out what Rebecca and Devin thought about their experience!

 

 

Here are some photos of their amazing home

Vlog #2 I'm Talking About a Fantastic New Home That Will Be Listed at Midnight!!!!

Great new listing!!!! I'm so happy to be listings such a nice new home!!!!  I will post the listing at 12:00am.  Stay tuned.

Vlog #1 I'm Super Excited About My Meeting Tomorrow!!!!

I'm video blogging about how I'm so excited about meeting with my 2 newest clients tomorrow and how I can help them achieve their real estate goals. It's going to be a fantastic day...

If you want to voice your opinion or if you don't care for my comments please email your feedback to [email protected] and visit http://www.WatersAdvantage.com for all the David Waters Real Estate Video Blogs.

Message from Michael Polzer -RE/MAX Ontario Atlantic Canada

Taking back the industry

I found that 2009 proved to be a definite defining year in the real estate industry, that has now created two very separate and distinct categories of Realtors.

Read Michael's message below..and please comment to share your voice!

Experienced professionals, who stayed the course, adjusting to new conditions and adhering  to solid   business plans, were ideally positioned for the turnaround and emerged victorious from the downturn. The fair-weather realtors who were ill-prepared and panicked, who chose to bury their heads in the sand, were not. 

I think it's time we formally acknowledge the elephant in the room. 

Last year, one in five realtors failed to sell a home on TREB -- the largest board in the world. From what I understand, the same problem exists in smaller boards across Ontario and Atlantic Canada. 

No one in the industry, however, has mentioned how this threatens both the consumer and the profession. Our industry is overrun by part-timers who lack the knowledge and experience to service their clients adequately. The ease with which they can hang a shingle and tarnish our profession is astounding. 

Personally, I can't believe that no one has challenged this reality. With the exception of those sales associates that are new to the business – and we have some stellar rookies who have already achieved Platinum Club in their first year in the business -- and those that are winding successful real estate careers, I find it hard to fathom that one in five agents sell nothing at all. Fifty-three per cent do not do a deal a quarter yet are prepared to provide guidance to buyers and sellers making the largest single financial transaction of their lifetime. 

Just who is looking out for the real estate consumer? Cab drivers? Waiters? This trend is not in the best interest of our clients, and if we, as realtors, want to raise the bar in the industry, this simply cannot continue. 

Here are my thoughts on the issue. For starters, at least one-quarter of agents should be barred from trading in real estate…it's time to put the professionalism back in the profession. It's time we raise the bar and set new standards. If we don't, this group of unqualified realtors will continue to have a serious negative impact on the industry. 

If this sounds familiar, it's because you've heard it before. One year ago, I talked about how uncommitted realtors were creating problems within the industry. However, at that time, economic concerns loomed overhead, a global financial crisis was brewing, and home sales had slowed to a crawl. We thought that the downturn would clean house, effectively purging the industry of non-producers and part-timers. 

But the slowdown proved short-lived. And as real estate gained momentum, everyone jumped in it to make a fast buck. So it's time to get serious. We need to enlist your help and create a plan of action. After all, the greatest opportunity to raise standards is through licensing and we'd like to see stricter rules governing the registration of realtors. What about introducing a minimum sales requirement before licensing? Or an apprenticeship program where new sales associates gain valuable insight before they are licensed? 

I challenge anyone in the industry to argue why a part-timer or non-producer should be allowed to trade in real estate. Stand up and please tell us how consumers benefit. Explain why Ontario needs 57,000 realtors. 

My commitment to you will be to pursue this issue at all levels of government and associated organizations. I will call upon the leaders and directors of CREA, OREA, RECO and real estate boards in Ontario and Atlantic Canada to support me in this cause. These are excellent organizations, but all have built their infrastructure based on membership numbers. Is that in the best interest of the full-time real estate professional? Join us in writing to the Minister of Government Services, the Honourable Harinder S. Takhar at[email protected]  and the Minister of Consumer Services, the Honourable Ted McMeekin, responsible for the Real Estate and Business Brokers Act, 2002 at  [email protected]. org  to request sweeping changes to rules governing registration and licensing to protect the integrity of the profession and consumer interest. 

We'd all benefit from an industry overhaul. We see the impact of those mistakes time and time again. The committed, dedicated professionals that have devoted their lives to selling homes would give their eye tooth to get rid of the clutter and restore honour and dignity to the profession. After all, the lack of commitment and expertise among part-timers affects the entire industry.

We need to send the message, once and for all -- real estate is not a fall-back profession. This industry is not a circus. It's time we rid ourselves of the elephant in the room.

Sincerely,

Michael Polzler
Executive Vice President and Regional Director
RE/MAX Ontario-Atlantic Canada Inc. 

No Increase In Interest Rates Says The Bank Of Canada.....

                                                                                                                                                   

As expected the Bank of Canada’s rate announcements continue to ring the same bell for the last 9 months:  no change, no change and no change…

Well, Yesterday they met yet again, and guess what happened? Nothing, no change again!

The Bank left Canada’s key lending rate at a record low 0.25%.  That’s been the rate since April of last year.

In Yesterday’s report it reads:

• “Conditional on the outlook for inflation, the target overnight rate can be expected to remain at its current level until the end of the second quarter of 2010.”
• “The global economic recovery is under way.”
• The economy should return “to full capacity” with inflation returning “to the 2% target in the third quarter of 2011.”
• “The Bank projects that the economy will grow by 2.9% in 2010 and 3.5% in 2011.” (an increase versus its prior forecast)

The next BOC meeting is March 2.  I find it very interesting that the BOC has kept the rates at record low rates for this long. 

I feel change is in the air...what do you think?????

David