January Newsletter

Welcome back from the holidays! For the next few months, I am fully expecting a very robust market in detached sub-$1.5 million properties, in most areas. We’re unlikely to find the same activity in the apartment/condo field, as we are at the top of a construction and sales cycle in that arena. I am seeing a LOT of Buyers scooping up a deal (I got one myself) and relying on the variable rates as the fixed rates have been stubborn and unlikely to shift a lot.

How can you leverage? If you are in a detached home, let’s get a price and a timeline in place asap. This winter (yes, winter, not “spring”) may be your best time to sell. Got some generational wealth to share? Help your kids into a condo in the next year or buy one yourself for your retirement plan if you can see it in our future.

If you are planning on hunkering down for a few more years, I would suggest removing the window valances of yesterday’s style, and repainting the house interior in a boring colour in every room. Feel free to reach out and I will send you the NUMBER ONE set of COLOURS that work in every home. You may not like them (I love them) but I can assure you the Buyers will probably like a blank canvas more than most personal design choices. Swapping the paint out is the cheapest and highest return. If you are still in doubt, call me and we’ll chat.

Next, is turning an eye to curb appeal and MAINTENANCE. Vacuum the bathroom vent fans, change the furnace filter, update the fixture hoses (think washing machines, sinks and toilets) to braided stainless and then re-caulk the bathroom silicone. These things show care and most buyers appreciate that you took care of your home… because when we can help them envision it as “their home” they will buy it….

Curb Appeal… don’t come at me on this… but cut down that tree blocking your front entrance. People have a natural aversion when they can’t see the front door. It makes buyers feel unsafe… Cut it down now and let some fresh spring plantings prepare you for a sale in the future. Cut the grass, weed, and if you have the chaefer beetle (raccoons or crows are digging up your lawn) you can repair it in the next two years. Visit a garden centre or call me and I can point you in the right direction.

The team and I are here to help. Let us know what you need and we will be with you every step of the way, on YOUR schedule, With OUR advice you won’t go wrong.

Happy New Year everyone. Leah