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NEW AND NOTABLE IN REAL ESTATE
Fourth Quarter Update from CMHC
The CMHC housing market outlook for the fourth quarter of
2009...
Something to Think About.... thanks
Martha!
Home to House to Home Do you have
to make a home into a house to sell?
Advice given by realtors, and I've
even said it myself, is: “To sell your home you have to make it into a
house, that is, a product to be marketed.”
Now, I'm rethinking
that statement. After all, buyers want a home for themselves and their
families. Their decision to buy is based largely on emotion. Are they going to
prefer a house – a structure built for human habitation, over a home
– place of safety, nurture and shelter? Which sounds more emotionally
connected to you?
Some sellers and even real estate agents think moving
everything out of a house and giving it a fresh coat of paint and a clean up is
the best way to sell. Stripping the home this way definitely makes it into a
house.
However, leaving a home vacant while selling it is not the best
solution. 80% of buyers start shopping on the internet, so the pictures give
them their first impression. Without anything in the rooms, pictures are
lacklustre and it's hard to interpret room sizes or potential uses. When
toured, vacant homes lack a strong feeling of life and warmth. Also, to be
fully appreciated, vacant homes require imagination that 9 out of 10 viewers
don't possess. It's been proven that vacant homes are harder to sell than homes
which are properly furnished and accessorized or professionally staged.
Indeed, buyers want to buy a home, but, what they want is a home for
themselves, not a home that obviously belongs to somebody else. As a seller,
you have to take out anything that is uniquely about you. But, put back some
things to define the space and help the buyers make an emotional connection.
Help the buyers imagine living their dream lifestyle in your home. Make it look
like THEIR home – the one they aspire to own.
In other words, you
take your home, make it a house, and then 'stage' it to show as your target
buyers' home.
By: Martha Stanton-Smith of Rearrangements, 978
Woodbine Road, Kingston, Ontario K7P 2X5, Canada.
Spring Tips from our Feng Shui Friend
Pat...
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Feng Shui Gardens:
Solutions for Enhanced
Living by Pat
Hyduk |
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HOW DOES YOUR GARDEN
GROW?
Feng shui is about
your environment; that includes not only your home and workplace,
but gardens too. Which means that with the insightful use of
metaphor and Feng Shui, you can unearth growth in your life or,
alternatively, a mass of jumbled weeds. Most of us would prefer the
former. How to get there involves the same principles as for your home or your
clothing:
- Clear the clutter
- Live with what
you love
- Ensure
an optimal flow of ch'i
- Balance your yin
and your yang
- Harmonize your
elements
- Clarify your
intention
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GARDEN
TIPS
1. Views
of your garden areas from each window and door in your home should
be beautiful and tantalizing - they will boost your energy each
time you look out.
2. Clutter needs to be cleared: dead-head
dying flowers, discard old leaves and broken branches, clean up the debris.
3. Build a protective 'frame' around the
sides and back of your house with trees, shrubs, flower beds, rocks, or fences.
4. Diminish the
yang energy of corners and straight fences or concrete patios
with shrubs or overflowing flowers.
5. Meandering, curved paths
and walls are best for optimum energy flow. If they are straight or
severe, soften the effect with shrubs and or flowers tumbling over
edges
6. A water feature: a birdbath,
fountain or pool brings in the possibility of enhanced prosperity and
abundance.
7. Use the bagua to
enhance your garden's relationship corner with seating that encourages sharing.
8. Include all five
elements in your landscape planning with diverse colours, flowers,statuary,
garden furniture and lighting.
9. Stop
the flow of energy away from your house, especially if on a slope, with
terracing, trees or hedges and horizontal lines behind the house.
10. Build
attractive storage for trash, tools, garden supplies.
11 .Create
smooth energy flow all around your house.
12. Enrol in the Feng Shui Gardens workshop: April
19.
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RENT VS.
BUY
Here is important information including an updated Rent
vs Mortgage chart from Janet MacDonald, Kingston lender with Mortgage
Professionals. This is valuable information which may come in handy in light of
the impact that recent rate declines have had on homebuyer purchasing power...
The dramatic drop in interest rates over the past several months will
have a significant impact on the purchasing power of prospective homebuyers as
we move into the spring market. When the 5 year rate was at 5.79% (as recently
as November) an $800 rent payment was equivalent to a $145,000 mortgage
payment. Today, the 5 year stands at 4.39% and that same $800 rent payment
would carry a mortgage of $172,400. The payment on $200k has dropped from $1103
to $928.
Believe it or not, an individual (or couple) with income of
only $30,000 can now qualify for a mortgage of approximately $185,000 - if they
have good credit and no other debt payments. If they make $40,000 (with no
debt) they can purchase at about $250,000 (depending on property taxes). These
low rates will also bring entry level houses and condos into play for many who
would not have qualified to buy anything last year.
Keep the
‘borrowed’ down payment and ‘cash back’ options in mind for
those who don’t have a down payment. The ‘cash back’ rate is now
the same as the 5 year discount rate was just 3 months ago.
To see intersting info from 2009, please click here;
2009
Archived Info
To see intersting info from 2008, please click here;
2008
Archived Info
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