Hi everyone:

As we do every month, Winnipeg REALTORS® have issued their monthly real estate market update on MLS® statistics regarding the sales and listings of houses and condominiums in Winnipeg for September 2010.

[caption id="attachment_1191" align="alignright" width="240" caption="Photo by ryemang's photostream on Flickr"][/caption]

As always, these statistics cover the sales and listings for the entire south-east area of Manitoba, including Winnipeg, Steinbach, and all towns and rural areas in this vircinity. For a look at my own real estate market update of Winnipeg-only, see this Real Estate Market Update Video.

For the month of August, 2010, Winnipeg REALTORS® report that sales were down 12% when compared to August 2009, and dollar-volume was off 5%. Overall, however, dollar volume for the year was up 11% to this point, when compared to 2009. As well, the numbers of listings entered onto MLS®, at 14,843 so far, was up 15% when compared to the same time in 2009.

As usual, the most active segments of the market were homes in the $150,000 to $199,999 range, and the $200,000 to $249,999 range, which had 22% and 21% of the market, respectively. This is to be expected, as these usually represent the price ranges for 'first time buyers', who are after all the driving force behind the Winnipeg Real Estate Market.

Days on Market, which measured the time it take to sell a home, for residential detached homes was at 30 days, which is equal to August 2009, and 2 days slower than July this year. Of note is the fact that homes in the $150,000 to $200,000 range sold in only 20 days. Condominiums are still an excellent alternative for the first time buyer.

As for condominiums, the most active price ranges were in the $150,000 to $199,999 range, followed by the $100,000 to $149,999 range at 33% and 27% respectively. Average days on market for condos was 34 days, which is 3 days slower than July, but 6 days faster than August 2009.

For a complete look at the press release, click on Press Release 09-09-10 August 2010 MLS Statistics

If you're thinking of buying or selling a house or a condo in Winnipeg, call Bo Kauffmann of Remax Performance Realty for a realistic market evaluation. Call 204-333-2202 today.

Hello everyone:

Let's start with a "Note to Home-Sellers: STOP listing your homes for LESS than you are willing to ACCEPT!!!!"

So here is the scenario: I've got a buyer, pre-qualified and approved for up to $200,000. This week, we find a nice home, listed at $196,000. The home-owner has tried the "Showings Start Friday, Offers on Tuesday" deal, in an effort to bring in multiple offers and drive the price up. Alas, its July and they only had a handful of showings, and no offers.

So my buyer decides to write a very nice and clean offer, and we present it to the Listing Agent and the owner. My buyer is 'pumped'.... could this be the one? I'm excited too. ... Until we get the call that the owner has turned down the offer! And NOT JUST turned it down, but refusing to even counter-offer it. As the Listing Agent explained, the owner had her sights set on $20,000 more, and would not sell for the asking-price.

And so my initial caution from up top: DON'T list your home for less than you're willing to accept!"

I understand that there are times in the year when a low-pricing strategy will work. It's a pretty safe bet that, given our current market, if you list your home with a REALTOR® in the spring time, and the home shows well and is priced well, you're going to get multiple offers. Unfortunately, some agents rely on this strategy ALL YEAR LONG, but guess what: Marketing Strategies are not like Spandex pants: One Size DOES NOT fit all!

Even Winnipeg's hot real estate market will have slow times, such as July and August, and again in December-January.   a strategy which works in April or May, could backfire on you in July, when Winnipeg Home Buyers traditionally 'take a break', and instead of 35 showings, the home receives only 6 (or even fewer).

Experienced agents, who have been thru these seasonal cycles, understand this, and create special marketing plans for these situation. (Actually, the Marketing Plan should fit not only the season, but the type and style of home as well.... ONE SIZE DEFINITELY does NOT fit all situations).

Now for the good news: Just because the market is a little slower, does NOT mean you wont get as much money as your neighbour did in the spring!! It just requires a different approach, a plan that does not simply count on "Low-Price = Bidding War" type of thinking.

So if you are a home-owner thinking of selling their home, call me for your special and customized marketing plan. One of the first questions I will be asking is "When are you thinking of selling?"..... because the timing is an important factor in creating the proper marketing plan for your home.

Hello Everyone:

Do you own rental property, and feel that now is the right time to sell? You may be right, as property values have far outstripped our Province's controlled rent increases. As your rental income has increased by 2% to 3% each year, the value of the property may have incresed by around 10-15% a year.

Case and point: I recently listed a nice little house on Winnipeg Ave.

When I first saw this property, which had a tenant in it, the value would have been somewhere around $50,000, sold "AS-IS". The owners heeded my advice, gave the tenants their notice, cleaned and fixed the home up, and listed it for $89,900. In the end, it received multiple offers and sold for even more than that.

2nd case and point: I have a buyer for a condo in Lindenwoods. We were trying to get a look at this condo, which is tenant-occupied by a 'non-co-operative' (read: JERK) tenant, who keeps the place messy, and disrupts showings. This is not uncommon, as tenants quite often don't like the idea of 'their place' being sold, forcing them to find alternative accomodations. And so a condo, which should have sold quickly, has been on the market for 2-1/2 months, causing he owner grief and possible loss of money.

If you own property, and wish to sell it, call me first. Here is a short video on WHY it is in your best interest to sell the home WITHOUT the tenant in it.

Hi Everyone:

There is an old saying that goes: "Your home is never more exciting than the first couple of weeks on the market". So when you put your home on the market (and I mean the REAL MARKET, by LISTING IT with a REALTOR®), make sure that your home shows it's best.
Because here is a bit of reality: About 80% of your total showings are going to happen in the first 5 days...... This is very important to remember.
When you put your house on the market, there are any number of potential buyers who have been waiting for YOUR HOME. And they will rush in to see your home in the first few days, checking it out to see if it's worth competing for. If the buyers find fault with your home, they simply move on to the next one and MAY NEVER RETURN.
So it's very important to have your home as 'show-worthy' as possible. Here are a couple of simple tips to get you started:

1) CLEAN CLEAN CLEAN
Counters, bathrooms, carpets, lights, windows. Kitchen cupboards, sinks and the garage. Clean everything. Don't leave buyers with a bad impression.

2) DECLUTTER
Kitchen counters should be empty, except for perhaps those Tea-Sugar-Flour-Coffee canisters. Less furniture is better than too much. Box up everything you don't need. You could designate a room in the basement as the 'junk room' and move extra stuff into there.

3) PAINT
If there are any areas where the paint is fading or flaking, paint it. Stay away from the wild colors and stick to earthy, neutral tones. That "Bright Red" kitchen wall looks funky in a magazine, but is not everyone's cup of tea.

These are just a few things to get you started. If you're looking to sell your house or your condo, call me for more advice and to show you my marketing presentation.

Bo 333-2202

Winnipeg's Real Estate Market is always changing, and FAST. Prices and evaluations that were true a few weeks ago, are no longer accurate. New price-points are set on a weekly basis.
For a Free Market Evaluation, call me anytime. 204-333-2202

Here are some of the most common questions Home-Buyers have:

Q: Whats the best way to FIND a house in Winnipeg? Go to Open Houses? Looking thru real estate magazines? Search individual agents websites?

A: Magazines are often published once a month, or perhaps once a week. By the time a listing makes it into print, it's most often already sold or accepting offers. Open Houses can be very hectic, and you end up 'rubbing elbows' with lots of other visitors. The Best Way? Work with one REALTOR® who can show you ALL the listings. Someone like, say, me for example. Watch this video.

Q: Why should I work with a REALTOR®. I can find the houses on my own!

A: FINDING them is just a small part of what real estate agents can do for you. Once you find a nice house, I can help you evaluate it, offer advice on how to structure your offer to make it more acceptable (thereby winning any possible bidding war), and I can even help you get pre-approved by a great lender. Please watch this video.

Q: My checking account is with a bank. Can't I just go there to be pre-approved?

A: In this fast market, every buyer knows that pre-approval is required, so EVERY buyer already does that. It's no longer sufficient just to be pre-approved, its actually more important to be pre-approved by the RIGHT lender. To find out HOW you do that, watch this video.

Here are a few of the most common questions home-owners have, and answers to them:

Q: What kind of questions should we ask a prospective Listing Agent?

A: Here is a guide to some of the important points to ask a Listing Agent. Please see the video in this post.

Q: How do we create a 'bidding war' for our house or condo?

A: There are several ingredients to creating a bidding war, including: Setting a realistic Asking Price, generating lots of Buyer Interest and also the status of the current market. For a video explanation, see this post.

Q: If we receive a full-price offer on our home, are we obligated to accept it?

A: No. If you were a store-owner, advertising a quart of milk for $1.00, you WOULD be obligated to sell at that price (or issue rainchecks), however home-owners are exempt from the laws that govern this issue. However, while no one can force a home-owner to sell at an advertised price, the question remains: "If he/she was not going to accept $220,000 for the home, WHY did we LIST it at that price?" For more indepth explanation, please watch the video in this post.

Q: Is there a difference between REALTORS®? I mean, they all provide the same service, don't they?

A: We are all called REALTORS®, we all place homes on the M.L.S.®, but that's pretty much where the similarities end. Just as no 2 lawyers are the same, no 2 doctors are the same, so we can quickly see the differences between Real Estate professionals. I always say: You hire a REALTOR® for one reason: To do the marketing and advertising for your home, and this is where a huge difference becomes apparent. To see my marketing plan, check out this video.

I update this Blog on a regular basis, adding new listings, market updates, news and interesting (well, at least I think they're interesting) pieces of information. You can make sure that you receive the posts by two ways: Subscribe to the RSS (check the toolbar along the bottom of the screen) or fill in this form and you'll get the latest blog posts via e-mail, once a week.

Hi Everyone:

It's the start of the spring market in 2010 and home-owners are well advised to begin looking at 'listing' their home. Buyers are looking, and there are NOT a lot of homes on the market right now.
For example, in the Meadowood area of St Vital, which has 1784 houses, there are currently only 2 homes for sale. Which is why, RIGHT NOW is an excellent time to put your home on the market.