Thoughts & Happenings

The fastest growing demographic of new home buyers are single women, but why? Being a single woman usually means they’re self-sufficient, childless and have a great deal of income to spend on things like a brand new home. Home buying is also a lot easier when you don’t have a family to appease – you can have a giant loft with a tiny bench seat for your cat. But the problem always comes back to income and how much of a home people can afford.

Usually January flows like molasses for Oakville real estate, but this January is different. Some people think that the interest rates are going to take a hike, others are afraid if they keep waiting the Toronto bubble is going to burst and no one is sure how long prices will stay good. Most economists are projecting that with the new mortgage rules that came into effect last year that things will stay on the up and up; as long as interest rates remain low (which they will) and employment levels remain high, the market will keep moving forward. But if people are spooked and listing early, what does this mean for you?

Notice how you can’t remember your friend’s new phone number but you’re able to remember a Facebook status where that SAME friend spoiled a TV show 8 months ago? Our brains are actually hardwired to digest short snippets of information and memorize things that spark an emotion. Your brain isn’t exactly like a hard drive that remembers everything you’re exposed to; it’s more like a little old man that rearranges all the information and tells you the story that it thinks you should know.

Know the old adage “Waste not want not.”? Maybe you got a gift you didn’t like and didn’t want to return, maybe you didn’t want to go through the trouble of dealing with Kijiji. Whatever it is, Canadians on average threw out between 10 and 20 items on average that they could have sold or regifted. That’s anywhere from $100 to $1000 on average, and that’s a lot of change. For 2013, why not think more about saving more, giving more and not throwing out so much stuff that can have some use!

Many Canadians are heading down to Florida to get a good deal on a home, but they’re having to fight Chinese buyers doing the same. The inventory of distressed (foreclosed) homes under $150,000 USD has dropped steadily over the last year, leaving more and more Canadians struggling to find a cheap place to stash their money. While Canadian buyers tend to be more hands on and want to go view the property before they decide whether or not to buy (always a smart choice!), many Asian buyers find a picture sufficient.

It’s no secret that Baby Boomers are fueling the real estate boom, but it’s important not to put all your eggs into one basket (or more specifically, one house!). It was reported late last year that over half of all Canadians don’t have retirement savings set up – with more and more looking at real estate as a hedge for retirement, it’s important to know that nothing beats a well-managed investment.

Going by the CREA reports some markets are a lot better to do business in than others, but which ones? Here we’re going to go over the top five markets and the bottom five markets so you know where to put your money. Before investing in property or buying one as a home make sure you do your research – real estate (luxury homes for sale or otherwise) can be a tricky business and if you don’t know what you’re doing you could wind up in a world of trouble.

When we think of amenities we might think of a gym or an elevator, but it goes much deeper than that. If you’re looking for a luxury condo for sale or just a nice resale unit you’re going to want to think about things like security, parking, laundry facilities and all those little things that makes life easier. Great windows, balconies and pet ownership rules also factor into most buyers decision to buy a property – if you’re selling or buying you need to know what most buyers are looking for before you start thinking about moving forward.

It’s important to understand your maintenance fees before you buy luxury real estate like a condo – if you’re paying a lot for a unit only to turn around and pay the same in rent plus a mortgage every month, it may be all wrong for you. Here we’re going to explain how maintenance fees work and what impact they’re going to have on your purchase decisions.

Let’s face it, there are many places in the GTA that you can choose to live – what does Oakville have to offer you as a buyer? As Oakville luxury real estate agents we’re going to try and sell you on the community, that’s a given! But the town has a lot to offer people of every stripe, no matter what they’re looking for. From the luxury havens around downtown, the Marina and even on the outskirts with rolling estates, you’ll find a lot of places to find refuge. You’ll also find great places to start a family or grow one, or a forever home to enjoy your retirement. Whatever you’re looking for, you’re going to find it here.