Real Estate Advertising

Are You Confused? Believe the Facts, not the Hype...

I recently saw a posting from a popular For Sale By Owner (FSBO) company that made some pretty outlandish claims. One claim related MLS to a scam. Let's set the record straight.

As a full time professional Realtor with 8 years experience, I believe in the services that we Realtors offer. I believe in my abilities to accurately assess market value and maximize it, while selling faster and less for hassle then the vast majority of private sellers.

I pride myself on professionalism, honesty and integrity. I am obliged by morals and law to work truthfully at all times and always represent my clients' best interests. It’s unfortunate that I cannot say the same for my FSBO website competitors. How about their results...

Let’s look at the sales numbers:
*Based on MLS data and data collected from a specific majour FSBO’s own site. The stats reflect detached homes in St. Catharines sold between Jan/07-Present and are referenced against government registry information.

-The Private Sale website reports 92 sales (in fact 4 of these sales are falsely reported and therefore there were only 88 sales)
-Of the 88 sales, 21 were ultimately listed and sold by Realtors.
-This leaves only 67 sales in over 2 years.

In Comparison: during the same period, there were 3270 single detached homes sold in St. Catharines through mls!

This means that the FSBO site accounts for less then 2% of all market activity. Sure it is a cheap service, but when it only represents 2% of the market, how quickly do you think you will likely sell, let alone how likely you are to find the top paying buyer.

Let’s look at the current listing numbers:
*Correlated between MLS data and data collected from a specific major FSBO’s own site.

-In St. Catharines there are currently 68 listings advertised on the FSBO site. *In fact 7 are now listed by Realtors and another 2 have been listed and sold by Realtors. This leaves 59 current listings.
-13 Of the 59 have been on the market for over a year!
-27 more have been on the market for over 6 months

This means 68% of the FSBO site listings have been unsold for 6 months or more!

Like I said at the outset, I believe that my professional skills, network and resources allow me to market homes far better then FSBO websites. While I can’t offer services for only a few hundred dollars, I am confident that I can sell your house in a reasonable amount of time. And after all time is money- especially when the market is tough and taxes and carrying costs are adding up quickly.

The commissions aren’t as expensive as you think, so if you want your homes Sold instead of Advertised, then call or email me today in confidence for a complementary consultation.

Sincerely,
Scott Clarkson, Sales Representative
Re/Max Garden City realty Inc,- Brokerage
*each office is independently owned and operated
Tel/Pager: 905-641-1110

scottc@remax-gc.com

Scooped The Standard

Not to brag, but it seems I scooped The Standard

twice in two weeks (note the dates below).

Guess my blog is worth reading.

It is corny I know, but this makes me smile!

First Occasion:

My Blog on Tuesday March 12th, 2009,

“Prudhommes Landing Goes Up For Sale.”

The Standard on Tuesday March 17th, 2009,
“Prudhommes Landing Listed for sale”.

(http://scstandard.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1481636)

Second Occasion:

The Standard on Friday March 27th, 2009

“Surprising store closing: tough start for downtown project”
(not on web for some reason, but in print)

My blog on Wednesday, March 25th, 2009,

“Did hell freeze over? Did pigs start to fly? Is McDonalds closing a store??”

JUST FOR FUN

If you are an NFL fan watch this.
If you are a sports fan in general watch this.
If you just like really cool videos, watch this.

**UPDATE: It seems there is a sync problem/delay in the video. I am not that tech advanced to figure out the problem, so in the meantime email if you want the actual file of this video which is synched better.



I say, "Wow!"

Did hell freeze over? Did pigs start to fly? Is McDonalds closing a store??

Well I have heard some incredible things, but this one I just can’t believe. Apparently the McDonalds on Hartzel Road in St. Catharines will be closing permanently on March 31st, 2009. I heard this through the grapevine, but couldn’t believe it. I had to drive by (or drive through as the case may be, because the only visible sign is on the drive-through order box). It is true indeed!

I would blame it on the recession, but I don’t think that can be the culprit. We all know that McDonalds thrives during recessions as their relatively low cost food is an affordable option for many low income earners. I think there is something else going on here.

Dare I speculate that McDonalds could be reopening a new modern store at this dated location? Perhaps there is a new store going up down the street where Shopper’s Drug Mart has started a mini renaissance in the area. Either Way- I think something interesting must be going on because I simply cannot ever imagine that a good old Mickee Dees could go broke.

Well, whatever the reason, it is a sad day in St. Catharines. Not only did the CBC recently report us as one of the most depressed Regions of the entire country (which for the record I personally don’t believe), but now we have the infamous distinction of being a city where even a McDonalds can’t make it.

Something better happen around here quickly. We'd better get busy showing signs of life before St. Catharines turns into Ontario's other Windsor. So let’s go NHS with the new hospital, PVDC with the tower, Brock and The City with The Arts Downtown Centre and anyone with a project on the go- let's get those shovels in the ground before it freezes over like hell must’ve the day McDonalds decided to close a set of its doors.

Let’s not allow houses be a the new Provincial Government ATM.

Rumors abound regarding HST after Ontario Premiere Daulton McGuinty and Finance Minster Dwight Duncan have openly mused about implementing a so-called “Flat Tax”. HST, which stands for harmonized sales tax, would be applied across the board at a current rate of 13%. It would replace the current separate taxes of GST and PST.

Off the cuff, many people might ask, “Who cares?”, or “What’s the difference?”

Well there are major differences when it comes to taxing items that are currently exempt from PST. Primary, “Services”. For example, if you hire a plumber to come to your house to repair a drain and the job involves only labor, then the only tax you pay is GST at the current rate of 5%. If the HST is implemented, then you would then pay a 13% tax. On a $500 repair bill it means that you the consumer would be taxed an extra $40.

Now let’s take this HST into the real estate realm.

There are 2 sets of tax implications when it comes to residential real estate. There are new homes, which are currently subject to GST and there are resale homes which are not. In either case, gst is applicable to of commissions, lawyers fees, cmhc fees, etc and now HST would come into effect and dramatically increase the costs.

Here is the breakdown:

*based on $300,000 sale price, 5% down payment, 5% commission on resale home, 2.0% commission on new home, average Closing Cost of $1200 and house inspection of $300

In 2008 approx 181,000 resale homes were sold in Ontario and this increased tax would cost citizens over $300MIL per year. On the new home front, the new tax is estimated by The Building Industry Development Association to cost Ontarians a whopping $2.4BIL per year.

With the real estate sales industry generating over $1.3Bil in spin off economic impact per year, and accounting for approx 110,000 Ontarian jobs, the HST would seriously impact this sector in a negative way. In fact, the added taxes may have such an impact on affordability that many first time buyer’s will be pushed right out of the market.

So from plumbing, to real estate, to countless other services be prepared to pay through the nose should the Ontario Government introduce HST. My thoughts- aren’t we paying enough tax already? If we need more taxes, is now the appropriate time to be making such considerations? Is putting an additional tax on services not counterproductive?

Let’s start rethinking taxes and (dare I say it…) “Shift” tax off economically productive activities (such as home ownership) and on to wasteful, counter productive, polluting activities. Let's stop taxing what we want and start taxing what we don't. Let's make it clear to The Ontario Government that we do not want HST and especially don't want increased taxation right now, or ever!

Prudhomme’s Landing goes up for sale.

A missed opportunity for Niagara... for now at least!

A well known Niagara Property has now been put onto the open real estate market. The 80 acres site formerly housed the infamous Wet ‘n Wild Waterpark and is currently home to a handful of highway commercial uses and variety of derelict buildings, one of which was completely destroyed earlier this week in a fire.

Over the past few years, the current owner has been methodically developing plans for this large and spectacular site. The parcel totals 80 acres and has over 1.0km of Lake Ontario frontage as well as 1.3km of QEW frontage. Current development plans part way through the extensive approval process include a mixed use development with approximately 800 residential units, plus 750,000sq-ft of commercial development. The property is being sold on an unpriced basis.

The current owner is a locally owned and established private equity firm, Ken Fowler Enterprises. This prominent St. Catharines firm has been involved in numerous development projects and businesses such as: Maracay Homes, Muskoka Red Leaves Resort, Home Capital Corporation, West 49th, Jack Astor’s Restaurants and many others.

The owner has been assembling and holding this site for literally decades. I can’t help but wonder why this property would now be disposed of. Is it the economy? Has the developer realized a satisfactory profit by taking the project just half way- probably, but why not follow through? Is it a sudden gloomy forecast for our region’s profitability in the eyes of the sophisticated owners? Perhaps it is a combination of these factors. Maybe it has nothing to do with any of them.

Regardless, I personally believe in Niagara. Not especially St. Catharines, or Niagara Falls, or Niagara on the Lake, but NIAGARA! I think this site allows a tremendous opportunity to make a unique impression on those who pass through our Region on the QEW. Right now we are missing a significant chance to shout out to the surrounding area that Niagara is a great place to be! We have a significant affordability and quality of life advantage over most parts of North America. We have excellent natural beauty and incredible tourism attractions. We have an opportune business location in the epicentre of the prime North American Commercial Corridor.

Unfortunately, as people drive speeding by on the QEW, it doesn’t look like we have much of anything. I sincerely hope that the sale and ultimate development of this high profile, highly visible property will occur swiftly so we people will see that we are not stuck at a standstill. Those speeding by might just slow down to check out major modern developments like those proposed at Prudhomme's Landing. They might be impressed that we would attract such a high level of investment and sophistication. It's sad to see such a significant site trade out of local hands, but maybe it will help to speed up the development and put Niagara on the map! Maybe the new owner will be the first of many to realize Niagara's potential will attract like minded individuals and corporations who will lead the 21st century development Niagara deserves and Niagara citizens should demand.

It's about time people noticed St. Catharines

According to Re/Max Ontario Atlantic, St. Catharines ranks 3rd among most affordable cities for first time buyers. It is indeed about time St. Catharines got noticed. When our average single detached goes for about 50% of Toronto, Oakville and Burlington, it's amazing we haven't become another bedroom community like Barrie.

This was the article in today's Standard....

St. Catharines hot spot for 1st-time buyers: study

If you're planning to buy your first residence, there's no place like home.
Entry-level homes in St. Catharines are among the most affordable in Canada and there's a decent supply of them.
Mortgage rates are at record lows and government incentives are making starter homes attractive.
These trends were revealed in a study Wednesday of first-time buyers by the Re/Max real estate company.
It places St. Catharines third in Ontario of markets surveyed for most affordable detached homes.
The Garden City real estate scene is also almost perfectly balanced between buyers and sellers, it said.
Re/Max said 22 of the 32 Canadian markets in the survey, or 69 per cent, "remain firmly in buyer's market territory."
"This is a great time for first-time buyers," said Al Hines, president of the Niagara Association of Realtors. "And (I agree) we are also a balanced market here between buyers and sellers."
Most homes sold last month in Niagara were in the $150,000 to $250,000 range, Hines said. Those prices are also in the ballpark for first-time home buyers, he said.
The report put a typical entry-level detached home here at $125,000. The most affordable markets for detached homes, based on starting prices, were Moncton at $115,000, Windsor at $75,000 and Winnipeg at $185,000.
The favourable climate for first-time buyers is for several reasons, Hines said.
"Extremely low interest rates (at 4.29 per cent for a five-year, fixed-rate mortgage) have been really driving first-time buyers," he said.
First-time homeowners can now get tax credits for land-transfer taxes and home renovations.
Re/Max said the average overall home sale price in St. Catharines in February fell just over four per cent, compared to the year before, and stands at $197,050. Hines said his Association puts that figure at $198,465.
However, the report said local prices for starter homes and condos in February stayed stable, year over year.
Central and downtown St. Catharines remain popular choices for affordable starter homes, Re/Max added.
Locally, there's a "good selection of properties available for sale," it said.