The Information Highway

Back in November of last year I commented on the 50 kilometre per hour speed limt that had just been established on Highway 26 east and west of Collingwood. Earlier this week, one of my REALTOR® colleagues fowarded to me a website he discovered called "Speed Trap Exchange." I'm am a big user of technology and the Internet for both business and personal use. It continues to amaze me however the type and detail of information that is available to us online.

Speed Trap Exchange is a website that has been developed by someone with apparently too much time on their hands and includes a plethora of information pertaining to speeding including listing the common U.S. and Canadian locations for police to montior via radar, how to fight a speeding ticket and more. Yes, Collingwood has made the speed trap listings on this website and you guessed it, the 50 KM zones are front and centre.

I am not an advocate of speeding and with the high cost of both gas and insurance, I find myself more that ever watching the speed at which I drive. The point of this posting is merely to point out the vast array of information available to us online. In it's infancy, the so-called "information highway" was described as nothing more than a bumpy road. Now more than ever with the endless array of information available to us, it is progressing more and more towards being the information super highway that was promised. To visit "Speed Trap Exchange" click on the link below:

http://www.speedtrap.org/index.html

Top Renovations That Yield The Best Return

Although sales remain strong throughout our area, current market conditions are such that through the end of May, listings have increased 7% over last year while expired listings are up 25% both factors of which are above the 4% increase in sales. The end result is that there are a significant number of properties for sale both resale and new, giving buyers lots to choose from. When listing properties for sale, many clients seek input on what their home requires in order to present it to prospective buyers in such a manner as to obtain the best possible selling price in the shortest length of time.
Many sellers invest money on renovations or improvements that offer little or no return on their investment much less do they enhance their home in the eyes of prospective buyers. At the same time, sellers often ignore the basic improvements that will improve the salability of their homes, making them more difficult to sell. In my book, honesty is always the best policy and sometimes you have to be brutally frank with sellers when it comes to preparing their home to sell.
Royal LePage has recently conducted a study that identifys the top renovations which add equity to your home while making it more appealing to potential buyers. These include basics such as painting, decorating, updating light fixtures and more. To see the full Royal LePage report including estimated rates of return, please click on the following link:
http://www.royallepage.ca/CMSTemplates/AboutUs/Company/CompanyTemplate.aspx?id=1740

Area Real Estate Sales Off 21% in May.

Residential MLS® real estate sales for the month of May throughout the Georgian Triangle fell 21% compared to the same month last year. Sales for the month totalled $48.9 million versus $62.1 million in May 2007. After a strong start to 2008 with brisk sales activity in January and February, May marks the third consecutive month where sales have fallen below the same month last year. A total of 134 unit sales were reported in May as compared to 170 sales in May 2007, also a decrease of 21%. Residential sales during May were down in the municipalities of Clearview, Grey Highlands, Meaford and Wasaga Beach whereas Collingwood and Town of the Blue Mountains posted unit sales gains over May of 2007.
Despite significantly softer sales in May, year-to-date sales throughout the area continue to remain strong. Total year-to-date sales revenue is just over $202 million as compared to $204 million for the first five months of 2007. Residential unit sales through May total 765 properties compared to 797 sales for the same period in 2007, a decrease of 4%.
New residential listings in May increased slightly over May of last year totaling 621 versus 615 in May 2007. Year-to-date, new residential listings are up 7% to 2,576 properties while expired listings are up 9% to 856 properties as compared to 787 last year.
Please note that these results represent only the MLSC listings and sales reported through the Georgian Triangle Real Estate Board and do not include the sale of new residential homes and condominiums done by developers. New development sales activity throughout many of the local municipalities such as Collingwood and Wasaga Beach is substantial, indicating that despite a slowdown for three consecutive months in MLS® resale activity, overall the local market continues to perform very well.
For further information or for a no-obligation consultation pertaining to your specific real estate needs, please feel free to contact the me.