What You Need to Know

Real estate always seems to be a popular topic of discussion at dinner parties and in other circles so for the past 8 years I have issued a quarterly real estate newsletter in order to keep clients and other interested parties aware of the "facts." In addition to this, during my tenure as President of the Georgian Triangle Real Estate Board (GTREB) in 2008, I regularly issued press releases summarizing statistics relative to local market activity.
Recently I issued a press release summarizing overall market results for 2008 versus 2007 to the local media. This time, my press release was not as President of GTREB but was done on my own as a Broker with Royal LePage in Collingwood. The Enterprise-Bulletin ran this story under the title "Real estate sales drop 23 percent." in the February 3rd issue of the paper. In their story, I was mistakenly referred to as "President" of GTREB and one of the major statistics was incorrectly quoted. Both of these errors were duly corrected by the paper in their February 6th edition.
REALTORS® are no longer the gatekeepers of information. We do not control it nor should we attempt to manipulate it for our own gain especially when market conditions may not be in our favour. Consumers, through the Internet and other sources have greater access to more information that ever before. As real estate professionals, we must render a degree of service and expertise to consumers that represents a clear "value" proposition for the role we provide and the fees we receive and that includes providing factual and relevent information whatever state the market might be in.
Via my quarterly "Georgian Triangle Real Estate News" and "Condo Communiqué©" as well as through this blog, I will continue to provide consumers with the facts regarding local real estate market condtions and trends. In addtion I have made presentations to Rotary Clubs, the Chamber of Commerce, condominium corporations and other groups all seeking to obtain an insight into area real estate matters. No matter whether the conditions are good or bad, today's real estate consumer more than ever before, needs to make fact based decisions with respect to their buying and selling initiatives.
As the saying goes, "an educated consumer is your best customer" and one of our most important roles as REALTORS® is to provide the knowledge and expertise consumers have come to expect and deserve.
For further information on local market conditions or if you wish to have me address your particular group or organization please do not hesitate to contact me. rickcrouch@propertycollingwood.com