Giving Back !

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There are many ways all of us can give back to our fellow man and our community. I joined our city running club about 20 years ago and now participate in a few races from the 5k to the ultra marathon each year. All the races are usually donating to some worthy cause and it feels good, especially after the race is over, to know that a great deal of the monies are going to a charity who needs help.

Yesterday, I participated in a little 5k race locally and was very pleased to be part of the 285 other race/walkers helping to raise funds for the IWK. We all know it is heart lefting to see the amazing things the folks at IWK can do to make these little children recover.

So when you see the next race in your community advertised, think of joining the fun. Think of the good you can do for your friend, neighbour and community. Also, as you prepare for any given race you will be pleasantly surprised as to how will you eat and how good you feel after a little 5 mile run to get in shape. I know when I train for a marathon, I never feel more alive than when I complete a 10 or 20 mile training run. No, I don't expect you to do this but you could start by walking a half mile for a week, then 1 mile for a couple weeks, then walk/run the mile for a couple weeks, then run the 1 mile all the way. Then after a week of running the mile once a week add a half mile each week until your up to 5 miles. Then enter your first 5k race and run it easy. No one says you have to run to win. Just take it easy until you have run a few 5k and 10k races then you are ready to run what ever you want up to a marathon or even an ultra marathon.

Now you see I just gave you a free training schedule which would be very do-able for just about anyone. Obviously, if you are older or much over weight it would be prudent to get a check up with your doctor before doing any real strenuous excercise.

Oh, I forgot to tell you, I'm that old guy coming into the finish line in 25.54 minutes. Wow, how you do slow down when you get over 65+++. But the real important thing to note is if an old guy like myself can do it, I can only hope I can inspire you to at least give it a try. The worst thing that can happen is you will become healthy and maybe even be like me who almost never gets sick and has never been injured in 20 years of running. I know it is hard to believe but as my fellow runners who I am sure will confirm. Anyway, check out our running website; www.anb.ca.

It's been a pleasure running this race and a joy sharing with you a way to become inexpensively healthy, happy and most of all a wonderful feeling of self-gradification in sharing your time and money to so worth while causes from building gymnasiums for your school, soccer fields, ball diamonds, playgrounds, hospital equipment, serving at your blood bank, heart and stroke, diabetes fun drives, lung association, to cancer research, etc. etc. The list just goes on and on. So Folks the next time you give don't just give $20 but get personally involved. You will be so happy you did. Giving is always better than receiving!!!

Spring Has Sprung

Spring has sprung!--- I think??? (
Tweet,tweet; Oh, but it was so beautiful early this morning. There is something surreal about running in the last snowfall of the year---so refreshing! Don't you think?

ADJUST LISTING PRICE TO REFLECT MARKET FLUXUATIONS

When a seller lists their home on the market it is natural for them to list for the highest possible price they can expect. Of course in the beginning of the listing the vendor and the real estate salesperson are quite optimistic of their expectation of receiving the list price. Now, in a perfect, world one can only hope that this listing price is attainable.

However, as time goes on and the market changes ever so slightly, maybe everyones expectations are remaining rather over confident in still trying to obtain the original listing price. As an example, say the property was listed on May1,2010 but 2 months goes by and the vendor finds himself missing selling his home in the hot Spring season and now he is facing the very busy summer season when most families go to the cottage or on a long holiday, and just are not around to buy their home. What do they do?

The home is in excellent shape, staged very well and in a good location. So what is the problem? Both the vendor and the agent know but neither are necessarily prepared to admit it. Well Folks, this is where tough love comes in. It is the agents responsibility to suggest to the vendor that maybe we really were too optimistic in our expectations as to what your home would sell for. Thus, Mr. Vendor, I dislike saying this but as the market has cooled of late, we would be smart to reduce the price to see if we can attract some buyers in say the next lower category; i.e. if the home was listed for $325,000 it is likely one would have to reduce the asking price to at least $314,500. After 60 days on the market one really should have received at least one offer. Otherwise, the hand writing is on the wall. The property has to be overpriced and to delay any longer would only result in reducing the price even more at a later date when the market is even much slower. Of course, there is another option, if the vendor is not in a hurry, he could always wait until next Spring and try again. The danger with this school of thought is that the market could take a substancial downturn a year later.

Well folks, it is really not a perfect world so we must adjust as we experience the hard knocks of reality by seeing the results of our own decision process in the making. If we are unable to own up to making a mistake sooner then later, we could end up " reaping what we sow".

FREDERICTON REAL ESTATE REPORT FOR MONTH OF FEBRUARY

Spring has really sprung. Real estate listings are up a wooping 10%, year over year. This is up from 1% last month. A healthy inventory like this assures the market will stay lever without great expectations of fearing inflation. Which means that sales can bounce along with a healthy increase without creating a steep price escalation. This trend looks like it will continue into March and April at least. Wow, what a year we are having already.

Speaking of sales would you believe they are beating January's wooping increase of 39% over last year to a 42% year over year for February. Ironically, the expectation is that this looks like it will continue from now until at least June. Sales in the Fredericton/Oromocto area have been running at an all time high now for 10 years with no abating in sight! Wow, what a fantastic market.

Sellers get your home on the market now so you can feel really confortable in getting a decent price for your existing home so you can move up to a larger one or down to a smaller one. Or maybe you just always wanted to move out to the country or into the city. Either way now would be a great time to make the move. Good luck to you all. Also, remember, as I write this, interest rates are at an all time low of 3.64%. Wow!!!

The Art of Staging Your Home for Resale

Staging a home is not about cleaning, painting and repairing the home for resale. This goes without saying. Staging is all about the aesthetics of making your home attractive in relating to the buyers senses. i.e. sight, touch, sound and feel. Staging is about developing a dream world. An unbelievable Wow, Honey, finally this is the home I dreamed about. If you can stage your home with these goals in mind, the home is already sold as soon as the buyer enters through the front door. It's all about their feeling of excitement in seeing themselves living there. This is an opportunity for your Stager to subliminally create an atmosphere of emotional longing and belonging in the buyers expectations of who they are. Not easily accomplished. But if you are able to differentiate your property from the competition your bound to expediate your sale.

FREDERICTON REAL ESTATE REPORT FOR JANUARY 2010

This fantastic winter with very little snow helped us get off to an amazing start for January 2010. Our listings are only down -1% for month of January. I expect that the listings will stay quite consistent throughout the first half of this year and remain around the 1% to 10% increase. This should bode well in us maintaining a prosperity market, it least in the first 6 months.

Sales are skyrocketing to an unprecedented 41% in the first month of 2010. Wow, we never had it so good. Ironically, there seems to be no slowing down. It appears that sales will continue to remain at the 30%-40% mark throughout the first half of this year. Buyers as listings get scarcer properties will become more expensive so bounce into Spring and buy now before the price start escalating.

So vendors now is the time to sell. That means making the move now! Times will never be better to get the highest and best price for your home or investment property. We don't know what is going to happen in 2011 but this year is " Boom City ". Be smart act now, you will be glad you did!!!

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT FOR YOU TO PRICE YOUR HOME PROPERLY

As a real estate Broker of many years I have learned to respect the vendor's expectation of home value. My belief is that if you honestly asked any vendor what they think their home is worth, before you show them your objective opinion, they will be very close to market value.

In todays Information Age we all are much more educated on most everything than we had ever been. Let's face it, most sellers talk to their next door neighbours and find out what they sold there home for last month. Unfortunately, their neighbour sometimes exaggerates there selling price by off-handedly suggesting that they got their price. Thus, the information might not be accurate.

So to get an accurate Market Value the vendor/seller relys on their real estate agent's professional evaluation of their home. When the agent uses the Comparative Market Value Approach to value, the vendor can easily relate as it shows what 5 homes sold in his neighbourhood for in the past 6 months to a year.

Now that the vendor is armed with an objective opinion of market value he is ampily prepared to price his property at market value.

The value of pricing his home at market value is crucial for the following reasons;

(1) The highest and best price is usually realized in the first 2 to 6 weeks of the listing's exposer on the market.

(2) If property is over priced it will stay on the market for a longer time and buyers will believe there is something wrong with it. Thus, the vendor will have to start reducing the price.

(3) Lots of times, over priced listings lose the best market time (Spring) for selling when the buyers are out in force and anxious to buy.

(4) Vendors will be able to tell if their home is over priced as their next door neighbour's homes will be selling all around them.

(5) Lastly, vendors need to keep in mind why they are selling in the first place, because some reasons for selling and moving on can be a lot more important than getting an unrealalistic price for their home.

So, sellers, hopefully, after reading this you will be successful in marketing your home for;

(a) The highest and best price.

(b) In the shortest possible time.

(c) With the least inconvenience to you, the vendor.

Wishing you all a successful selling season in 2010.