Well the Holiday Season has officially begun. The Port Elgin Santa Clause parade was held this past Saturday night and with the nice weather (although we could’ve used a little bit of snow), it appeared to be well attended. A couple of my co-workers and myself were busy handing out balloons, hot chocolate and cookies which, I believe, were well received. There was a good show of floats from some, a sprinkling of bands with their holiday music and, of course, the jolly ole fellow himself. With so much negativity in the last few months surrounding the financial stability of literally the whole world, I think, and I appreciate that we are now coming into a time where hopefully a little bit of joy will be spread about. The festive lights and sounds of the season will, hoepfully, brighten the spirits of all. Keeping the Spirit of the Season in mind, it may also be a time that we can help someone who may not be as fortunate by contributing to either the food bank or the toy drive; there are various distribution points around the town for these programs. There is no better way to be satisfied with oneself than by bringing a smile to someone else!
As headlined in the Business section of the Toronto Star yesterday “Housing Slowdown Speeds Up”. If this article does not get the news through, I am not sure what will. According to the figures released by the Canadian Real Estate Association, the average price of a home in Canada in October was $281,133 compared with $312,024 in October of 2007. In Ontario, the average price was down 10% to $281,661 in October compared to $312,937 in October of 2007. And guess what; Saugeen Shores is in Ontario and therefore affected by this price decrease. Why some people still believe that the prices have not fallen and why they continue to hold out for 2007 prices is beyond me. One way to accept this price easier is if you are, in fact, selling and buying in the same market; you are selling cheaper but are also buying cheaper. Also, if you have been in your home for the past many, many years, yes, you may have done a little better last year (10% better) but after all the years of living in the same house, you are likely still faring pretty good with the house prices that we are seeing. Hoepfully, we will not see too much more of a decrease! Just remember, if you are considering to sell your property, you need to price it realistically for the present day market and not according to the price that your neighbour received a year ago!
Well here we are in the 2nd week of November and, once again, I will touch briefly on our real estate activity. This past week, we have seen it a little busier than the past few months. There are definately Buyers out there but they are taking their time and thinking through any purchase that they hope to make. I have seen Offers come and and are quite a bit lower than the asking price but this is not unusual in a Buyer’s market. One of the problems with low ball Offers is that it can get the Seller’s back up and then it will make it even more difficult to negotiate a deal. When an Offer comes in too low on a property that is fairly priced for the market, the Buyer is not giving the Seller any room at all to negotiate and it is then not surprising to see the Offer go back to the Buyer at full pop. Right at the moment the inventory is getting lower so this could have a negative effect on the Buyer’s who are sitting on the fence. Of course no one really expected the prices to drop like they have and we are not sure if they have hit their low point; however, with the low availability of product, some recent sales and some motivated Buyers, this could be a good time for a Seller to get their property on the market.
Well the Holiday Season has officially begun. The Port Elgin Santa Clause parade was held this past Saturday night and with the nice weather (although we could’ve used a little bit of snow), it appeared to be well attended. A couple of my co-workers and myself were busy handing out balloons, hot chocolate and cookies which, I believe, were well received. There was a good show of floats from some, a sprinkling of bands with their holiday music and, of course, the jolly ole fellow himself. With so much negativity in the last few months surrounding the financial stability of literally the whole world, I think, and I appreciate that we are now coming into a time where hopefully a little bit of joy will be spread about. The festive lights and sounds of the season will, hoepfully, brighten the spirits of all. Keeping the Spirit of the Season in mind, it may also be a time that we can help someone who may not be as fortunate by contributing to either the food bank or the toy drive; there are various distribution points around the town for these programs. There is no better way to be satisfied with oneself than by bringing a smile to someone else!
