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Archive for October, 2009

Robert Cray Band rocks the Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts

Thursday, October 29th, 2009 by Dan Cooper

ronnie-brown_robert-cray_dan-cooper

The Robert Cray Band performance at the Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts on October 24th was outstanding. The five-time Grammy Award winner thrilled a packed house with his smoking guitar playing and unique vocals. There is little wonder his concerts are quickly sold out wherever he performs.

I was proud to be the sponsor of this concert. It was a solid and well-received performance. Cray has assembled a group of superstars in their own right and they had the theatre rocking with songs from his new CD This Time and great singles from the past. At age 56, Cray is only getting better.

It is the ability to bring artists like Cray to Oakville that helps to elevate our cultural fabric. The arts are such an important element to complete a community’s personality. Live performances, dance and music feed the minds and souls of its citizens and that is critical for a well-balanced and culturally rich community. One of the most active and influential organizations in our town is the OCPA.

The Centre has been providing an important stage for local theatre and concerts and professional performances by artists from across Canada and around the world since 1977. The mission of the Centre is to provide Oakville residents with a place to learn about themselves and the world around them through dance, music, storytelling and theatre.

I’m proud to be associated with this wonderful organization by bringing a number of top shows and performances such as the Robert Cray Band each year through the Dan Cooper Concert Series. The desire by The Dan Cooper Team to provide support for the arts is a testament to our commitment to give back to the community in which we work and live. We are not simply in the business of selling properties and helping buyers find homes. We are an integral part of this terrific community and The Dan Cooper Team is proud to play a part in shaping its character and its success.

We are involved in a number of good causes in Oakville, and our support for the Oakville Centre is just one more example of our commitment to help build a better community.

“Corporate sponsors like Dan Cooper help the Oakville Centre meet our mandate of bringing world class artists to Oakville,” says Ronnie Brown, marketing coordinator for the Centre. “With The Dan Cooper Concert Series we have been able to present some of the best Canadian and international artists.”

Check the Centre’s website www.oc4pa.ca for an update on upcoming concerts that you can enjoy in one of the most intimate theatres in Canada.

Dan Cooper is an award winning Broker with Royal LePage Real Estate Services Ltd., Brokerage. He can be reached at 905.338.3737, direct line at 905.849.3303 or through his recently relaunched website DanCooper.com. Be sure to catch the Dan Cooper Real Estate Education Series on DailyWebTV.com. For a free copy of his Guide to Oakville Real Estate or his booklet How To Sell Your House For Top Dollar, please call The Dan Cooper Team.

Posted in Arts & Entertainment, Community | No Comments »

Significant increase in Oakville home sales

Monday, October 26th, 2009 by Dan Cooper

Rising Sales

Oakville home sales jumped 36.6% in September over the same month last year – with the average price increasing 15.5%. We’ve seen good news on the home front for a few months now and the latest statistics from the Oakville, Milton and District Real Estate Board just reaffirms that we are seeing a recovery in real estate. For example, 306 homes sold in September compared to 225 last year and the average price was $564,532 compared to $488,811 in 2008.

Compare the latest figures to the statistics earlier this year:

  • 212 properties sold for an average price of $455,977 in March.
  • 401 properties sold for an average price of $515,807 in June.

    • In Milton, sales were up 30.7% and the average price rose 7.5% from $340,869 in 2008 to $366,559 last month.

    On the national scene, resale activity climbed the highest level of any third quarter on record, according to the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA). The average price of homes across the country rose by 11%. “Momentum for sales activity remained strong throughout the third quarter. Low interest rates, rebounding consumer confidence and an improving overall sense of economic security continue to draw homebuyers to the housing market,” CREA president Dale Ripplinger says.

    If the industry is picking up steam after such a sluggish first quarter, what’s that mean for the final three months of this year and heading into 2010? We should continue to see an upward trend. As long as our dollar remains strong against the U.S. currency there is no pressure by the Bank of Canada to raise the prime interest rate, so mortgage rates will continue to be attractive to move-up and first-time buyers.

    The gains we have seen in the Oakville market are perhaps not indicative of the state of the overall economy. Although we are seeing some significant gains in the resale market, economists are still saying the recovery will be slow and fragile. Much of what happens here depends on events in the U.S. and down there consumers are still not spending, there is little demand for bank loans and the construction industry is still depressed despite government stimulus packages. Prime Minister Stephen Harper, on the other hand, is telling Canadians that they should be optimistic and that he expects a rebound in consumer spending as a signal.

    Dan Cooper is an award winning Broker with Royal LePage Real Estate Services Ltd., Brokerage. He can be reached at 905.338.3737, direct line at 905.849.3303 or through his recently relaunched website DanCooper.com. Be sure to catch the Dan Cooper Real Estate Education Series on DailyWebTV.com. For a free copy of his Guide to Oakville Real Estate or his booklet How To Sell Your House For Top Dollar, please call The Dan Cooper Team. (more…)

    Posted in Community, Real Estate, Real Estate Market, Statistics | No Comments »

    Building success through valuable partnerships

    Tuesday, October 20th, 2009 by Dan Cooper

    Lars Melander and Dan Cooper

    I would like to congratulate Lars Melander and Oakville Today for 25 years of success. I first met Lars when I started my real estate career more than 20 years ago. Lars had only been in business for four or five years, but I was impressed by his integrity, his commitment to the community and the quality of the newspaper’s content.

    Oakville Today is a Metroland Media Group publication and Lars is general manager, but in those early years Lars was founder and owner and it was his approach to serving his community and his dedication to quality and interesting content that convinced me to be a major advertiser from day one.

    Lars describes our first encounter this way, “Dan was just starting his real estate business but was thinking big all the way. Typically a new business will start with a small ad and go from there. Dan took out a full page ad right out of the gate and has taken a page ever since. We are alike in that respect – thinking big.”

    Oakville Today doubled its circulation in North Oakville over the past 25 years and is a successful community publication because of its investment in good staff, ability to listen to its readers and to deliver solid local content that its audience expects.

    This philosophical approach is important for a real estate Broker when selecting strategic publications in which to advertise. I do a lot of advertising; it’s a strategy that has provided more exposure for the homes that are listed with my team. But I am also very selective, choosing publications that reach a desirable demographic, provide optimum penetration into key neighbourhoods and are well received by the consumer. Oakville Today is among the few that I have used consistently over the past 20+ years precisely because of its growth, its market reach, its longevity and how well it is valued by a loyal readership.

    Successful businesses must be attuned to their customers’ needs and go the extra steps to keep those customers loyal. At The Dan Cooper Team, we have one of the best and most knowledgeable real estate teams in the area. We understand that hiring good people is simply good business. Evolving and improving our business has been paramount in order to stay ahead of our competitors.

    I’m immensely proud of some of the industry leading initiatives we have launched in the past few years. We have been among the pioneers by introducing streaming video tours of homes on the Internet – taking home viewing to an exciting new level by allowing you to tour multiple properties in the comfort of your own home. We have also posted on our website living profiles of local business owners who help to make Oakville a culturally rich and vibrant community. These mini profiles give you a glimpse of what this great community has to offer. I invite you to take a tour on my recently improved and relaunched website DanCooper.com.

    I am also pleased to announce my upcoming quarterly magazine Oakville Living. The publication will feature some outstanding Oakville homes, builders, designers and local businesses. And each issue will follow a local celebrity through town, stopping at his or her favourite shops. But I don’t want to give away our first celebrity just yet. You’ll just have to wait for the launch of Oakville Living this fall.

    Dan Cooper is an award winning Broker with Royal LePage Real Estate Services Ltd., Brokerage. He can be reached at 905.338.3737, direct line at 905.849.3303 or through his recently relaunched website DanCooper.com. Be sure to catch the Dan Cooper Real Estate Education Series on DailyWebTV.com. For a free copy of his Guide to Oakville Real Estate or his booklet How To Sell Your House For Top Dollar, please call The Dan Cooper Team.

    Posted in Community, Magazine Publications, Marketing, Real Estate | No Comments »

    A small statement can have a big impact on your home

    Friday, October 16th, 2009 by Dan Cooper

    FusionCast

    Even small details can make a significant impact for your home. From unique decorative house numbers to adorable garden signs, interesting little touches can make a statement.

    A company and a valued partner that is doing just that is Alchemy of Mississauga, which has a patent pending technology that combines metals with high density urethane to produce striking signage at affordable prices, a process it calls FusionCast. Metal signage makes a strong statement about your home. It is sophisticated and enduring. But, with the increasing price of base metals over the past number of years, the cost of bronze, aluminum and copper signage has risen. So Alchemy’s challenge was to develop a technology which provides metal signage more economically. It successfully did so two years ago with the introduction of FusionCast technology. The result is a product with metal at the dimensional surface or face of the sign with urethane in the body and back of the sign, areas where metal is not necessary. It offers the durability and appearance of bronze, copper, or aluminum signage. The Alchemy process provides greater design flexibility with the ability to combine different metals in the surface of the sign including bronze, copper and aluminum as well as different background textures including satin, brick, river rock, cliff, sand and wood grain.

    The company is also proud that it is doing its part to be eco responsible, a commendable accomplishment in today’s environmentally conscious world. The FusionCast casting process eliminates harmful emissions produced by molten casting and 95% of its moulds are recycled. “We are excited about the many benefits and applications for FusionCast technology,” says Alchemy president Tom McLeod. “We can create and produce composite metal signage with designs and features that are either not available from traditional castings or available at a much higher cost. Our innovation capabilities have resulted in some pretty unique products produced more economically. In addition to our technology, we offer complete graphic and design support.”

    Be it a sophisticated address sign, signs for your garden and pool, or indoor signs for your kitchen or study, Alchemy can produce a unique and fully customized sign. For more information about the company or to see their products, visit Alchemy’s website www.alchemyfusioncast.com.

    Dan Cooper is an award winning Broker with Royal LePage Real Estate Services Ltd., Brokerage. He can be reached at 905.338.3737, direct line at 905.849.3303 or through his recently relaunched website DanCooper.com. Be sure to catch the Dan Cooper Real Estate Education Series on DailyWebTV.com. For a free copy of his Guide to Oakville Real Estate or his booklet How To Sell Your House For Top Dollar, please call The Dan Cooper Team.

    Posted in Home Staging, Marketing, Real Estate | No Comments »

    Get the best price for your home as the market heats up

    Thursday, October 8th, 2009 by andrews

    market-report-550x258

    The news on the home front continues to get better each month. Just last week the Realtors Association of Hamilton-Burlington (RAHB) reported that the resale market in this area saw an incredible 20% increase in September over the same month last year. When you consider that the first nine months of 2009 were down 2.6%, I believe such a significant jump in this last quarter is an encouraging sign that the market is well on its way to rebounding.

    According to Bruce King, RAHB president, the past three months witnessed the most sales during that period since 2005. “The September numbers continued the positive trend set in July, with sales and average price up, year over year. It also marked the most properties sold in the month of September ever,” King said. He further points out that the average price of freehold residential properties sold in September increased by 6% over September last year. In the condominium market, he said, the average price increased by 7.8%. “As interest rates stay low and the economy begins to recover, I expect we will see continued stability in local property ownership, both as a lifestyle choice and as a solid investment,” he says, adding that the real estate market in this area is one of the healthiest in the country.

    As the market heats up, it is critical to work with a Broker who has a proven and creative approach to marketing real estate to ensure you receive the best price for your home. With The Dan Cooper Team, you are working with a group that has developed innovative and carefully selected methods of showcasing your home for optimum exposure. These methods involve selecting the prime advertising spots in a variety of publications and using the internet more creatively than any other Broker. For example, my newly redeveloped DanCooper.com website is bringing properties to life through a video-based platform. I’m proud to be one of the first to tap into this exciting form of marketing to provide you with a competitive edge when selling your home.

    Besides superior exposure for your home, there are a host of other benefits when dealing with The Dan Cooper Team, such as complimentary home staging consultation; instant access to our team of lawyers, home inspectors, mortgage brokers, appraisers and contractors; ongoing updates and progress reports as part of our in-depth communications; and being served by a team of multi-disciplined professionals with more than 40 years of combined experience. Coupled with my own 20 plus years in the Oakville market, the choice is clear – Dan Cooper of Royal LePage Real Estate Services Ltd., Brokerage. Whether buying or selling, The Dan Cooper Team is ready to assist you.

    Dan Cooper is an award winning Broker with Royal LePage Real Estate Services Ltd., Brokerage. He can be reached at 905.338.3737, direct line at 905.849.3303 or through his website. Be sure to catch the Dan Cooper Real Estate Education Series on DailyWebTV.com. For a free copy of his Guide to Oakville Real Estate or his booklet How To Sell Your House For Top Dollar, please call The Dan Cooper Team.

    Posted in Marketing, Real Estate, Real Estate Market, Statistics | No Comments »