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Archive for August, 2010

HUSH a finalist in prestigious builder awards for Oakville homes

Thursday, August 26th, 2010 by Dan Cooper

Featured in the photo are President and CEO of Hush Homes Naheel Suleman with Dan Cooper.

Congratulations to HUSH on its nominations for Project of the Year and Most Outstanding Production Home (two-storey, 2,500 square feet and over) for two of its developments in South-West Oakville. The Ontario Home Builders’ Association’s Awards of Distinction are major awards in which builders all across Ontario compete. Simply becoming a finalist is a significant feat. I’ve written in the past about HUSH’s two special enclaves of new homes that recently went on sale that offer French and English inspired designs, and some very unique features and homeownership packages.

Being nominated in the OHBA’s Awards of Distinction is just proof that these developments are something special for Oakville and area. HUSH is nominated for Project of the Year for both the Avalon and The Gardens at Coronation locations. In the Most Outstanding Production Built Home category, this exceptional builder has two home designs nominated – the Aubergine Palais and Lily of the Valley. Avalon in South-West Oakville includes 12 French inspired homes that are conveniently located on Lakeshore Road West, close to downtown Oakville and Appleby College. At Avalon, you can experience the city living of shopping and dining without sacrificing a private home environment. This is where you will find the Aubergine Palais.

The Gardens of Coronation feature 14 English-style homes that are steps away from Coronation Park and Lake Ontario. Some lots here have been designed to allow for a third-storey loft where you can enjoy spectacular views of the park and lake. And this is where the award-nominated Lily of the Valley will be built. While these homes are nominated in the Most Outstanding Production Home, HUSH is not your typical production builder. For example, the bungalows in each location can be completely customized to your liking, right down to the floor plan. And like all HUSH projects, these homes are loaded with top quality products and materials – hardwood floors, 10-foot ceilings, Wolf and Sub-Zero gourmet appliances, granite countertops, marble, and high-end fixtures by Kohler just to name a few of the luxury appointments that are standard in all HUSH homes.

HUSH builds their homes to exceed Energy Star standards and provides an extensive “green” package that offers additional solutions such as solar power and geothermal heating and cooling so you can make your home as energy-efficient and eco-friendly as you want. With homes ranging from 1,800 to 4,000 square feet, loaded with high-end products, quality construction and high energy efficiency, HUSH is offering a carefree lifestyle and a superbly maintained residence for as long as you own the property. The quality of these homes and the attention they are receiving from qualified judges for the OHBA’s Awards of Distinction is a testament to the great real estate investment opportunities that exist in the Oakville and Burlington areas.

If you are in the market for a true dream home in a spectacular location, you must check out these new homes by HUSH. To see what makes HUSH an award-winning builder, I encourage you to visit the presentation centre at 417 Lakeshore Road West. Visitation is by appointment during the week and open houses from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays, or register at HUSH.CA. Or give my office a call and we will be glad to help you make the ideal selection – to optimize your enjoyment and investment. And good luck HUSH on September 21 when the OHBA announces the winners.

Dan Cooper is an award winning Broker with Royal LePage Real Estate Services Ltd., Brokerage – the Number 1 Royal LePage Team for Canada in 2009. He can be reached at 905.338.3737, direct line at 905.849.3303 or through his innovative and interactive website at DanCooper.com. Be sure to catch the Dan Cooper Real Estate Series on DailyWebTV.com. For his free booklet How To Sell Your House For Top Dollar – Fast! or his Guide to Oakville Real Estate, please call the Dan Cooper Team.

Posted in Green Home, HUSH Homes, Oakville, Oakville Real Estate, Ontario Home Builders’ Association’s Awards of Distinction | No Comments »

Blame the decline in home sales on the harmonized sales tax

Wednesday, August 25th, 2010 by Dan Cooper

As predicted, the pace of home sales slowed in July as consumers adjusted to the new harmonized sales tax. Coupled with the fact that interest rates were rising, the rush to buy homes prior to the HST coming into effect on July 1 resulted in an overheated market in May and June. But this current slowdown in the market is expected to be short lived.

Earlier this month Jeff Mahannah, President of the Oakville, Milton and District Real Estate Board, said, “Sales transactions are down for July, but overall for the year-to-date we are on par or are observing a slight increase in transactions when compared to 2009. What I anticipate, once the public has time to adjust to the HST and realize that interest rates are still affordable, is an increase in activity in sales transactions in September.” This is what he is talking about. Last month residential sales for Oakville were down by 48 percent compared to July 2009 and the average sale price – $505,999 – decreased by 0.2 percent. However, year-to-date sales were still up by 5 percent and the average sale price was up by 13 percent.

In Burlington, the story is quite similar. “July was certainly a quiet month for sales,” said Joe Ferrante, President of the Realtors Association of Hamilton-Burlington, “but it was not at all unexpected. Despite the slower sales in July, our year-to-date sales are still up 10.7 per cent over this time last year.” The average price of freehold residential properties sold in Hamilton-Burlington in July was $329,317, an increase of 5.5 per cent over July last year. In the condominium market the average price of condominiums in July was $237,304, an increase of 1.6 per cent over July 2009. “We have a good inventory of listings,” Ferrante explains, “which makes Hamilton, Burlington and our outlying areas such a great place to buy real estate right now.”

Whether it is a slow market or an overheated market, each brings particular challenges of their own and the key to making the best deal possible is to work with a broker who has a proven track record and is a consistent top performer – someone who you are confident will be able to sell your home quickly and for top dollar. Innovative marketing and investment, knowledge about the marketplace, commitment and exemplary service differentiate the Dan Cooper Real Estate Team. The result is that we are achieving accomplishments that illustrate the Dan Cooper difference. We are the Number 1 team in Canada for Royal LePage, which is a testament to our ability to sell homes fast in the Oakville and Burlington areas. In fact, we have been the Number 1 team for seven of the past ten years. We were also named Best Real Estate Agent and Best Real Estate Team in North Oakville Today’s annual Readers’ Choice Awards. The Readers’ Choice Awards are as grassroots as you can get, and being named Number 1 for both agent and team are proof that we are having a significant impact right here in our own community.

Dan Cooper is an award winning Broker with Royal LePage Real Estate Services Ltd., Brokerage – the Number 1 Royal LePage Team for Canada in 2009. He can be reached at 905.338.3737, direct line at 905.849.3303 or through his innovative and interactive website at DanCooper.com. Be sure to catch the Dan Cooper Real Estate Series on DailyWebTV.com. For his free booklet How To Sell Your House For Top Dollar – Fast! or his Guide to Oakville Real Estate, please call the Dan Cooper Team.

Posted in Burlington Real Estate, Finances, HST, Oakville Real Estate, Real Estate, Real Estate Market, Taxes | No Comments »

Using the Internet to sell homes faster and for more money

Thursday, August 12th, 2010 by Dan Cooper

Dan Cooper TV logo

The mark of a good real estate agent is the lengths to which he or she will go to market your home. In today’s marketplace, it is not enough to merely place a few ads in the real estate section of the local newspaper. Advertising, of course, is important – and that is why I go big whenever I use traditional media. I consistently take out one and two page spreads in these sections. I also carefully select the most effective magazines – and again take the best strategic positioning within those publications to provide the maximum exposure for my clients.

But perhaps most important, I have been a leader in utilizing the Internet by developing a unique online marketing program. My DanCooperTV.com website was ahead of its time when I launched it a few years ago and it remains a dynamic element of my marketing strategy today. The video-based format brings properties to life, providing a much more striking impact than static images. Whether you are buying or selling a home, the opportunity to display a property through a live tour of the home accompanied by a voice-over description of the home’s unique features is a powerful tool. The seller is able to advertise their property in a whole new light and the buyer is able to take a comprehensive tour at their leisure and convenience. Professionally produced, this site offers an incredible venue like no other.

A good real estate website, however, should be more than just a vehicle for selling homes. At DanCooperTV.com, you will find a wealth of information about your area and some of the people in it – the retailers, businesses and charitable organizations that make Oakville and Burlington vibrant and engaging communities. See my entire educational series on home inspections with advice directly from the experts. You will also meet members of the Dan Cooper team, providing you with an opportunity to better learn who we are and our approach, to begin building that ever important open and honest relationship that needs to develop between broker and client. I want you to be comfortable with our team, to trust that everyone is working in your best interest.

If you haven’t visited DanCooperTV in awhile, take a look – and take a visual tour of some of the exciting properties we have posted on the site. We recently posted a tour of a spectacular mansion on two acres of country property on Trafalgar Road, just north of Highway 407. This is a home that many passersby have wondered about – and here it is on my website. It’s the new, cutting-edge approach to marketing homes and we’re leading this exciting trend. There are other developing technologies that we are looking into and I will talk more about those in the future.

In the meantime, for more information about how we can sell your home quickly and for top dollar, visit my website DanCooper.com or give the office a call and we would be more than happy to tell you more.

Dan Cooper is an award winning Broker with Royal LePage Real Estate Services Ltd., Brokerage – the Number 1 Royal LePage Team for Canada in 2009. He can be reached at 905.338.3737, direct line at 905.849.3303 or through his innovative and interactive website at DanCooper.com. Be sure to catch the Dan Cooper Real Estate Series on DailyWebTV.com. For his free booklet How To Sell Your House For Top Dollar – Fast! or his Guide to Oakville Real Estate, please call the Dan Cooper Team.

Posted in Burlington, Burlington Real Estate, Dan Cooper TV, Internet, Marketing, Oakville, Oakville Real Estate, Planning, Real Estate, Real Estate Market, Technology, Video Tours | No Comments »