The local housing market has kept its steady pace as house prices continue to rocket skyward in Oakville and Burlington. Last week, I wrote that while there was a slow start to the first quarter of this year, we saw the average house price in Oakville increase by more than 14 percent in March over the same month last year. In dollars, the average price in March was $642,432 compared with $555,000 in March of 2011.
April sees that hot trend continue with the average price in Oakville rocketing to $698,835. That’s an increase of around 21 percent over the average price of $575,000 in April 2011 and 9 percent higher than last month’s average price.
In Burlington, the increase was similarly dramatic – rising 16.5 percent or $460,586 compared to $395,266 in April 2011. This was for all properties. Interestingly, it was the condo sector that had the largest jump, increasing a whopping 32.2 percent last month over April 2011.
Again, the warmer weather brought buyers into the market early and the low interest rates have continued to encourage consumers to get into the market – and pay a higher price for a home. Stable interest rates and a quiet confidence in the economy are fuelling this rebound in the housing market following a couple of sluggish years.
Even in a hot market, sellers are still advised to list with an experienced agent. Properly marketing your property and negotiating the best price requires the skill of a professional. The Dan Cooper Team employs leading-edge marketing strategies – we hand pick the real estate publications to market our homes, ensuring we are achieving the best results, and we use our online marketing tools effectively. The result is that we have a stellar track record for selling homes quickly and negotiating the best price. The evidence of this has been our ability to be the number one team in Canada for Royal LePage in seven of the past 13 years.
The prices in this area simply reflect the fact that Oakville and Burlington are among Canada’s best communities in which to live. A good deal of that demand is due to the quality and style of the homes here, the neighbourhoods in which they are located and the quality of the people who live here. We live in safe and picturesque communities – ideal places in which to raise a family.
We also have some of the most generous and giving citizens anywhere in Canada, and I’ve witnessed some of that generosity first hand.
I’m heavily involved in the community and sponsor or support numerous causes that help make our community stronger and a better place in which to live. A recent example is Comic Vision Oakville on April 25 at Le Dome on North Service Road. I was proud to be the venue sponsor for this hilarious evening of comedy with some of the best comics in Canada. Comic Vision is held in five cities across Canada and raises more than $700,000 annually for the Foundation Fighting Blindness, which funds vision research. This year’s show was another roaring success and I thank everyone who came out and supported this tremendous cause.
Coming up is the 12th Annual Dan Cooper Swing for Kids Sake golf tournament in support of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Halton. This year’s tournament is being held at Piper’s Heath Golf Club in Milton on May 28.
“Give where you live” is a slogan adopted by many charitable organizations across North America, but it really does sum up my own personal philanthropic objectives and is the approach of the entire Dan Cooper Team. I encourage all of you to give back to the community in any way you can; whether it is with money, time or both. Your efforts and contributions help make our community a stronger and safer place in which to raise our families.
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, 2007, 2005, 2002, 2001, 2000 and 1999. 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.
