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Archive for the ‘Statistics’ Category

Royal LePage is positioned as one of the top brokerages in North America

Monday, May 16th, 2011 by Dan Cooper

Royal LePage Real Estate Services Ltd.

I have a bit of a mixed bag of news this week. The first piece of news is that Royal LePage Real Estate Services Ltd. is among the best performing brokerages in North America when compared to the top ranked real estate firms.

Royal LePage measured its performance with those ranked in Real Trends 500. Real Trends is the Fortune 500 of real estate. Their annual research report identifies and measures the performance of America’s largest and most successful residential real estate brokerages.

Royal LePage’s annual closed sales in dollar value placed the brokerage 7th in the ranking of these 500 top firms and 18th in closed transactions.

“These impressive standings are a testament to the strength of our brand and support systems, and to the high performance of our extraordinary realtors,” says Gino Romanese, senior VP at Royal LePage. “In addition to the fact that we are Canada’s number one brokerage in dollar volume, the Real Trends 500 comparison is more information about us that’s great to share.”

Combine the resources of a top 10 brokerage in North America with the #1 Team in Canada for Royal LePage for 7 of the past 10 years – The Dan Cooper Team – and you have a powerful partner to handle all your real estate needs.

The second piece of news is Hamilton is once again in the spotlight. Two weeks ago I wrote that the British-based FDI Magazine, owned by the prestigious Financial Times Group, ranked Hamilton as one of the top 10 large cities in North America ripe for foreign investment. I said at the time, that economic growth feeds the housing market and that real estate in Hamilton and surrounding municipalities would benefit from any investment in that city.

Last week, the Toronto-based Real Estate Investment Network singled out Hamilton as one of the top three places in Canada in which to invest. It was the number one choice in Ontario. “We’re looking for the cities with the most future potential, not what’s happening now,” REIN President Don Campbell told local media. “We see a real window of opportunity for Hamilton in the next five years.”

This is more good news for our area and while we will have to wait to see how these accolades translate into actual investment, it certainly has the politicians and city managers giddy with anticipation.

Finally, the latest housing statistics continue to show slower sales volume throughout the GTA and Hamilton, but prices are still higher than they were a year ago. Fewer homes on the market means sellers are getting more for their properties.

In Oakville, sales were down 20 percent in April compared to the same month last year, but the average price was up 14 percent – $625,900 compared to $551,187 in April 2010. Milton sales were down 23 percent but the average price was up five percent – $411,819 compared with $392,466 a year ago.

“The unusually rainy spring has slowed the usual increase in listings but the higher prices and good weather should bring more sellers into the market next month,” says Jack McCrudden, President of the Oakville, Milton and District Real Estate Board. “Meanwhile buyers attracted by historically low interest rates remain enthusiastic about homeownership, so spring could see an upswing.” McCrudden added that sales of luxury homes increased in April over the same month last year.

As a Certified Luxury Home Marketing specialist, I can offer a specialized expertise in the GTA’s distinctive home market. The Institute for Luxury Home Marketing is the premier independent authority in training and certification for real estate agents working in the upper-tier residential market. My designation is a result of my expertise and impressive performance in the fine home and estates marketplace. I also received the Million Dollar Guild designation by demonstrating skill in the million-dollar market range. Inclusion in this exclusive organization provides my Team and me with proprietary tools, knowledge and strategies that give us the competitive-edge when selling your home.

Dan Cooper is an award-winning broker with Royal LePage Real Estate Services Ltd., Brokerage – the #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 Royal LePage Real Estate Services, Statistics | No Comments »

Be prepared for a hot spring in the local real estate market

Thursday, April 21st, 2011 by Dan Cooper

Dan Cooper For Sale Sign

Spring is traditionally a strong season for real estate. It’s a time of the year when nature begins anew, putting us in the mood for a new beginning as well. And from all accounts, this spring appears to put us back on track after a long recession.

A number of surveys and real estate board reports are indicating that we can expect everything from a balanced market to a robust season – depending on where you live. This area will be on the robust side. The Oakville and Burlington markets have consistently been among the strongest in Canada when we measure our performance against the country’s leading communities.

According to the most recent Royal LePage House Price Survey, the best performing major markets in the first three months of this year are Vancouver where the price of a standard two-storey home rose by 9.7 percent and Montreal where detached bungalows rose by 6.3 percent.

The average house price in Oakville rose 8 percent over the same period – again placing this market as one of the best places in which to invest in real estate. “As we move into spring, which traditionally is a good time for buying and selling homes, I think we’ll see a slight upward trend in sales,” says Jack McCrudden, President of the Oakville Milton and District Real Estate Board. “In fact, sales have been increasing month over month for the past three months. All things being equal, it should be a good spring for buyers and sellers.”

The average sale price for March in Oakville increased 6 percent over March last year to $572,909. In Milton, the average sale price in March was $409,207, an increase of 7 percent. Over the first three months of the year, Oakville increased by 8 percent to $609,744 and Milton by 3 percent to $396,989.

In Burlington and Hamilton, the Realtors Association is saying this year will be a return to a normal year. Sales activity was down for the first three months, but the average sale price increased by 3.5 percent, which followed the national average.

“The spring market is proving to be what we would call a normal, more balanced market,” says Ann Forbes, President of the Realtors Association of Hamilton-Burlington (RAHB). “In this kind of market, we will see a good number of properties coming on the market and a good number of sales going through. There is time for buyers to shop and compare before they buy.”

Mind you, their figures take in the entire area that RAHB covers, which includes 15 cities and towns from Burlington to Dunnville. I would have to think that some of those communities will be dragging these figures down and that Burlington’s performance is not being reflected.

When you consider that Burlington recently placed third in the 2011 Best Places to Live in Canada survey conducted by Money Sense magazine, the desire to live in such a community is going to be high – and that drives up prices.

Across the country, low interest rates and a recovering economy continued to fuel activity over the past year. “Canada’s real estate market has maintained momentum coming out of 2010, indicating the post-recession recovery is continuing,” says Phil Soper, President and Chief Executive of Royal LePage Real Estate Services. He cautions that while prices will continue to creep up, most of the excess demand created by the initial drop in interest rates has been satisfied and that single digit percentage increases are more likely for the balance of the year.

That might be true on a national scale, but hot markets such as Oakville and Burlington continue to buck the trend and we will likely experience strong performances through the year.

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, Milton, Oakville, Oakville Real Estate, Real Estate, Real Estate Market, Selling, Statistics | No Comments »

Housing sales volumes are still sluggish but prices are up

Saturday, March 12th, 2011 by Dan Cooper

Real Estate Market - Dan Cooper

The latest housing stats coming out of Oakville, Burlington and the rest of the GTA are showing a continuing trend – sales volumes are down but prices are up. This is something I’ve addressed in earlier columns. In one respect the market is soft when it comes to activity, but homes are holding their value which proves that real estate is always a good investment. Let’s look at some of the latest statistics across the board.

In Oakville the number of homes that sold was down a whopping 21 percent in February compared to February 2010. Putting that into perspective is Jack McCrudden, President of the Oakville, Miton and District Real Estate Board. “Area sales have declined compared to last year when the resale housing market was driven by concerns over interest rates, the impact of the HST and potential changes to mortgage rules,” he said.

The rush to purchase homes before the HST came into effect last July created a buying boom. Yet, prices in Oakville last month were 12 percent higher than February 2010. The average home price last month was $645,904 compared to $577,628 last year. In Milton, sales volume matched last year’s volume and prices were up one percent, $385,002 compared to $382,396.
Hamilton and Burlington displayed the same pattern with sales down by 8.7 percent but prices up by 3.7 percent compared to February last year.

“While the numbers show that our sales and listings are down from last year, you have to remember that February of 2010 was the beginning of the recovery from the uncertain market in the early part of 2009,” according to Ann Forbes, President of the Realtors Association of Hamilton-Burlington. “Our average sales price continues to climb, year after year. Buying a property in the Greater Hamilton, Burlington and outlying areas is a good investment.”

Across the GTA, sales were down 14 percent but prices were up by five percent, says Toronto Real Estate Board President Bill Johnston. “Continued improvement in the GTA economy, including growth in jobs and incomes and a declining unemployment rate, has kept the demand for ownership housing strong.”

What’s interesting is that last month’s sales may have been 14 percent lower than last year, but were 50 percent higher than sales in February 2009 (during the recession) and slightly higher than the average February sales volume over the previous 10 years. Jason Mercer, the board’s senior manager of market analysis, further said that market conditions remain tight in the GTA. There is enough competition between homebuyers to promote continued price growth.”

The key to selling your home is to choose an experienced realtor who will market your home effectively. Innovative advertising, knowledge about the marketplace, commitment and exemplary service differentiate The Dan Cooper Team. The result is that we are achieving accomplishments that illustrate the Dan Cooper difference. In fact, we have been the Number 1 team in Canada for Royal LePage for seven of the past 10 years, which is a testament to our ability to sell homes fast in the Oakville and Burlington areas.

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, Buying, Finances, Interest Rates, Milton, Mississauga, Mortgage, Oakville, Oakville Real Estate, Real Estate Market, Selling, Statistics | No Comments »

Why is the outlook for the housing market so positive for this year?

Monday, February 14th, 2011 by Dan Cooper

The mood in the housing market has certainly rebounded. For those of us in the real estate industry, we saw a better than anticipated finish in 2010 and see the continued optimism in early 2011. This was confirmed this month by the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) which has revised its 2011 forecast upwards for home sales activity.

“Homebuyers recognize that low mortgage interest rates represent a once in a lifetime opportunity,” says CREA President Georges Pahud. “At the same time, they expect that rates will rise, so they’re doing their homework in order to understand what it could mean in terms of higher mortgage payments down the road before they make an offer.”
CREA forecasts that the national sales activity will rebound by three percent, which is roughly on par with the 10-year average. The upward revision to CREA’s forecast for 2011 reflects recent improvements in the economic outlook and a further expected improvement in consumer confidence.

Recent changes to mortgage regulations (the maximum amortization period was recently shortened to 30 years from 35 and the maximum homeowners can borrow in refinancing mortgages was reduced to 85 percent from 90 percent) will further ensure buyers don’t get in over their heads; that they won’t buy more home than they can afford and find themselves in trouble when interest rates rise – which they will inevitably do.

“The new changes to mortgage regulations will likely bring forward some sales into the first quarter that would have otherwise occurred later in the year, particularly in some of Canada’s more expensive housing markets,” says Gregory Klump, CREA chief economist. “This is expected to produce a milder version of the volatility in sales activity that we saw last year which resulted from additional transitory factors.”

Three transitory factors contributed to volatility in sales activity last year: changes in mortgage regulations, the early withdrawal by the Bank of Canada of its conditional commitment to keep interest rates on hold until the second half of 2010, and the introduction of the HST.

CREA expects that home sales activity will gain traction after dipping in the second quarter as the economic recovery and job growth continue, incomes grow and consumer confidence further improves. “Even though mortgage interest rates are expected to rise later this year, they will still be within short reach of current levels and remain supportive for housing market activity. Strengthening economic fundamentals will keep the housing market in balance, which will keep home prices stable,” says Klump.

In the Oakville and Burlington market, sales were down last month compared with the same month last year, but prices were up – indicating we are still in a solid real estate market with home values remaining strong. In Hamilton/Burlington sales were down 7 percent but prices were up 9.4 percent. In Oakville sales were down 11 percent and the average price was up 9 percent. The average price rose from $590,657 last year to $644,849 in January in Oakville.

Pahud says the housing market and buyer psychology is different now than it was at the beginning of last year, and advises that buyers and sellers consult their realtor to understand local market trends.

I’ve consistently advised that the key to finding a good deal or selling quickly for top dollar is to work with a broker who knows the community. The professionals at The Dan Cooper Team of Royal LePage have such a track record, which has led to our achieving the Number 1 Team in Canada for Royal LePage for 7 of the past 10 years.

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, Mortgage, Oakville Real Estate, Real Estate, Real Estate Market, Statistics | No Comments »

Will 2011 be the year to buy a home?

Monday, January 3rd, 2011 by Dan Cooper

2011

From all accounts, this Christmas shopping season was one of the strongest in the past few years as consumers shook off those recession blues and expressed their confidence in the future through their pocketbooks. And while many of you are currently enjoying the deep discounts during the Boxing Week sales, some of you will perhaps be thinking about a new home.

If the retail scene over the past few weeks is an indication that our economy continues to get back on track and that consumers are feeling more secure about the employment picture and confident in their finances, then we can look forward to some good real estate investment opportunities in 2011.

Just to confirm that 2011 promises to be a better year, a recent poll conducted for the Globe and Mail’s Report on Business revealed that Canadian executives are increasingly optimistic about the economy and that they plan to boost capital spending, hire more staff and make acquisitions. In fact, 92 percent think our economy will grow next year, albeit moderately as opposed to strong growth. This optimism is the highest level recorded in the Globe’s annual survey in more than four years. That is good news after the struggles we’ve faced over the past couple of years.

On the housing front, improving economic conditions and stable mortgage rates will help fuel a projected 5-percent increase in house sales next year, according to a recent forecast by Central 1 Credit Union. According to the firm, housing resales have climbed since last July when the introduction of the HST stalled the housing market. The rebound is thanks to low mortgage rates, improved affordability and an improving economy. Central 1 expects sales to continue to grow early in 2011 and to tail off in the second half as mortgage rates rise.

“Mortgage rates will remain well anchored and conducive to housing demand over the forecast horizon. Posted rates in 2011 will range from an average of 5.4 percent in the first quarter to 6.2 percent in the fourth quarter. Rates are projected to rise to a modest 6.5 percent by the fourth quarter of 2012,” the credit union predicts. For those of you who are considering the lower but riskier variable rates, these reflect the Bank of Canada’s policy interest rate, which has been increased three times in 2010 in 25 basis point increments, pushing the rate to 1 percent. The credit union predicts that the next rate hike will most likely be a 25 basis point increase on the Bank’s next rate-setting meeting on April 12. While the credit union says the Bank will resume its rate normalization, it expects the policy rate to reach 2.25 percent by the end of 2011 and then to 2.75 percent or higher by the end of 2012.

Trying to predict future mortgage rates and choosing a mortgage that is right for your circumstances is an important consideration for anyone buying their first home or moving up into a larger home and carrying a mortgage. There are several strategies from fixed to variable mortgages to length of amortization.

For example, selecting the length of your mortgage amortization period will affect how much interest you will pay over the life of your mortgage. While the lending industry’s benchmark is 25 years, there are shorter or longer timeframes available. The popular opinion is that shorter is better – you pay off your home faster and pay less interest over the life of the mortgage. But there are advantages to a longer amortization and next week Lee Anne Taylor of Dominion Lending Centres will outline the pros and cons when choosing an amortization period.

Until then, all of us at The Dan Cooper Team wish you every happiness for this season and throughout the coming year.

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 Buying, Finances, HST, Interest Rates, Mortgage, Planning, Real Estate, Real Estate Market, Selling, Statistics | No Comments »