5 New Year’s Resolutions to Sell Your Home

Are you planning to sell your home in the near future? Regardless of season or market conditions, remember that you only have one chance to make a good first impression. Make it memorable for all the right reasons. Before listing your home, commit to these five New Year’s Resolutions to help ensure the quickest sale for the highest price.

Mark Your Calendar!

Set your listing date well in advance to help you anticipate, plan and prepare to sell your home. The process of changing homes has a lot of moving parts and is a coordinated effort between you and your team of experts. Think real estate agent, lender, lawyer, home inspector, trades, movers… the list continues. This is especially the case if you’ll also be buying a new home at the same time, as many people do. Reach out to a selling agent (us) early on in the process to discuss your options, get important advice and get the ball rolling. We are here to guide you through the entire process!

Repair and Replace

When planning to sell your home, assess its condition and make repairs before listing. Cracked drywall, stained carpets, burned-out light bulbs and other minor damage is easy to fix and won’t break the bank, but left un-repaired, could impact offers. TIP: It can be tough to evaluate your own home. Have your agent or a friend tour your home and offer constructive criticism. Find out which renovations offer the best return on investment here.

Get Comparables

Three to six months before your home hits the market, wave your agent start scanning comparable listings to get a ballpark price estimate. Keep in mind that a variety of factors may affect your home’s selling price, like lot size; landscaping and interior finishes; proximity to busy streets, public transit, schools and parks; or supply and demand in the marketplace. Your agent will assess your home just prior to listing, to ensure you set the right price to attract serious buyers.

Cut the Clutter

A cluttered home can suggest lack of space, which can impact offers. Depending on lifestyle and length of time spent in the home, this can be a big undertaking. Take it step by step, room by room, and you’ll get through it. Be honest about what you want, need and love, and what you can do without. The bonus? You won’t have to pack, move and clutter your new home with stuff you don’t want.

Stage to Sell

When it’s time to sell your home, stage it to show it in the best possible light. This includes packing up family photos and anything personal (prospective buyers want to picture themselves in the home, not you!), putting the non-essential items into storage (or the donation bin!) and perhaps renting some furnishings that take your home to the next level. Your agent may offer staging as part of their suite of services, or will be able to put you in touch with a professional stager to help get the job done.

Hiring the right real estate agent is key to a successful sale. Rose Kutzko & The Property Team are ready and available to answer all of your questions!

 

Courtesy of REMAX.ca

Have Home Goals? 5 New Year’s Resolutions for Homebuyers

If home buying is on your to-do list in the future, there are some tasks to tackle before you start shopping. Admittedly, many of these New Year’s Resolutions relate to finances (as they often do) and rightly so. A home is the biggest investment most of us will make in our lifetime. To help you prepare, here are five New Year’s Resolutions for homebuyers that you’ll definitely want to keep this year.

START SAVING FOR YOUR DOWNPAYMENT

This is arguably the biggest, most difficult and most time-consuming part of the home buying process. Think about it – in November 2021, the average home price in Canada rose to $720,850. To avoid taking out a high-ratio mortgage, you’ll need at least 20 per cent as a down payment, or about $145,000. It’s important to start thinking about how you will come up with the money – whether it’s using your RRSPs through the first-time Home Buyers’ Plan, savings, or financial help from the Bank of Mom and Dad.

CHECK YOUR CREDIT RATING

This one’s important, because your potential mortgage lender will be doing the same. A credit score is a number between 300 and 900 that rates your credit-worthiness. According to credit-rating company Equifax, a score of 690 or higher is considered “good.” Lenders will use this score in tandem with other factors, such as your debt-to-income ratio, to determine mortgage eligibility.

CREDIT CLEAN-UP

Remember that phone bill you forgot to pay a couple of years ago? It can come back to haunt you. Even a one-day-late payment is still considered “late,” and can negatively affect your credit rating – and your potential to qualify for a favourable mortgage. If you’re not happy with your credit score, take some time to bring it up to par before you start the pre-qualification process.

GET PRE-APPROVED FOR A MORTGAGE

With interest rates rumoured to rise in 2022, take advantage of this low interest-rate environment while you still can. Getting pre-approved for a mortgage will lock in your rate for up to 120 days. A mortgage pre-approval is not an obligation to purchase in this time frame, nor are you committed to that particular lender. It’s just a written confirmation of the approved amount and the promised rate, so you can shop with confidence within a budget you know you can afford.

START SHOPPING

Online is a good place to start your search, but nothing beats first-hand experience. With budget in mind, bundle up and hit the streets to explore different neighbourhoods and the amenities you’ll have access to. Do you rely on public transit? Is an active night life important to you? Daycares and schools? Parks and rec? Highway access? How close (or far!) do you want to be from family and your work place? Think about your day-to-day needs, and anticipate how they might change over time.

Last but not least… work with the right real estate agent who has experience in the area and the type of home you plan to purchase. They will make setting up viewings easy, and be ready and on your side to negotiate the best price when it comes time to finally make an offer.

Planning to sell your home? Read 5 New Year’s Resolutions for the Home Seller.

 

Courtesy of REMAX.ca

(SOLD) 240 Scarlett Rd #1103, Toronto, Ontario

CLICK HERE to contact, or Call 416-453-7673 Ask For Rose Kutzko for more info

240 Scarlett Rd #1103

Price: $759,000.00
MLS# W5476408
Bathrooms: 2
Bedrooms: 3
Square Footage: 1200-1399
Virtual Tour: Click here for virtual tour

Welcome to Lambton Square!

!!WOW!! BREATHTAKING, MILLION DOLLAR VIEWS OF LAMBTON GOLF COURSE & HUMBER RIVER!! Semi-renovated 3 beds, 2 baths, corner suite awaiting your personal touches. Condo features a spacious layout, brand new stainless steel appliances, sunken living room with walk-out to large balcony and unobstructed SW views.

Building amenities include an outdoor pool, car wash, sauna, exercise room, visitor parking, and more. Surrounded by beautifully manicured green space, Humber River, James Gardens, private and public golf courses, walking/biking trails.

Close to major highways and Toronto Pearson International Airport. Steps to transit and 1 bus to the subway.

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(SOLD) 270 Scarlett Rd #1206, Toronto, Ontario

CLICK HERE to contact, or Call 416-453-7673 Ask For Rose Kutzko for more info

270 Scarlett Rd #1206

Price: $499,000.00
MLS# W5475401
Bathrooms: 1
Bedrooms: 1
Square Footage: 700-799
Virtual Tour: Click here for virtual tour

Welcome to Lambton Square!

Opportunity to customize this bright and spacious 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom suite and turn it into your dream home! Original condition condo features eat-in kitchen, separate dining area, sunken living room with walk-out to large balcony, tons of closet space & ensuite laundry. Property includes the exclusive use of 1 parking space and 1 storage locker!

Building amenities include an outdoor pool, car wash, sauna, exercise room, visitor parking, and more. Surrounded by beautifully manicured green space, Humber River, James Gardens, private and public golf courses, walking/biking trails.

Close to major highways and Toronto Pearson International Airport. Steps to transit and 1 bus to the subway.

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Canadian Housing Market Trends to Watch in 2022

The Canadian housing market has been a fixture in media headlines and an ever-present topic of conversation around dinner tables and water coolers by those who continue to work in an office setting in the wake of COVID-19. Early on in the pandemic, some expected a steep decline in home sales and prices in Canada, but nobody could have predicted what actually materialized in the market. Come May 2020, regional real estate markets began their rebound. The spike in demand continued through 2021, resulting in record-breaking price growth and what many would consider to be the hottest year in Canadian real estate. So, what can we expect in 2022? Here are five trends to keep your eye on.

Interest rates are expected to rise.

Rumour has it that interest rates will start rising as early as April. This will be the first movement by the Bank of Canada, following a trio of rate cuts in March 2020, prompted by the pandemic and the ensuing economic impacts. The economy started to bounce back with vaccines making their way into arms, businesses reopening and consumer confidence returning. We’re not out of the woods yet, as the Omicron variant prompts further public health measures and threatens lockdowns in some provinces, pumping the brakes on certain industries. Real estate is not one of them. The Canadian housing market resumed its upward trajectory after a steep but short-lived decline in activity at the start of the pandemic, seemingly with no end in sight. High demand resulted in record-breaking price growth, with sales held back only by a lack of supply.

With interest rates expected to start rising in time for the busy spring real estate market, some buyers may be looking to lock in a rock-bottom rate now, since they aren’t likely to get any breaks on prices. Will higher interest rates serve to cool the hot Canadian housing market? The Big 6 banks have predicted the Bank of Canada will raise its overnight rate by one per cent by the end of 2022. Only time will tell what impact this will have on the market, but given current levels of supply and demand, a one-per-cent hike is unlikely to be a significant factor on sales or prices.

Canadian real estate prices will likely continue rising.

Speaking of prices, the 2022 Canadian Housing Market Outlook Report analyzed 38 Canadian housing markets, identifying rising prices in 100% of them in 2021 and further growth expected across the board in 2022. RE/MAX brokers and agents anticipated price growth ranging from a low of +2.5 per cent in Calgary, to a high of +20 per cent in Muskoka. From a national perspective, the average residential price expected to increase by 9.2 per cent.

Low supply will remain a concern across the Canadian housing market.

Housing affordability has been on a steady decline in Canada, and was a key focus for all political parties in the 2021 federal election. Ontario has become ground zero for unaffordability, so it’s expected that this will also be a hot topic in the provincial election slated for June 2, 2022. What’s the culprit behind rising prices? Low supply.

Industry experts have attributed the rapidly rising price of homes to the housing supply shortage, which was amplified by a notable spike in demand in 2020 and 2021. This is expected to continue, with 1.2 million people expected to immigrate to Canada by 2023 and all of them presumingly in need of a home. With no major increase in listings or new construction expected, industry experts suggest market pressures could mount, putting ever greater pressure on prices.

While opinions vary on how to effectively add supply to the market, RE/MAX executives have pointed to a few possible solutions, including:

  • A National Housing Strategy to boost supply, in a coordinated effort between the federal, provincial and municipal governments.
  • Incentivizing developers to build more affordable, family-sized homes close to transit hubs, such as tax rebates, cutting the prohibitive red tape and easing the building application and approval process.
  • Incentivizing homeowners to move and easing the financial burden associated with selling a home by offering tax rebates and re-evaluating Toronto’s double Land Transfer Tax (currently, homebuyers here pay a provincial and municipal LTT). This could help increase the supply of listings.

The federal and provincial governments are also encouraged to collaborate on ways to improve local economies to help attract residents. Canada has lots of “affordable” cities which don’t always have the same appeal as large urban centres do. Shifting the focus from cities like Toronto and Vancouver could help ease the pressure and prohibitive price growth.

Canadian real estate will be dominated by seller’s markets.

By the end of 2021, 97 per cent of Canadian housing markets analyzed by RE/MAX Canada (37 out of 38) were expected to be seller’s markets in 2022, characterized by low supply, high demand and rising prices. This is likely to continue in 2022, given that adding supply to the market isn’t a quick fix.

Virtual transactions are the way of the future.

Virtual home-buying and -selling wasn’t just a temporary trend that carried us through the pandemic lockdowns. Quite simply, consumers have had a taste of this sweet convenience and they’re unlikely to give it up when COVID-19 is behind us. From websites like REMAX.ca and Realtor.ca bringing listings right to your fingertips, and virtual tours offering opportunities to view a home without ever leaving the comfort of your own, to the ease of digital paperwork, it’s safe to say the virtual trend will be the new reality for many buyers and sellers.

 

Courtesy of REMAX.ca

(LEASED) 89 Dunn Ave, Toronto, Ontario

CLICK HERE to contact, or Call 416-453-7673 Ask For Rose Kutzko for more info

89 Dunn Ave

Price: $4,995.00
MLS# W5468187
Bathrooms: 2
Bedrooms: 3
Square Footage: 1500-2000
Virtual Tour: Click here for virtual tour

Welcome to Parkdale!

This fully renovated Victorian semi-detached features 3 beds, 2 baths and a third-floor loft retreat with skyline views. Open concept main floor with gourmet chef-style kitchen, high-end appliances, quartz counters, and walkout to shared yard. Spacious spa-like bath on second floor with freestanding soaker tub and CN Tower views.

Perfectly located within a short walk to Lake Ontario, transit, shops, dining and more. Parkdale is a multicultural residential neighbourhood with wide, pedestrian-friendly sidewalks, colourful street art and a mix of Victorian mansions and apartment buildings. The area features an international mix of restaurants, vintage stores, indie boutiques and galleries.

Lease includes water, ADT security system & monitoring and 1 laneway parking space.
Tenant responsible for gas, hydro, cable, internet & phone.

Just move in and enjoy all that Toronto has to offer!

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(LEASED) 260 Scarlett Rd #1607, Toronto, Ontario

CLICK HERE to contact, or Call 416-453-7673 Ask For Rose Kutzko for more info

 

260 Scarlett Rd #1607

Price: $2,300.00
MLS# W5463733
Bathrooms: 1
Bedrooms: 1
Square Footage: 800-899

Welcome to Lambton Square!

Bright and spacious 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom suite with south-east views of Toronto’s skyline is available for a 1 year lease with the option to renew! Condo renovated throughout and features functional kitchen with stainless steel appliance, tons of cupboard space, separate dining area, sunken living room with walk-out to extra large balcony, ensuite laundry, the use of 1 parking space and storage locker!

Building amenities include an outdoor pool, car wash, sauna, exercise room, visitor parking, and more. Surrounded by beautifully manicured green space, Humber River, James Gardens, private and public golf courses, walking/biking trails.

Close to major highways and Toronto Pearson International Airport. Steps to transit and 1 bus to the subway.

Utilities included in rent – Free High-Speed Internet + Rogers VIP Bundle (Includes PVR)

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