Nov 2010 Newsletter

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HomeHunt with Bruce Johnson

! November 2010 ! TheHomeHunt.com ! Vol. XIV, Issue XI

Bruce Johnson Photo

HomeHunt

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OHNSO SALES N REPRE SENTA RE/MA TIVE X of W asaga B each I n c ., B rokera ge PHON E (705) TOLL 429-45 FREE 00 (8 88) 74 1- 8 8 8 8

November 2010

with Bruce Johnson

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Your Window on Wasaga Beach & Collingwood Real Estate

HST Confusion Continues 56% MISTAKENLY BELIEVE HST APPLIES TO PURCHASE PRICE A recent Ipsos Reid survey commissioned by the Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA) reveals that nearly 60% percent of Ontarians mistakenly believe that the new Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) applies to the full purchase price of a resale home.

lines every day. Clearly, Ontarians still don’t know what the HST covers and what is exempt,” noted Dorothy Mason, President of OREA. “This is not helping the housing

In fact, the HST is only levied on the various transaction fees associated with the purchase of a previously occupied (resale) home.

Currently, the average price of an Ontario resale home is around $330,000. Therefore, this confusion leaves the majority of Ontarians wrongly believing that the HST will add more than $40,000 to the transaction cost.

There is growing concern among real estate professionals that this misperception about the HST is dampening the Ontario housing market. “We see it on the front

IN THIS ISSUE: Featured Article Featured Properties Bruce’s Market Report Financial News Mary’s Staging Report Wasaga Info

Collingwood Info Jokes & Contest Assorted Info Hotlinks The Big Picture Contact Us

* All Photos in this publication are copyrighted by Bruce Johnson 2010

The Home Hunt: 1263 Mosley Street, Wasaga Beach, ON L9Z 1A5 | 705-429-4500 x226 | www.TheHomeHunt.com The Home Hunt: 1263 Mosley Street, Wasaga Beach, ON L9Z 1A5 | 705-429-4500 x226 | www.TheHomeHunt.com

FEATURED ARTICLE !

market, and it’s not helping the Ontario economy. This confusion means that many buyers think the cost of a resale home is tens of thousands of dollars higher than it actually is.”

The results of the survey conducted earlier this month were consistent across all age groups.

However, there were some differences across other demographic categories.

For instance, of those surveyed half of the university graduates, 71 percent of northern Ontarians, 59 percent of those living in eastern and south western Ontario, and 54 percent of GTA residents all mistakenly believe the HST applies to the full purchase price of resale homes.

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Ipsos Reid conducted the survey among 830 Ontarians from Ipsos’ online panel, between October 4th and 11th, on behalf of the Ontario Real Estate Association. The estimated margin of error is +/-3.8 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

Click here for a video on HST and Ontario homebuyers The Ontario Real Estate Association represents 49,000 brokers and salespeople who are members of the 42 real estate boards throughout the province. OREA serves its REALTOR® members through a wide variety of professional publications, educational programs, advocacy, and other services.

“We’re doing our part to inform our clients, but we shouldn’t have to do it alone. We’re calling on the Ontario government to launch an immediate public awareness campaign to educate taxpayers and end the HST confusion,” concluded Dorothy Mason. “For average homebuyers, learning that the HST does not apply to the full purchase price means a $40,000 saving they weren’t expecting.”

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FEATURED PROPERTY!

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71 Fairway Crescent $369,900

Beautiful Marlwood Golf Course Home

The golf course lifestyle awaits you here with this beautiful Marlwood home with 1,874 sq. ft. on the main floor. There are three bedrooms on the main floor and the spacious master bdrm boasts a 4piece ensuite with a separate shower. The bright eat-in kitchen and the screened sunroom off the dining nook walkout both offer a nice view of the private treed back yard while you sip your morning coffee. The gas fireplace in the living room helps create a calm area where you can sit and chat.

The lower level has two additional bedrooms and a home office, plus a large family area, a 4piece bathroom and a huge storage area with a workshop. There’s also a convenient inside entry from the two-car garage to the main floor laundry.

Click Here For More Info

The Home Hunt: 1263 Mosley Street, Wasaga Beach, ON L9Z 1A5 | 705-429-4500 x226 | www.TheHomeHunt.com The Home Hunt: 1263 Mosley Street, Wasaga Beach, ON L9Z 1A5 | 705-429-4500 x226 | www.TheHomeHunt.com

FEATURED PROPERTIES!

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Marlwood!

! each B e th Near

MLS # 20105267

$99,900

MLS # 20104285

$369,900

Here's a superb location to build your Wasaga Beach dream home. This 1/2 acre lot is a short walk to the pristine sand beach yet close to modern conveniences. Click here for full details:

All-brick 1,874 sq.ft. Marlwood golf course home with new wide-plank hardwood flooring.

3 bedrooms on the main floor, bright eat-in kitchen, gas fireplace in living rm. Click here for full details:

Lot 23 Deerbrook Drive

71 Fairway Crescent Wasa

ont!

Riverfr

MLS # 20105504

ga Sa nds!

$309,900

MLS # 20100743

$138,500

You’ve found your riverfront dream home here with historic Nancy Island in view just downriver.

Newly renovated with 3 bdrms on a large 50’ x 205’ landscaped lot. Prime boating from here to Georgian Bay! Click here for full details:

Build your dream home on this massive one acre golf course community lot backing onto forested land overlooking McIntyre Creek in Wasaga Sands Estates. Click here for full details:

1182 River Road West

16 Walnut Drive

The Home Hunt: 1263 Mosley Street, Wasaga Beach, ON L9Z 1A5 | 705-429-4500 x226 | www.TheHomeHunt.com The Home Hunt: 1263 Mosley Street, Wasaga Beach, ON L9Z 1A5 | 705-429-4500 x226 | www.TheHomeHunt.com

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BRUCE’S MARKET INFORMATION BRUCE’S MARKET INFORMATION! Bruce’s

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Residential Listings for October 0

Market Notes:

residential listings in the Georgian Triangle for last month was $295,204, compared

2010

72 71

2009

Residential Sales for October

were 93 residential sales

0

compared with 119 sales 12 months ago. The majority of

10

20

Collingwood Blue Mtn Tiny Beaches

2010

40

12 1 2

26 25 16

Wasaga Beach

Johnson 2010.

30

12 12

Clearview

below $300,000.

Estate Board. Graphs copyrighted by Bruce

49 43

4 6

Wasaga Beach

period 12 months ago. There

All data provided by the Georgian Triangle Real

80

60

38

Blue Mtn Tiny Beaches

60

40

Collingwood

with $290,968 for the same

home sales continues to be

40

22

Clearview

The average sale price for

20

21 38

2009

Housing Market Indicators This Month Same Month Difference in % of Change Last Year

# of units

Remarks

Total Sales

164

193

-29

-15.0%

fewer sales

New Listings

498

466

32

6.9%

more new listings

Active Listings

2194

2011

183

9.1%

more listings than 12 months ago

The Home Hunt: 1263 Mosley Street, Wasaga Beach, ON L9Z 1A5 | 705-429-4500 x226 | www.TheHomeHunt.com The Home Hunt: 1263 Mosley Street, Wasaga Beach, ON L9Z 1A5 | 705-429-4500 x226 | www.TheHomeHunt.com

BRUCE’S MARKET INFORMATION

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October Sales By Price: 2010 & 2009 Under 100,000

12

100,000 - 149,999

16 20

15

31

150,000 - 199,999

37

28

200,000 - 249,999 26

250,000 - 299,999 13

300,000 - 349,999 9

350,000 - 399,999

28

17 15

8 8

400,000 - 499,999 500,000 - 599,999

4

600,000 - 699,999

4

700,000 - 799,999

1 1

800,000 - 899,999

1

0

900,000 - 999,999 1,000,000 - 1,499,999

0

46

TheHomeHunt.com

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Total Sales: October 2010: 164 October 2009: 193

3

1 1 1 1 1

1,500,000 +

0

10

20

2010 Month

30

40

50

2009 Month

This chart b reaks down total propert for the previ y sales ous month in to p rice ranges s that the mo o st popular (h ig h e s t s elling) price ranges can q uickly be dete rm in ed. Propertie the $150,000 s in to $250,000 p ri c e ra nges continue to produce the h ig h e st sales volu The mix betw me. een sales of h ig h e rpriced versu lower-priced s properties d ir e c tl y affects th average month e ly selling pri ce.

The Home Hunt: 1263 Mosley Street, Wasaga Beach, ON L9Z 1A5 | 705-429-4500 x226 | www.TheHomeHunt.com

BRUCE’S MARKET INFORMATION Active Listings

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Total Sales - monthly 10%2% 4%

6% 20%

10%

34%

6% 13% 22%

45% 29% TheHomeHunt.com

Single-Family Home

Single Family Home - Other

Residential - Other

Farm

Vacant Land

Other (I.C. & I.)

Average Sale Price: October 2010/2009 $600,000

$554,312

$500,000

$448,927

$400,000 $291,304 $293,426

$255,417

$213,374

$300,000 $225,000

$263,376 $215,286

$150,000

Clearview

$200,000

$100,000

Collingwood

2010 month

Blue Mtn

Tiny Beaches

2009 month

$0

Wasaga Beach

The Home Hunt: 1263 Mosley Street, Wasaga Beach, ON L9Z 1A5 | 705-429-4500 x226 | www.TheHomeHunt.com The Home Hunt: 1263 Mosley Street, Wasaga Beach, ON L9Z 1A5 | 705-429-4500 x226 | www.TheHomeHunt.com

FINANCIAL NEWS!

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This Month’s Featured Guest: Michael McCarthy Mortgage Advisor with Scotiabank Q: What should I budget for a home purchase?

Before making a home-buying decision, calculate both the one-time and ongoing costs associated with buying and maintaining the home you want.

One-time costs may include: Appraisal fees Cost to obtain a survey Land transfer taxes CMHC / GENWORTH mortgage insurance application fee and insurance premium (if applicable) *may be added to the mortgage amount Moving expenses Legal fees Property and School Tax Adjustment Heating, Hydro and Water Adjustment Title Insurance Utility Connections Home Inspection Fee (if necessary)

Ongoing housing costs include: Mortgage payments Home Insurance Property taxes Mortgage life insurance (if applicable) Heating, hydro and water costs Condominium fees (if applicable) Maintenance costs Telecommunication costs phones, internet access, cable (if necessary) Your lawyer and real estate agent can provide estimates of some of these costs and should consult with you before you sign any documents or make any commitments.

For more on this topic, click here:

Click here to contact Michael McCarthy

The Home Hunt: 1263 Mosley Street, Wasaga Beach, ON L9Z 1A5 | 705-429-4500 x226 | www.TheHomeHunt.com

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MARY’S STAGING REPORT!

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When MORE Is More PHOTOS CAN ATTRACT OR REPEL BUYERS Less may be more when it comes to staging your home for sale, but studies have shown that when it comes to posting photos on the MLS, more is definitely the way to go. When real estate representatives post more listing photos, and by more I mean in both quantity and quality, sellers receive more and higher offers.

Why quantity?

Point2 (point2.com) conducted a study monitoring listings over a 30-day period which clearly showed that properties which feature just one photo generated approximately five views and 1.37 leads, while listings that added 20+ photos generated nearly 10 times the number of leads and over 15 times the number of views.

Another study relating to the number of photos posted compares photos to the number of “Days on Market” (DOM). The findings show that listings with more photos sold faster: 1 photo = 70 DOM 6 photos = 40 DOM 16-19 photos = 36 DOM 20 + to max = 32 DOM Also, listings with fewer photos sold for less. The Closed NET Price as a percentage of the Original Price also showed a direct correlation. (These findings are based on 2006 numbers and are again estimates.)

- 1 Photo = 91.2% of Original Price - 6 or more = 95% of Original Price According to these findings, a $600,000 home, sporting only one photo, could sell for as much as 3.8% LESS or a loss of over $22,000, just because there was only one photo accompanying the listing.

More amazing is the fact that only 12% of agents posted the maximum number of photos.

Why quality? Because over 85% of buyers start their search on the internet, and because photos are essentially their first impression of the place, buyers will either put it high on their “must-see” list or scratch it off completely, based solely on those MLS photos.

When I’m in pre-staging mode with home sellers, they must wonder what the heck I’m thinking about as I stand in every doorway for minutes at a time.

Actually, I’m filling in the blanks for my own mental checklist about whether function, flow and focal point are working or not. And perhaps most importantly from a selling standpoint, I am thinking about photos.

Part of why I love staging for Bruce is that I know he has the right mix of tools and talent to bring out the best of my work. My goal is to make a humble room look like a homeowner’s dream come true; his goal is to sell his client’s property for the highest price in the shortest amount of time. Talk about a great partnership! Whereas a typical hurried agent with a point-and-shoot will take a couple of snapshots of the exterior and one per interior room, then load them directly to the MLS without editing, Bruce puts his photojournalism

The Home Hunt: 1263 Mosley Street, Wasaga Beach, ON L9Z 1A5 | 705-429-4500 x226 | www.TheHomeHunt.com The Home Hunt: 1263 Mosley Street, Wasaga Beach, ON L9Z 1A5 | 705-429-4500 x226 | www.TheHomeHunt.com

MARY’S STAGING REPORT

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training and experience to work by having: Great equipment – Just like Phil Mickelson knows which club will deliver a birdie, Bruce swears by his Nikon D200 and knows which lens and lighting to use for each situation.

Thoughtful editing – the local real estate board limits the number of photos we can load on the MLS to 32 per listing so Bruce chooses and crops with professional photo editing software. He considers the neighbourhood and likely buyer; this may mean there will be 5 shots of the designer kitchen but only one of the basement guest bedroom.

Poor lighting, clutter, too much or awkwardly arranged furniture, rooms used as storage area or offices instead of bedrooms, these can all be addressed by staging. If not addressed, buyers will forego what might have been their perfect property based on the photos alone. Blurry, crooked or too few photos have a similar effect: turning off buyers. Click here for some spectacular examples of what your property shouldn’t look like online!

List Your Home With Bruce And Receive...

Click!

Dynamic stance – Because most rooms have 8-foot ceilings and since shooting from too high makes a room look smaller (rarely the goal in real estate photography!) Bruce knows how to get down and shoot from the middle of the vertical space to make the great view or focal point evenly spaced between the floor and ceiling. Also, he knows I stage with sight lines and flow in mind and, using zoom and focus (not to mention a natural eye for the desired end result) his photos plays up the foreground and background accordingly. Often, I stage the “money shot” for the MLS from the vantage point of the doorway into the room, because that stellar first impression will then be seen and sealed when potential buyers first view the property in person.

FREE HOME STAGING

~ Mary The Home Hunt: 1263 Mosley Street, Wasaga Beach, ON L9Z 1A5 | 705-429-4500 x226 | www.TheHomeHunt.com

WASAGA BEACH HAPPENINGS

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Map of Wasaga Beach 1. Click here for Things To Do in Wasaga Beach!

2. Click here for Things To Do in Clearview!

3. Click here for Things To Do in Balm Beach!

cal 14 - day Lo e nd r T r e h t a e W

W hy ee d N u o Y to e v o To M a! g a s a W

Cur rent Weath er

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COLLINGWOOD / BLUE MOUNTAIN HAPPENINGS

Map of Co llingwo od 1. Click here for Things To Do in Collingwoo d!

2. Click here for Things To Do in Blue Mountain!

3. Click here for Things

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W hy Yo u Nee d To Mo ve to Co lling w o o d!

To Do in Thornbur y!

!

A T R A P S

om M s ’ e B r uc nny! u f h im s e s s dre

Blue Mtn Ski Report

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JOKES & CONTEST

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THE HOUSE SITTER

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BELLY ACHE

A man left his cat with his brother while he went on vacation for a week. When he came back, the man called his brother to see when he could pick the cat up. The brother hesitated, then said, "I'm so sorry, but while you were away, your cat died."

A funeral home employee woke his wife up early one morning, complaining of severe abdominal pains. They immediately rushed to the emergency room, where they gave him a series of tests to try to determine the source of his pain.

The man was very upset and yelled, "You know, you could have broken the news to me better than that. When I called today, you could have said he was on the roof and wouldn't come down. Then when I called the next day, you could have said that he had fallen off and the vet was working on patching him up. Then when I called the third day, you could have said he had passed away."

The husband told his wife not to call in sick for him until they knew what was wrong. When the results came back, the doctor informed the man that he was suffering from a kidney stone.

The brother thought about it and apologized. "So how's Mom?" asked the man.

The wife turned to her husband and asked, "Shall I call the funeral home now?"

"Good heavens, he's not THAT sick!" the doctor quickly said.

"She's on the roof and won't come down."

The Home Hunt Contest!

Test Your Skill!

Who Lives

Congratulations to last month’s speedy winner: Michelle Millson

Here?

The First Person to email Bruce wins everlasting glory... and a sweet prize!

Good Luck, HomeHunters!

Michelle won a “Dream Date Night” with Bruce & Mary!

Lattes, a movie and riveting conversation!

The Home Hunt: 1263 Mosley Street, Wasaga Beach, ON L9Z 1A5 | 705-429-4500 x226 | www.TheHomeHunt.com

THE BIG PICTURE!

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"November always seemed to me the Norway of the year." ~ Emily Dickinson ood Collingw , t in o P t Sunse

Bruce Johnson Photo Š

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ASSORTED INFORMATION!

’S E C BRU F THE O O E VID NTH! MO

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CHECK OUT OUR VIDEO CHANNE L

BY CLICKING HE RE!

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HOME HUNT HOT LINKS!

Easiest Property Search in the Known Universe! Simply Click Here:

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MLS Search!

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Free Market Evaluation

Email Mary

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HomeHunt with Bruce Johnson

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RE/MAX OF WA SA GA BE AC H INC .

BR OK E R A GE

x226 0 0 5 4 9 2 4 705 hnson Mar y Jo ional g Profess in g ta S d Certifie

hnson Bruce Jo ve presentati e R s le a S

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Click for contact info

Click Here for Client Testimonials

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Mary Johnson

Bruce Johnson

The Home Hunt: 1263 Mosley Street, Wasaga Beach, ON L9Z 1A5 | 705-429-4500 x226 | www.TheHomeHunt.com

RE/MAX of Wasaga Beach Inc., Brokerage 1263 Mosley Street, Wasaga Beach, ON L9Z 1A5 | 705-429-4500 x226 Note: This Publication is copyrighted by Bruce Johnson and The Home Hunt ©2010. Not intended to solicit currently listed properties.