King and Louisa Development

Kitchener Waterloo saw a lot of Real Estate news this week. A new 8 storey multi-residential building and a 3 unit multiple dwelling unit is being planned for the corner of King and Louisa Streets in Kitchener. This is consistent with our mixed-use and intensification objectives. I predict we’ll be seeing a lot more of this type of project along the future LRT route.

Spur line bike path

The development of a spur-line trail is the region’s top priority for off-road pathways. The trail will run from Regina Street in Waterloo to Wilhelm and Weber streets in Kitchener. It will cost about $2.5 million. There already exists a path along side the tracks but this new trail will encourage more foot traffic and cyclists  as it will connect to the Iron Horse Trail and Laurel Trail in Waterloo and to the new multi-model Hub in Kitchener.

Former car dealership site might be redeveloped for residential use

Most of us remember the site as Gary Stockie’s GM dealership. But that closed down in 2009. Then Mitsubishi moved in. But now there is speculation that a major change in land use could be coming to that section of Ottawa Street (between King and Weber) near downtown Kitchener. The neighbouring Olivet United Church has also been approached about selling its land. this all looks good for this long neglected part of Kitchener.

Mansion Street – Open House

122 Mansion Street, Kitchener is an executive town home located in the heart of Kitchener’s East Ward. This beautiful and spacious condo townhouse will be open to the public for viewing this Saturday and Sunday 2:00-4:00pm.

Come out and see us.

If you like this post, please share it.

This week in KW real estate:

February 11

February 4

January 27

January 20

Filed under: Around Kitchener Waterloo, for sale, open house, real estate, this week in real estate, Uncategorized by Keith Marshall
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Often when I’m talking with people about real estate (everyone loves talking about real estate) someone will say something like “the housing market is going to crash”.
I always have to disagree. And here’s why.

1) We are the USA. Things crashed there, especially in Florida and parts of Arizona and California. The subprime mortgages offered in the USA was much more aggressive (dodgy) than what our banks and other lenders will offer here. Furthermore, lenders have better recourse to go after people who walk away from their mortgages. We get a lot of news filtering in from the USA. It does not apply to us.

2) Some people argue that when (if) interest rates rise, a lot of people will get caught in a credit crunch and wont be able to afford their mortgages. This will cause sudden and severe downward price pressure on housing prices. Sounds reasonable. There has been a lot of news about Canadians spending beyond our means. But if you’re paying attention, you’ll notice that the Bank of Canada is holding the rate down, allowing it to climb slowly with economic activity, job growth and income levels.
3) In real estate, we like to say the three most important things are location, location and location. In two cities – Toronto and Vancouver there is a bit of a housing bubble taking place (especially in the condo market) and the regulators are trying to let the air out of these markets slowly. But in Waterloo Region we have a very stable market where houses priced right sell within 60 days and multiple offers occur, but not as often as a few years ago.

4) Price-to-rent and price-to-income ratios show over-valuation in the Canadian market, but valuation levels are not usually good indicators of turning points. Over- and under-valuation can persist for years in currency and financial markets. Indeed, the U.S stock market has been over-valued for more than a decade going by several yardsticks—yet it’s still holding up.

5) It’s wishful thinking. Many first time homebuyers would love to see housing prices fall by 30% overnight. Buying a house seems so much more expensive than it was ten years ago – because it is. Since 2000, housing prices nearly doubled but wages remained about the same. Hope is not a plan. House prices will not crash simply because you want them to.
source

Filed under: advice, Around Kitchener Waterloo, Buying Real Estate, investing in real estate, mortgage, Selling Real Estate by Keith Marshall
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122 Mansion Street, Kitchener is an executive town home located in the heart of Kitchener’s East Ward. This beautiful and spacious condo townhouse has two bedrooms, a den, a large open concept kitchen, dining room and living area.

There are two bathrooms.

On the 2nd floor, upstairs, you’ll find the well designed, bright and airy master bedroom. It has a walk-in closet and well appointed bathroom as well as a large private patio.

This unit has a full basement.In the basement you’ll find the washer and dryer, two of the five included appliances.

The kitchen appliances: refrigerator, stove, and dishwasher are stainless steel.

On the main floor, the front entrance opens onto Mansion Street, in the heart of Kitchener’s East Ward.122 Mansion Street is a five minute walk to Kitchener Public Library, kw/ag and Centre in the Square. It’s a seven minute walk to Frederick Street Mall, where you’ll find the Frederick Twin Cinemas Theatre, Total Skin and Body Clinic, Frederick Billiards, and Zehrs.

The Conestoga Parkway is moments away. And it is an easy walk into downtown Kitchener and all of the restaurants and nightspots it has to offer. Some of these spots include THEMUSEUM, Victoria Park, and a new favorite Mexican restaurant - Holy Guacamole.

122 Mansion has a walk score of 72 which is considered “very good”. It has a transit score of 50 which is considered “good”. Of course 122 Mansion also comes with two places to park your car, a reserved spot in the lot behind the building and in a private single garage.

If you are looking for a comfortably spacious, cosmopolitain and urban lifestyle, this might be exactly the place.

Filed under: Around Kitchener Waterloo, Buying Real Estate, condo, for sale by Keith Marshall
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There was a lot of news about the housing market last week and all of it good. Well good but cautionary really.

House Prices

First of all house prices are expected to keep rising this year. According to a report by Royal Lepage, Prudential Real Estate’s sister company, Canada’s housing market will continue to be strong this year, with rising property values expected in all major markets.

The report predicts that prices will rise across to country by 2.8% by the end of 2012, following stronger gains last year.

In the fourth quarter of 2011, the average price of a standard two-storey home was $375,427, up 4.2% from a year earlier. The average rate of a detached bungalow was up in 2011 by 6.1% to $344,392, while condominiums gained 3.6% to $234,680.

“Widespread calls for a major real estate correction in 2012 simply can’t be justified,” Royal LePage CEO Phil Soper said in a statement. “The industry has significant momentum entering the year, and buoyed by the stimulative effect of very low interest rates, we expect the market to continue to expand.”

Mortgage rules

In the face of historically low interest rates, our federal government remains concerned that the real estate market is getting overheated. Our government is concerned that the housing market will over-inflate and the bubble will burst. If this happens, it would have a large negative impact on our AAA rated economy. As they did last year, they are looking at ways to tighten regulations, making it harder for individuals to qualify for loans. One of these measures are aimed at self-employed individuals (like myself) and how we self-disclose what we make when applying for a loan.

In the case of condominium buyers, the government is considering a proposal that would include 100% of the condo fees as debt. This would impact the Loan to Debt Ratio of the loan applicant.

Third best economy in Canada

The CIBC released a report that showed that Waterloo Region has the third best economy in Canada. The report attributes our success to our high tech sector, irregardless of what’s happening at RIM.

Housing activity, population growth, employment, and bankruptcy statistics were some of the variable measured for the report.

Agents of Change weekend activity

We’ll be holding an open house this Sunday from 2:00-4:00pm at 49 Cedarwoods Crescent, Unit 29. It’s a quiet condo townhouse complex right behind the Fairview Park Mall. Come on out and see the house. It’s nice. Meet us. We’re nice too.

Filed under: Around Kitchener Waterloo, Buying Real Estate, canada, general news, open house, real estate, real estate trends, real estate vocabualry, this week in real estate by Keith Marshall
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As both a long time marketer and blogger, one of my favorite daily reads is Seth Godin. He wrote the other day that he was picking out the mat for a framed photo and there were a thousand colors to choose from. The framer uttered the scary invocation, “It’s completely up to you” putting the choice back to him.

That’s a problem.

We live in a very complicated world, full of choice. We are forced to make decisions all the time, everyday. Some are easy (until this week) “large double double”, and some, like picking out a mat for a picture frame or buying or selling a house are more difficult.

Maybe these are more difficult because there is more to lose if you guess wrong and the fact that you don’t make decisions like this everyday, you don’t have the experience and enough information to be comfortable in deciding.

I meet and talk to people every week that look for houses on their own. I think that’s great, we have the tools (like MLS) and the opportunity (like open houses) to educate ourselves about the Kitchener Waterloo real estate market. Although it would be easier to hire an agent right from the start its another of these decisions that are difficult because we make them so rarely.

How do I find an agent?

What do I look for in an agent?

What do agents do that I can’t do for myself?

Anytime we do something we don’t normally do, we’re on a voyage of discovery. We have to move along the the rocky coast of the learning curve, educating ourselves. We have to make little decisions that will help us make the big one.

Seth Godin goes on, “If you think you have no choice but to do what you do now, you’ve already made a serious error.”

Sooner or later, when you buy or sell a home, there is a 90% chance at least one realtor will be involved. If you are comfortable enough to find yourself a trusted advisor early, you can learn what you need to know a lot faster. After all, your decision is completely up to you.

Filed under: About me, advice, Around Kitchener Waterloo, Buying Real Estate, editorial, general news, life of a realtor, real estate, real estate trends, Selling Real Estate by Keith Marshall
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