Top 10 Blog Posts of 2015

I love this time of year, not just because of Santa Claus and the holiday time with my family, but also because I can slow down and look back at what worked and what didn’t work. At this time of year, I like to go into my google analytics and see the blog stats – see which blog posts were most read, most returned to, and most likely to lead to further and follow on reading.

They may not be the best, but they are the top.

#1 2015 Kitchener Waterloo Outlook. Bubble? What Bubble

These types of posts always get well read. People want to read about predictions. They want to know if this will be a good year to buy or to sell. They also want to see what just happened, a look back as it were. This post did that too.

As it turns out, the predictions for 2015 were short of what was going to happen. It was a big, BIG year for local real estate in terms of both the number of homes sold and the increase in home prices.

#2 Where are the best new condos with the lowest fees?

I love writing posts like these. When I’m out showing places, always in the back of my mind is, “would I like to live here?” I like condos. I like great views and small spaces. I like being able to walk out of the front door and be downtown (or UpTown, or midtown now too).

#3 How much will it cost to buy a home within a ten minute walk to an LRT stop?

I’ve been talking and writing about the LRT since I started real estate blogging, but with the construction killing everyone’s cross town commute, I thought it was time to see what it would cost to be able to take advantage of or cash in on this future benefit.

#4 Should I buy a house this year or should I wait?

The real estate market is very cyclical. I think over our long and extremely cold winter last year, this post garnered a lot of eyeballs because as we were all stuck inside, we thought about how much more comfortable we might be in a great house. Also, I think some buyers were not so secretly hoping that home prices would fall. They didn’t. They haven’t since I got my real estate license, but we can always hope.

#5 What does the average house look like in Beechwood, Eastbridge, Forest Hill and five other neighbourhoods?

I learn a lot from my clients. My Toronto clients say we use far too much vinyl siding in Waterloo Region. My clients from warmer clients don’t like red brick houses as they don’t seem finished. By some standards, our local real estate is pretty boring looking.

#6 Relocating into a top rated school zone.

We have a lot of people relocating to Waterloo Region. Many of them want to know how good our good schools are. Personally, I don’t think it is important to buy a house in the #1 top ranked school zone. I think any of the schools in the top 10 are great.

#7 Four reasons not to invest in student properties

This one might seem counterintuitive and I got some flack from one of the sentences I wrote in it, but I have to write what I think is true about real estate and if you don’t agree with me then that is your prerogative.

#8 How to buy an entry level house for less than $250,000

This is probably my favourite on this list. I love working with first-time home buyers and a young couple I worked with inspired this post. Their budget was limited, but we found a great little house.

#9 Small independant or big box brokerages, which are better?

I can’t resist taking a shot or two at the big brokerages. They are old school agent farms trying to hold firm the status quo.

#10 The Starbucks Effect

You might love Tim Hortons, but being close to a Starbucks is good real estate

Perennial Favorite

My most read blog post were written in 2014, 2013, 2012 and even before that. These are evergreen content, long-tail champions and gifts that just keep on giving.