Market Updates for May

Real Estate Market, Real Estate Trends / By / May 12, 2020

Despite COVID-19; showings, offers and sales in the GTA have continued to trend upwards. Although we are still considerably behind where we should be, the month over month statistics are trending in the right direction. Showings are up 149%, offers are up 158%, new listings are up 38.2% and sold listings are up 72.4%

Things are improving month over month and the numbers are up 15% this past week prior to the previous week. All aspects of the real estate market continue to trend upwards. With all of the positive signals and our wealth of virtual tools, there is no longer a reason to continue in a holding pattern with your real estate needs.

If you have any questions regarding the real estate market or how we are working to meet the needs of our sellers and buyers, or if you’re interested in selling, please contact us today. I know that we will come through this time stronger and by supporting each other, we’re keeping ourselves safe and our communities as well.

Creative Activities to do at Home Family making cookies

Creative Activities To Do At Home

Burlington Living / By / April 21, 2020
Creative Activities That Are Fun For The Whole Family

We’ve all be practicing social distancing and isolating at home for almost 40 days. You might be home with kids and are now looking for more creative ways to spend a few hours. Here are a few creative activities to do at home. Get the whole family involved and turn off the screens.

Make a Cardboard Dollhouse

Let’s talk about cardboard dollhouses. They’re not too difficult and can be fun for all ages. There are some great creatives activities to do at home. And they can be so much and the results can offer hours of play time for the kids. What you’ll need to make a cardboard dollhouse are as follows:

  1. You’ll need flat cardboard to make 5 walls
  2. Gift wrapping paper for the wallpaper
  3. Utility knife
  4. Duct tape
  5. Glue stick

Now you can get started and create the walls, roof (optional) and decorate the interior. You and your family can get as creative as you like. It’s time to go outside and get some fresh air and sunshine. It’s time to wash the car and even have a water fight.

Time To Wash The Car

There are a lot of creative activities to do at home. And washing the car doesn’t need a lot of instruction. We’re here to encourage you to get outside on a nice day and enjoy the fresh air.

You get to accomplish two things here; getting fresh air and getting a chore done. All you’re going to really need is a bucket of soapy water, some cloths and room to get your car clean. And time for a family water fight. Once you get inside and dried off get to the kitchen because it’s time to bake.

Time To Bake

Baking can be a very wonderful learning experience. Getting your kids measuring and learning how to pour ingredients into a bowl. You’re helping with hand-eye coordination and learning how to get the right measurements.

let’s get the kids learning how to cut cookies with cookie cutters. Practicing their reading skills with you by reading the recipes and then seeing their hard work done and they get to eat it. It can be a fun activity for the whole family and even just for yourself. There are other activities that are a bit more quiet to consider as well. Let’s sit down with a puzzle and a cup of tea.

Puzzle Time

It’s been very popular right now to order puzzles and challenge yourself and your kids too. Why not make it a family event one afternoon and see how fast you can finish it. Puzzles offer creative, cognitive and problem solving practice.

And there are so many out there that you can try. You can find a wonderful list of 87 fun things to do at home here and you can still get looking at new listings with Lori.

Contact Lori And Team

The world is going through an unprecedented time and we want you to know that Lori and the VanDinther team are here and working hard. If you have any questions or concerns you can contact us by phone or email.

Canadian Real Estate Market Home Sweet Home Welcome

The Canadian Real Estate Market Continues During COVID-19

Home Buying and Selling, Real Estate Market / By / April 2, 2020
The Canadian Real Estate Market

We’re all living through an unprecedented time and lots of people are wonder how this is effecting the Canadian Real Estate Market. And in this time of social distancing, it can be hard to see how the real estate market will fare. However, there are still sellers that need to sell and buyers that need to buy.

And there are some excellent solutions out there to help ensure the process isn’t interrupted. With the help technology we can continue to see the Canadian real estate market transactions continue.

There’s Great News For Buyers

There is a silver lining to COVID-19 in regards to the real estate market. That if it’s financially possible, this could be the perfect time to buy a house. Since the interest rates are at their lowest that we’ve seen in years. This lower interest rate is in response to COVID-19 by The Bank of Canada. They cut interest rates for Canadian’s by a full percentage point in March.

As a result of this lower percentage, home buyers that are looking to obtain a mortgage can now expect to be able to borrow at a lower rate. And with this fixed term mortgage rates also on the decline, home buyers now have the flexibility to borrow/move. They can also aim for a higher price or get a better mortgage rate with less expensive mortgage payments.

Technology and Real Estate

There have been some major leaps in technology which has ignited a shift in the real estate market. It’s now so easy to learn more about a home, condo, townhouse and any other kind of listing. Simply by going online and in many cases getting to have an entire walk through while still in the comfort of your own home.

These virtual tours allow the buyer to see the home and really get a feel for it. And during this time of social distancing, we need this type of technology more than ever. There could be a market increase in both recreational and serious buyers on this online marketplace. That’s why agents should make sure that their listings are well detialed.

360 Virtual Tours

Now is a good time to find a photographer that specializes in 360 tours and use them for your listings. More and more agents had been are starting to do this already. These tours create a captivating experience for your potential buyer.

You want to make sure that your tours are navigable, interactive and controller friendly. The ultimate goal here is that the virtual tour will replicate the experience of having an open house or a walk through. During this time, this is a highly recommended tool. And even after this period in time, it’s an excellent piece of technology to have in your tool box.

It’s Time To Go Paperless

Going paperless is never a bad idea, it helps the environment. And during this time of COVID-19 there really isn’t any other choice. There are numerous apps that you can use to make this process as easy as possible.

These apps allow signatories to sign a PDF or word document, using your phone or tablet. Many real estate agents have already been using these apps and they work wonderfully. You can ensure your clients that they can continue to work with you and safely social distance.

Face-to-Face Is Now Screen-to-Screen

We’re all practicing social distancing so having a face-to-face meeting just isn’t possibly anymore. So using the power of technology we can bring meetings to the comfort of our own homes. And there are lots of apps that are user friendly that you can use. Some of those apps are FaceTime, WhatsApp, Zoom and there are many more.

These screen-to-screen meetings can be much more effective than phone calls. And these types of calls can even be used to show the home to the potential buyer as well. You’re able to walk them through it and show them more than what the listing has and offer a more detailed look inside the home.

Contact Lori VanDinther

The pandemic we are currently living through is unprecedented and it’s important that we’re all taking precautions. I want to make sure that my clients are comfortable, safe and that we are meeting their needs.

If you have any questions regarding the real estate market or how we are working to meet the needs of our sellers and buyers, or if you’re interested in selling, please contact me today. I know that we will come through this time stronger and by supporting each other, we’re keeping ourselves safe and our communities as well.