• 10-year residential real estate results for 14 communities in the RAHB market area

Sales, Listings and Average Price, 2003-2012 Ancaster Grimsby Burlington Hamilton Centre Caledonia Hamilton East Dundas Hamilton Mountain Dunnville Hamilton West Flamborough Stoney Creek Glanbrook Waterdown

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Protecting Your Home While You're Away This Season

Protecting Your Home While You're Away This Season 

Cold winters often prompt many to head for sunshine, sandy beaches and warmer climates. In the excitement of exotic locales and getaways, finding your bathing suit and making sure to pack your sunscreen typically takes priority over residential maintenance issues. However, these areas are important.

1. Turn Down Your Water Heater: Changing the setting on your water heater while you're out of town can help reduce overall costs and energy consumption. New models usually come equipped with a "vacation setting" to help easily facilitate this maintenance tip. If your unit does not have this feature, simply adjust the unit to its lowest setting to achieve the same results. We encourage homeowners to avoid completely turning it off as restarting it when you return may require a technician - a bit of a headache, especially when you're jetlagged.

2. Lower Your Furnace Temperature: Having your furnace on but at a low setting will keep temperatures in your home consistent, while saving money and energy. We recommend keeping it above 15 degrees Celsius or 60 degrees Fahrenheit. It's important to ensure that your furnace remains on to prevent freezing water, burst pipes and flooding.

3. Close Your Main Water Shut-Off Valve: While this may seem very conservative, shutting off the water prevents serious flooding if your furnace breaks down and the water in your pipes freezes. The main shut-off valve controls all the house water and is typically readily accessible near the front of the basement. Since this valve is not used regularly, it may be stiff and in some cases will drip when it is closed. Don't leave this task to the last minute in case you need a minor repair. 

 4. Add Water to Your Basement Floor Drain: The floor drain includes a trap to prevent sewer gases from backing up into your home. When plumbing systems aren't being used over an extended period of time, the water in the trap evaporates, resulting in unpleasant and unhealthy sewer gases entering the home. We recommend pouring water down the drain to fill the trap before going on vacation to ensure the trap water doesn't evaporate while you're away.  

5. Close Dampers on Wood Fireplaces and Stoves: A damper is a flap which allows smoke from a fireplace or wood burning stove to go up the chimney. While the damper has to be open when there is a fire burning, we recommend closing the damper while you are away to reduce heat loss and prevent pests from getting in your home. 

6. Secure Your Home: Ensure your doors, windows and any other access points are locked. Cancel your newspaper and have your mail picked up by a friend or neighbor. Setting lights on timers make it look like the home is occupied. 

Source: Carson Dunlop

This is one for my Kids

25 Napping Facts Every College Student Should Know

It's almost cruel the way adults ease children into life outside of the house. They got us on board with the whole going to school thing by letting us take naps in pre-school. But then, come kindergarten, no more naps! Nothing but 12 more grades of trying to focus all day without a siesta. But now, friends, it's a new day. In college you have two-hour chunks of free time between classes, just aching to be filled with some snooze action. And every now and then, a nap might take priority over going to class. For those times when you can't decide which road to take, think back on some of these facts about napping, and we're confident you'll know what to do.

1. It makes you smarter

   According to Dr. Matthew Walker of the University of California, napping for as little as one hour resets your short-term memory and helps you learn facts more easily after you wake up.

2. Abandon all-nighters

   Foregoing sleep by cramming all night reduces your ability to retain information by up to 40%. If you can, mix in a nap somewhere to refresh your hippocampus.

3. It doesn't mean what you think

   If you know you have to pull an all-nighter, try a "prophylactic nap." It's a short nap in advance of expected sleep deprivation that will help you stay alert for up to 10 hours afterwards.

4. You can't avoid that down period after lunch by not eating

   Human bodies naturally go through two phases of deep tiredness, one between 2-4 a.m. and between 1-3 p.m. Skipping lunch won't help this period of diminished alertness and coordination.

5. Pick the right time

   After lunch in the early afternoon your body naturally gets tired. This is the best time to take a brief nap, as it's early enough to not mess with your nighttime sleep.

6. Hour naps are great

   A 60-minute nap improves alertness for 10 hours, although with naps over 45 minutes you risk what's known as "sleep inertia," that groggy feeling that may last for half an hour or more.

7. But short naps are best

   For healthy young adults, naps as short as 20, 10, or even 2 minutes can be all you need to get the mental benefits of sleep, without risking grogginess.

8. Drink coffee first

   The way this works is you drink a cup of coffee right before taking your 20-minute or half-hour nap, which is precisely how long caffeine takes to kick in. That way when you wake up, you're not only refreshed, but ready to go.

9. The NASA nap

   A little group called NASA discovered that just a 26-minute nap increases performance by 34% and alertness by 54%. Pilots take advantage of NASA naps while planes are on autopilot.

10. Can't sleep? Don't stress

    Even if you can't fall asleep for a nap, just laying down and resting has benefits. Studies have found resting results in lowered blood pressure, which even some college kids have to worry about if they are genetically predisposed to high blood pressure.

11. Napping may save your life

    A multi-year Greek study found napping at least three times per week for at least 30 minutes resulted in a 37% lower death rate due to heart problems.

12. More nap benefits for the brain

    Not only will napping improve your alertness, it will also help your decision-making, creativity, and sensory perception.

13. But wait, there's more

    Studies have found napping raises your stamina 11%, increases ability to stay asleep all night by 12%, and lowers the time required to fall asleep by 14%.

14. The ultimate nap

    According to Dr. Sara Mednick, the best nap occurs when REM sleep is in proportion to slow-wave sleep. Use her patented Take A Nap Nap Wheel to calculate what time of day you can nap to the max.

15. Fight the Freshman 15

    Research shows that women who sleep five hours at night are 32% more likely to experience major weight gain than those sleeping seven hours. A two-hour nap isn't feasible for many, but napping is a good way to make up for at least some lost night sleep.

16. If it was good enough for them…

    Presidents JFK and Bill Clinton used to nap every day to help ease the heavy burden of ruling the free world. Of course, they also had other relaxation methods, but we won't get into those.

17. Do like the Romans do

    In ancient Rome, everyone, including children, retreated for a 2 or 3-hour nap after lunch. No doubt this is the reason the Roman empire lasted over 1,000 years.

18. Don't wait too long

    The latest you want to wake up from a nap is five hours before bedtime, otherwise you risk not being able to fall asleep at night.

19. Sugar is not a good substitute for a nap

    When we are tired, we instinctively reach for foods with a high glycemic index, but after the initial energy wears off, we're left more tired than we were before.

20. It's a good way to catch up

    If it takes you less than five minutes to fall asleep at night, you are sleep deprived. If you never can seem to get to bed earlier at night, a mid-day nap is a great way to catch up on sleep.

21. Underclassmen need more sleep

    Freshmen and sophomores who are still in your teens: you need up to 10 hours of sleep to feel rested. So odds are, you are sleep-deprived.

22. You'll have to leave the party sooner

    After one school-week of not getting enough sleep, three alcoholic drinks will affect you the same way six would when you are fully rested.

23. Don't drive drowsy

    Don't be afraid to take advantage of an "emergency nap" on the side of the road in your car. Every year, as many as 100,000 traffic fatalities are caused by sleepy people behind the wheel.

24. The Einstein Method

    If you are concerned about sleeping too long, do what Albert Einstein regularly did: hold a pencil while you're drifting off, so when you fall asleep, the pencil dropping will wake you up. (We do not guarantee you will wake up with a 180 IQ.)

25. Missing sleep is worse at your age

    For people ages 18 to 24, sleep deprivation impairs performance more significantly than in other age brackets.
    
    Written By: Angelita Williams

The Truth About For Sale By Owner Companies

The Truth About For Sale By Owner Companies

During the past 2 years, The Canadian Real Estate Association has been under pressure to open the public MLS to for-sale-by-owner companies. The Competition Bureau feels that the MLS system is anti-competitive, and wants the consumer to have more cost effective choices, saving the consumer commission fees, but are they? Since early 2011 for-sale-by-owner companies have gained access to post mere listings on the MLS. What I will discuss in this blog post is what these companies don't tell you, and how many properties they have actually sold. I think most of you will be surprised by the statistics I will share with you.

Two big forces that are competing for the consumers business is, Com Free (Commonsense Network Brokerage) and Realtysellers. There is a bunch of other for-sale-by-owner companies, but they have limited data, or they are not making enough of impression, so their stats are meaningless.


Before I discuss these two brokerages I will explain to you their business model. These companies now advertise that they can list your home on the MLS for a flat fee. Both of these companies run like a real estate brokerage, where they employ registered Real Estate Agents. These services require you to pay a flat fee upfront, which can range from $500-$2000. Also, there are add ons. If you require any additional assistance, they will require payment for those services. Remember you as the homeowner are solely responsible for showings, offers, marketing, selling, etc. When you are using a flat free brokerage like these two for-sale-by-owner companies, you always have to pay for the service upfront regardless of whether the property sells. The difference using a Real Estate Agent is that they only get paid when the property sells, so it is in their interest to work with you until the property sells.


STATISTICS

All stats are taken from the Toronto Real Estate Board from January 1st, 2012 to December 31, 2012. The Toronto Real Estate Board covers areas as far east as Oshawa, as far west as Burlington, and as far north as Newmarket.

Realtysellers listed 708 properties this year, and of those listed, only 309 were sold (43%). Out of the 309 properties sold with Realtysellers, 195 (63%) were sold to a buyer who was working with a Realtor. Usually a 2.5% commission was offered when a Realtor is involved in the transaction.


The breakdown of commission is usually 5%, 2.5% goes to the listing Agent and 2.5% goes to the Buyers Agent. Out of the 90000 properties sold this year in the GTA only 0.3% were sold using Realtysellers.

Now lets take a look at Comfree which has the largest market share in the Greater Toronto Area in terms of for-sale-by-owner companies. Comfree listed 1287 properties this year. Of those properties listed, only 672 were sold (52%). Of the 672 that were sold, 368 were sold using a Realtor (55%). That translates to only 304 of the 1287 listed properties were sold without the services of a Realtor (23%).


When the consumer sees a Comfree or Realtysellers sold sign they assume that these properties were sold without paying any commission. The truth is that close to 60% were sold using the services of a Realtor. Does the consumer know this? Wouldn't the consumer find this to be valuable? Of course, but most information out there is somewhat skewed and misleading. Again, it is the public that has to do their due diligence, but is this information readily available? No!


There were close 1000 properties that never sold by these companies that required a flat fee. Let us assume the consumer paid $1000 for these services. That means that these companies earned $1,000,000 in revenue for not doing a thing. In my opinion the for-sale-by-owner industry entered the market during a time when the market was red hot. If the market stagnates or slows down like we are starting to see in some regions, do you think they will have the same market share? Defintely not!

Only just over 1% of all properties sold in 2012 were sold by the two for-sale-by-owner companies that were discussed. With close to 35000 Agents working in the Toronto Real Estate Board there are plenty of services out there for just about anyone. The consumer needs to choose wisely and be aware of the services, choices, and the transperancy of these services.

What are your thoughts?
by Andrew Paolone

Advice for Home Buyers

Advice for Buyers

Finding the perfect home doesn't happen in one day. It takes careful planning and lots of work. Fortunately, there are a number of things you can do to simplify the process.

1. Things to Consider Before Starting Your Search

What Features Do You Need?

Do you need an extra bathroom, a garage, a fenced backyard, or lower utility bills? Do you want a fireplace, a short drive to work, or maybe minimal yard work? Once your list is complete, decide what’s most important to you.

What’s the Ideal Location?

Where you live obviously affects your lifestyle; it’s also one of the most significant influences on the value of your home. Your choice of location may be somewhat limited by the price you can afford. Even so, make sure to consider such things as distance to work, schools, shopping and entertainment.

What Kind of Home?

What type of property do you want? A single-family detached home is attractive to many people because it typically provides more living space and land. On the other hand, a condominium may be a more appropriate choice for you, with an emphasis on maintenance-free living. Determine what type of home best suits your desired lifestyle and budget.

What’s Your Budget?

How much do you want to spend? Just as importantly, how much do you have to spend? Note there are numerous additional expenses (detailed below) that you’ll pay to complete the purchase of a home.

2. Choosing a REALTOR^®

A REALTOR^® can help you answer all of these questions and help you navigate through what can be a complicated business transaction. Start by finding REALTORS^® in your city by using CREA’s handy search tool. Then, talk to some of them and compare their services. It’s important that you’re comfortable and confident with the agent you choose.

3. Searching For a Home

A REALTOR^® will use various tools to try and find properties that meet your specifications. The most important is a local Board’s MLS^® (Multiple Listing Service^®) System. Your REALTOR^® can quickly search through numerous properties available for sale in specific areas to find suitable listings; that is, houses that best match your needs, choice of neighbourhoods and price range. You can also view listings in Board MLS^® Systems that are advertised on the national REALTOR.ca web site.

4. Seeing Houses

When you select a property and decide to visit a house, there are many things to consider. Does it have all the features you want? Is the neighbourhood what you expected? Try to picture your favorite furnishings in a room. Remember all of the technical considerations, including:

• What type of wiring does the house have?
• What about power outlets? Different appliances use different types.
• What type of heating system does it use? Heating costs can vary drastically by type.
• Have the roof and foundation been well maintained?
• What condition are the windows in?
• What about the plumbing?

There are numerous other things to consider as well. If you don't have time or don't feel comfortable doing it, home inspection services are available for a reasonable fee. Having a qualified home inspector look at the house is always a good idea. The older the home, the greater the need for professional inspection.

5. Making an Offer

Once you find a house you want to make your home, your REALTOR^® can help you develop an offer. In the offer, you should specify how much you're willing to pay. State when the offer expires and suggest a closing date for the transaction. You can also propose some conditions on the offer. Some common types of conditions are:

• Getting a suitable mortgage (include the amount, interest rates and any other figures you feel important);
• Selling your current home (the seller may continue to look for a buyer, but will give you the right of first refusal);
• The seller providing a current survey, or a "real property report," showing that there are no encroachments on the property;
• The seller having title to the property (your lawyer will check this out when she conducts a title search to see if there are any liens on the property, easements, rights of way or height restrictions);
• If there’s a septic system, the seller having a health inspection certificate, stating that the system meets local standards;
• An inspection by a qualified engineer, should you have any doubts about the home's safety and construction; and
• Any inclusions of appliances and other items - basically, what stays and what goes.

You will need to present a deposit along with your offer. An appropriate deposit will show your good faith to the seller. Note that the seller's agent, if they are represented by one, is bound by law to bring all offers to the seller's attention.

6. If Your Offer is Accepted

After your offer is accepted and all conditions met, the offer becomes binding on both sides. If you later refuse to honour the agreement, you may lose your deposit or might be sued for damages. Before signing, make sure you understand and agree with all terms of the offer.
Before the property can formally change hands, there are still a few things to do. Be prepared to furnish proof to your lender that you’ve insured your new house. On or before closing day, both side’s lawyers will arrange to transfer title of the property from the seller to you. The mortgage money will be transferred to your lawyer's trust account, and then to the seller, and your lawyer will bill you all additional expenses such as land transfer taxes or outstanding legal fees.
At this time, be sure to check with your lawyer that everything is as stated in the offer-to-purchase.
Once you're satisfied and the keys to the front door are in your hands, there's nothing else to say, except welcome home!

Extra Expenses

No matter what type of home or property you're buying, plan on some extra expenses.

• A land transfer tax (a sales tax on property) in certain provinces
• A mortgage broker's fee
• An appraisal fee
• Surveying costs (if the seller couldn't come up with a current survey)
• A high-ratio mortgage insurance premium
• An interest adjustment. (Mortgages are normally calculated from the first of each month. If your closing date is the same as the beginning of your mortgage, there will be no adjustment. However, if your closing date is July and you move in on June 15, those last 15 days are the interest adjustment period. Your lender will expect you to cover the cost of the interest during that time.)
• Reimbursement to seller for the unused portion of any prepaid property taxes or utility bills
• Legal fees, and, if applicable, REALTOR^® fees

Source: CREA

Canada’s population reaches 35 million, fastest growing in the G8

By Andy Radia

Queue the applause — according to the Statistics Canada population clock, the Great White North now has over 35 …Canada reached a milestone, of sorts, this week.

Queue the applause — according to the Statistics Canada population clock, the Great White North now has over 35 million inhabitants.
It's an impressive figure considering that in 1982 we only had a population of 25 million -- that's a 40 per cent jump in 30 years, which solidifies Canada as the fastest growing nation in all of the G8.
Statistics Canada's Laurent Martel told the Toronto Star that the level of growth is primarily due to our liberal immigration system which allows approximately 250,000 immigrants to enter Canada every year.

"This immigration rate is one of the highest in industrialized countries," he said.
"It's twice what the U.S. receives every year."
Martel predicts that with similar levels of growth in the future, Canada's population will reach the 40 million mark by 2026 and 50 million by 2054.
While environmentalists and anti-immigration types will always complain that that's too many people, there are others who argue that our aging workforce necessitates more immigration — a lot more.
Last week, PostMedia News obtained an internal government review suggesting that immigration levels should increase to 337,000 by 2018.
According to the report, the boost "is needed to balance the labour market and is based on economic projections that take into account things like unemployment rates."
Last Spring, the Globe and Mail published an impressive series of columns about immigration and Canada's labour shortages and called for Canada to double its level of economic migration.

When to make the leap from renting to buying

One of the things I hear most often is that people want to buy their own homes because renting is just flushing money down the toilet. Hey, if you have the "will" to move from renter to home-owner, that's the first step. The second step: having the "means."
Wanting to own isn't just about the money; perhaps you want to know you can stay where you are with no fear you'll be told to move just when you've got the place perfect. Or perhaps you're looking for a neighbourhood with good schools and a strong community and there aren't a lot of rental options. But buying a home is a big decision, and without some careful planning, it can end in disaster. Here are some things you must be sure you have in place before you make the leap from renter to owner.
Enough income: Seems obvious right? Yet loads of people move into their first home and then discover that their latest acquisition is eating so much of their money they have to use credit to cover the gap. Lenders will want to see a solid work history-minimum 1 year at your latest job-so if you've been quilting together an income, you may have difficulty being approved for a mortgage.
A downpayment: Again, obvious? Except that there are still people offering new buyers ways to get into homes without any money down. Whether it's through a cash-back program, or through alternative lenders, it's a bad idea. Don't think that the bare minimum of 5% down means you're ready. Having less than 20% down means that on a $375,000 home you'll have to fork over nearly $10,000 in mortgage insurance premium, and pay more than $55,000 in interest in the first five years, assuming a mortgage of just 3.25%. That means you'll be paying about $917 a month in interest. Pretty comparable to rent, don’t you think?
No consumer debt: Having no consumer debt means you're in a better place to qualify for a mortgage. Having no consumer debt also means you've got your spending in line with your income so you're less likely to hit the wall once you close and start paying all those new bills. If you carry consumer debt into the home-purchase phase of your life, it's because you think you can have it all at the same time. You can't. You'll see.

Source: