What a start to the New Year!! January set unprecedented numbers in its average price category. We here at The eXecutives are off to a busy start as well as the entire brokerage here at Realty Executives Saskatoon. This is going to be a great year, and the January numbers have confirmed a quick start!

The average price for the month of January was up 6% from last year and 1.7% from December 2011; coming in at $318,163.00. The List-to-Sell ratio was 46%, so for the most part, every 1 out of 2 houses listed last month was sold.

The Sellers in this quick-start year have noticed it as well, as there were 131 more properties for sale than last month. The New Year always tends to bring higher prices for building materials (especially concrete). In talking with my own builder as well as a few others that I know, the price of the same home that they built two months ago, will be at the very minimum, $5K higher than the previous build. The advantage to them is that our ever-busy market will support it!

This city we live in is an exciting place to be at the moment. It is growing by leaps and bounds. In turn, our infrastructure is changing to accommodate the growth. We should finally have a “Circle” Drive by the end of the year. And, to further oblige the influx of people (and the new neighbourhoods that are expanding on a daily basis), we may see a quick start to the proposed North Bridge by as early as next year.

What a place to be! What a city to live in! I believe we are firmly on the way to becoming the central hub of this great country!

‘Til next month,

the eXecutives

The most important step in selecting a home is knowing how much you can spend. If you already use an electronic budgeting system, you’re ahead of the game. If not, track your expenses for the past several months to a year. Try to quantify the “gray areas” of cash withdrawals that disappear on small purchases. Now add up your current rent and other related expenses. If you’ve been saving money toward your down payment, note that, as well. Finally, ask yourself where you can tighten your belt with your existing discretionary purchases. This is the maximum amount you could pay per month. Now ask yourself if this is reasonable, given your current savings and possible expenses. Only you know the answer to that. When you’ve arrived at a comfortable number, write it down, and save your calculations. You’ll take this to the bank when you apply for loan preapproval. For now, you have an estimated payment you can use while shopping online.

Set your Criteria

A home is the biggest purchase you’ll probably ever make. Stay focused and don’t let emotion guide you. If you have one child and no plans for more, four bedrooms are probably a waste. Write down a list of must-haves, nice-to-haves, and can’t haves before you start visiting homes. You’ll save time, help your agent work more productively, and keep yourself from getting carried away—into the wrong house.

Important criteria include:

• Age of house
• Number of bedrooms and bathrooms
• Size of lot / yard
• School district requirements
• Type of street (Are busy streets OK, or do you want a cul de sac? Do you need to be near a bus or light rail line?)
• Type of home (Single-story? Mutli-level? Are there any dominant architectural styles in your area that you refuse to buy?)
• Central heating and cooling
• Expensive additions, such as in-ground pools

Make a list of Homes

After you’ve made this list, search online and find several representative homes. If you have time and you’re fairly local, drive by a few of them to get a feel for the neighborhoods. Write down your impressions. This will help you understand home much of a home’s description is fact versus fluff, and give your real estate agent a good idea of your likes and dislikes.

Find a Realtor®

Most home buyers select a licensed Realtor® to represent them, and they are almost always happy they did. Realtors® are real estate agents who subscribe to a strict code of ethics and are acknowledged experts in the field. A Realtor® knows your local market, and can help you through every step of the home buying process, from finding your dream home to negotiating the best possible terms, explaining everything along the way.

Bring a Camera

Your Realtor® will take you on a number of open houses, and your opinions can be lost in the blur. To keep things straight, bring a digital camera on your trips. Take a picture of the street nu,ber of each property, then photograph each room during your walk-through. Photograph a house even if you decide it’s wrong for you—there may be furnishings, construction tips, or other features you notice later that could come in handy when you find the right home.

by: Cormac Foster

No one likes a ditty house, and your what “lived in” is to you might be someone else’s “messy.” When in doubt, clean. It’s the least expensive way to improve your home’s initial appeal, and it’s a good way to get a jump-start on your move.

Basic: The first thing you need to do is de-clutter. If your moving company offers storage, this is the time to use it. Extra furniture, oddball art, pots and pans that don’t fit in the kitchen—it all needs to go. Don’t go overboard—your house should still look like a home. It just needs to be airy enough for a buyer to put his or her mental imprint on it. Your hackey sack collection from college won’t help. Next up is a good, solid scrubbing. Spend a weekend washing the floors, baseboards, and bathrooms. Be sure to get the tops of cabinets and corners behind furniture. Clean every piece of glass in the building. Too many people ruin a pristine home with spotty mirrors and doors. Don’t forget the outside of the house. Hose down your exterior walls and driveway, trim the lawn and hedges, and remove any trash cans and clutter from sight. If your neighbors are less-than-tidy, you might want to offer them some free help, as well. And while you’re cleaning the garage, wash your cars, too. They make an impression.

All-Out: If you have money to spend, install space-saving storage solutions in the garage, kitchen, and bathroom to reduce clutter. Consider paying a service to do the deep cleaning you’re bound to miss. Rent a pressure washer for the driveway or (if it’s a real mess and you’re feeling generous), repave.

Fix

Part of the joy of buying a new home is starting with a clean slate. No one wants to buy an existing to-do list of nagging little fix-its. Making small fixes now can put the buyer’s mind at ease.

Basic: Focus on inexpensive, highly-visible problems. Doorbells, window glass, cabinet handles, and holes in walls are all easy to spot and cheap to fix.

All-Out: Take aim at long-term maintenance projects, such as pool pumps, water heaters, and air conditioning servicing. Buyers probably won’t notice these on their own, but your agent can call attention to these facts to help reduce worries about long-term costs.

Brighten

Buyers like to see what they’re viewing. Good lighting, vivid color, and a few visual cues can go a long way toward making your home a memorable one.

Basic: Repaint interior walls, particularly those in the bathroom, kitchen, and extremely bright areas. White walls are particularly important, as they get dingy quickly. Replace traditional incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescents, which put brighter lights in your existing sockets while saving money. Tie back curtains to let in the maximum amount of sun, which makes a house look more inviting than artificial light. Spruce up empty or colorless zones with potted plants. They add character to a room, but are obviously disposable if a buyer dislikes them. Repaint your front door, mailbox, and any street numbers.

All-Out: Repainting the entire interior if it’s been more than a few years since the last paint job. Install additional lighting in cabinets and closets. Add new cabinet doors and counter tops.

What Not to Do

While you can certainly overspend on any of the above suggestions, their value is well-established. Making a home cleaner, better-functioning, and more attractive is a no-brainer. However, some improvements can go too far, and actually hurt your investment. As a general rule, don’t build for the sake of building. Bigger isn’t always better, and if you take a project too far, you risk going in a direction the buyer will have to undo. For example, adding an extra bedroom might seem like a great investment, but a retired couple may prefer to use that space to install a pool in the back yard. Upgrade the home you have, but don’t try to make it something else.

By Cormac Foster