To buy or not to buy: This property checklist will help you answer this question.

Curb Appeal

Is the home in a good location? Is the street particularly busy? If you have a family, do you see others families out and about? How does the home compare to others on the street. Does it looked well kept and maintained?

 First impression

How do you feel when you walk through the home? Is it easy to navigate? Are the rooms large enough? Are the door frames and hall ways wide enough to accommodate furniture and activities characteristic of your lifestyle. Do you like the floor plan? What about windows. Is there a view, do the windows generate a lot of light?

Kitchen and bath

The kitchen and bathrooms can be the most important selling features of a home. These rooms are expensive to renovate so it’s important that they meet your needs. Are the fixtures and finishes up to date? Are the appliances relatively new? What costs would you incur in order to be satisfied with these rooms for the short-term? Do you foresee long-term changes?

Living, dining & family rooms

Does the home offer the entertaining and recreational space you require? Are the rooms large enough? What about the floor plans of the rooms? Will they accommodate your furniture needs?

Master bedroom

The master bedroom and the presence or lack of amenities is an important consideration for home buyers these days. Is the bedroom large enough? Does it have a good–sized closet? Is there an ensuite?

 Special features

Are there added attractions in the home that pique your interest such as a hot tub, pool, professionally finished basement or beautifully landscaped back yard?

Competition

How does the home stack up against others you have seen that are a similar price and size? Is it better maintained? Is it in a more desirable neighbourhood.  What is your overall impression of this home compared to others? Answers to these questions will help you decide if it is the right home for you.

For any questions you may have about buying or selling homes in Oakville, Milton or Burlington Ontario, or for mls listings contact Team Gonin today.

The Greater Toronto Realtors reported strong results for the first 14 days of February.  Not only did the average sale price increase by 9%, to $491,493 but there were 3206 sales so far this month - also up 9% when compared to the same time period last year.  New listing inventory was  up 13% compared to last year. 

“Both buyers and sellers are aware of the substantial competition that exists for most listings in the GTA.  There is not a mismatch in expectations, so homes sell quickly at close to the asking price,” said Jason Mercer, TREB’s Senior Manager of Market Analysis.

To see the full article, check out the PDF below.

Mid-Month Resale Market Figures

For any questions you may have about the Suburban Toronto real estate markets in  Oakville, Milton and Burlington or for information about buying or selling homes in Oakville, Milton or Burlington Ontario, contact Team Gonin today

What are you up to for Family Day? Halton has a wide range of activities for the family to enjoy so get out there and discover what this wonderful region has to offer.

Here are some of the events planned for Family Day, Monday, February 20:

OAKVILLE

Make Your Move Family Day – Free sports, activities and entertainment. From pre-school kid-fit to bootcamp, belly dancing and sledge hockey there are free activities at all Town of Oakville community centres, arenas and pools from 9 a.m.to 5 p.m.  Here’s  more information  

GLEN EDEN

Family Day on the slopes! Skiing and tubing for the whole family with extensive lighting for night-time fun. Visit Glen Eden for more details.

BURLINGTON

City Hall will be closed on Family Day but Burlington parks and recreation centres are open for family-focused fun such as swimming, skating, crafts, fitness classes and drop-in gym.

Also a family of up to five (minimum of one adult) can purchase a Family Day Pass for $15 and participate in up to three activities at Tansley Woods Community Centre. Here’s more information, including program descriptions.

MILTON

Milton recreation centres are offering a wide range of activities including dodge ball, soccer and old-fashioned games to swimming, skating and fitness classes. Here’s a schedule of of the activities taking place on Monday Feb 20th.

 Team Gonin would like to wish you a fabulous Family Day!

For any questions you may have about buying or selling homes in Oakville, Milton or Burlington Ontario, or for mls listings contact Team Gonin today.

According to the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC), the Canadian housing marketing should remain stable for the next two years.

“With the Canadian economy set to expand at a moderate pace and mortgage rates expected to remain low, activity levels in 2012 in both new home construction and sales of existing homes will stay close to levels seen in 2011,” Laberge said in a CMHC statement.

Read the rest of the article on CTV.ca: CMHC predicts stable Canadian housing market

For any questions you may have about buying or selling homes in Oakville, Milton or Burlington Ontario, or for mls listings contact Team Gonin today.

Here are January 2012 residential real estate results for Oakville, Milton and Burlington Ontario.

The Oakville, Milton & District Real Estate Board (OMDREB) posted 521 sales in January – down 4.4% from January 2011 while the Realtors Association of Hamilton Burlington (RAHB) reported 809 sales – up 9.47 % from last January.

1,187 new listings appeared on OMDREB in January – up 4.67% from Jan 2011, while the RAHB reported fewer new listings in January - with a total of 1,494 new listings hitting the board this month (down 8.53%) as compared to the 1,630 last January.

Information for residential sales in Oakville, Milton and Burlington was taken from both of these real estate boards. Let’s see how each area did.

OAKVILLE

There were a total of 149 residential sales in Oakville in January resulting in an AVERAGE sale price of $609,107 which is actually down 5.5% from  last January, while the  MEDIAN sale price was $540,000 up 3.4% when compared to last year, as is the 3rd highest seen since 2008.

Just so you know there were only 2 sales in January over $2,000,000 as compared to the 8 that sold last January.  This is why I believe that the MEDIAN sale price is generally a better number to use as it isn’t skewed by either really high or really low sales.  It took 30 days on average for a house to sell in the month of January in Oakville.

MILTON

98 sales took place in Milton in January and this is up 6.5% from the number sold in 2011. The January AVERAGE sale price was $421,080 (up 4.9%), while the MEDIAN sale price was $408,000 up 12.6% from last January and is the 4th highest median sale price since 2008.  Homes sold very quickly in Milton in January, taking only 25 days to sell on average.

BURLINGTON

Burlington posted fabulous results in the month of January.  181 sales took place in Burlington for the month (up 8.4% from last year) while the AVERAGE sale price increased by 10.9% to $435,162 and the MEDIAN sale price was up by 16.7% to $416,009.  Just so you know, the AVERAGE price was the second highest average price seen since 2008 and the MEDIAN price was the highest. It took 40 days on average for a home to sell in January.

For any questions you may have about buying or selling homes in Oakville, Milton or Burlington Ontario, or for mls listings contact Team Gonin today.

Team Gonin is thrilled to announce that we will be participating in the 13-week TV show called LISTED!  The pilot episode will air on CHCH this Sunday morning at 9:30am.  Each week one of our listings will appear on the show, along with special features that will engage viewers with helpful advice and tips on mortgages, real estate law, and home staging and interior design.    There will also be a section called “Ask and Agent”.   We hope it’ll be your guide to the HOTTEST real estate.

Here is a short, 2 minute teaser about the show.  Enjoy!!

For any questions you may have about the Suburban Toronto real estate markets in  Oakville, Milton and Burlington and for information about buying or selling homes in Oakville, Milton or Burlington Ontario, contact Team Gonin today.

“Detached homes in Newmarket sell faster than any other region in the Greater Toronto Area, according to data released by the Toronto Real Estate Board.

Once listed, homes in Newmarket are on the market for an average of just 25 days before being sold. Homes sell just one day slower – at an average of 26 days – in the quickly expanding city of Milton.”

Good news for sellers – average selling prices for 2012 will continue to rise according to the Toronto Real Estate Board. Back to a sellers market once again, now is a great time to get your home listed!

To read more about the tightening market, click HERE.

For any questions you may have about the Suburban Toronto real estate markets in  Oakville, Milton and Burlington or for information about buying or selling homes in Oakville, Milton or Burlington Ontario, contact Team Gonin today.

“I believe there has never been a better time to buy a home. I’ve been in the industry for 28 years as a lawyer and I haven’t seen so many positive signs for housing, whether you are thinking or buying or locking in a mortgage.
Here’s why: Mortgage rates at historic lows…”  Mark Weisleder January 27, 2012

To see the whole article detailing why now is the perfect time to enter the real estate market click HERE.

For any questions you may have about buying or selling homes in Oakville, Milton or Burlington Ontario, contact Team Gonin today.

Check out Team Gonin’s latest listing at 224 Tracina Drive located in the heart of Coronation Park in Oakville, Ontario.  It is a lovely family home on a spectacular lot. Asking price is $799,000.

Watch the video of this  home below.

 For any questions you may have about this listing or Suburban Toronto real estate markets in  Oakville, Milton and Burlington and for information about buying or selling homes in Oakville, Milton or Burlington Ontario, contact Team Gonin today.