Sometimes The Best Deals are NOT Advertised

21. March 2011

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New condos are launching at a rate of about one per week right now in the downtown core. However, don’t be mistaken in thinking this means solid investment opportunities are coming at a rate of one per week! In fact, there is usually a negative correlation between the number of new condo launches and the number of quality investment opportunities available. The opportunities are actually quite rare right now in my opinion. There are only a handful of projects that I am comfortable in recommending to my buyers and investors.

As with any other product or service, the best deals in real estate are often unadvertised. If you see a billboard or glossy ad in a magazine proclaiming the “suite of the month” or “special offers on now”, chances are there is no deal to be had here. You won’t find the best deals on a billboard or in a glossy magazine or taking up a page in the Globe and Mail. As with any other product or service of any value, the best deals in real estate are often the unadvertised ones.

This past weekend, some of my investor clients were able to take advantage of such an opportunity at a A1 condo project downtown. I received nothing more than a good old fashioned phone call from one of the developer’s sales reps informing me that if the developer sold a certain number of units in a certain period of time they would get a better rate on their construction loan. The developer was motivated and thus, offered significant CASH discounts off the list prices of their remaining inventory. Not a dime was spent on marketing or advertising this deal. The only people who heard about it were a handful of Realtors like myself who were called directly. My clients are very happy and the deal is now done. Prices are back up to the list prices.

My reputation and track record as one of the top Realtors downtown for pre-construction means my clients get access to these exclusive, unadvertised deals from time to time. To get on my list for these types of deals in the future, simply contact me and I will be happy to include you on future opportunities.

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It’s Christmas Time For Resale Buyers

2. December 2010

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Resale buyers, now is the time to get out there and shop for bargains. Historically, there is no better time to be a buyer than in December (and January to a lesser extent). This is when the market activity is usually at its lowest point of the year, and for sellers who missed out on the busy fall market, the clock continues to tick.

Many of the properties that are on the market in December were listed back in the height of the fall market – October, and some go back to September. These sellers are often just waiting for an offer, any offer, and often properties sell for much less in December than they would have in October, or than they will in February.

Every year I preach this message to all my resale buyers, however, most buyers are just too busy this month to think about real estate. December is a month full of Holiday/Christmas parties and social gatherings, and most people just go into ‘survival’ mode, waiting for the month to be over so they can return to regular life. But for those who do understand the opportunity, and are ready to ‘hit the streets’ and scour the MLS for properties, they can save thousands.

Ready to go bargain shopping? Contact me to start your condo search today.

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How Bad is The Market? Not “That” Bad

20. February 2009

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“How’s the market doing?” It’s the classic question that I get asked daily from clients, friends, family, and even strangers. No one wants to know how I’m doing or how the family is, it’s all about THE MARKET! 

The current assumption right now is that the market is bad. Really bad. It seems the various headlines in the newspapers and websites talking about the plummeting sales and falling prices have changed the mindset of the population. Just as the mainstream media hyped up the rise of the Toronto Condo market over the past several years, they are now doing their best to broadcast it’s apparent downfall. 

There is a perception that sellers are in desperate times, that firesales are happening left and right, and that buyers are getting massive discounts from asking prices. Truth be told, it’s really not that bad.

I’ve been in 4 separate offer situations (on both the buying side and the selling side) in past 10 days where an offer was put in writing but the deal did not happen for the same reason: buyers want a deal and sellers do not want to give them one.  

I am not seeing any panic selling.  Sellers are for the vast majority, not in any desperate situation where they will sell at any price. 

Some may say that sellers are just avoiding reality, that they are still stuck in the past and think they can command any price for their properties. Personally I think that it is just a slow market. There are many properties that will sell after 60 or 90 days on the market and the selling price will be 97-99% of the asking price. 

Edit: There are always exceptions to the rule. Since first drafting this post, one of my ’4′ offers that did not work out, actually did work out. The sellers gave in to my buyers somewhat ridiculous demands and so my buyer-clients are walking away with what I think is a really amazing deal.

Questions? Comments? Contact me or leave me a comment below.

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