Buying a Home

Getting Ready for School Daze

Going back to school can be a big adjustment after the lazy days of summer.

Getting back into the school routine after a peaceful summer can be hectic. Here are a few tips that will help make the transition a little easier:

Shop Early
The first few weeks of school are very busy and unpredictable, so be sure to purchase your back-to-school items as early as possible.

After School Plans
Start discussing extra-curricular activities, homework routines and household chores so that you can organize your fall schedule ahead of time.

Have a Hub
Hang a calendar in a central spot where everyone can write down their activities and attach a folder for notices and permission slips so that everything’s in one place.

Sleep Easy
Ease back into the school routine by gradually adjusting bedtimes (and wake-up times) a week or so before school starts to help everyone get back into the routine.

Be Positive
Returning to school is an emotional adjustment for children so help them stay positive and ensure you’re around to help put them at ease.

Back to school doesn’t have to be about forgotten lunches, unlabelled belongings and lost permission slips. With a little pre-planning, you’ll be able to enjoy the rest of the summer knowing that September will be smooth sailing.

Relocation, Relocation, Relocation

Moving to a new city for a new job can be an exciting yet overwhelming experience.

The prospect of relocating to a new city for work means you’ll need to be well organized as there’s usually not much time to get acquainted with the new area.

Before you make your move, consider factors such as workload and travel expectations, along with job opportunities for your spouse and schools for the kids. Here are a few other points to keep in mind:

Time Is Money
Investigate the cost of living in your new city and create a budget and a detailed timeline to help you stay focused and on track.

Recon Mission
Plan a trip to familiarize yourself with the local area. If it’s too far to visit in person, check out a few community websites to get a better feel for the area.

Take the Credit
Employers often provide relocation packages to help offset expenses such as temporary housing and moving costs. There may also be certain tax credits available.

Professional Help
Arrange a home evaluation to find out what your home’s worth, and ask to be referred to an agent in your new city who can help get you acquainted with the local market.

Smooth Move
The best way to ensure a smooth move is to write out a plan of action that includes a detailed checklist that clearly states what needs to be done.

Deciding whether or not to relocate can be stressful. Not only are you trying to negotiate a new career but you’ll also be starting a new life in an unfamiliar place.

However, if you pay close attention to all the details and plan everything out in advance, you’ll set the stage so that you’ll be able to enjoy a smooth move.

Please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you have any questions or need any real estate advice!

Bank of Canada Rate Update – July 2024

The Bank of Canada announces second consecutive policy rate cut.

In a scheduled announcement on Wednesday, July 24th, the Bank of Canada reduced its target once again for the overnight lending rate from 4.75% to 4.5%.

The move was widely expected by financial markets and marked the Bank’s second rate reduction since the onset of the pandemic four years ago, bringing rates down to where they stood in April 2023.

The Bank noted that Canada’s economy picked up in the first half of 2024 but at a slower pace than population growth, while consumer spending and housing are showing signs of weakness.

The Bank continues to note that employment has been rising at a slower pace than working-age population growth, of which the latter is expected to grow at a stronger pace than previously expected.

According to the Bank, Canadian economic growth is forecast to pick up over the remainder of this year and over the course of 2025 “as borrowing costs ease”, implying a continued unwinding of tightness in monetary policy that should provide a boost to exports, household spending, and business and residential investment.

The Bank continues to focus on elevated shelter costs as a significant contributor to inflation. However, it also noted that both headline and core measures of inflation have moderated and are close to historical norms.

In its Monetary Policy Report, the Bank also made special note of several challenges impacting housing supply growth such as municipal zoning restrictions, high development fees, time-consuming permitting processes and shortages of skilled construction workers.

Although excess supply in the economy is lowering inflation, the Bank is also monitoring shelter and services costs which are pushing inflation in the opposite direction. The Bank has stated that “monetary policy decisions will be guided by incoming information” and their assessment of its implications for the inflation outlook.

The Bank of Canada will make its next scheduled interest rate announcement on Wednesday, September 4th and will publish its full outlook for the economy and inflation in its next Monetary Policy Report on Wednesday, October 23rd.

Grey Bruce Real Estate Update – July 2024

Please don’t hesitate to reach out for detailed stats that are specific to your neighbourhood, or even if you’re just curious about what the place down the road sold for – it’d be great to hear from you!

THE BIRDS & THE BEES

Turn your backyard into a peaceful sanctuary that buzzes with activity.

Creating a haven in your garden for birds, bees and butterflies takes a little planning but it’s well worth the effort. The following tips will help you turn your backyard into a natural wildlife sanctuary:

Au Naturel
Avoid using pesticides and other harmful chemicals as they can cause harm to backyard wildlife.

Water Works
Install a bird bath or water fountain for your feathered friends to bathe and drink from.

Food & Shelter
Trees and shrubs that bear fruit, nuts and berries not only provide food but also offer shelter.

Bloom Boom
Butterflies are attracted to shades of pink, orange, yellow, red, purple and blue while butterfly larvae feed on dill, fennel and milkweed.

Flower Power
Bees are always busy collecting pollen! Bee balm, echinacea, snapdragon and hostas are some of the flowers they love the most!

Sun Seekers
Butterflies like sunny locations that are sheltered from the wind. A few flat stones will give them a place to rest while warming in the sun.

There’s nothing like lounging around in your very own backyard, surrounded by the sights and sounds of nature. With just a few small changes, you can easily transform your garden into a thriving sanctuary for all to enjoy!

HIGH RETURN HOME REPAIRS

Taking care of basic repairs before you put your home on the market is a smart move.

If you plan on selling your home, you’ll want to tackle any necessary repairs ahead of time as buyers will be completely turned off if your home looks as though it’s been neglected.

Buyers will also factor any fix-up jobs into their offer, often overestimating the costs, so it’s best to just take care of them yourself. Here are a few easy repairs that will reap huge rewards:

Curb Appeal
Your home needs to make a perfect first impression so patch up any cracks in the driveway, spruce up your porch and add a bit of fresh mulch.

Out With Grout
The dirty black grout that grows around the tiles in your shower will immediately turn buyers off so apply some new caulking to freshen things up.

Flooring Fixes
Flooring can totally transform the look and feel of your home so replace any cracked tiles and repair scratched hardwood with a touch-up marker.

Gourmet Gains
Kitchens can make or break a sale. Repainting cabinets, adding new hardware or upgrading your countertop are all worthwhile investments.

Fresh Paint
Before you paint, fill in all of the little holes and cracks for a smooth finish. Make sure to also paint your baseboards so they don’t look beaten up next to your freshly painted walls.

Drip Dry
Something as simple as a leaky tap can cause buyers to wonder what other issues may lurk behind the surface so spend a few bucks on a rubber washer to fix the leak.

Buying a home is an emotional experience. It’s therefore important to create an incredible first impression so that buyers can easily imagine themselves living in your home.

Although repairing a home that you’ll soon be moving out of may seem like a pointless hassle, it’ll be well worth the time and money in the end!

GREY BRUCE REAL ESTATE UPDATE – June 2024

Please don’t hesitate to reach out for detailed stats that are specific to your neighbourhood, or even if you’re just curious about what the house down the street sold for – it’d be great to hear from you!

THE PRICE IS RIGH

The way you price your home can either make or break your sale.

Setting the right price is critical to a successful sale as it will help ensure your home sells for the most amount of money in the shortest amount of time.

You only get one chance to make a great first impression, so it’s important to price your home correctly when it first hits the market. Here are a few pricing strategies to keep in mind:

Comp & Circumstance
The best way to determine a home’s asking price is to compare similar homes in nearby areas that have recently sold, while also taking past, present and future market trends into account.

Market Matters
You may have your own opinion of what your home’s worth but it’s important to be unbiased and realistic. At the end of the day, it’s the market that determines your home’s true value.

Buzz Kill
There’s always a huge buzz when a new property hits the market, but if the price is too high, it’ll quickly become stale. Once that happens, buyers lose the incentive to make a swift, strong offer.

Stigma Stymie
If a home sits on the market too long, it’ll start to develop a stigma. We’ve all walked past a home that’s been on the market for ages and wondered, “What’s wrong with it?”

Competitive Edge
Overpricing your home benefits your competition, as buyers will view similar, less expensive homes in your area as much better deals.

Lowball Anxiety
You may be tempted to overprice your home, thinking buyers will still make offers, but many will shy away from making low offers for fear of offending the seller.

Don’t Sit Around
Having your property sit on the market is very inconvenient, as you’ll constantly have to keep it in a show-ready state, which can be extremely stressful, not to mention exhausting.

Costly Carryover
Carrying costs such as mortgage interest, insurance, taxes and utilities can quickly add up if you get stuck carrying two homes at once.

Pricing a home is part art and part science. Market factors such as the economy, time of year and interest rates can all make a huge difference. Balancing these factors while keeping the buyer’s perspective in mind is essential for setting the right price.

Your home only gets one chance to make a great first impression, so it’s important to enlist the services of a highly qualified real estate agent to help you get things done properly from start to finish. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you ever have any questions!

HANDY HOME HACKS

These simple yet ingenious home hacks will make your life so much easier!

Our lives are already busy enough without household chores getting in the way. These handy home hacks promise to simplify your daily routine so you can spend more time doing the things you love:

Towel Tip
Speed up your laundry drying time by tossing a dry towel into the load. This simple hack also helps cut down on energy consumption.

Sharpie Stains
If your child has decorated your hardwood floors with a magic marker, just apply a bit of toothpaste with a damp cloth and watch it disappear!

Blender Cleanser
To tackle stubborn stains from your blender, mix lemon juice and warm water with a dash of dishwashing liquid and then blend for a minute.

Watch Your Step
A slice of bread is like a magnet for tiny shards of glass. Just press the bread gently over the affected area and it will soak the tiny glass fragments up like a sponge!

Wood Whisperer
If your creaky floors make you feel like you’re living in a haunted house, just sprinkle some baby powder between the boards to lubricate the wood.

By simplifying everyday tasks with clever home hacks, you’ll be able to free up your spare time so that you can enjoy the finer things in life, such as spending quality time with friends and family or just relaxing in the hammock!

P.S. Do you have any go-to home hacks that you use to simplify your daily routine? If so, please share!

BANK OF CANADA RATE UPDATE

On June 5th, The Bank of Canada lowered its key interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 4.75 per cent. This is the first rate cut since March 2020.

The Bank of Canada’s benchmark rate affects borrowing costs for banks, which means they’re able, but not forced, to lower their own lending rates.

Banks are generally quick to increase their prime rate in tandem with Bank of Canada hikes. However, they’ve been less consistent when rates are on the way down. When the central bank last lowered its rate four years ago, banks followed suit within a day.

Once banks move their prime rate down, it will have an immediate effect on borrowers with variable-rate mortgages, just as they’ve felt the brunt of rising rates over the past few years.

For new borrowers planning on arranging a fixed-rate mortgage, a decrease of a quarter percentage point in interest rates will also translate to monthly savings on their mortgage payments.

For instance, a person with a $500,000 mortgage, a 25-year amortization period and an interest rate of 5 percent would save around $72 a month if their rate dropped to 4.75 percent.

This seemingly small adjustment translates into a substantial saving of around $4,320 over a 5-year term!

Lines of credit are also usually tied to bank prime rates, so borrowers should start to see some savings on that front as well.

The next scheduled date for announcing the overnight rate target is July 24, 2024.

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