SOLD - I have a new listing at 412 Northlake Drive, Waterloo. List price $389,900. Great Family Home! This 4 bedroom, 3 bathroom, 4 level backsplit, is ideal for the whole family. Located on a well manicured lot with mature trees, 2 level deck & shed / playhouse. Features include; fireplace, finished basement with rec room & play room, master ensuite, 2 car garage and much more. Updates include; central air 2008, furnace 2007, and roof 2007. MLS 0934433 Visit my website www.johnsummers1.com for more information and to view the visual tour. 08/30/2009

OPEN HOUSE!  Saturday, August 29, 2009 from 2:30-4:30 p.m. 360 Whitmore Drive, Waterloo, Ontario  $579,000 MLS #0931817 Click picture to see listing info and additional pictures   08/27/2009

I am very pleased to announce that my partner and I have a new logo and website! When we started our business just over a year ago, we chose a standard logo and I designed and wrote our website. It worked really well for us however over the past few months it has become more important to us to showcase our work with a more elegant and polished image. We are very proud of the new website and hope you will take the time to have a peek! www.homestagingdesign.ca   08/09/2009

My last post was about home staging from the point of view of the seller. I tried to illustrate the fact that sellers while they might have a glamorized idea of what home staging is, they don't really understand how it works. In addition, it's vital that home stagers understand a seller's anxiety and trepidation on having professionals come through and critique their home. Putting sellers at ease is key to getting their trust and to ensure that they understand the stager's vision and be open to suggestions. Now its all about realtors. Currently, this is the toughest part of the equation although the why that is, baffles me. We partner with many realtors however their feedback when we first start working with them that even when they offer staging consultations as part of their services,... 07/27/2009

Okay, so I thought I would write a few blog posts from the different perspectives of the people directly involved in the home selling process. This first one is going to be written from the perspective of the sellers - and trust me after talking to many of them and hearing their reactions (good and bad) and knowing how I would feel as a seller, I think I can make this believable. Why am I writing this? Because after listening to both sellers and realtors I realize there is a lot of miscommunication, misunderstandings, and trepidation which shouldn't be there when it comes to home staging! So here we go. Alright, so you've picked a great realtor, you've discussing pricing and the listing date and you've signed on the dotted line .. and he casually tells you to expect a call from a home s... 07/25/2009

My partner and I were called in to do a consultation at a home last week. My partner's aunt raves about us (we helped her sell her home in less than a week) and the lady we were doing a consult for is a close friend of my partner's aunt. This lady was candid with my partner and told her several things: 1) Her home had gotten the feedback that it was dated and a lot of work. To be candid, it's a lovely home however its very personally decorated. From murals in the ensuite and main bath of a beach in tuscany to stylized paint in the connecting hallways and stairway to paint/wallpaper combinations of many of the rooms. In addition, the living room is being used as a music room and the sellers have 3 huge TV's in the family room, basement and master bedroom. The artwork is predominantly chi... 07/07/2009

All too often homeowners are in a scramble to get their house on the market, so that they don't miss the perceived "window of opportunity".  No doubt, that actually does exist in some markets at different times of the year, but is taking an extra couple of days going to make such a huge difference that a home should be photographed and presented while not yet looking it's best? Actually, rushing to get on the market can work against you.  Buyers make decisions for a number of reasons, not the least of which is an emotional connection to the house.  They also need to see the "space" without an overwhelming sense of the people that live there, before they can picture themselves moving in.  Both of these connections can best be achieved by putting some extra effort into getting the home re... 06/17/2009

We work with several realtors in Stratford and we got called in to stage at a home where the home owner had done a lot in the way of renovations. It was actually the mirror image of a vacant home we had staged in the area with the exception that our client had blown out the back of the home to add a gourmet kitchen, a great room, another bathroom and office. The realtor we work with said the home had great bones, it just needed some "tarting up" as the occupants were men and there was very little in the way of cohesive and modern design elements. So - here are a few pics of the home. We think it looks great!   This room had a sofa, loveseat, 2 large armchairs, coffee and end table set plus floor lamp. We took out the loveseat, floor lamp and re-positioned the chairs so that we created a... 06/12/2009

1,2,3 SOLD!  Showcasing isn't just for vacant homes.  An occupied home will benefit from showcasing as much as a vacant, we just approach it differently. It's the third step of a three step process -- Consultation; Improvements; Showcasing.  Showcasing creates and promotes the positive feelings and emotions that we want the potential buyer to experience when they view the home, and it's done economically, using primarily items already owned by the homeowner. While staging consultations may identify literally dozens of projects and enhancements that the homeowner should take advantage of, there still needs to be a plan to present, aka showcase, the home once the work is done.  Some homeowners can do this themselves, but many will end up with the home looking exactly as it had before, whi... 06/11/2009

First Quarter of 2009 saw sales for residential properties in the Kitchener-Waterloo market area drop by nearly one quarter from 1,484 to 1,121 units. Average sale prices remain stable, but at five to six percent lower values than last year. Average sale price for all residential properties sold during the first three months of 2009 was $249,774 compared with $264,367 for 2008 overall. Monthly averages range from $246,846 to $252,744. Inventory levels are seven to ten percent higher than they were at this time last year. Until very recently this was more due to properties staying on the market longer rather new listings coming onto the market. However, the month of March 2009 saw 920 new listings come onto the market compared with 752 in February 2009 and and 787 in March 2008. The resu... 04/11/2009

My partner and I recently did a presentation for a Home Buyers & Sellers Seminar this past week and one of the things we talked about seemed to resonate strongly with our crowd. That is the importance of home staging to a home's pictures online, which is the place to shop for a home these days. We call shopping for a home online "speed dating". Its very similar to going out to one of those speed dating events where you have only a certain amount of time to impress another person enough that they want to get your contact information in order to see you again. The home buying process is changing dramatically and we stress to our clients, realtor partners and sellers that 92% of Buyers are shopping online first! If your home's pictures don't impress them them within seconds they are on to ... 03/27/2009

Rooms in Bloom staged a vacant home in Waterloo this past week. We took an awkward layout and made it seem both cozy - and contemporary! We have contracts for five other vacant homes in upcoming weeks. After forwarding RESA's staging statistics to many Realtors, we have gotten a phenomenal response! Please let us know your feedback on our pictures! Living Room "Before" Living Room/Dining Room "After" Living Room/Dining Room "After" Dining Room "Before" Dining Room "After" Family Room "Before" Family Room "After"   03/14/2009

    Ontario Minister of Energy and Infrastructure, George Smitherman introduced the Green Energy Act as Bill 150 in the Provincial Legislature this past Monday. I am not in favour of this act at this time. At best, this is a good idea at the wrong time. Under the heading, "Mandatory conservation and energy efficiency practices," the act reads as follows: “2. (1) No person shall offer to sell or to lease, for a term in excess of the prescribed period, an interest in real property unless the person provides, at a cost as determined in the prescribed manner, such information, reports or ratings as are prescribed, (a) relating to energy consumption and efficiency with respect to a prescribed residence or other building on the property or a class of prescribed residences or other buildings o... 02/25/2009

My partner and I were called this week to do a consultation on a listing, by a realtor who had never used our services before. This realtor had never used a home stager but after viewing our website and viewing some of our brochures left at his office, had decided to call us. We arrived at the property - well drove right past it because the sign was buried in the snow and what was showing, was plastered with more snow. One of the first things we did was use our car brushes and clear off the sign so it was at least obvious the home was for sale. The realtor was charming - my partner would say "yummy" with a great voice and lots of enthusiasm for staging. We found out during the course of conversation that the realtor felt he had been too lenient on the sellers - not really putting his fo... 02/05/2009

These items can determine whether or not a buyer will make an offer on your home. Most people don't think about these but they are an important part of preparing your home for sale. Buyers want to envision themselves living in the house, and if the home is not presented in a manner that will allow them to do that easily, most buyers will move on. Click here to see video. 02/03/2009

In 2008 6,115 residential properties sold on the Kitchener Waterloo Real estate Board's MLS (R). This represents a decrease of 10.2 percent from 2007. The average price of all properties sold was $264,312. That's up 6.2 percent from 2007. On average these properties took 47 days to sell and sold within 97 to 98 percent of their asking price. Since December 1st, approximately 250 homes took an average 63 days to sell and sold for 95 to 96 percent of their asking price. Despite slower sales and greater discounts from initial list prices, average sale prices appear to remain relatively high and stable at around $260,000. So, high and stable prices contrasted with longer market times, more price reductions and fewer sales? What's going on here? The answer may lie in the state of our supply.... 01/09/2009

I have a friend who is a real estate analyst for the federal government, he wrote me an email this morning asking... "(I've noticed) some really cheap looking sales ... and a number of listings that are just sitting, but average prices are not seemingly affected???  I just don't get it???" I don't get it either... predicting prices right now is as challenging as I can remember in my 25 year career. In an earlier blog I wrote that RE/MAX Ontario and Atlantic Canada forecasted a 7% decline for house prices in the K-W area. A few days ago in The Record reported that one of our larger competitors forecasted a 3% decline for house prices across Canada. Only yesterday, Karen Shartun, president of our illustrious Kitchener Waterloo Real Estate Board made the following statement, "we expect to ... 01/08/2009

Of the 503 properties that have sold in our market to-date in November and December 2008, 212 (42%) received price reductions of an average 5.2% before they were sold. This represents a shift in a market that has been characterised by properties selling near or even over their original list prices. Typically, well priced properties are expected to sell for 97-98 percent their asking price. Curious about today's value for your property - give me a call for a no-obligation meeting. 12/29/2008

Average prices in Kitchener-Waterloo continue to hold steady at around $265,000, which is where they have been for most of this year. RE/MAX's Market Outlook Report for 2008 predicted a 5% increase in average prices for 2008. The market in fact bettered that by increasing more than 6% to its current level of $264,628 for all residential properties sold in K-W area. This represents the highest prices on record and, I think its safe to say, the peak of the current real estate cycle. RE/MAX's current Market Outlook Report for 2009 is predicting a 7% decrease in average prices for our market area. Yes you read that right - 7 percent!!! - Effectively clawing back whatever gains we've seen in 2008. While it is true that average price levels have not moved yet, there are other signs that the r... 12/11/2008

The number of residential sales for the cities of Kitchener - Waterloo dipped to pre-2005 values for the month of October while average sale prices held steady at $261,948.Today the Kitchener Waterloo Real Estate Board released it's October market results. Download the entire Media Release by clicking here (November2008MediaRelease.pdf). 12/11/2008