My Two Cents Archives - Page 6 of 6 - Scott and Emily Real Estate Group

In Praise Of CityPlace??

CityPlace has been a much maligned development in recent years. In many ways it has become a symbolic whipping boy for sentiments that people hold about the condo market as a whole - greedy overdevelopment, cookie-cutter product, shoddy construction, high vacancy rates and the evisceration of the city skyline. And to one degree or another CityPlace is guilty of all of those things. But you know what? The mighty chicken wing was long maligned too, shamefully neglected and cast off [...]

January 6, 2015|Categories: Condos, My Two Cents|

What’s The Deal With Community Housing?

The other day I received a call from my good friend John, as always at the most erratic of times. This time it woke me out of a blissfully deep sleep, at 6:52 in the freakin’ am. Before I could even say hello I heard that unmistakeable voice – “What’s the deal with this community housing??” John is what you might call a serial entrepreneur. Rotund and sweaty, he is like Mark Ruffalo gone to seed, if those seeds were [...]

January 6, 2015|Categories: Houses, My Two Cents, Real Estate Fails|

Harold The Jewelry Buyer….Real Estate Saviour??? Part 1

Harold The Jewelry Buyer wears many faces to the public – diamond and gold flogger, irrepressible (and disturbingly creepy) TV pitchman, and a central character in an underground diamond war that has to be read to be believed. Here is the link to The Star article covering the last point. Suspected Arson - Gold Wars But recently Harold has donned yet another cap – Real Estate Saviour! By now I am sure you have seen the ads, with Harold sitting [...]

January 6, 2015|Categories: My Two Cents, Real Estate Fails|

The Perils of Dealing Direct

The Perils of Dealing Direct One of the biggest mistakes a buyer can make is when they adopt the strategy of “going it alone”, which means they search for properties themselves (without the help of a hired Buyer Agent) and then negotiate directly with the listing agent when they find something they like. It’s a monumentally stupid and unproductive approach, so why would anybody do it you may ask? The wealth of information available online and the crazy bidding wars [...]

December 16, 2014|Categories: Houses, My Two Cents|

Get In The Game

When speaking with buyers, particularly first time buyers with very fixed budgets, I am often asked if they should wait to make a purchase. Again and again I will hear statements like, “this market is overheated”, or “this can’t last forever” or (best of all) “prices HAVE to go down”. I wish this was true, for all the bargain seekers, but all evidence points to the contrary. With interest rates holding steady until 2015 at minimum, and more active buyers [...]

December 8, 2014|Categories: Condos, Houses, My Two Cents|

The Value of Losing

As I sit here writing this in the current ultra-competitive Toronto real estate market, I can say with considerable confidence that just about every buyer for a house in a reasonably desirable neighbourhood (hell, even in undesirable neighbourhoods) will find themselves in a multiple offer situation. Whether the current process is right or wrong is frankly beside the point – it simply is what it is. If you don’t like it you don’t have to take part, or you can [...]

December 8, 2014|Categories: Condos, Houses, My Two Cents|