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Reluctant about relocating? Mystified by mortgages? As a homeowner, you’re certainly not alone!

Homeownership involves what is most likely the largest financial commitment you’ll ever make, so you’ll want to be confident you understand exactly what’s involved when both buying and selling, especially when it comes to all the costs surrounding your decisions. Let your real estate salesperson and your mortgage representative educate, guide and support you throughout your most significant transactions.

Thinking of making a move? Your mortgage professional will help you determine what you can afford, and your sales representative will help you work within your budget.

Most people tend to do their research when searching for a new mortgage, then after much deliberation, finally decide on one only to then “set it and forget it”. With new mortgage products continuously being introduced to the market, however, coupled with your own changing financial and personal circumstances, you’ll want to verify your current loan agreement still makes sense for you.

Not planning to move anytime soon? It’s still important to schedule regular reviews with both your loan provider and your real estate sales representative.

Your real estate sales professional never really stops working for you because we know that, while your current home may be perfectly adequate for now, chances are you’ll be looking to upsize, downsize or make a lateral move at some point. There’s absolutely no cost or obligation to maximizing our existing relationship by asking for regular updates on the latest neighbourhood trends and home prices, and there’s certainly nothing wrong with having someone keep an eye out for your dream home in case it comes up when you least expect it! 

At the very least, you’ll want to connect with your real estate sales representative so you’re always cognizant of the current value of your home. You may be surprised at how the market has changed since you purchased it!

What motivates us? Did you ever wonder what motivates you?

 

What Motivates You: the Carrot or the Stick?

Whether you are trying to motivate yourself to save for a down payment for  that beautiful new home or whether you are trying to save for that goal you are trying to attain, the best way we can motivate ourselves or others will depend on the type of personal motivation we have or the type of motivation the person we are trying to motivate has.  Do we know what that is?

When I learnt about motivational styles years ago, I found out that some people move towards things they want while others move away from the things they do not want.

I remember that growing up one of my brothers would clean his room when dad said, "if you clean your room, we will go to the beach" . He would have that room done as quickly as he could as he was motivated by the carrot, but my other brother would not. My dad would need to say, "if you do not clean your room you will lose your allowance",  my other brother was motivated by moving away from what he wanted to avoid, the stick motivation.

We are all different, knowing what motivates us or  what motivate those we mentor is useful, as if you are a move towards person, moving towards what you want, writing your goals down will help, having a picture in your mind or literally in front of you will help you as you will start to move towards what you want.

If on the other hand you are a move away person and you need the stick, you  will need to remind yourself of what you are trying to avoid , staying in a house that is too small. Take pictures that reminds you of how crowded the play room for the kids is, or how small your closet or office is, remind yourself with a picture, remind yourself why you need to move away from that.

If you are motivating your employees, the people you mentor, your kids, your family find out first what works for them, do not tell them how poor they are doing,  even if you are a move away person, if they are a move towards person you will demotivate them by doing that, it will have the opposite effect. 

If you are a carrot person nothings gets you going more than to know there is a reward at the end of the tunnel, you need a coach that dangles the carrot in front of you and lets you know what you are doing right you will attain your goals, but you will be completely demotivated by a critical mentor. So mentors and parents remember this.

If you are a stick person or are trying to motivate a stick person, remember move away people are motivated by trying to avoid negative feedback, so remember they need to motivate themselves by reminding  themselves of what they want to avoid and do well with a coach that tells them what they are doing wrong. 

Smart home like technology

 Many young buyers, specially millennials are attracted to smart homes, homes with security systems, smart thermostats, RING doorbells, energy-efficient appliances, tankless water heaters, solar panels and other smart home-like technologies.

Millennials and most other younger buyers are busy, they are working hard on their new careers, they value their free times, they like environmentally-friendly homes as they want to reduce their carbon footprint which lines up with their values and lifestyle. 

So if we are home owners, even those who aren’t planning to sell in the next couple of years, investing in this technology will be helpful as it will benefit for when you are ready to go on the market. It is one of those investments that is worth doing, it will return your investment to you and you will get to enjoy those upgrades for the time being.

Most of us have spent a lot more time at home this year during the pandemic, so investing in our home is well worth it. Investing in smart home technology is a smart investment that will make your life easier and more comfortable as well.

Some of my clients have asked me to comment on what is going on with the market and how I see the real estate market moving forward.

As many of you have heard, The Registry office and the Real Estate brokerages have been deemed  Essential Services.   

While it is true that the events of the past few weeks have had an unprecedented impact on how we conduct business,  as different levels of government enact policies to stop community spread via social isolation which are efforts to “flatten the curve", it is also true that the industry is resilient.

The real estate industry is drastically being affected as it is no longer “business as usual.”, the way we operate has changed drastically over the last week but agents and our brokerages are very creative and thus we have been able to adapt quickly to the rapid changes. 

All real estate businesses are able to operate digitally and remotely so real estate business will continue. 

We were very fortunate that our market was strong when these measures were enacted. As most of you may remember, only 3 weeks ago, during the beginning of March, there were articles that were talking about real estate being the new gold. The spring real estate market was set for a record-breaking sales season.

We can expect that the market activity will slow down temporarily due to many different factors that will affect everyone during this period as some buyers may decide to hold off on their home purchase amid uncertain health and economic conditions, there are still those who need to buy and sell right away, such as those who have already sold their homes,  people relocating, people going through a separation or divorce, people who need to downsize or upsize quickly as well as many with other needs. While it is true that those that do not have an urgent need may not buy right away,  we know that they will eventually come back, which means the market not only will continue will grow in the future. So, even if there is a temporary slowdown during the next few weeks. our market is strong and this means that we will recover and we will be in a stronger position.

Agents are creative, so although showings cannot happen face to face, we will be doing virtual showings, virtual interactions while working from home and we will be always here to help should you need to reach us.

The market will bounce back as fundamentals have not changed. The buyer supply has not increased, so the demand is still high, even if the market is taking a small pause for these next few weeks, I believe the market will resume stronger than ever.