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The Linda Maguire Team | Find A Home in Burlington

 

Prices are soaring in the Burlington, Oakville and Hamilton real estate markets, especially since the number of houses available on the real estate market currently is about 10% below the ten-year average. The price increases, however, are not uniform. In some neighbourhoods, the price increases are steeper than in others. In this article we will identify some of the popular neighbourhoods, and explain why the prices in these real estate markets are increasing more rapidly than elsewhere.

 

Some of the places that are currently hot areas for real estate are:

 

1. Alton Village – Located in Burlington’s north end, Alton Village is a growing community that appeals to young families and first-time home buyers. Since the homes there are relatively new, double income families are attracted to these “move-in-ready” properties.  Alton Village features nearby community centres, large shopping areas, parks and brand-new schools. These amenities are all well suited to young families. Although the number of houses in Alton Village is growing, so are the prices.

 

2. Downtown Burlington – Downtown Burlington retained its small community culture over the years, and provides walkable access to the lake, and many restaurants, café’s specialty shops, a large waterfront park, cultural center and even a beach. The area appeals to a more mature population who are willing to forgo the larger homes and double garages found in other areas for the downtown character homes and the walkable lifestyle.

 

3. Pockets in Hamilton – Hamilton is an old city, with roots traced back to the late 1700s. It has long had a reputation as a steel-town, but lately has been seeing a tremendous revival. In fact, for the last few years, Hamilton has been rated the #1 city in Canada for real estate investment!  Areas such as Loche Street, Herkimer, Gage Park and Rosedale have become very desirable for young professionals and young families. The key attractions are affordable historic brick homes with beautiful architecture, the close proximity to a growing number and wide variety of popular restaurants and bars, as well as a significant bay front development for recreation. These areas have become attractive for real estate investment where buyers can still find comparatively low-priced houses. However, with the extension of the Go Train into Hamilton and improvements in lifestyle opportunities, the demand for homes has increased, and so prices are rising rapidly.

 

How the Linda Maguire Team Helps You


The Linda Maguire Team, Royal LePage Burloak real estate agents, can help you find a home in these highly desired neighbourhood. With over 15 years of experience in real estate, and decades of experience in these communities, we know exactly where to find what you are looking for! We lead buyers through the often daunting process of buying a house in a real estate market with rising prices, and educate them about the market so they can make informed decisions. We keep our clients informed and help them every step of the way. These are traits that make The Linda Maguire Team from Royal LePage Burloak an excellent choice for securing a home in an area that fits your needs.

 

About The Linda Maguire Team


The Linda Maguire Team are Royal LePage Burloak real estate agents are highly experienced and dedicated to clients and their needs. The Team consists of Linda Maguire, Brian Maguire, Elaine Blamauer and Cathy Buttrum. Contact these Royal LePage Burloak real estate agents today!

 

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The Linda Maguire Team | Real Estate Burlington Active House Staging

 

Selling a home can be quite overwhelming and take a lot of effort when you “Do It Yourself”. More importantly, you may miss out on opportunities to maximize the value of your home!

 

Even when working with a real estate agent you may end up with a lot of work. Many agents provide “free staging” as part of their listing services, which usually means the agent suggests a list of tasks to be carried out by the seller to make the house more “sellable”. Many of these tasks come at a cost, such as painting walls, removing and storing furniture, and even purchasing decorative items that may make the home more attractive to target buyers.

 

The Linda Maguire Team, sales representatives with Royal LePage Burloak, provides services that make selling a home less stressful.  One service that sets The Linda Maguire Team apart from other real estate sales representatives is their “Active Staging” service, where they actively get hands on involved with staging their customers’ homes using the team’s own warehouse of furnishings and using their design background, at no cost to the customer.

 

The Importance of Active Staging when Selling your Home


Your own furnishings or interior design will often not work well when selling a home. The reason is that potential buyers need to be able to envision your house as their home, and your personal belongings may simply not fit their personal style and preference. The main objective is to present a cohesive and clean aesthetic that aligns with the very latest styling trends.

 

According to professional real estate sources, staging does in fact impact buyers, and can increase the sales price of your home.  Staging creates an appearance that enhances a room rather than detracting from it. Staging is done through reducing the amount of clutter, grouping things in a way that optimizes space, and adding furniture or accessories in a manner that enables potential buyers to imagine their personal items in the home, and how they would use the space.

 

Active Staging from The Linda Maguire Team


When working with clients, Linda and her team come to your home with a selection from their warehouse of furnishings specifically used in the active staging process. In their Active Staging process, the Linda Maguire Team will showcase your home for maximum value.

 

About The Linda Maguire Team


The Linda Maguire Team consists of highly experienced and dedicated real estate sales representatives; Linda Maguire, Brian Maguire, Elaine Blamauer and Cathy Buttrum. Contact the Linda Maguire Team (Royal LePage Burloak) today!

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The Linda Maguire Team | Real Estate Burlington Selling Tips

 

It’s like clockwork: the real estate market will spike each year in the spring. In April and May, as the snow melts  and the weather improves, buyers start to look for their next home, and sellers prepare their home to make the best possible impression.

 

This year, however, the number of houses available on the real estate market is very low - about 10% below the ten-year average. More than in previous years, the current real estate market is a true seller’s market. Houses are being sold for record prices, often well above the asking price. It’s a stressful situation for buyers, but also for sellers who are often at a loss deciding on a pricing strategy to adopt.

 

The Linda Maguire Team (Royal LePage Burlington real estate agents) can assist you in selling your home in the current market with steadily-rising house prices. First we’ll help you predict the market value based on recently sold properties in the same location, and with similar features. Then we’ll help you set the pricing strategy. There are essentially two strategies that you can adopt to realize the highest possible value for your home:

 

-          List your home above the predicted market value and hope a buyer pays that price

-          List your home at the predicted market value and hope to get multiple bids

 

Below we provide some insight in these two pricing strategies available to sellers:

 

1.  List your home above predicted market value.


Many homeowners feel that there is an opportunity to “cash in” with the unexpectedly high prices being paid for real estate. It is an often chosen strategy with the current shortage in the supply of houses. However, in this current spring market, buyers have generally been oddly unwilling to even approach a home that is clearly priced well above market value. Educated buyers, especially those working with a realtor, have easy access to all relevant information on the internet. They can assess the fairness of the price of a newly listed home, and sit back and wait for an overpriced home to be reduced in price. This pricing strategy can therefore backfire, when a house “sits on the market” for an extended period of time.  Buyers then begin to wonder if there is something wrong with the house. It creates a very real stigma for the home, so much so that homes priced with this strategy often sell for less than their true market value, and certainly far less than the original list price.

 

2.   List your home at the predicted market value


Even in a seller’s market it often makes good sense to list a home at, or just slightly above, the predicted market value. The best way to find out the predicted market value is working with an honest and experienced real estate agent, who is familiar with the specific area in which the house resides. The advantage of a local real estate agent with a lot of experience in the neighbourhood of the about-to-be-listed house, is that the realtor will likely have been inside of comparable homes which were sold recently. Very often homes that look similar in size and condition on the outside, or through real estate photos, are in fact very different in terms of quality of finish on the inside – the extent of the impact can be several hundred thousand dollars!  So an experienced local realtor can present an objective listing price recommendation.

 

Holding off offers for a few days after the initial listing date gives your home a chance to be viewed by the most ideal potential buyers (as those are the ones who will view it first) and their realtors, and, in a spring market, delaying acceptance of offers will often attract multiple bids. In situations where there is competition among buyers, sellers often realize sale prices that 5-10% above their asking price. 

 

The spring 2016 market is unusual.  Currently there is an historically low shortage of available listed homes.  In competition, buyers will jump at the chance to overpay for a home listed at close to market value.  But they often won’t even bid on a home that is listed too far above market value.

 

The Linda Maguire Team Seller Services


The award-winning Linda Maguire Team works with you through the entire home buying and selling processed. We prepare a thorough market analysis to help with buying ad we visit the inside of comparable hoes.  We also help with the selling strategy, and will help prepare your home with active staging services to maximize selling price. We’ll guide you through the processes every step of the way.

 

About The Linda Maguire Team


The Linda Maguire Team are Royal LePage Burlington agents who are highly experienced and dedicated to their clients and their needs. The Team consists of Linda Maguire, Brian Maguire, Elaine Blamauer and Cathy Buttrum. Contact these Royal LePage Burlington real estate agents today!

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The following market stats are based on data from The REALTORS® Association of Hamilton-Burlington , which (RAHB)reported 1,649 sales were processed through the RAHB Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) System in April. 


Sales were 2.7 per cent lower than the same month last year yet 13 per cent higher than the 10-year average. 

Click here to read the entire report.


In Hamilton, average freehold sale prices were up 15.7%.   Click here for the Residential Real Estate Market Activity chart for the City of Hamilton.


In Burlington, average freehold sale prices were up 11.4%.  Click here for the Residential Real Estate Market Activity chart for Burlington.


Click here for the Monthly Market Activity chart.


Follow the links below for the Stats Map and Stats Chart for the month of March.

Stats Map

Stats Chart


Click the image below to watch Linda's market update. 


The Linda Maguire Team | Real Estate Burlington Market Update

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The trademarks REALTOR®, REALTORS®, and the REALTOR® logo are controlled by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) and identify real estate professionals who are member’s of CREA. The trademarks MLS®, Multiple Listing Service® and the associated logos are owned by CREA and identify the quality of services provided by real estate professionals who are members of CREA. Used under license.