Canadian Home Prices Set to Rise in 2014 – Higher Than Expected

According to a press release issued early this year, The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) is forecasting stronger sales than expected through this summer and fall. In the past 6 months the Teranet – National Bank House Price Index has reported month over month increases in house prices which would seem to signify the same.

The CREA release seems to credit the west coast for stronger increases than expected, while increases were weaker moving to the eastern side of the country. Projections were revised to include increased sales in BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario – while Ontario’s numbers were noted to increase marginally.

According to CREA it is anticipated that nationally home prices will climb by approximately 3.7% in 2014, with the highest increases expected to occur in BC (an anticipated 8.4% increase). CREA touts Calgary, Toronto and parts of Quebec as areas where markets are well balanced and there is far more demand than supply. 

The question is, if property prices are on the rise signifying more supply than demand, what does this mean to you and are you experiencing an increase in business? 

You can read the full press release here http://www.propertywire.com/news/north-america/canada-house-price-outlook-201401028629.html.

 

Have You Registered for ViMO Yet?

If you haven’t already heard, Teranet has launched a fantastic new app for real estate sales professionals that enables you to access property detail information, view neighbourhood demographics, become better connected to prospects, clients, colleagues and suppliers, and more… Check it out at www.myvimo.ca and inquire about how you can get the app.

Due Diligence – How Far is Too Far?

As a real estate sales professional, you know that business isn’t always easy. The economy and market largely determines whether there will be a feast or a famine. Whether you have an abundance of prospects or deals on the go or not, you have many expenses to consider as it relates to the different aspects of your role as a real estate sales professional.

Staging of properties, advertising, gas, etc… your ongoing expenses can be sky high. This is not to mention the costs incurred if you land a client. While due diligence has always been the role of a real estate lawyer in a real estate transaction, more and more real estate sales professionals have an increased demand to perform due diligence to vet their deals. 

But how far is too far and how much should one really spend to perform due diligence? This is an ongoing source of conversation in the social stratosphere as real estate fraud is rampant and real estate sales professionals need to be able to focus their time on good deals that have a high probability of closing.  

There are many tools available to real estate sales professionals that do different things, and gather data from different sources; knowing which one offers the best source of data, and is reliable can be a daunting experience. 

When choosing a real estate tool that possesses elements that enable you to perform due diligence, here is a short list of some of the things you may want to look for:

1.      What is the source of the data and how current is it? It is very common for real estate software providers to offer solution data that is a month or so old, while others only provide access to data that can be months and even years old. A good solution will provide you with the ability to validate up-to-date data if you need it.

2.      Can you get everything in one place? Where due diligence is concerned you want to be able to validate home ownership information, sales history information, mortgage details, comparable sales in a particular neighbourhood, access condo status certificates, check if there are liens on a property, access surveys, the property’s Parcel Register, view instrument images and MPAC assessment reports and more…

3.      How reliable is the application? Is it available online? How accessible is it? Is the provider reliable? Does it often crash or produce errors?

Thanks to technology, you can’t really ever go too far where due diligence is concerned because a small investment in a good application can do wonders and make you that much more efficient. 

For more information about real estate technology and performing due diligence please visit www.geowarehouse.ca or call 1-866-237-5937.

Verifying Home Ownership Information – Lawyers, Mortgage Brokers & Real Estate Sales Professionals

Every real estate transaction involves a homeowner. Most real estate transactions also involve a real estate lawyer, mortgage broker or agent and/or real estate sales professional or broker. The question is, do all 3 need to verify home ownership information? 

For real estate lawyers, the reason for verifying home ownership information is clear: the real estate lawyer is charged with the task of closing the legal aspects of the real estate transaction, including transferring title. Generally, lawyers are paid by retainer from the client and so, when verifying home ownership information, if something is amiss, they are paid regardless. 

For mortgage brokers and agents, knowing who is on title is critical because often they are not paid until their deal closes and they receive payment from proceeds of the mortgage or from the lender to whom they refer the mortgage. If there are other people on title, they stand to waste an immense amount of time. 

If you are a real estate sales professional, the same is true for you. Often you are the first to encounter the client in the process of undertaking a real estate transaction at it relates to the purchase or sale of a home. Like mortgage agents and brokers, you are likely paid for your work from the proceeds of the seller’s home. You benefit from having higher closure rates, and not having deals implode because information was omitted by a client on either side of the transaction. 

As a real estate sales professional, when performing due diligence on a real estate transaction we recommend taking the following steps:

1.      Verify who your client is – you can do this by asking for identification and then, if they are a seller, checking their name against whose name is on title.

2.      Verify that the seller has the equity to pay your fees.

3.      Investigate the property being purchased or sold and determine a fair list price/offer with your client.

In terms of taking the above 3 steps quickly and efficiently you can achieve all 3 by:

·        Requesting a Property Details Report in GeoWarehouse and/or;

·        Purchasing a Parcel Register in the GeoWarehouse Store.

Taking these steps will mean that you will know more about your client, prevent fraud, close more deals, thereby leading to stronger relationships with banks and other mortgage lenders and also your clients. Verifying home ownership is your first step towards increased profitability. 

For more information about how you can verify home ownership information please visit www.geowarehouse.ca or call 1-866-237-5937.