When selling your house or condo in Winnipeg, you have about 1400 real estate agents to choose from. While it is a very good thing to have a ‘Choice’, the homeowner should take a close look at the only thing that separates and differentiates the agents from one another: Their Marketing Plan. What does the agent DO to advertise and market your property?

All REASLTORS® in and around Winnipeg use the MLS®. A very powerful tool to help sell your Winnipeg house or condo! But since ALL agents use it, this tool alone does not help differentiate between the agents. So the home seller should ask “What ELSE do you do to sell my house?”

Select a REALTOR® for the marketing plan he or she presents.

If you’re getting ready to sell your Winnipeg house or condo, please call me anytime for a free Market Evaluation and presentation of my Marketing Plan.

Bo 333-2202

Hi Everyone:

Winnipeg Real Estate agents have a new tool to help buyers find their perfect house or condo. Keystone MATRIX® is a search program which helps buyers not only FIND the house they want, but also keeps them informed on sales, price changes and eventually the SOLD price of a house or condo as well.

I have found recently that many buyers are receiving the listings from an agent, but no one has ever taken the time to explain how the program works. In this short, 7 minute tutorial, I will show you a few basics on how to get the most out of this system.

But remember, FINDING a house is the easy part. When it comes time to make an offer, being PREPARED is key. So if you are serious about buying a house or condo, please call me anytime and we’ll start with a short meeting to make sure that you are prepared.

Bo 333-2202

Hi Everyone:

Recent interest rate hikes have had the effect of pressuring buyers to quickly buy a home. Home buyers are pre-approved at lower rates and want to take advantage of those rates by purchasing a new home or condo.

So if you’re thinking of selling your home, please call me anytime….. Now may be a great time to sell your luxury home or condo.

Hi everyone:

We all know that Winnipeg’s real estate market is very hot….it’s been a Sellers Market for the past few years. So it should not come as any surprise when you hear people say: “I sold my house by myself, I didn’t need a REALTOR®”. But simply selling the house is not the key….selling it to the BEST and HIGHEST BIDDER, THAT’S THE TRICK.

I recently listed a house in a central location in Winnipeg. The home-owner was thinking of selling his home privately, and he told me what price would make him happy. We ended up listing the house for $10,000 ABOVE the price he mentioned, and then proceeded to market the house. We received 31 showings by agents, and 3 people phoned me directly. These 3 would be the ‘private buyers’ as they do not work with an agent yet. So if the home-seller had chosen to sell privately, these 3 would have been his market. Of those three, 1 was not ready to compete, 1 thought the house was too highly priced and the 3rd didn’t show up for the appointment to see the house.

On the other hand, of the 31 showings by real estate agents, 7 brought very nice offers, all of which were above the asking price (which was already, as you recall, $10,000 above the home-sellers “Happy Price”. In the end, the home sold for $33,000 above what the home-owner had considered a ‘good price’.

In the end, the market determines how much your home is worth…. so make sure that you expose your home to the WHOLE market, not just bargain hunting private buyers.

To explore and discuss your options, please call me anytime. Bo 333-2202

Hello everyone:

In order for the home-seller to be assured top dollar in Winnipeg’s hot real estate market, it is in their best interest to create a bidding war, or multiple offer situation. Why?

“It is only thru competition that we try our hardest and achieve our best!”

I don’t know who said this first, but I firmly believe it’s true. Think about it: Track and Field records are not set during practice runs. They are set during the Olympics and World Championship events, when competition is at its highest level. The same holds true for the sale of a house. EVERY buyer thinks the house is over-priced, especially if he is the only one making an offer. If there is NO competition, the buyer will try to get the house at a reduced price. However, if the buyer realizes that there are 3 or 4 other people who are also putting in an offer, they then put their best foot forward and present their best, cleanest and highest offer.

Creating a bidding war is in the home-sellers best interest. If you’re thinking of selling, be sure to call me and I’ll be glad to sit down with you and explain how this works. Bo: 333-2202

Hi everyone:

In this crazy time of bidding wars (especially on entry-level houses) a first time buyer might consider purchasing a condominium for their first home. In fact there are many great reasons to buy a condominium, not just for a first time buyer. To see a list of reasons, read 7 Reaons

With 700-sq-ft bungalows selling in the south end of the city for over $200,000, there are a number of condominiums available for prices perfect for the first time buyer. To find out a little more, read Condos between 120K and 180K

As an example, an 800 sq ft apartment style condominium, with upgraded kitchen, bath, flooring, new appliances and much more, sell for approximately $160,000. And 1100 sq-ft townhouse condos, with c/air and insuite laundry can be purchased for approximately $165,000 to $170,000.

As an added bonus, although condominiums sometimes do receive multiple offers, these situations are far more rare, making condominiums an excellent choice for the first time buyer who need to put financing conditions into their offers.

Looking to buy a house or condo and getting frustrated?

Working with a REALTOR® can bring you several advantages: Getting listings sent to you via e-mail is one of those. But its only one part of my job….and many people might argue that its a SMALL part. A much more important aspect is BEING PREPARED.

I recently met a young couple who had been looking at homes for the past year, at first on their own and then with another agent. When they finally found a home they liked, they put in an offer and promptly got ‘blown out of the water’, loosing by over $30,000. They came to me a little upset. But they weren’t upset at LOOSING the offer, they were upset at the fact that they had received (in their words) no direction or advice on how much their dream home might sell for.

Upon hearing their story, we set up a meeting (as I like to do with all my buyers) and I explained the current state of the Real Estate Market in Winnipeg. On 3 separate occasions, the lady turned to her fiancee and said “No one ever told us that before.”

During our consultation, I learned that although they were pre-approved by a bank, that particular bank required 3 days to complete the financing. “3 DAYS?”….. in OUR market? You might as well not be pre-approved.

A couple of phone calls later, my new buyers were approved thru a mortgage broker with a finance condition down to 1 day..

Bottom line: Next house they liked,…. they got!

If you’re just looking to have listings sent to your e-mail, there are 1400 REALTORS® ready to do that. If you want to BUY a house, and be READY and PREPARED to actually GET the house…….Call Me! My buyers are among the best prepared in this market.

Just about ANY REALTOR® will send you listings via e-mail if you ask. But getting the listings is only a small part of the job. Let me help you actually GET the house you're looking for.

Are you looking for a house or condo in Winnipeg, and considering purchasing a "Private Sale? Here is a recent example of what happened, and a very good reason why buyers should be working with a REALTOR® when shopping for a new home

Home Buyers in Winnipeg have a new tool at their disposal: REALTORS® use the Keystone-Matrix system which is a huge help for home buyers. There are several neat features in this system…. Here is a look at one of those features.

Here are some of the most common questions Home-Buyers have:

Q: Whats the best way to FIND a house in Winnipeg? Go to Open Houses? Looking thru real estate magazines? Search individual agents websites?

A: Magazines are often published once a month, or perhaps once a week. By the time a listing makes it into print, it’s most often already sold or accepting offers. Open Houses can be very hectic, and you end up ‘rubbing elbows’ with lots of other visitors. The Best Way? Work with one REALTOR® who can show you ALL the listings. Someone like, say, me for example. Watch this video.

Q: Why should I work with a REALTOR®. I can find the houses on my own!

A: FINDING them is just a small part of what real estate agents can do for you. Once you find a nice house, I can help you evaluate it, offer advice on how to structure your offer to make it more acceptable (thereby winning any possible bidding war), and I can even help you get pre-approved by a great lender. Please watch this video.

Q: My checking account is with a bank. Can’t I just go there to be pre-approved?

A: In this fast market, every buyer knows that pre-approval is required, so EVERY buyer already does that. It’s no longer sufficient just to be pre-approved, its actually more important to be pre-approved by the RIGHT lender. To find out HOW you do that, watch this video.

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I update this Blog on a regular basis, adding new listings, market updates, news and interesting (well, at least I think they’re interesting) pieces of information. You can make sure that you receive the posts by two ways: Subscribe to the RSS (check the toolbar along the bottom of the screen) or fill in this form and you’ll get the latest blog posts via e-mail, once a week.

Winnipeg's Real Estate Market is always changing, and FAST. Prices and evaluations that were true a few weeks ago, are no longer accurate. New price-points are set on a weekly basis.

For a Free Market Evaluation, call me anytime. 204-333-2202

Here are some of the most common questions Home-Buyers have:

Q: Whats the best way to FIND a house in Winnipeg? Go to Open Houses? Looking thru real estate magazines? Search individual agents websites?

A: Magazines are often published once a month, or perhaps once a week. By the time a listing makes it into print, it’s most often already sold or accepting offers. Open Houses can be very hectic, and you end up ‘rubbing elbows’ with lots of other visitors. The Best Way? Work with one REALTOR® who can show you ALL the listings. Someone like, say, me for example. Watch this video.

Q: Why should I work with a REALTOR®. I can find the houses on my own!

A: FINDING them is just a small part of what real estate agents can do for you. Once you find a nice house, I can help you evaluate it, offer advice on how to structure your offer to make it more acceptable (thereby winning any possible bidding war), and I can even help you get pre-approved by a great lender. Please watch this video.

Q: My checking account is with a bank. Can’t I just go there to be pre-approved?

A: In this fast market, every buyer knows that pre-approval is required, so EVERY buyer already does that. It’s no longer sufficient just to be pre-approved, its actually more important to be pre-approved by the RIGHT lender. To find out HOW you do that, watch this video.

Here are a few of the most common questions home-owners have, and answers to them:

Q: What kind of questions should we ask a prospective Listing Agent?

A: Here is a guide to some of the important points to ask a Listing Agent. Please see the video in this post.

Q: How do we create a ‘bidding war’ for our house or condo?

A: There are several ingredients to creating a bidding war, including: Setting a realistic Asking Price, generating lots of Buyer Interest and also the status of the current market. For a video explanation, see this post.

Q: If we receive a full-price offer on our home, are we obligated to accept it?

A: No. If you were a store-owner, advertising a quart of milk for $1.00, you WOULD be obligated to sell at that price (or issue rainchecks), however home-owners are exempt from the laws that govern this issue. However, while no one can force a home-owner to sell at an advertised price, the question remains: “If he/she was not going to accept $220,000 for the home, WHY did we LIST it at that price?” For more indepth explanation, please watch the video in this post.

Q: Is there a difference between REALTORS®? I mean, they all provide the same service, don’t they?

A: We are all called REALTORS®, we all place homes on the M.L.S.®, but that’s pretty much where the similarities end. Just as no 2 lawyers are the same, no 2 doctors are the same, so we can quickly see the differences between Real Estate professionals. I always say: You hire a REALTOR® for one reason: To do the marketing and advertising for your home, and this is where a huge difference becomes apparent. To see my marketing plan, check out this video.

I update this Blog on a regular basis, adding new listings, market updates, news and interesting (well, at least I think they’re interesting) pieces of information. You can make sure that you receive the posts by two ways: Subscribe to the RSS (check the toolbar along the bottom of the screen) or fill in this form and you’ll get the latest blog posts via e-mail, once a week.