Gary Moran's Kingston Realty Team AUGUST 2008 Newsletter

Hi everyone,

Well, weather records continue to fall.  Everyone you talk to is commenting about the amount of rainfall this year, which followed record snowfall this year as well.

Last month, you might recall, we reported a slow sales month for June 2008 compared to June 2007.  That certainly changed in the month of July where we were only two transactions short of the record July last year (510 transactions in July 2008 compared to 512 in July 2007).

That certainly picked up our market in the Kingston area and for total number of transactions from January to July 2008 we are down 6.9% compared to last year (Last month the number was off by 8.4% compared to 2007.)  If we compare the number of transactions this year-to-date to the average year-to-date for the past three years, we are only down by 2.9%.

Average prices continue in positive territory with two-storey homes up by 5.3%, bungalows up by 4.9% and condos up by 4.4% - when January to July 2008 average prices are compared to the average price for 2007.

Inventory continues at all time highs, 26.3% above last year's numbers.  What appears to be happening is pretty much what I have been saying since the beginning of the year - sellers keep your asking price realistic and expect more time on the market, buyers what a great opportunity with lots of inventory to choose from. 

Overall I think we have a healthy balanced and good market in the Kingston Board area.

P.S. Just before this newsletter was to go out, I happened to read an article in the Kingston Whig Standard that said ‘home prices dropped on average by 3.6 percent between June and July'.  Well, I had a second look at our MLS Kingston board statistics and prices have not declined in our board.

Average Price June 08                     Average Price July 08

 2 Storey                                   $265,009                                               $266,880

Bungalow                                $234,108                                             $234,344

Condo                                     $171,322                                             $171,581

Unless the board statistics are incorrect, I don't see a drop in price here in Kingston.

MORTGAGE LIFE INSURANCE

Here is a very important topic and one that I hope all of my clients consider having!

One of my associates over coffee the other day asked me if I had seen the CBC documentary about banks and mortgage insurance - well, I must admit I had not seen it.  Well, my associate sent me the link - which I have included here and I was absolutely stunned at what I learned.

http://www.cbc.ca/marketplace/in_denial/

I strongly recommend anyone who holds a mortgage take the time to watch this video - it may be the best half-hour you have ever spent.  Really, it seems that many people who ‘believe' they have coverage find out too late they have nothing.  Please take time to check this out.

If you have any questions about this eye opening documentary by the CBC, please call my office or better yet call my associate Ilyas Khalid who brought this to my attention.  Ilyas is a financial advisor with Sun Life Financial and he can be reached on his cell phone at 613-217-8760 or via e-mail at ilyas.khalid@SunLife.com. Let him know you are calling, because you saw the CBC documentary from our newsletter.

For those considering selling their home, call my office at 613-389-4052 to arrange for a full presentation of all the marketing services we provide - just one example "The Talking House." has been getting our listings a lot of attention.  Our multifaceted marketing program is designed to gain the greatest exposure of your property in the marketplace - exposure to qualified buyers is the key to selling quickly and for top dollar - call us today!

If anyone has any questions about our unique VIP Buyer Profile Service please give me a call at my home office 613-389-4052, for those at a distance call me toll free direct at 1-866-393-5762. This hassle free service could save you thousands!
 
If anyone would like to receive our special Video entitled "What you need to know before selling your home" simply call 613-389-4052 and ask for the free video to be sent to you. It could make you thousands!

Have a Great Day!

Regards,

Gary Moran, M.Sc.

KingstonRealtyTeam

sutton group-masters realty inc., Brokerage

Independently Owned and Operated