All Realtors® in Ontario are governed by the legal concept of “agency”.

The concept of agency is often misunderstood so let’s take a look at the different possible forms of agency relationship in real estate.

Seller Representation

A written contract, called a Listing Agreement, creates an agency relationship between the seller and the brokerage and establishes seller representation.  It also explains services the brokerage will provide, establishes a fee arrangement for the real estate agent’s services and specifies what obligations a seller may have.

A real estate agent representing a seller must do what is best for the seller.

Buyer Representation

A written contract, called a Buyer Representation Agreement, creates an agency relationship between the buyer and the brokerage, and establishes buyer representation.  It also explains services the brokerage will provide, establishes a fee arrangement for the real estate agent’s services and specifies what obligations a buyer may have.

A real estate agent representing a buyer must do what is best for the buyer.

Multiple Representation

Occasionally a brokerage will represent both the buyer and the seller.  The buyer and seller must consent to this arrangement in writing.  Under this multiple representation arrangement, the brokerage must do what is best for both the buyer and the seller.

Since the brokerage’s loyalty is divided between the buyer and the seller who have conflicting interests, it is absolutely essential that a multiple representation relationship be properly documented.  Representation agreements specifically describe the rights and duties of everyone involved and any limitations to those rights and duties.

Customer Service

It is still possible for a Realtor® to provide services to buyers and sellers without creating buyer or seller representation.  This is called “customer service”.

Under this arrangement, the brokerage can provide many valuable services in a fair and honest manner.  This relationship can be set out in a buyer or seller Customer Service Agreement.

Real estate negotiations are often complex and a brokerage may be providing representation and/or customer service to more than one seller or buyer.  The Realtor® will disclose these relationships to each buyer and seller.

Client or Customer?

Anytime you enter into a written agency arrangement whether it is Seller Representation, Buyer Representation or Multiple Representation, you become a client of the brokerage that you are entering the agreement with.  As a client (sometimes referred to as a Principal) you are owed specific Fiduciary Duties.  The fiduciary duties owed to a client are:

• Undivided loyalty
• Obedience
• Accounting
• Reasonable care and diligence
• Full disclosure
• Confidentiality

Customers are not owed fiduciary duties however all Realtors® do have legal obligations to customers as well.  The responsibilities to a customer are:

• Honesty
• Accounting
• Reasonable skill and care
• Agency and material fact disclosures

Next time will take a specific look at each of the fiduciary duties as well as the responsibilities owed to customers.

Why Listing Your Vaughan Home Before The Competition Could Put Thousands Of Extra Dollars In Your Pocket!

When it comes to Real Estate, you’ve probably heard the expression that timing is everything. If you’re a homeowner in Vaughan looking to sell, the time has never been better!

There are literally thousands of qualified home buyers out there looking for the perfect home in Vaughan yet the number of homes currently available for sale is the lowest it’s been in years. The fact is we are at the peak of a seller’s market but that could all come to an end as early as this Spring.

So the obvious question is how can you as a seller take advantage of these rare circumstances before it’s too late? The answer is simple… take advantage of the narrow window of opportunity by listing your Vaughan home before the competition.

Why NOT to wait for the spring market to list your Vaughan Home

Reason #1: Less competition

• A Seller’s market is characterized by a limited supply of quality listings in the marketplace. For smart homeowners looking to sell that means there are fewer listings on the market to compete with.

Reason #2: More qualified buyers

• During a Seller’s market buyer demand is high due in part to a lack of quality listings. Smart homeowners looking to sell realize this and prepare their home for sale before the competition in order to capitalize on the thousands of qualified buyers looking for the perfect home.

Reason #3: Shorter amount of time on the market

• When you combine ‘Less Competition’ with the ‘More Qualified Buyers’ that are typically found in a seller’s market the result is that well priced homes sell quicker. That means less time and aggravation for you the home seller.

Reason #4: Thousands of extra dollars in your pocket

• With a limited supply of quality homes available for sale, the Buyers negotiating power is restricted. Those looking for the perfect home have to act fast and pay top dollar to beat out other buyers when the right home finally does come available. That could mean thousands of extra dollars in your pocket!

Buyer’s struggling to find their Dream Home in Vaughan

With mortgage rates near all time lows and existing inventory of resale homes the lowest they’ve been in years, it’s no wonder there is an excess of buyers searching for a home in Vaughan right now. With each passing day their frustration grows and their desire to find the perfect home gets stronger. As a seller you couldn’t possibly ask for a better situation… but there is a catch.

The seller’s market won’t last forever!

With each new listing that comes available in Vaughan, the balance of power slowly shifts from the seller back towards the buyer. That means that the seller’s market could easily come to an end as early as the Spring of 2010 as homeowners in your neighbourhood looking to sell rush to get their home on the market.

If you’re thinking about taking advantage of the current seller’s market in Vaughan and are curious to know what your home and other similar homes in your neighbourhood are selling for there is an easy and fast way to find out!  Get your free copy of the Vaughan Real Estate Report and learn the value of your Vaughan Home in today’s real estate market!

Steven Andrade is part of the Andrade Advantage Real Estate Team and a Real Estate Sales Representative with Royal LePage Maximum in Vaughan.  To speak with Steven about buying or selling a home in Vaughan please call: 416. 324. 2626

If you’re considering the sale of your Vaughan Home in 2010 the coming weeks are critical.

Of course, you want to get the very most money for your home and you want to do so in the least amount of time possible.  Unfortunately this can be easier said then done especially if you don’t have access to the right tools and the help of experienced professionals.  To complicate matters, there are other homeowners in Vaughan just like you, with similar homes, who also want top dollar for their home in the shortest time.

So what to do?

For starters you should establish the reason WHY you are selling.  In many cases there is an obvious reason but you would be surprised at how often this step is overlooked.  The first question to ask yourself is whether you are selling because you NEED to or because you WANT to?

If you bought a new construction home or are relocating for work then you probably need to sell.

If you would like a bigger home, added features that your current home doesn’t have, or are downsizing then you probably want to sell.

Establishing why you are selling is very important as it will help keep you motivated and on track whenever you hit a rough patch in the selling process.

Once you have established the reason why you are planning to sell you want to determine a time frame.  In many cases, if you need to sell, your time frame will be dictated by your circumstances.  However if you are selling because you want to, you will have a lot more flexibility when it comes to determining a time frame.

As a basic guideline you want to work with a 45-60 day time frame assuming that your home doesn’t need any major repairs.  That will allow a little over 2 weeks for preparation of the home prior to listing it for sale and just under a month to show it to potential buyers and negotiate an acceptable offer.  Keep in mind that a properly priced home based on current market values will almost always sell within 30 days.

How to determine market value

Now that you know why and when you are planning to sell, you want to determine the value of your home.  House values are affected by a number of factors including the overall economic climate, the time of year and the local real estate market conditions in your city or neighbourhood.

The overall economic climate includes things like employment figures, interest rates, consumer confidence and general economic conditions.  Don’t be afraid if the overall economic climate isn’t perfect – it rarely is.

When it comes to the time of year, remember that in many regards the real estate market is seasonal.  Typically, real estate activity is highest in the Spring months and again in the early part of the Fall months.  As a seller, you generally want to expose your home to as many buyers as possible so capitalizing on the increased activity is advised where ever possible.

While the overall economic climate and the time of year affects the value of your home, nothing is as important as the current local real estate market conditions in your city or neighbourhood.  Local real estate market conditions are the driving factor behind the current value of your home. 

If you’re curious about the current real estate market conditions in Vaughan or would like a detailed comparative market analysis to determine the value of your Vaughan home, there’s a fast and easy way to find out for free! 

The Vaughan Real Estate Report is a detailed report that looks at specific neighbourhoods in Vaughan and provides important facts about the current Real Estate market.  It also includes an over the net evaluation of your home plus a list of similar homes for sale or sold in your neighbourhood in the last 30 days.

Establishing the value of your home is a critical step in the home selling process.  Get free and easy valuation reports from VaughanRealEstateReport.com and arm yourself with current and accurate real estate information so when it comes time to sell your Vaughan home you can do so with confidence!

Housing led the way with a three per cent gain as the Statistics Canada Composite Index of Leading Indicators rose 1.5 per cent in December – the largest monthly advance since February of 1983 and the seventh straight monthly increase to end off 2009. All of the index components posted increases in December.

Economic recovery in Canada to date has been driven by household spending, so it is no surprise to see strong gains posted in the housing and retail components of the index. What was even more important, however, were the gains in index categories related to goods production and export to the United States.

New orders for manufactured durable goods increased by eight per cent in December while the US Index of Leading Indicators edged higher. A return to sustained economic growth in Canada will require a recovery in the country’s manufacturing and natural resource sectors. This recovery will depend on renewed demand for Canadian goods and services south of the border.

Increased US demand will depend on US consumer spending over the next two years because 70 per cent of the US economy is driven by personal expenditure. It will be important to monitor the state of the US consumer, in terms of employment, income growth and confidence, in order to gauge how strong Canada’s economic growth will be moving forward.

Click here to view the entire Release

Jason Mercer – TREB Senior Manager of Market Analysis

The Bank of Canada has announced that its target for the overnight lending rate will remain at 0.25 per cent and has further reiterated its commitment to hold the overnight rate at this level until the end of the second quarter of 2010. The overnight rate is the rate at which major participants in the money market borrow and lend funds to each other for one day. Other benchmark rates like the prime rate are generally expected to follow the Bank’s decisions to raise or lower the overnight rate target.

The Bank of Canada’s forecast for economic growth and inflation is largely unchanged. The rate of inflation, as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), is forecast to reach the Bank’s two per cent target in the third quarter of 2011.

The Bank’s main lever in controlling inflation is the level of interest rates, with the idea being that lower interest rates promote more consumer spending and, by extension, higher rates of inflation. Conversely, higher interest rates should result in less consumer spending and lower rates of inflation.

The consensus in Canadian credit markets is for a 200+ basis point (two percentage point) increase in the overnight lending rate by the end of 2011.  Longer term Canadian government bond yields are also expected to increase, but by a lesser amount. Shorter-term and variable rate mortgage products generally move closely or in concert with the prime rate. Longer term mortgage products (e.g. 5-year fixed rate mortgages) more closely follow Canadian government bond yields.

Click here to view the entire Release

Jason Mercer – TREB Senior Manager of Market Analysis