A few great housing trends for 2015!

In Canada, we are in the heart of winter. In Ontario, this winter has been a fair mixture of icy, snowy cold days and days of warmer weather. A lot of real estate agents will tell you that the start of a new year sales can slow down. As we continue to move forward into this year, there are some housing trends that you may want to look at.

This is a wonderful, informative Ottawa Citizen article on housing trends for 2015:

http://ottawacitizen.com/life/homes/housing-trends-whats-hot-for-2015

Here are a few trends from the article:

House design
'There should be growing demand for multigenerational homes, says Lehnert, as buyers look for ways to share purchase costs and keep extended families together. Monarch Homes’ new Traditions II line launching in Stittsville this month, for example, includes some products with a generous third-floor loft that can be converted to an inlaw, nanny or other suite with walk-in closet and bathroom.'
Colours
'We hope you haven’t invested your life savings in marsala. The reddish-brown hue is the colour of the year for 2015, according to industry leader Pantone Color Institute, but the choice has been derided on several fronts.'
Decor
'Other decor trends to watch: warmer metals such as brass and colours like rose-golds; also a return of Chinoiserie and its cousins, like the Asian-influenced wallpaper Farrow & Ball introduced last fall.'

#BellLetsTalk

Today may be January 28th but it’s also an important day to recognize mental illness awareness.

Bell Let’s Talk is a charitable program dedicated to mental health initiatives. Bell has committed more than $67 million to support many mental health organizations from all over Canada.

For today, Bell will donate 5¢ more to mental health initiatives. Here is how you can help with mental illness awareness today.

Click the link for more details on Bell Let’s Talk.

#BellLetsTalk

http://letstalk.bell.ca/en/

Are you moving? Well, here are some great tips!

New year, new experiences, new start. Maybe a new place to live?

Many people kick off a new year by thinking about moving. If could be for a new job, up sizing, downsizing, whatever the reason, the actual packing up and moving can be a kick in the butt. Let's admit it... Packing all your belongs up in boxes and bags and transporting everything isn't much fun! 

Click the following link for 33 fantastic moving tips! It's a great buzzfeed article to read! Here are a few great ones...

7. Place an extra cotton pad or ball into your powder cosmetics to keep them from breaking.

12. Buy a roll of stretch wrap.

23. If you have a lot of fragile valuables, hiring movers as opposed to asking friends can end up paying for itself.

 27. If you’re doing a cross-country move and you don’t need your stuff immediately, consider shipping via Greyhound.

31. Make your last grocery trip two weeks prior to moving.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/peggy/brilliant-moving-tips#.vuWvgAZ8j

Life is like a camp fire!

Life is full of surprises. There are lots of ups and downs and successes and failures, but in the end, life is like a camp fire.

I'm sure you are thinking ‘Life is like a camp fire? That sounds odd!’

Well, I say that life is like a camp fire because it’s true! Let’s say you are out in the woods camping and you have to build a camp fire to keep warm. You find a good spot for a fire pit, you have some matches, you grab some small pieces of wood and some leaves. The problem is the wood is a little bit wet. You keep lighting the leaves and blowing on the small flames. The fire can’t seem to catch on. You try and you try. Nothing is working. You light your last match, you begin to burn a handful of leaves, you blow on the flames… suddenly the flames start to get bigger. The fire is catching on the small pieces of wood. Then you add bigger chunks of wood as the fire grows and then you toss on even bigger pieces of wood until your camp fire is big, hot and powerful. In the end, all your effort and time paid off! Success! It feels good, huh!

Life is like a camp fire. You can’t say I’ll get heat now and then I’ll build the fire. You’ve GOT to build the fire and the heat comes as a by-product!

A few days ago I had the pleasure of giving a keynote speech the 2015 RE/MAX JumpStart event in Mississauga. Here is a clip from the speech where I talk about life as a camp fire:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xx4VwcmFWio

Hey RE/MAX realtors! Here is the 2015 Housing Market Outlook Report!

So, you are a RE/MAX real estate agent in Canada. Which province do you work in? Alberta? Manitoba? Nova Scotia? Wherever you are, read through the 2015 Housing Market Outlook Report. 

http://www.remax.ca/editorial/hmo2015/?OrderBy=DateCreated&Page=1&PageSize=5&SearchAllTypes=True&SearchArticles=False&SearchBlog=False&SearchPressReleases=False

If you are working in the GTA marketplace, here is the link for it.

http://download.remax.ca/PR/HMO2015/Report/OutlookGTA.pdf



As a successful RE/MAX real estate agent in beautiful Brampton for the past 26 years, I'm ready for the challenges of 2015 in real estate.  Here is a bit of what is said about the Flower City in the report:

'Move-up buyers continued to drive the market in Brampton, with lending conditions favourable enough for buyers to hold on to two properties. The coming year should move from a seller’s market to a more balanced market as inventory is projected to increase.'

Don’t be afraid to make mistakes!

How many times have you struck out?

How many times have you fallen?

How many times have you made a mistake?

Babe Ruth is one of the most famous names in baseball history – in sports history! According to ESPN, he is known as the second best athlete of the 20th century in North America (Michael Jordan takes the top spot). If you have never heard of Babe Ruth, here is a brief history lesson for you…

In the early 1900s, George Herman “Babe” Ruth, Jr. was an American baseball player who played in Major League Baseball for 22 seasons. In 1927, he had 60 homeruns and a batting average of 0.356 (9th best). During his time, he was the king of baseball! But what many people don’t know is that Babe Ruth had 89 strikeouts that year and in his career total, he had a stunning 1330 strikeouts!

1330 strikeouts! That’s incredible! That’s one of the highest numbers in strikeouts in baseball history! Where am I going with this? Babe Ruth kept striking out but he kept on swinging the bat. He didn’t give up!

In the business of real estate (or in any career or life in general), don’t be afraid to strike out! I suggest that good real estate agents strike out all the time! We over price a property, we under price it, we pull too much commission, we don’t pull enough commission, etc etc. We make mistakes, sure, and yes, we get down on ourselves for those mistakes. As a real estate agent in Brampton, Ontario for 26 years now, I have struck out many times. I have fallen flat on my face, but every time it happens, I pick myself up and I keep on swinging. If you want to truly succeed in your career and in your life, don’t be afraid to strike out. Keep on swinging as I promise you that will hit that homerun! Don’t ever stop trying!

Earlier this week, I gave a keynote speech at the 2015 RE/MAX JumpStart in Mississauga, Ontario. Here is part of my speech about striking out in a real estate career.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCHiCSjDgkA&feature=youtu.be

The weekly lesson history: Grand Trunk Railway in Brampton

Here is another piece of Brampton history that may push you off the rails…

The Grand Trunk Railway was constructed in 1856 and it ran through Quebec and Ontario and US states Connecticut, Maine, Michigan, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont. One Ontario train station was built in Brampton… and this was when Brampton was still a village! With having a station in Brampton, there was an economic bang. As the village of Brampton grew quickly, in 1867, Brampton was selected as the Peel County seat, and many public building were built, such as the county courthouse. Many new houses were built close to the courthouse and in widespread lands for many new people who relocated to Brampton. In 1873, with a booming community, Brampton became a town.

Here are amazing pictures of the train station in Brampton!

http://www.canada-rail.com/ontario/b2/brampton.html#.VLwXJPldV8E

Good times at the 2015 Brampton New Year's Levee

Did some say free food, good music and great people?!

This past weekend was the 2015 Brampton New Year’s Levee. Normally the event takes on January 1st of each year, however, this year the Levee was pushed back to January 10th to give city hall staff extra time with family and friends.

The event this year was an absolute blast! Brampton Mayor Linda Jeffrey and her city council met and chatted with the dozens and dozens of local residents who came out. There were free treats and coffee and live music. Take a look at the short video and a few photos.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9O0D8uMCDSs&feature=youtu.be

The weekly history lesson: Brampton is one of the safest communities

There is a lot to like about Brampton, Ontario. It’s close to multiple post-secondary schools, it’s one of the largest cities in Ontario, more than 70 different languages are spoken in the city and there is over 400 acres of parkland. What’s even more impressive about Brampton is it considered one the safest cities!

In 2007, the International Sake Community by the World Health Organization designated Brampton as one of the safest cities in North America and the first Greater Toronto Area city to earn the designation! The Flower City earned the designation for a few reasons, such as strong, long-term programs that cover all ages and genders.  

In 2012, Brampton was recognized globally once more as a safe city by the World Health Organization... The coolest part about that is only 274 communities made the list and Brampton was one of seven Canadian communities on the list! According to a 2012 Brampton Guardian article, more than 300 safety programs are functioning in the Flower City.  These programs teach local residents how to protect themselves.

In addition, each year, a few local Brampton residents become the recipients of the annual Brampton Safe City Awards. Congrats to the 2014 winners! Well deserved!

Click the following links for more info on why Brampton is considered such a safe city! 

http://www.bramptonsafecity.ca/about/safecity-info/pdf/annual-reports/BramptonSafeCity-2007AnnualReport.pdf

http://www.bramptonguardian.com/news-story/3081334-brampton-recognized-globally-as-safe-community/

http://bramptonsafecity.ca/index.shtml