Sutton Group – West Coast Realty Loaves and Food Drive

Posted by Jeff King on Nov 25, 2011

It’s that time of year once again and in preparation for the upcoming 2011 Christmas season, we at Sutton Group – West Coast Realty are collecting for the Loaves and Fishes Food Bank.  There’s a donation box at the office for dried or canned goods follow this link to see what they would like to receive. IF you prefer, you can make a cheque out to the Loaves and Fishes Food Bank and we’ll make sure they get it along with the office’s.  You can donate on line by following this link.

This is the third year we’ve been collecting for this worthy cause and they’ve been very appreciative of our efforts in the past.  Let’s see if we can surpass our collections from the previous 2 years!  

Sutton Realtors, their clients and anyone else can donate to the Loaves and Fishes here too!  Dried or canned goods (basically non-perishable) can be collected. They don’t have to be personal size either, as they’re happy to split large donations between several families too.  You just donate it, and their volunteers will do the rest!

Come by our office at unit 604-5800 Turner Road (beside the Nanaimo Cactus Club).  Our office hours are 9:00am – 4:30pm. By the way, well sell houses too!

Thanks and Merry Christmas from The Sutton Group – West Coast Realty team!

Holiday decorating while selling

Posted by Jeff King on Nov 21, 2011

The trick to selling your home during the holiday as in any other season is keeping it clutter free.  How do you do this with decorations?  Don’t put any up!  Ok, yes, I am kidding.  I like Christmas just as much as the next person.  So, I asked interior designer Cynthia Martin from Fort McMurray to give us some tips from the North.

According to Cynthia, keep it simple.  Don’t do anything that’s going to make the spaces inside your house or outside look small.  Keep decorating to tasteful yet simple ornaments and refrain from letting the Christmas tree overtake the living room!

You can get the full list here.

Over Pricing your house can cost YOU Money

Posted by Jeff King on Nov 6, 2011

Ok, so you’ve decided that it’s time sell your house.  For whatever reason; upgrade, downsize, relocate, you get the picture. Now, everyone wants the most money for their house, right? And, many homeowners, including you, believe for whatever reason that their house is worth more than the one down the street, right?  Be honest with yourself!  Homeowners should be cautioned that overpricing a house for sale can end up costing them money, literally thousands!

Now, keep in mind that you’ve already decided that you’re going to sell and move on. I have 9 simple reasons why pricing your home too high can cost you money. So, let’s play Real Estate!

Go to 9 Simple Reasons to read more about it!  Or call me directly at 250-751-4902 to discuss.

Deposit vs Down Payment

Posted by Jeff King on Oct 28, 2011

Ever have any confusion with Real Estate Terminoloyg?  Well you’re not alone.  You often her of down payment and how that affects the deal and where does the deposit go?  So I’m starting a series of blogs and tweets that are designed to help you.  If you really want to look at Everything you can find a comprehensive list by clicking here.  Other wise stay tuned and follow along.  Feel free to call me if you have questions at 250-751-4902.

Deposit: Money placed in trust by the purchaser when an Offer to Purchase is made. The sum is held by the real estate representative or lawyer/notary until the sale is closed and then it is paid to the vendor.

Down payment: The portion of the home price that is not financed by the mortgage loan. The buyer must pay the down payment from his/her own funds or other eligible sources before securing a mortgage.

If you would rather watcha video of me discussing this with a mortgage professional, click here.

Should you wish to discuss this or other Real Estate needs you may have, email me at jeff@jeffkinghomes.com.

Nanaimo Housing Market October 23, 2011

Posted by Jeff King on Oct 23, 2011

Well, another week has passed us in this month of October according to our local board stats, we’ve had 69 new listings this past week bringing the total number of active properties for sale to 1,443.   This figure is made up of 745 Single Family homes, 168 lots and 98 manufactured/mobile units and we can’t forget the 395 Condos.

Nanaimo saw 63 price changes with the North end having the highest percentage and the South End had the most new listings.  The 44 Sales were spread over the city with North Nanaimo having 7/44, Departure Bay and South Nanaimo tied with each having 6/44.

If you would like to see what’s happening in your neighbourhood, give me a call at 250-751-4902 or emai me jeff@jeffkinghomes.com.  Sign up for my newsletter and receive an overview every month!

Single Family Homes in Nanaimo

Posted by Jeff King on Oct 17, 2011

Single family homes in Nanaimo are the most widely used when looking at housing stats.  I like to keep check on the total number of Single family listings on the Martket at any given time.  Right now, today, October 17 ,2011 there are 743 Single family homes for sale as of typing. Out of all the neighbourhoods, North Nanaimo gluts the market with 164 homes for sale representing 22% of the total number of single family homes on the market.  South Nanaimo and Departure Bay follow with 70 units and 62 units respectively.

The average list price for a North Nanaimo home today is $488,000 thus sitting for approximately 85 days.  While South Nanaimo averages at $316,000/85 days and Departure Bay is $533,000 average list price and 100 days to sell.  I took a look at solds for the month of October to date City wide and there have been 15 sales averaging $379,000 and coming in below the average days on market with only 71 days to sell.

Just a quick look at an average 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom Rancher here in the City of Nanaimo.  The average listed price is sitting at $373,000 and if you’re going to sell one, expect that it may be listed for 67 days.

If you require any market information and would like to have it sent directly to you, send me an email to jeff@jeffkinghomes.com.  If you are thinking of selling a house and would like to speak with me, call me at 250-751-4902 if you live in the Nanaimo area.  If you are outside the Nanaimo area and like what I have to say, I would be more than happy to refer a Realtor® in your area.