During the restrictive lockdowns of 2020, most Realtors® across the GTA and Ontario recognized that they needed to pivot their business to help cater to an increasingly online demographic. Although real estate is considered an essential service and home showings were permitted during the lockdown, many agents decided to take a more digital approach to showcase properties. This meant investing more in high-end photography, video, and virtual tours.

As COVID cases in Ontario decline, many buyers and sellers are feeling more comfortable with the idea of entering a stranger’s home for a showing or an open house. In fact, the province also recently announced that open houses are now permissible under new guidelines, although, our team still prefers to avoid them for now. However, things are not completely back to normal in our area. There are many things we need to do to ensure our clients are safe, comfortable, and confident during showings.

Here are a few of the things we’re doing to make sure your next in-person home showing in Milton is a smooth, enjoyable experience — whether you’re a buyer or a seller.

At the Barnett Real Estate Team, we’ve been following the latest COVID-19 safety protocols since the start of the pandemic. To learn more, read about What We Are Doing To Keep Our Clients Safe here.

We Typically Start Online

For our buyer clients, we suggest starting off your home showing process virtually. We call this stage our Market Education stage, and it takes place after our initial consultation. Once we’ve established a solid understanding of the types of properties you’re interested in, we present the listings we believe you’ll feel excited about via our virtual Market Education stage.

Here, we’ll detail all of the important features of each listing we’ve identified for you during an in-depth digital presentation and discussion. We’ll sort out what you like about the properties, what you dislike about the properties, and further inform you about the current state of the listings market to help you gain a better understanding of what you’re most likely to find available.

Once we’ve found a listing of interest that you want to view in more detail, we’ll book an in-person showing with the selling party. This way, we not only save on time by not having to physically visit each listing, but things are also much safer for everyone involved.

If you’re thinking about buying a home, you deserve to feel confident that your Realtor® is always looking out for your best interests. Learn more about How We Help Buyers here.

Showing Time Slots

No matter if you’re a buyer viewing a home in person or a seller navigating through the home showings process, every in-person home showing must follow a pre-established time slot guideline.

While this is no new invention in the world of real estate, gone are the days of mass open houses (for our team, anyway) and loosely scheduled showing periods. Today, we need to respect rigid rules need for the benefit of everyone’s health and safety.

The new guidelines are simple — there can only be one showing at a time with solely the potential buyers and their real estate representative present. Additionally, the showings must respect a 30-minute time block, with no overlap between showings.

Are you planning on selling your home for the first time? You’ve probably got a lot of questions. Read through Our Top 7 First Time Seller FAQs here, or Contact Us here to ask us anything more specific.

How to Prepare for a Showing for Sellers

When acting as listing agents, our team also insists on conducting a stringent set of COVID safety measures during each in-person home showing. No matter who they are, each person who enters a listing we’re showcasing must follow our precautionary measures.

For starters, face masks are mandatory for anyone on the premises. Additionally, we also place hand sanitizer dispensers at the primary entryway of the home and in other high-traffic areas as well.

Should there be any specific items or areas within a home the seller doesn’t want visiting potential buyers to touch, we place clear “No Touching” signs near or on them.

Selling a home is no easy task, even if it isn’t your first time around. To see how we help make the entire home selling process easier for our clients, learn more about how we help sellers from the link below or via our Seller’s Guide.

• How We Help Sellers
• Get Our Seller’s Guide

Your Home Away From Home

In order to mitigate the number of people present during a home showing, we always require our selling clients to leave their homes while potential buyers are viewing the property in person. Sometimes it’s just for a few hours, or occasionally it can be for the better part of a day or two.

However, in some instances, when our selling clients have an extensive amount of home showings scheduled over the course of a short period of time we’ll extend our services to find more comfortable accommodations for them that better suit the time period which they’ll be away from home for.

For example, should a selling client need to vacate their homes for a weekend, we would explore the option of putting them up in a hotel room nearby for the duration of their showings. We find this not only alleviates stress levels for our sellers but also allows us to not have to worry as much about timing issues from visiting buyers.

From a health and safety standpoint, knowing our selling clients are far away from any potential exposure to COVID during their home showings also offers us a lot of peace of mind. And from our client’s perspective, they’re able to enjoy the convenience of staying in one stable location during the showing process, which is especially meaningful to them if they have kids, pets, or work from home.

At the end of the day, it’s our goal to ensure all of our clients feel as safe, satisfied, and happy when working with us a possible.

Whether you want to buy or sell a home, the job of a professional Realtor ® is to make your entire experience as easy and enjoyable as possible. Learn more about Why You Should Work With a Realtor® here.

This Savory + Slightly Sweet combination is seriously so delicious!

If you’re looking for a dish to prepare several hours ahead of time, this is it! The flavor only becomes better after it sits for an hour or two.

Ingredients:

• 1-1/2 cups uncooked quinoa
• 3 cups water
• 1 large red bell pepper, seeded and diced small
• 4 garden cucumbers, diced small
• 1 medium red onion, diced small
• 2 large mangoes, peeled and diced
• 1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro leaves

Dressing:

• 2 medium lemons, juiced
• 1/4 cup light extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
• 2 Tbsps raw honey, or pure maple syrup
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• sea salt and ground pepper, to taste, about 1/4 teaspoon each

Instructions:

1. Using a fine-mesh strainer, rinse your uncooked quinoa really well.
2. In a small saucepan add the water and bring to a boil. Once boiling, add in the quinoa, then reduce the heat. Simmer
   around 12-15 minutes until done. Remove from heat and drain. Allow your quinoa to cool while you prepared all of your veggies for the salad.
3. Dice the bell pepper, cucumbers, red onion, and cube the mango. Finely chop the cilantro.
4. Add everything to a large serving bowl. Once the quinoa is no longer hot, add it to the bowl with the veggies.
5. In a small jar, add all your dressing ingredients. Shake to emulsify. Alternatively, whisk everything into a small bowl. Drizzle your dressing over the salad and gently toss to combine.
6. Leftovers stay good in the fridge for up to 3 days.

August 2021 – GTA Housing Market News

The average sale price in the GTA is up by 12.6% year over year. We saw a regular summer breather in terms of supply, yet demand remains strong. This has resulted in a lot of competition among buyers (we are currently seeing 10+ offers on a property). Everyone is hoping (and there is some indication) that supply will pick up in this month and throughout the fall. It is a great time to list right now as there is a lot of demand and if you are thinking of buying it is a great time too as we anticipate supply to pick up soon.

Milton Real Estate Market

The average price in Milton is $1,110,400

Burlington Real Estate Market

The average price in Burlington $1,098,400

Oakville Real Estate Market

The average price in Oakville $1,261,600

Have questions about the market? Contact us today to learn more!

Previous Reports on GTA Housing Market News

July June May April

Whether you’re a keen follower of the real estate market or not, chances are you’ll most likely have heard all about how our local Ontario and GTA markets have been bustling over the past year or so.

Low interest rates coupled with multiple lockdowns forcing people to spend more time at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic have spurred our local markets on to new heights, with Canadians more eager than ever to invest in where they live.

With such a high demand for homes, the supply simply hasn’t been able to keep up, resulting in what’s known as a seller’s market. With such strong competition between buyers, many have resorted to using more bold negotiating tactics to help increase their chances of landing a home.

One common negotiating tactic we’ve seen from buyers over the past year or so is the pre-emptive offer. To learn more about what they are and when they come in handy, use this post as your introductory (or reminder) to the power of the pre-emptive offer.

What Is A Pre-Emptive Offer?

A pre-emptive offer, or ‘bully offer,’ as it’s also commonly referred to, is an offer to purchase a home submitted by a buying party to the selling party.

A pre-emptive offer can only be submitted when the selling party has set what’s known as an Offer Date, meaning they will only receive and review offers for their listing at a certain time and date. As the name suggests, a pre-emptive offer is when a buyer submits an official offer for a home before the set Offer Date.

This is where the term ‘bully offer’ comes from, as this eager buyer is essentially skipping the line to get their offer in front of the eyes of the sellers first.

These days, buying a home isn’t as simple as just paying the ticket price. Learn more about bidding tactics and rules in the related posts here:

• Multiple Offer Scenarios: Tips for Home Buyers
• Should Open Bidding Come To Ontario Real Estate Markets?

Why Do They Happen?

While submitting a pre-emptive offer is completely legal, they do directly challenge the requests of the selling party. However, when they are submitted, they’re generally submitted by buyers in order to make a clear statement of intent to the selling party.

If a buyer is willing to break the requests of the sellers so that they can get their offer in front of the eyes of the seller before any other buyers have had a chance to, it usually means that the pre-emptive offer will be of predictably high interest to the sellers.

How are They Different?

Most often, a pre-emptive offer includes a pricepoint that far exceeds the sellers’ original asking price and expectations and comes with a set of terms and conditions that are favourable to the selling party.

When buyers submit a pre-emptive offer to a seller, they obviously run the risk of aggravating or annoying sellers who have made it clear they wish to wait to receive offers to purchase until a set offer date. Therefore, in choosing to submit a pre-emptive offer, it must be convincing enough that the sellers don’t experience that negative reaction. In fact, Seller’s often sign forms instructing their Realtor® not to present any offers to them until the set date. So, if a Bully Offer arrives the Sellers may not even see the offer depending on how the Realtor® handles it. For the Seller to review the offer, the Seller must agree and the written instructions for the Offer Date must be changed and all interested parties must be notified of the Offer Date change.

That being said, sometimes Offer Dates are set by selling parties with the hope that a strong pre-emptive offer does come in, in fact. Understanding when that’s the case can prove to be quite tricky, however.

Are you a first-time buyer? Don’t let inexperience get in the way of buying your dream home — read these useful links for first-time buyers:

• 5 First-Time Home Buyer Mistakes To Avoid
• Our Top 8 First-Time Buyer FAQs

When Should You Submit A Pre-Emptive Offer?

An Offer Date is sometimes set by sellers when they would, in actuality, like to entertain the idea of receiving a “blow your socks off” bid. In that case, your Realtor® needs to have had some kind of indication from the selling party’s Realtor® that this is the case.

If that’s not the case and your Realtor® isn’t exactly sure the sellers are hoping to receive pre-emptive offers, you must navigate your approach to submitting one carefully. Here are two rules we suggest you follow:

1. Only submit a pre-emptive offer if it’s significantly higher than the initial asking price of the sellers and higher than the expected market value sale price — an amount that will truly raise their eyebrows and consider the bid before reviewing the others.

2. Additionally, the bid should contain terms and conditions that are very favourable to the sellers, which more often than not means little-to-no terms or conditions and an agreement you’ll buy the home “as-is,” and without the requirement of a secondary home inspection.

No matter what you’re trying to accomplish in the real estate market, having proven, qualified real estate guidance by your side makes everything easier. Here’s our best advice on How To Hire a Real Estate Agent As a Buyer.

When Should You Avoid A Pre-Emptive Offer?

The first rule here should be to trust the experience of your real estate advisor. If they advise that you don’t go down the route of submitting a pre-emptive offer, it’s best to trust them — especially if they have comprehensive experience in negotiations and/or dealing with the selling party’s real estate advisors.

In addition, it’s also not a great idea to submit a pre-emptive offer if it doesn’t significantly exceed the sellers’ initial asking price. The last thing you want is for your sellers to feel “low-balled” before they’re even prepared to start reviewing offers.

Most likely than not, if your pre-emptive offer includes terms and conditions that aren’t minimal at most, then it simply won’t be considered by the sellers. With that in mind, if you don’t already have a great knowledge of the home you want to buy, it can be risky submitting an offer for it as-is.

At the Barnett Real Estate Team, we help clients of all experience levels and price points buy the homes of their dreams. Learn more about what we do and how we can help you here:

• How We Help Buyers
• Start Buying Today

When eager new homebuyers begin saving up for a home, it’s easy to fall into the trap of putting on the blinders and fixating on saving up towards one number in particular.

However, buyers can often forget to factor in the additional secondary and tertiary costs it takes to buy a home. For all buyers, new or recurring, these are critically important costs to know about.

So, whether you’re a first-time buyer or have set your sights on moving up, here’s a breakdown of some of the true costs you need to consider when buying a home.

The Deposit

The first expense you should plan for is the deposit. This is a percentage of the total cost of the home that gets paid to the seller or Seller’s agent brokerage right away to essentially “hold” the sale and show the seller you are committed to the purchase. Typically, a deposit is 5-10% of the total purchase price and is required to be paid within 24 hours of the offer.

The deposit also must be made in the form of a certified check, bank draft, wire transfer or Etransfer, which means a homebuyer will need fast access to funds when putting in offers. This money is typically paid to the Seller’s Realtor’s Brokerage company or sometimes to the seller’s lawyer to be held in trust until the home closes.

The higher your deposit, the more committed you may look to sellers and the more desirable your offer comes across. Once the deal is finalized, your deposit money can go towards closing costs or towards your down payment, which brings us to the next cost you need to plan for.

The Down Payment

A down payment is different from a deposit. The down payment is a lump sum payment that goes toward the final purchase of your home. In Canada, there are some rules around down payments. The minimum down payment you can pay is 5% for a home valued at $499,000 or less and 10% for homes valued at $500,000-$999,000. For homes over $1 million, buyers are required to pay at least 20%.

If possible, paying more than the minimum down payment amount is better because it means you will pay your mortgage off sooner, pay less interest, and build equity more quickly.

There’s nothing more fun than fantasizing about what your next home could look like. However, with the help of our Featured Listings page here, you don’t have to daydream quite as hard.

Your Mortgage And Interest Rates

Once your down payment has been accepted, you can deduct that amount from the final sales price of your new home. To account for the rest of the sales price, you’ll need to take out a mortgage.

Mortgages are essentially loans for homes. The total amount of your mortgage depends on a few factors, such as the cost of the home you’d like to buy, the amount of your down payment, what you qualify for based on your annual income, what your monthly expenses are, and your employment history.

Generally speaking, it’s either banks or private mortgage brokers who grant you a mortgage. Whoever you secure your mortgage from, you’ll have agreed on the total amount of your loan and the structure of how you’ll pay it back. In most cases, it’s in the form of a monthly payment to your lender, which will include an interest rate.

This means that if you’ve agreed to put down $2,000 per month towards your home, for example, this fee, plus whatever your mortgage interest rates are, will go to your lender.

What About Mortgage Insurance?

If you are unable to pay the minimum down payment for your purchase, you may still be able to get a mortgage, however, you will be required to purchase mortgage insurance

Mortgage insurance is an added cost that protects the lender since the lender is typically taking on more risk with a lower down payment.

Are you planning on becoming a first-time homebuyer? Ensure you’re well-informed about everything you need to know about your upcoming purchase by reading these related posts:

• 5 First-Time Home Buyer Mistakes To Avoid
• First-Time Home Buyer Grants in Ontario
• Our Top 8 First-Time Buyer FAQs

Land Transfer Tax

The province of Ontario requires homebuyers to pay them an additional fee called the Land Transfer Tax. Essentially, this reflects the provincial government’s cost of permitting you to transfer the title of property between their jurisdiction.

While each province has its own set of Land Transfer Tax rates, the amount you have to pay increases depending on the cost of your new home. The more expensive your new home, the higher the percentage of its value you have to pay in Land Transfer Tax.

In Ontario, the set of Land Transfer Tax rates ranges from 0.5% to up to 2.5% of your home’s value. However, if you’re buying a home in the Greater Toronto Area, the City of Toronto requires buyers to pay an additional municipal Land Transfer Tax alongside the provincial tax.

The good news for first-time homebuyers is that you may be eligible to have all or part of this one-time fee refunded. Eligibility for this refund requires buyers to qualify based on these criteria:

• The buyer must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada
• The buyer must be older than 18 years
• The buyer must occupy the home within nine months of purchase
• The buyer cannot have previously owned a home anywhere in the world
• The buyer’s spouse cannot have owned a home while being your spouse

If that applies to you, then you can apply for a refund of the full amount of your Land Transfer Tax or up to a maximum of $4,000.

Lawyers’ Fees

In order for both the buying and selling parties to ensure they’re conducting a legitimate and viable transaction, it’s a real estate lawyers’ duty to review and approve all of the necessary paperwork and legal documents that are included in a transaction.

While both the buying and selling parties hire their own respective lawyers, both legal representatives work together to ensure the real estate transaction is completed smoothly and no contractual or legal details are overlooked.

As you might imagine, there are a lot of formalities and details that go into a real estate transaction, which is why it’s crucial you hire a dedicated real estate lawyer who has experience facilitating these types of deals. As with all lawyers, though, their services come with a fee, which you’ll need to factor into your overall budget as a homebuyer.

Whether you’ve already got an idea of who you’d like to hire or need help finding a legal representative, we work with a set of highly respected and experienced real estate-specific lawyers that we’re always prepared to recommend to our clients should they need it.

There are no ifs, ands, or buts about it — the safest way to buy a new home is through the help of a knowledgeable and experienced local Realtor®. Learn more about what we do, how we help, and how you can find the Realtor® that’s right for you here:

• How To Hire a Real Estate Agent As a Buyer
• Why You Should Work With a Realtor®
• 8 Steps to Finding the Right Real Estate Agent

Your Homeowners’ Insurance

Homeowners’ insurance is a form of property insurance that protects you, the homeowner, from any damages to you or your property once you own your new home. It’s also a requirement to get a mortgage.

In paying a monthly fee to a homeowners’ insurance provider, you are in essence paying for peace of mind. If any damages were to occur to you or your new home, your insurance provider would provide you with funds (up to a certain number) to pay for the cost of fixing the damages.

Although all insurance plans and providers are different, most homeowners’ insurance policies generally cover the costs of things like interior damage, exterior damage, the loss or damage of personal assets or possessions, and any personal injury that occurs on your property.

Interested in learning more about how we can help you make your upcoming home purchase the best buy of your life? Read all about our buying process and how we’ve helped buyers just like you find their dream homes the first time here:

• How We Help Buyers
• Our Buyers’ Guide

July 2021 – GTA Housing Market News

Milton Real Estate Market

The average price in Milton is $1,107,600

Burlington Real Estate Market

The average price in Burlington $1,098,400

Oakville Real Estate Market

The average price in Oakville $1,242,100

Previous Reports on GTA Housing Market News – June, May, April, March

Green Lentil Curry is easy lentil curry recipe with green or brown lentils, coconut milk and simple Indian spices. Cook on a stove, in slow cooker or Instant Pot, or make a freezer meal.

Ingredients

Instructions

Summer is coming! The winter of 2022 seemed to last forever for some people. However, the last few weeks have shown us an inkling of what’s to come. 

Warm, sunny days will soon be here again, and with it brings time to celebrate and laugh with your family and friends. And what better way to enjoy the company of your favourite people than sitting on a patio, wiling away the hours as you munch on delectable meals. 

As long-time Milton residents, our team is well acquainted with many of the area’s best patios. And as a team of trusted local real estate agents, we’re also asked quite a bit about where our favourite spots in town are.

Great food is one of the best parts about living in Milton, but there are many things that make this city one of the best places to live:

• Thinking About Moving to Milton? Check Out These Area FAQs
• 5 Milton Parks to Visit This Spring
• 5 Fun Fall Activities in Milton and Burlington

When it comes to great places to eat, there are so many fantastic restaurants in Milton that it’s hard to narrow it down. However, here are a few of our top contenders:

Pasqualino

One of Milton’s most cherished fine dining Italian restaurants, Pasqualino has been serving up Milton locals their favourite classic Italian dishes since 2002.

Pasqualino’s elevated Italian cuisine is elegantly plated to picture-worthy perfection (with a show-stopping wine list to complement it.) Everything is made from scratch, and the bread is fresh-baked daily. You’ll find whatever you crave on the menu, from the antipasti to the wood fire pizzas. Do you prefer vegetarian or gluten-free options? Just ask, and the friendly staff will be happy to accommodate you.  

The food is spectacular and the vibe at Pasqualino is anything but stuffy. In true Italian style, Pasqualino matches high-brow food with a fun, laid-back atmosphere.

Pretty Rad 

Even more Milton patio fun is just a few doors down from Pasqualino at Pretty Rad Bar, a Tapas-inspired bar and restaurant located at 243 Main Street East.

This chilled-out Milton fan-favourite at the corner of Main and Martin is a fun time waiting to be had. If you enjoy casual Spanish-style cuisine and an extensive drinks selection, and Live music the Pretty Rad patio is right up your alley.

Head over this weekend for Milton’s best Tapas-inspired plates like Tempura Shrimp Tacos, Crispy Cauli Bites, and Sticky Mushroom Crostinis. Or try their creative cocktail selection, including Smoked Mezcal Negroni, Pisco Sour, Cotton Candy, Gold Rush and Spicy Rita.

Sushi-ya Japan

You won’t have to travel far from Pretty Rad to find the next stop on our Milton patio tour. Located at 8 Martin Street, Sushi-ya Japan is right around the corner. However, you might want to make a reservation because the word is out about one of the top Japanese and Korean restaurants in town.

The menu of this modest Milton sushi restaurant packs a real punch. The authentic dishes that fly out of the kitchen are as creative and colourful as they are delicious. Whether you’re in the mood for some Maki, craving some sashimi, or need a fix of your favourite rolls, the menu at Sushi-ya Japan has you covered.

Hang out with us at Sushi-ya’s quaint and cozy front patio and come try out our top-choice spot for sushi in Milton this summer. 

Troy’s Diner

Take a trip back in time to Milton’s most beloved retro-themed restaurant, Troy’s Diner. The patio is already open and no reservations are required. Featuring mid-century decor all the way down to the red and white checkered table cloths, you can rely on Troy’s for those fun vintage vibes every visit.

Situated back on Main Street East at number 295, there’s no missing this standout patio when you’re on Milton’s main strip.

A warm summer’s day on the Troy’s Diner patio wouldn’t be complete without indulging in a little Milkshake Mania. Troy’s takes classic ‘shakes to a whole new level with flavours like The Butter Tart Shake, The Donut Shake, and The Chocolate Chip Cookie Shake — just a few variations of his madly delicious dessert on the menu.

The Grand Chalet & Tony Spiducci’s Ristorante

One part event venue (The Grand Chalet), one part restaurant (Tony Spiducci’s Ristorante), this Milton establishment serves as a one-stop-shop destination for many of Milton’s biggest events. However, you don’t need to be celebrating a big occasion to stop by Tony Spiducci’s sunny patio.

This old-world-Italian-inspired trattoria offers traditional Italian-American food and refreshments to its many loyal Milton patrons. The warm and welcoming atmosphere of Tony Spiducci’s Ristorante alongside their reliably appetizing menu means they’re a perennial favourite among Milton locals.

EddieO’s Pourhouse & Kitchen

In the mood for some classic pub food? Say no more and make your next dinner reservation at EddieO’s Pourhouse & Kitchen at 370 Main Street East, Unit 1. Their generous outdoor patio space stretches the length of the EddieOs building and has ample room for all of your pub food favourites.

With a menu including up-scale takes on pub classics like the Brie L.T., BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwich, and Fish & Chips, there are lots of good times to be had on this Milton patio.

Are you ready to join in on all the fun we’re having in Milton? Our knowledge and expertise within the local real estate market can help you find the perfect home for you ahead of your Milton adventure. All you need to do is contact us here to let us know we can start looking.

June 2021 – GTA Housing Market News

Milton Real Estate Market

The average price in Milton is $1,035,349

Burlington Real Estate Market

The average price in Burlington is $1,149,989

Oakville Real Estate Market

The average price in Oakville is $1,437,986

Previous Reports on GTA Housing Market News –May, April, March

Makes 4-6 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 2×1 inch strips
• 1 tsp garlic salt, or to taste
• 1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper
• 10 large jalapeño peppers, halved and seeded
• 10 thin slices of nitrate-free bacon, halved widthwise
• 20 toothpicks
• Ranch Dip (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees and line a large baking tray with parchment paper.
2. Sprinkle chicken with garlic salt, and pepper to taste, then toss to coat.
3. Place a chicken strip into each jalapeño halve as shown, then wrap with a 1/2 slice of bacon and secure with toothpicks.
4. Place on the prepared baking tray leaving some space in between each, so they crisp up nicely.
5. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink and bacon is crisp.
6. Enjoy immediately with my favorite Homemade Ranch Dip!