The Linda Maguire Team, Top 1% in Royal Lepage Canada

Join our growing team to maximize your Real Estate earnings.

We provide a very supportive and fun work environment where you learn from the best professionals and fully develop your potential. We are looking for positive, bright, polished and dedicated sales agents. On our team, Real Estate is a passion that allows agents to be their own boss, maximize income potential and positively impact people’s lives.

Whether you are new to the industry or a seasoned professional, The Linda Maguire Team has a lot to offer you:

• Supportive and sharing teammates that dig in to maximize each individual’s success.
• Leading edge efficiency using the best and fastest technology to make us all more effective than our competitors.
• Top negotiators, presenters and highly effective sales people to learn from.
• Canada’s top and most prestigious and respected real estate brand (Royal Lepage) –100% Canadian owned and operated. Key Skills Customer-focus and empathetic client understanding
• Confidence, determination and motivation
• Professional, polished with strong oral and written communication skills
• Technically savvy – computer literate and social media active

Whether you’re a seasoned professional or have just earned your real estate, we invite you to take the next step and launch your career with The Linda Maguire Team at Royal LePage Burloak today!

Qualifications:

• You must have an Ontario Real Estate License.
• You should be a resident of Burlington, Oakville or nearby. 

Contact Brian Maguire at:

905-220-7993

Brianmaguire@royallepage.ca

Real estate remains a great investment in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).  While we have historically seen prices double every 13 years, the last 10 years have been exceptional for price growth, with home values doubling over that period. According to a report in the Toronto star.

Cold weather tends to slow things down, and we certainly have that in spades as of January 2018. 

The Mellenials are getting more and more press, with the main group of them, known as "Peak Milennials”, now making up a big part of the first time homebuyer market.  In the Toronto market, Peak Millenials are often targeting condo’s, due to their affordability, compared with detached homes.  Baby boomers are also more and more heading for condos as a means of downsizing the complexity and maintenance of their homes, and freeing up money for lifestyle changes (mainly travel). As a result, in the GTA especially, we’re becoming a “Condo Nation”. 

 

Of course rising interest rates (another rate hike was announced today) and the forecast for addition increase in 2018 and 2019, will make it interesting.  

The level of available homes for sale, known as “Inventory” is low but will improve as we move into spring which will make buying a bit easier. 

Another factor affecting the Burlington/Oakville market is migration from other Canadian provinces.  The GTA is where the jobs are so we’re expecting that trend to continue to put upward pressure on our home prices. 

 

Lots to take in, but when you look at the marco economics, homes in the GTA are still considered by buyers across the globe to be very affordable, believe it or not, and that view, coupled with security, multiculturalism and economic prosperity will make this area a great investment for real estate for the foreseeable future. 

 

See what Royal Lepage CEO Phil Soper and others are saying: 

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/real-estate-trends-2018-1.4488392

 

#LindaMaguireRE #LindaMaguire #BurlON #BurlOak #Oakville #HamiltonON

December Homes Sales Surged In Advance of New Mortgage Rules

This is the result we saw in December, as some sellers rushed to get ahead of the feared drop in prices.  We haven’t seen dropping prices, even into January, as inventory (the number of hones on the market) continues to be very low, which causes buyers to have little in the way of home selection options. Inventory is typically low at this time of year, as owner prefer to wait till their yards are viewable in the spring.  In addition, buyers tend to lay low in December and January, and then start to come out of hibernation toward the end of February.  Stay tuned - we should see more inventory then.   

Rad the full report HERE

#LindaMaguireRE #BurlON #BulrOak #Oakville #HamiltonON 

While some purchasers jumped into the Oakville housing markets to find a property before the new OSFI stress test took effect, the majority of prospective homeowners elected to wait on the sidelines in order to gauge the impact of the new policies. This however did not translate into a large reduction in pricing, as inventory remained low across the regions. Existing residents are now also holding off on listing their homes, believing that pricing may be rekindled once new market conditions are absorbed. During the quarter the aggregate price of a home in Oakville increased by  14.2 per cent year-over-year to $1,105,412. 

“Aggregate" means a mixture of all home types (detached, townhomes, condo’s).  Big influences on price are the high demand and the low inventory (available homes on the market), and the new mortgage rules.  In addition, Millennials are increasing adding to the demand for homes.  

Full report here: http://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/The-Greater-Toronto-Area-s-Housing-Market-Sees-Double-digit-Year-over-year-Price-Gains-in-the-Fourth-Quarter-of-2017-Despite-Softness-in-Quarterly-Trends-1012803221

Implications for buyers:  

As demand intensifies, compromise becomes more important.  Reconsider locations and style of dwelling to fit your budget and lifestyle goals, so that you get into the market and benefit from the next few years of price growth. Its a relatively balanced market, so there will be an advantage to acting quickly and that means get yourself well educated on your financing position and on the market, so you can make a quick decision when a good property becomes available.

Implications for sellers:  

There are lots of buyers out there but in this balanced market, they’ll have some level of choice, relative to the Spring of 2017.  Prices peaked in the buying frenzy as of April 2017.  Year over year, prices are well up so its been a great 12 months for capital appreciation.  The market will value your home based on comparable sales.  Properly priced homes are selling. Ensure that if you accept a conditional offer, try to ensure the buyers are well qualified (recently) relative to their financing plans. 

#LindaMaguire #LindaMaguireRE #Oakville

The Linda Maguire Team earns the Royal LePage Chairman's Award for the top 1% of Realtors in Canada

Many thanks to our terrific clients and team members for propelling us to the top 1% of Royal LePage Realtors in Canada in 2017

National Chairman's Club is awarded to the top one percent of the Royal LePage residential sales force of a designated period based on gross closed and collected commissions GCI) and starting in 2017, including closed units sold. 

#LindaMaguireRE #BurlON #RoyalLePage

Here we are at the beginning of December 2017, and time for another market update video 

 The market has been balanced but a bit unsettled.

• We saw home prices peak in March/April, after a 35% year-over-year, growth which was then followed by a drop in prices over the early summer.  Things quickly switched from a Seller’s market to a Buyer’s market.
• In July August, prices bottomed out at about 15% down from the peak and buyers started to purchase again in September October.
• So while prices are still up roughly 20% from last December, the market is unsettled.
  • The biggest factor affecting the market is the new mortgage qualification rules. 
  • Roughly 10% of buyers will see a reduction in their buying power as of January 1.
  • Some buyers are getting in before the new mortgage rules apply, while others are waiting to see if the new rules cause a further drop in prices.
  • In the current market
    • Buyers have an opportunity to purchase a home without being in competition. 
    • Seller’s are typically now getting within 5% of their asking price, for properly priced homes
    • So its what we call a Balanced Market.
• What will 2018 bring?
  • We expect Burlington Oakville and Hamilton to continue to be among the best cities for real estate investment in Canada.  Its unlikely that we’ll see 35% price growth again any time soon, but with the flow of people moving from the Toronto market, real estate here should continue to be a great investment in 2018 and beyond.
• We’re happy to help with advice, ideas, or just a conversation about everyone’s favorite topic – real estate.  

#LindaMaguireRE

Buyers are returning to the market.... its a good time to sell

Buyers are back so it’s a good time to sell.  Prices have settled through the summer and enough purchases have occurred that there are plenty of comparable sold properties on which buyers can base a purchase price.  In addition, the biggest impetus for buyers is that the federal government announced in mid October a new stress test on mortgages, set for implementation January 1 2018.  This new mortgage qualification rule is motivation for many buyers to jump in to the housing market.  The new rule will reduce buying power by 15% on average, depending of the home price. The new mortgage qualification rule does not apply to purchase agreements that are accepted on paper prior to January 1, 2018 (regardless of closing date) will be exempt from this impending rule.   Since the rule was announced last week, we’re already seeing listings getting far more showings and good acceptable offers. Read more

Why should Home Owners act now?

Well. In a few months (January 1 2018), the majority of buyers will see their buying power reduced.  That will shrink the size of the buyer market for each level of home.  Reduced market size usually translates into reduced prices.

We can help

We can help you to get your property staged, ready and listed to take advantage of this sudden surge in buyers, and avoid the negative impact of the January 2018 mortgage qualification rules. Call us to get started.

Linda Maguire

Sales Representative

905-220-7993 

The OFSI (the governing body in Canada for financial services) has just announced a MAJOR new change to mortgage qualification rules, which will become effective January 1 2018! The main change is a 2% increase in the “qualifying stress test” for all uninsured mortgages.  The result is that buyers’ purchasing power will drop significantly. 

What does this mean for YOU as a BUYER?

It means you will be required to qualify for your mortgage based on a rate 2% higher than the actual mortgage rate you would be obtaining from your lender.

So, if the actual mortgage rate you have obtained today for a mortgage were 2.99%, then after January 1 2018, if you were to restart the mortgage qualification process, you would have to qualify for that same mortgage based on a rate of 4.99% (2.99% + 2% for qualifying rule = 4.99%).  If approved, you still would make payments based on the 2.99% but you would not be able to get the mortgage unless your financial position allowed you to make payments based on 4.99%.

This higher qualifying rate would reduce the amount of mortgage you could afford and therefore reduce the purchase price of homes you would qualify to purchase!

On average this would reduce your buying power by approximately 14%, depending on the value of the home you are purchasing.  

Here is an example of the reduced buying power:

- The buyers plan to buy a new home
- The buyers have a down payment of $180,000 (they plan to put at least 20% down)

If the Buyers purchase BEFORE January 1 2018

• 2.99%, 30-year amortization
• Max Purchase Price = $900,000
• Down payment = $180K
• Max mortgage = $720K

In the Buyers purchase AFTER January 1 2018

• The buyers would have to qualify at 4.99% (30 year amortization)
• They would still get a mortgage rate of 2.99% (30-year amortization)
• MAX PURCHASE PRICE NOW FALLS TO $800,000
• Down payment $180,000
• Max mortgage amount reduced to $620,000

In this scenario, the buyers lose 11% in buying power.

What will happen to the market?

Its quite likely that buyers who have recently been considering a purchase will be motivated to move forward quickly, to lock in a mortgage before the new rules come into effect in January 2018, which should result in an immediate boost in buyer demand.  Sellers should also recognize that they have a short window to attract 2017 buyers.  In January, we’ll likely see a drop in buyer demand, as buyers adjust to the realities of their lowered buying power. 

We can help

More than ever, its critical that buyers enlist a mortgage professional to assist in the finances for buying a home. We can refer you to an expert to help with your lending needs.  We can also keep you on top of the shifting market.  Call us to get started.

Linda Maguire

Sales Representative

905-220-7993

Royal LePage, BurlOak, Burlington, ON

Source for this blog post: Tribe Financial | Sep 12, 2017

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#BurlON 

3226 Berkshire Lane, Burlington $1,224,999 

Prestigious Headon Forest gem with 4 bedrooms, 3.5 baths, fully finished and updated inside and out, on popular sought after quiet street. This 2603 sq.ft family home features an open concept beautifully appointed kitchen/family roo m bathed with natural light and overlooking private spacious back yard with picturesque pool and patios. Gourmet kitchen features custom cabinetry, centre island, granite counter tops, stainless steel appliances, pot lights and more.

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