Winnipeg to buck national decline in home prices

Winnipeg’s resilient resale-homes market is expected to buck a national trend with a modest increase in average selling prices this year, according to the latest house prices forecast from Royal LePage Real Estate Services.The real estate firm predicts Winnipeg’s average selling price will climb by four per cent to $204,900 from a projected $197,000 in 2008. Canada’s average selling price, on the other hand, is expected to fall by three per cent to $295,000 from a projected $304,000.Royal Lepage also predicts Winnipeg will see one of the smallest declines in unit sales among the country’s nine major cities. It says sales here are expected to fall by one per cent to 11,780 homes from 11,900 in 2008.That compares to a projected national decline of 3.5 per cent (416,000 compared to 431,000).“Looking ahead, the economic future looks bright for Winnipeg,” says John Froese, a broker with Royal LePage Prime Real Estate in Winnipeg.“As employment rates and population figures increase, consumer confidence is expected to rebound from where it was in the last quarter of 2008,” Froese added. “In turn, Winnipeg’s real estate market is anticipated to spring upwards as well

Marketing Your Home

If you're thinking of selling your home, you need a marketing plan. Just like any other product people buy or sell, a home's value must be communicated to the proper audience to ensure the seller gets the best possible price.Marketing your home means more than putting up a lawn sign and sticking an ad in your local newspaper. You need to have a complete marketing plan that takes into account your home's unique qualities, your objectives and details the specific resources available to you.Your planning should begin as soon as you choose a Realtor, and often even before that. Part of your marketing plan will involve pricing your property, deciding when to list it and what features need to be cleaned or repaired. At this stage it is essential that you are completely honest with your Realtor about the condition of your home, your financial needs and any time constraints.Once you have the basic information established, you need to get to the "guts" of the marketing plan, or determine how best to let people know that your home is for sale and get them excited about it. You need to keep in mind when you are planning that there are two key target audiences: home buyers and other real estate agents. You will need different marketing vehicles and slightly different information to effectively reach each audience.There are a myriad marketing products and activities that can be utilized to help sell your home and your Realtor with the Multiple Listing Service (MLS), newspaper advertising, brochures, open houses, neighbourhood mailings, etc. In addition to the standard tools, Royal LePage Realtors have access to the industry's leading marketing tools and resources, including: -www.royallepage.ca: Your home will be featured on Royal LePage's web site which receives an average of more than 450,000 unique user sessions each month; -Virtual Reality Tours and Slide Shows: Available for many homes on the web site, giving prospective buyers a private tour of your home;-Online Feature Sheets: Providing pictures and greater detail for your home when people want to know a little more than the basics;-Referral Network: Your property's information will be available to nearly 11,000 Royal LePage Realtors coast-to-coast and 700 of the top real estate companies in the world through an exclusive affiliation;-Customized Just Listed Cards: Distributed to potential buyers with details of your home on it.Your Realtor can help you determine which tools will be most beneficial in your particular situation and market. Whatever the plan you decide on, make certain that you are an active part of it. Reviewing the plan's success on a regular basis should be a built-in part of any successful marketing plan. This article just gives a sampling of the many ways there are to market your home, to ensure the best price possible.To get more information on how Royal LePage and I can help you put one together, contact me directly!