Oakville & Burlington Real Estate Blog - Dan Cooper

Developing new and innovative ways to market homes

Dan Cooper — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 18:44:06 +0000

I am constantly looking for new and innovative ways to market your home. Gaining the best exposure for your property provides a higher probability that you will get the price you are seeking.

The regular publications I have hand-selected include The Oakville Beaver, Burlington Post, Halton Today, Home News magazine (Oakville and Burlington editions), my own Lakeshore Living magazine, and more recently a new oversized glossy magazine called Prestige: Home & Lifestyle. Prestige definitely lives up to its name and puts estate homes in a class of their own. The magazine features only the top brokers in the area and distributes 45,000 copies to high-net worth households throughout the Greater Toronto Area.

It is a publication that has established a standard few other real estate publications have achieved and with a circulation that reaches only the very affluent areas of the GTA, it targets the most discerning consumers who could be your potential buyers.

I have booked two facing pages for maximum impact for my listings, providing excellent exposure for your home.

My Lakeshore Living magazine has been a major hit in the local area. With distribution along the Lakeshore from Port Credit, through Oakville and into Burlington, the magazine offers interesting features, great homes and lots of advice on how to make your home beautiful. Other articles include wine, lifestyle and fashion, making Lakeshore Living one of the best and most versatile real estate publications in the area. Look for the third issue coming this spring. If you didn’t receive a copy of Lakeshore Living, simply go to my website to view the online version.

Or you can visit one of the participating advertisers and ask if they still have a copy in their showroom: Budds’ BMW, Crescent Hill Gallery, InVU Drapery, Burrow’s Fine Clothier, Appleby College, Concept Lighting, Cocoon Furnishings, Corbett’s Source for Sports and Knar Jewellery.

This is just a glimpse of the creative strategies I am developing to showcase properties and serve my clients. Whether you turn to me to sell your property or to help you find your dream home, I’m proud that the hard work and dedication of The Dan Cooper Team have made us the number one Royal LePage team in Canada for seven of the past 11 years.

Dan Cooper is an award-winning broker with Royal LePage Real Estate Services Ltd., Brokerage – the Number 1 Royal LePage Team for Canada in 2009, 2007, 2005, 2002, 2001, 2000 and 1999. He can be reached at 905.338.3737, direct line at 905.849.3303 or through his innovative and interactive website at DanCooper.com. Be sure to catch the Dan Cooper Real Estate Series on DailyWebTV.com. For his free booklet How To Sell Your House For Top Dollar – Fast! or his Guide to Oakville Real Estate, please call The Dan Cooper Team.

Royal LePage predicts homes will continue to appreciate despite recent talk of decline

Dan Cooper — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 22:01:00 +0000

The average price of a home in Canada increased between 3.6 and 6.1 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011, compared to the previous year, according to the latest Royal LePage House Price Survey and Market Survey Forecast. Royal LePage expects average price growth to continue through 2012 and predicts national average prices to increase by 2.8 percent by the end of the year.

I stated in my column last week that low interest rates and a relatively stable economy encouraged more buyers to take part in the real estate market in 2011, making it a strong year. In fact, it was Toronto’s second best year on record. This was despite calls in some quarters for Canadian house prices to soften in 2011. The strong recovery in the real estate market is likely to continue, according to Royal LePage. Recent high profile reports forecasting significant house price declines this year are not supportable. The consumer confidence in the housing market that was displayed in the last quarter of 2011 is expected to carry through 2012, according to the Royal LePage report.

This is how Royal LePage President and CEO Phil Soper explains the company’s latest survey: “In the recovery period following the 2008-2009 recession, I found myself repeatedly speaking of ‘irrational exuberance’ in the Canadian housing market. Expectations were too high and the pace of expansion unsupportable. With this report, I find myself in exactly the opposite position. Widespread calls for a major real estate correction in 2012 simply can’t be justified. The industry has significant momentum entering the year, and buoyed by the stimulative effect of very low interest rates, we expect the market to continue to expand – albeit at a slower pace.”

While 2011 was a very strong year for price growth, Canada’s average home prices have grown by only 3.5 percent compounded annually over the past five years. This is well below the long-term average rate of appreciation. Canada’s GDP has also grown modestly over the same period and the economy is expected to expand by approximately two percent in 2012. Although unemployment remains stubbornly higher than pre-recession levels, sustained employment at today’s levels in a low interest rate environment can be expected to support continued average house price appreciation across the country.

”We believe calls for falling prices and more affordable housing in 2012 are unlikely to materialize,” said Soper. “While this will comfort the 70 percent of Canadians who are homeowners, there is cause for concern when house price growth outpaces increases in wages and salaries for an extended period of time. Coupled with more restrictive mortgage regulations that have made it more difficult to obtain financing, those who aspire to own a home may find it increasingly difficult to enter the housing market and, in some regions, it may leave people out entirely.”

Lack of inventory in Toronto produced strong year-over-year price appreciation in 2011. Average price gains ranged from 3.4 to 7.2 percent for the housing types surveyed. Migration and low interest rates also continue to drive real estate prices. At the end of 2012, average house prices in Toronto are forecast to increase 2.6 percent over 2011.

In last week’s column, I said I would have the Oakville housing statistics for 2011, but they had yet to be released at the time this column was being written. They should be out this week, so watch for next week’s column for a review of Oakville’s real estate performance for 2011.

Ready to sell more homes and offer more services in 2012

Dan Cooper — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 22:29:11 +0000

The year-end housing statistics were not available for Oakville and Milton as I was writing this column, but the stats for Burlington and Greater Toronto are out and they show that sales were strong and house prices continued to climb.

“Low borrowing costs kept buyers confident in their ability to comfortably cover their mortgage payments along with other major housing costs,” says Toronto Real Estate Board President Richard Silver. Greater Toronto witnessed its second-best year on record, Silver said, adding that house prices increased by eight percent in 2011 compared to 2010.

In Hamilton and Burlington, the market saw increases in the number of listings and average sales price in December compared to the same month in 2010. The increase in the average sales price for residential was 7.2 percent and for condominiums an impressive 15 percent.

“The December market performed well compared to the average for the month over the last 10 years,” says Cameron Nolan, President of the Realtors Association of Hamilton-Burlington. “And the average sale price continues to rise in our area.”

In Burlington, the average sale price for a residential home climbed from $384,827 in December 2010 to $412,461 in December 2011. Condominium prices rose on average $265,878 in December 2010 to $305,790 in December 2011.

Next week I will review the housing stats for Oakville, which are expected to be released this week. In other news, our relocation services just got stronger. When moving out of town, out of province or out of Canada, you can start the buying process right here at home. Too often, homeowners believe it is up to them to find an agent in the community in which they are moving. But that’s simply not the case. Royal LePage’s key strategic partnership with Brookfield Global Relocation Services allows me to work with agents around the world on behalf of my clients.

My global reach was broadened last month when Brookfield purchased Prudential Real Estate and Relocation Services (PRERS), a recognized leader in employee relocation and real estate franchising. The addition of PRERS to Brookfield’s existing residential real estate franchising and employee relocation services businesses establishes Brookfield as the world’s second largest employee relocation services provider and the third largest residential real estate franchising business.

Through its various brands, Brookfield’s residential real estate franchisees are now present in all 50 U.S. states, 10 Canadian provinces, Mexico and Portugal, with a network of approximately 80,000 real estate agents, 2,800 real estate brokerage locations and more than $150 billion in annual residential real estate transactions.

U.S.-based Brookfield Global Relocation Services moves nearly 85,000 families in and out of over 125 countries around the world each year. With the acquisition, more than one-third of Fortune 100 companies are its clients. In addition, Brookfield is now the largest provider of relocation services to government, with long-term relationships with the U.S. and Canadian governments.

The acquisition greatly strengthens Brookfield’s existing U.S. business and results in the expansion of its operations in nine countries, with a rapidly growing presence in China, Brazil and India.
My success over the past 20 years has not been restricted to the west GTA, but has included representing thousands of clients who have needed to relocate. Being tapped into a global leader such as Brookfield gives me access to a wealth of expertise and resources.

In addition to helping individuals move, The Dan Cooper Team has the depth, scope and scale to provide a full array of services for corporate clients and the employees they transfer.

This is an example of how The Dan Cooper Team’s creativity, perseverance and determination are paying off for our clients. We use leading-edge online strategies and old-fashioned hard work to sell homes faster and for more money.

If you need to relocate or know of someone wanting to move to the Oakville or Burlington areas, give us a call. We have the expertise and resources to make the move stress-free.

Stability is the watchword in real estate in 2012

Dan Cooper — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 21:35:21 +0000

I want to wish everyone a happy and prosperous New Year. As we enter 2012, all the signs point to a stable and balanced economy – which in turn creates a good climate for real estate transactions.

Across Canada, the real estate market was balanced in 2011 with housing prices growing more or less in line with the rate of inflation.

Oakville, which has always been one of the hottest markets in the country, surpassed the national trend for sales and price increases. The latest available statistics take us to the end of November and show that the number of residential sales was up 8 percent in 2011 over 2010 and the average price had increased by 8.5 percent – $609,034 in 2011 from $561,769 in 2010.

In Burlington, sales were on par with the national trend, but the average sale price increased by a whopping 13.8 percent – $421,008 in 2011 from $369,874 in 2010.

And we can expect the same pace of growth in 2012 according to the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation. The key will be continued low interest rates. Rates had been expected to rise in 2011, leading to a slowdown in the housing market. But that didn’t happen.

In 2012, a looming economic slowdown, record consumer debt and weak wage growth could put a downward pressure on the market. But these will also encourage the Bank of Canada to leave interest rates on hold – and that’s good news for homebuyers. It’s also good news for sellers since the lower rates will encourage more buyers into the marketplace.

While uncertainty about the global economy and our own recovery will continue to mess a bit with our psyche, the fact that we will see some stability, that there will still be some growth in the economy and the job market, bodes well for the real estate scene over the next 12 months.

Whether you are buying or selling a home, choose a broker who understands the market, who is knowledgeable about the community and has the resources and staff to provide you with superior service 24/7.

From the entire Dan Cooper Team, I would like to wish you and your families all the best for 2012.

Looking for a strong finish in home sales for 2011

Dan Cooper — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 22:09:08 +0000

October and November were two of the strongest months for The Dan Cooper Team as we bucked the trend for the Oakville and Milton areas, and remained on track with what was happening in Burlington and the GTA.

There was a cooling in sales in the Oakville area in November, according to the Oakville, Milton and District Real Estate Board (OMDREB), but Hamilton/Burlington and Toronto enjoyed increases in listings, sales and average sale price.

“The increase in transactions has been broad-based, with strong growth across low-rise and high-rise home types throughout the Greater Toronto Area,” says Toronto Real Estate Board President Richard Silver. “The market has also become better supplied, with annual new listings growth outstripping that of sales. As this trend continues into 2012, we will see more balanced market conditions.”

The average price in the GTA for November transactions was $480,421, representing an increase of almost 10 percent in comparison to $437,494 in November 2010.

In the Hamilton and Burlington areas, average prices rose 7.8 percent for homes and 6.1 percent for condominiums. This was for all transactions under the Realtors Association of Hamilton-Burlington, which takes in Glanbrook, Dunnville and Caledonia. Burlington on its own witnessed a 13.8 percent increase in the average sale price last month – $421,008 in November compared to $369,874 the same month last year.

So what happened in Oakville/Milton? The OMDREB says this is a traditional slowdown as consumers busy themselves preparing for the holiday season. It says overall sales in November compared with the same month last year were down 5.9 percent. Oakville, however, saw a 5.5 percent increase in sales, but experienced an almost static position in the average sale price. The average price in November was $588,557 compared with $589,354 in November 2010.

“While we are experiencing the traditional drop in sales that occurs during the winter months, we remain on track for a strong finish in 2011,” says OMDREB President Jack McCrudden. “As long as interest rates remain at their current historic lows, demand for housing in the Oakville/Milton market will remain strong.”

The key to selling your home is to choose an experienced realtor who will market your home effectively. Innovative advertising, knowledge about the marketplace, commitment and exemplary service differentiate The Dan Cooper Team. The result is that we are achieving accomplishments that illustrate the Dan Cooper difference. We have been the Number 1 team in Canada for Royal LePage for seven of the past 11 years, which is a testament to our ability to sell homes quickly and for the best possible price in the Oakville and Burlington areas.

Lakeshore Living Magazine is bigger and better than ever

Dan Cooper — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 21:38:42 +0000

Open publication – Free publishing – More 2011

The second issue of Dan Cooper’s Lakeshore Living will be out beginning this week and it is bigger and better than the spring’s inaugural issue.

The fall issue is loaded with great reading – everything from a spectacular renovation in South-East Oakville by celebrity designer Ramsin Khachi to an incredible California getaway offer by the Napa Valley Crush Co-op. If you like California wines, you will want to see what the Napa Valley Co-op has to offer.
My friends at Budds’ BMW have teamed up with the Napa Valley Co-op to host an exclusive wine tasting event that will include some exceptional “cult” wines from the Napa region. Also likely to be taking part in this special event is Crescent Hill Gallery, which has an extensive and impressive offering of artwork. We hope to see a small glimpse of their collection at Budds’.

Matt Dunigan is this issue’s celebrity profile and I want to thank my good friend for taking time out of his busy schedule to be interviewed and photographed for this article. Matt has suffered several concussions in his career as one of the CFL’s leading quarterbacks and he reveals to us what will become of his brain. You’ll have to read the magazine to find out.

Appleby College is celebrating a milestone this year – its 100th anniversary – and we provide a glimpse into the rich history of this prestigious school. The school is also planning its Centennial Gala on May 12th next year and this promises to be bigger and better than ever. It’s one social function you don’t want to miss.

Lakeshore Living also offers some practical advice for homeowners. Concept Lighting Galleries is one of the area’s top lighting stores with lighting solutions for every home. They have a wide selection and can satisfy any tastes from contemporary to traditional to transitional. Their expert advice and attention to customer service make them the number one lighting store in the area. And today they have three locations in Mississauga, Oakville and Burlington.

For window treatments, inVU Drapery has the experience and expertise to help you create windows that complete a room in elegance and style. There is more to choosing the right window treatment than meets the eye. Fabrics, colour, patterns and hardware all make a statement and so the professionals at inVU can help you make the choices that will create the right balance in your home.

And last but not least, the magazine has an impressive parade of high-end homes for sale in my Prestige Collection. These are homes that are $1.5 million plus, and Lakeshore Living is just an example of how I’m finding innovative ways to market homes for my clients.

Lakeshore Living’s mission is to bring interesting and informative stories to your doorstep. If you want a copy of the magazine, feel free to call my office.

Moving out of town? Relocation couldn’t be easier

Dan Cooper — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 20:15:33 +0000

Dan Cooper (centre) with Phil Soper, President & Chief Executive and Gino Romanese, Senior Vice President of Royal LePage.

When moving out of town, out of province or out of Canada, you can start the buying process right here at home. Too often, homeowners believe it is up to them to find an agent in the community in which they are moving. But that’s simply not the case. Royal LePage’s key strategic partnership with Brookfield Global Relocation Services allows me to work with agents around the world on behalf of my clients.

The advantage is the convenience and peace of mind you will find by working with someone locally for a new home in the next community or on the other side of the globe.

My success over the past 20 years has not been restricted to the west GTA, but has included representing thousands of clients who have needed to relocate. Being tapped into a global leader such as Brookfield gives me access to a wealth of expertise and resources. Brookfield Global Relocation Services is the number one relocation service in the world with access to more than 600 companies that can handle corporate relocations on a daily basis.

Not only do I have the best relocation service at my fingertips, I have access to the top agents in North America. These are high-calibre professionals who are absolutely the best performers in real estate. As a member of the Royal LePage Chairman’s Club, I am networking with the top one percent of agents within Royal LePage. This is an elite group who know how to find the right home for you and negotiate the best deal possible.

I also have direct access to international counterparts through Real Living, an innovative, fresh and fast-growing real estate brand located in the U.S. The company maintains an industry leading 96 percent customer satisfaction rating and its innovative concepts were recognized as one of the best by Entrepreneur magazine.

In addition to helping individuals move, The Dan Cooper Team has the depth, scope and scale to provide a full array of services for corporate clients and the employees they transfer.

Or, if you are simply selling your home, tapping into a worldwide relocation service also increases the list of potential buyers who are transferring into the Oakville and Burlington area. When seeking buyers for your home, we explore every possible opportunity believing that more exposure results in a better price for your home. Combined with our national database of homebuyers through Royal LePage, you have a powerful resource at your fingertips.

If you need to relocate or know of someone wanting to move to the Oakville or Burlington areas, give us a call. We have the expertise and resources to make the move stress-free.

5 Reasons why top Business Leaders continually invest in Learning and Development

Dan Cooper — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 17:49:42 +0000

From left to right Wayne Einhorn and Tyrone Davids, both Managing Partners at EDI, Carla Wood, Managing Director at EDI and Dan Cooper, Broker.

Traditional thought might indicate that it is the struggling professional who should seek support to learn how to survive in a competitive business environment. While this certainly would be wise, it is not those in the bottom quartile who are fervently investing in the future of their business. It is the top few percent of business leaders who are acknowledging the critical value to the short term and long term growth and improvement of their organizations, of ongoing coaching and development.

Locally speaking, Dan Cooper, one the most prominent names in local and national real estate, is a true example of this type of humble leader. Being at the top is not the place to rest. It is a place to prioritize value for clients. As one of the top real estate professionals in Canada, a community leader, family man and mentor to his team of sales professionals and administrative group, Dan Cooper could risk it all by claiming to know enough that there is no need to learn further. Fortunately for his clients, team, community, family and industry, Dan is the antithesis of that man. Dan Cooper values development and improvement, and knows that even at the top, there is exponential opportunity for growth.

This attitude of lifelong learning, improvement and high value on excellence is what led Dan Cooper to engage the coaching and consulting services of EDI Implementation Engineers. EDI is a coaching and consulting company focused on helping top performing professionals and businesses drive implementation that results in increased profitability and cash flow. Working exclusively with successful businesses and professionals, EDI is a partner in each Member’s business to develop strategies, and then stay to see them implemented through a customized program for each business to ensure a high level return on investment. Dan Cooper has engaged the services of EDI Implementation Engineers, and specifically, his coach, Managing Director, Carla Wood, to see this through for the greater success of his business, his team and his clients.

Why is Dan Cooper, along with thousands of other top business leaders, reaching out for support from EDI Implementation Engineers and similar professional organizations? The reasons are many, but here are 5 key explanations for such an investment:

Top leaders know that hard work is necessary to succeed, but that working smarter is what sets them apart. And although there is a clear capacity ceiling to hard work, smart work has no limits if you continue to seek out new learnings.
Humility is the mark of a great leader. It is simple to look at those with monumental success and assume they are arrogant or need nothing from anyone, but it is humility in leadership that allows those leaders to surround themselves with phenomenal professionals to continue to raise the bar in their business and in their lives.
Clients deserve more, and top performers can provide more if they choose to invest in more. As families entrust Dan Cooper and his team to buy and sell homes for them, Dan, like most great leaders, feels a clear obligation to those families to provide more, be ahead of the curve, and invest in their future at the same time he invests in his business.
Big picture thinking drives big picture results. Leading business professionals like Dan Cooper have experienced firsthand that the day-to-day of running a business can make it difficult to keep the bigger picture in perspective. But those same leaders know that the bigger picture is what drives success, so investing in coaching and development allows Dan’s team to run with the day-to-day, while his coach and Dan can implement today’s success while intentionally driving toward the future goals.
Mastery of anything is a moving target. To truly master anything, there is never a time when one can say “I’ve done enough”. True masters of any business, activity or concept continue to grow and develop as opportunity, economy, technology and business shift and mature. Dan Cooper exemplifies a leader who implements the belief of this moving target philosophy and is pushing forward to maintain that exceptional level of success for which he is so well respected.

Dan Cooper is an award-winning broker with Royal LePage Real Estate Services Ltd., Brokerage – the Number 1 Royal LePage Team for Canada in 2009, 2007, 2005, 2002, 2001, 2000 and 1999. He can be reached at 905-338-3737, direct line at 905-849-3303 or through his innovative and interactive website at DanCooper.com. Be sure to catch the Dan Cooper Real Estate Series on DailyWebTV.com. For his free booklet How To Sell Your House For Top Dollar – Fast! or his Guide to Oakville Real Estate, please call The Dan Cooper Team.

Predictions call for a strong finale to 2011 in real estate

Dan Cooper — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 20:17:58 +0000

The real estate market is poised for a strong finish this year. Are you ready? Even in a hot market it is critical to have a broker who understands the marketplace, is intimately familiar with the community and has superior marketing skills.

The Dan Cooper Team employs innovative tools such as our unique dancoopertv.com where online visitors can take video tours of homes for sale and listen to some of the great testimonials we have collected over the years.

Carefully choosing the publications in which we advertise your home is also a key strategy to our success – we handpick the publications that provide the most exposure for your home.

Why is this important right now? As the market heats up, there is a tremendous amount of competition and those who have the most exposure and best marketing strategy have a better chance of selling their homes quickly and for top dollar.

According to the most recent figures released by the Oakville, Milton and District Real Estate Board, the local housing market is on track for a strong finale. October sales were 12.3 percent higher than in October of 2010 and the average price was 25.3 percent higher. New listings are increasing each month which points to a continuing strong response from sellers to the positive price gains over the past several months.

The Bank of Canada has helped fuel this hot market by suggesting that mortgage rates will remain at historic lows for some time to come. Oakville and Burlington are among the most desirable places in Canada in which to live and we will continue to see more and more buyers attracted to these communities. This influx of buyers will ensure that these areas remain vibrant for many more months.

Low interest rates also mean low returns on saving instruments such as GICs, making real estate one of your best investment strategies. In fact, if you had money invested in a GIC in the past two years, you lost ground. If you bought real estate last October, that property has appreciated by as much as 25.3 percent according to the average gains in real estate prices.

When using real estate as an investment, it becomes even more critical to choose a broker who has the business acumen to identify solid investment properties, ensuring you maximize your return to its fullest potential. The Dan Cooper Team has many options available to you from desirable to locations to new development.

Whether you are looking to invest, buy or sell, The Dan Cooper Team has the experience and expertise to handle all your real estate needs and the stellar track record to back up their claims of being able to sell your home for top dollar – fast.

How to get your home ready for a winter sale

Dan Cooper — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 19:50:57 +0000

Spring is generally considered to be the best time to sell a home. It’s a time when warming temperatures and the burst of new life bring a flood of buyers into the marketplace. But truthfully, winter is a critical time as well – especially among those buyers who want to move in the spring and be settled into their new home by the time summer rolls around.

Selling during the drab winter months can be a challenge, but there are some easy and effective things you can do to ensure your home stands out from others on the market.

Keep your windows washed and polish all your mirrors. Creating that sparkle in your home will make your home more inviting if sunlight shines through spotless windows and reflects off your mirrors.

In late fall, ensure dead leaves and debris have been raked, gardens prepared for winter and bushes trimmed. A neat yard, even in winter, will provide a good first impression.

Give your house a total cleaning, including sending window coverings to the cleaners or giving them a wash, dry and press. Give your blinds a thorough cleaning, get rid of dust and cob webs and open the windows for a blast of fresh air to take away any staleness that might be lingering.

Set out fresh flowers. Natural scents are more appealing than artificial and provide splashes of colour that can brighten a room on a dreary late fall or winter day.

Polish floors to a high gloss. Hardwoods should be kept free of dust and gleam; ceramics should twinkle and shine, clean dull grout, thoroughly clean area rugs and replace worn kitchen and bathroom mats.

Use towels, throws and pillows effectively, even if it means buying some new accessory items. These are inexpensive accents you can buy, but fresh and trendy colours can alter the visual impact of a room. Presentation is also important. Layer towels on the bathroom towel rack and place rolled wash cloths on the counter in a fashionable pyramid.

Offer a mat for shoes and an umbrella stand at the entrance. We could still have rain in late fall, so lay down an attractive mat for visitors to clean their shoes before entering your home. Providing a natural entrance is far more attractive than laying down a plastic runner which may protect your floors, but detracts from the effect of a glittering polish job.

Fill the sink with ice to chill bottled water for visitors and set out some treats or snacks, which will keep visitors lingering a little longer in your kitchen and admire features they might otherwise overlook.

These are just a few of the things a home seller can do to create a home that stands out from the competition.