April Newsletter ~ The PEDLAR Team Update ~ We Are All In This Together

We Are All In This Together The PEDLAR Team wants to send health and safety to your family during these peculiar times. A round of applause goes out to the front line workers in the health care system! Another round of applause goes out to those who make it possible for our grocery store shelves to be stocked. From the truck driver to the person working the cash register. Take this time at home to start new traditions with the family. Some examples could be pizza night, movie night, a new family favourite card game and so forth. Another great idea during these times is to get started on those jobs around the house that you have been putting off. Become that chef you never had time to be! We have decided to close the office to outside foot traffic so that we can use the office if necessary. We are never far from our phones and email if you had a question or just want to chat. We live in an amazing community and as a whole we will get through this together! Get The Kids Cooking We all know that supper is usually a rushed process when everyone gets home from school and work! We now have much more time on our hands and this might be the perfect time to introduce your kids to the kitchen. I found this website and is linked below that provides many recipes that are easy to make with kids and uses quite common ingredients. This website gives you lots of options to pick from in terms of breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack and appetizer ideas. Check it out and let us know which recipe you made! Click the link: https://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifestyle/master-chef-40-easy-recipes-cook-with-kids.html New To Lambton Shores? The municipality of Lambton Shores is starting a new initiative of making municipality information easier to find out. Check the link out and see what things you didn't know about this awesome municipality. Click the link: https://www.lambtonshores.ca/en/living-here/new-to-lambton-shores.aspx?platform=hootsuite   Social Media   Have a great day everyone and don't forget to check out our social media sites like youtube, facebook, twitter and our website to stay up to date on all the latest listings. You can find the links to these various social media outlets above our information below. See the benefits of using a high quality drone and camera for videos and pictures to add content to each listing.

Ipperwash Fully Updated Home Seconds From The Beach Detached Garage/Shop 3 Beds 1.5 Baths $499,000 Highlands II Desirable Subdivision Just North of Grand Bend Updated Cottage 3 Beds 1 Bath $299,900 Walden North Newer Custom Built Home Roof Top Patio 3 Beds 2.5 Bath Full Unfinished Basement 8KM South of Grand Bend $619,900

If you or any of your friends and family are looking to buy or sell make sure to call us first! Referrals are the greatest compliment Check our website out by clicking the link below http://www.grandbendrealestate.com  Doug Pedlar      Mark Pedlar     Garrett Pedlar      Broker of Record                         Broker                        Sales Representative   519-902-4099    519-670-0746     519-872-0910  remaxdoug@hay.net           remaxmark@hay.net          remaxgarrett@hay.net

8376 Goosemarsh Line, Lambton Shores ~ Custom Home In Walden North

6507 West Parkway Drive, Lambton Shores ~ Fully Renovated Home

London Area Home Sales Remain at Peak Levels

Last month, local residential real estate transactions remained at peak levels, with 740 homes trading hands in LSTAR's jurisdiction - only 22 less than three years ago, when the Association had its best February sales ever.

"Overall, home sales took a leap over the previous month - from 568 to 740, which signals an early start of a busy spring market," said 2020 LSTAR President Blair Campbell.

Compared to a year ago, the local residential sales activity saw a 23.7% increase, while the overall average home price experienced a 13% surge, rising to $445,535 in February.

"Even though the number of LSTAR new listings grew to 1,034, which is almost on par with the 10-year average, the number of active listings at month end was still much lower than normal. This reflects the strong demand for residential properties in our area," stated Campbell.

Inventory is another important measure of the balance between sales and the supply of listings. This shows how long it would take to liquidate existing inventories at the current rate of sales activity. At the end of February 2020, there were only 1.8 months of inventory across the entire LSTAR district - the lowest level in the last ten years.

"Looking at the home sales activity in LSTAR's five main regions, it's interesting to see that three of them - Elgin County, Middlesex County and Strathroy - had their second best February ever. London witnessed its third best February with 488 home sales, while St. Thomas set a new absolute record for February home sales, with 68," Campbell noted.

March Newsletter ~ The PEDLAR Team Update

First Day of Spring Is Only 3 Weeks Away Hard to believe as our area gets hit with the first extended snow storm that the first day of spring is only three weeks away. The tundra swans are coming back through the area and that is usually a good sign Spring is just around the corner! This means the busy housing market for buyers and sellers will heat up quickly, once the snow leaves. If you are thinking about selling, the spring market always brings the excited buyers to town! The PEDLAR Team had a very exciting end to February, heading to Las Vegas for the RE/MAX R4 Convention! It was an exciting trip with all three of us getting yearly awards and additionally Mark received the 'Hall of Fame' award from RE/MAX! We met RE/MAX agents from around the world and expanded our referral network to a global scale. Where ever in the world you are looking, close or far, there is a local RE/MAX agent that we can put you in touch with! Don't hesitate to call and we will get you in touch with the local RE/MAX professional! Ontario Policy Makers Remove The Stress Test The great news came recently that the Ontario government is doing away with the mandatory stress test for those applying for a mortgage with less than 20 percent down. Helping mostly first time home buyers with being able to retain a larger mortgage value. I have included two articles that are quite descriptive of the benefits of these changes. The first article from The Globe and Mail types out 9 benefits of the new changes. The second article from CBC goes in to the viewpoint that these changes take power from the six major banks to control our Ontario housing market. Both articles with links below are great reads regarding the new changes that will be implemented as of April 6, 2020. Article 1: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/investing/personal-finance/household-finances/article-nine-things-mortgage-shoppers-should-know-about-the-stress-test/?fbclid=IwAR1f521tzQ1m5L0SrkwX20CdC2HUGI2Mu8_EP2qPOo08PnkSf8fYPQxJ3uo Article 2: https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/mortgage-stress-test-1.5467330 Five Things To Know About FSBO's   Some great points in this article from RE/MAX, regarding FSBO's (For Sale By Owner) and the tough spot owners put themselves in by going with this process of selling their home. The article isn't saying you can't sell your house yourself but that the potential cons of doing so heavily outweigh the pros. An interesting point the article makes, from taking sale figures of current homes, is that the average sale price for a FSBO was $200,000 versus $265,500 for agent-assisted transactions. Click the link for the full article: https://blog.remax.ca/5-things-to-know-about-fsbos/?fbclid=IwAR0KoRyUDbJMfymsBWe-vHQ1Asn7SB4-I5SXuSNHxp6bMMrrHXyf8O3e94o Retirement Home Proposed For Grand Bend   Our ever growing and expanding community may have a new retirement home coming to Grand Bend. A four-storey retirement home would see approximately 127 units built on an 8,900 square foot gross floor area. With the aging population this would be a great addition to keeping those residents that love this area! Giving those aging residents some more beautiful years in Grand Bend. Click the link for the full article: https://blackburnnews.com/sarnia/sarnia-news/2020/02/10/retirement-home-proposed-grand-bend/?fbclid=IwAR17Yq3EZK10lQXs1pa2zoqjf_dO7qinSEhyeKCh1arr_-4Y6lE8bHf80_g RE/MAX National Outlook For 2020   RE/MAX is calling for a leveling out of the highs and lows that characterized the Canadian housing market in 2019, particularly in Vancouver and Toronto, as we move into 2020. Healthy price increases are expected next year, with an estimated 3.7 per-cent increase in the average residential sale price. Most individual markets surveyed across Canada experienced moderate price increases year-over-year from 2018 to 2019. However, some regions in Ontario continue to experience higher-than-normal gains, including London (+10.7 per cent), Windsor (+11 per cent), Ottawa (+11.7 per cent) and Niagara (+12.9 per cent). As more Canadians have adjusted to the mortgage stress test and older Millennials move into their peak earning years, it is anticipated that they will drive the market in 2020, particularly single Millennials and young couples. A recent Leger survey conducted by RE/MAX found that more than half (51 per cent) of Canadians are considering buying a property in the next five years, especially those under the age of 45. To get more information click the link: https://blog.remax.ca/canadian-housing-market-outlook/?fbclid=IwAR1nWdFocyIuwsdMB5T3ytkDNV3udOHeyOqeJ89RciuV54bXXAPbTrexK98 Townsend Meadows Development In Forest - PHASE 2 Has Started & 7 Units Are Already SOLD With 4 Units Remaining For Sale Welcome to Forest’s newest adult lifestyle development. Townsend Meadows is the ideal destination for seniors who are looking for an exclusive retirement development in a caring community of like-minded neighbours. Enjoy all the conveniences of your family home without any of the maintenance and security concerns. Townsend Meadows has come about through the initiative of a number of community members who wanted to create an accessible seniors development and provide a housing alternative that would help keep retirees in Forest. Townsend Meadows offers an opportunity for private independent living in the social and supportive atmosphere of small town living. There is are three floor plan sizes to choose from. You can enjoy a lifestyle free from the day-to-day worries of maintenance and security. We cut the grass and shovel the snow and you have the freedom to lock the door and go and spend time on things that are important to you. Click the link: https://www.townsendmeadows.com/ Or find us on facebook by clicking this link: https://www.facebook.com/Townsend-Meadows-Seniors-Housing-296597098583/ Townsend Meadows PHASE 2 Huron Model - 1,411 Sq Ft - $367,120 Bosanquet Model - 1,175 Sq Ft - $305,500 Thedford Model - 1,295 Sq Ft - $336,700 Call Doug PEDLAR today for more information at 1519-238-5700 New To Lambton Shores? The municipality of Lambton Shores is starting a new initiative of making municipality information easier to find out. Check the link out and see what things you didn't know about this awesome municipality. Click the link: https://www.lambtonshores.ca/en/living-here/new-to-lambton-shores.aspx?platform=hootsuite   Happening In The Community It's always good to know what is going on in our exciting community. My Favourite Moment in History & Climate Crisis Unpacked March 9 - 12-1:30 & 2:30 - 4:30 - 25 Main Street, Grand Bend - Huron Shores United Church Two great weekly events at the Huron Shores United Church in downtown Grand Bend. Click the link for community calendar down below to find the particular person to contact and register today. Ausable-Port Franks Optimist Club Meat Draw March 21 - 2-4pm - Grog's Pub & Grill The Optimist Club of Ausable Port Franks holds a meat draw on the third Saturday of each month from September to May.  This event is at Grog's Restaurant from 2:00-4:00 pm and helps us raise money for our Youth events and programs.  The date in May is changed due to the long weekend.  Come out and have some fun and win some prizes. Soup-er Sundays March 29 - Noon - 3pm - 9997 Port Franks Road - Port Franks Community Centre Fun with Giant Games!!  Come out to the West Wing of the Port Franks Community Centre with your family or on your own to spend time with others on a Sunday afternoon.  There is a light soup lunch and dessert for $5 that is available if you wish. These aren't all the events happening in Lambton Shores so check out the community calendar link on Lambton Shores website. Here is the link to community calendar page: https://calendar.lambtonshores.ca/default/Month?StartDate=03/01/2020 Social Media   Have a great day everyone and don't forget to check out our social media sites like youtube, facebook, twitter and our website to stay up to date on all the latest listings. You can find the links to these various social media outlets above our information below. See the benefits of using a high quality drone and camera for videos and pictures to add content to each listing.

Grand Bend Lakefront Southcott Pines 70 Feet Frontage Totally Updated 4 Beds 2 Baths $2,000,000 Port Franks Built in 2005 Custom Brick Bungalow Full Finished Basement Attached Double Garage 3 Beds 2 Bath SOLD Sunset Avenue Bluewater Municipality One Acre Building Lot 100 Ft Frontage Listed at $129,900 SOLD For $141,500

If you or any of your friends and family are looking to buy or sell make sure to call us first! Referrals are the greatest compliment Check our website out by clicking the link below http://www.grandbendrealestate.com  Doug Pedlar      Mark Pedlar     Garrett Pedlar      Broker of Record                         Broker                        Sales Representative   519-902-4099    519-670-0746     519-872-0910  remaxdoug@hay.net           remaxmark@hay.net          remaxgarrett@hay.net

London Area REALTORS® Start the New Year with a Bang

LSTAR REALTORS® started the year with a bang, as the house sales in the London - St Thomas area saw their second best January since 1978, when LSTAR started tracking its markets' performance.

568 homes exchanged hands last month in our jurisdiction - only two shy from the same period in 2017, which still holds the absolute record for January residential real estate transactions.

The average home price for the region was 437,197, 13.9% higher than a year ago and 48.2% over January 2017. "When compared to January 2010, the percentage of price growth is a whopping 95.2%, which means that the value of homes in our area has almost doubled in the last ten years," said 2020 LSTAR President Blair Campbell.

"Despite the high number of home sales and the sky-rocketing house prices, the number of new listings that hit the local market in January 2020 saw a 9.4% increase over last year, which brought last month's sales-to-new-listings ratio to 60.5%. This increase in listings for the month is fantastic as the lack of inventory has been a significant concern over the past two years," he added.

Inventory is another important measure of the balance between sales and the supply of listings. This shows how long it would take to liquidate existing inventories at the current rate of sales activity. At the end of January 2020, there were 2.2 months of inventory across the entire LSTAR district - the lowest level in the last ten years.

SOLD Bungalow In Port Franks ~ Lambton Shores