August 2009 Real Estate Market Report for Chilliwack

August Market Report

This is your happy home specialists bringing you the Real Estate Market Report that has been compiled from data that is distributed from the Chilliwack and District Real Estate Board.
Another strong month is behind us and all indicators are that the market is now on the move and people are taking advantage of fantastic interest rates and low prices. We are definitely witnessing signs of an upward movement in sales prices. Buyers seem to be responding with more confidence which is driving sales in an upward direction.
Over 52% of the residential sales that occurred in the month of August were in the price point of $275,000 to $500,000!! This is up from last month which saw the largest amount of residential sales between $225,000 to $400,000. Sales in the price point of $400,000 to $500,000 increased by over 30% from the month of July. This is what we have been waiting for...
Average days to sell dropped to an average of 64 days down from 72 last month so that tells us that the market is responding. We hear it loud and clear.
Total residential sales increased in dollar volume by 19% and the amount of inventory on the market is down 36% from the year prior. That is the trend that we have been experiencing this year and it is continuing which is really good news.
We are looking forward to an excellent Fall. The media seems positive but they don’t seem to understand how good it is here in Chilliwack. Well to us it is big news and we are excited to help families get into the best homes for the best price in todays market. Call us anytime if you would like more specific market information.
Talk to you next month.

CERTIFY the WHY - Part 3

I broke it up into 3 parts to make it more interesting for you.....
Where you are today is the direct result of the past. Everything that you have done in the past; everything that you have thought about in the past; everything that you have focussed on in the past; all of the mental influences of the past; all previous experiences of the past and all money spending and investing of the past have brought you here today. It is important to establish where you are today and then decide on how it can be improved and then focus on what tomorrow will look like so that you can take control of your future. "It is good to focus on your future because that is where you will be spending the rest of your life".......I encourage you not to dwell on the past for no other reason than to learn from it. However, don't spend too much time on that. Try driving a car looking through the rear view mirror. You will crash for sure. Look out the bigger window in front of you and focus on where you are going and you will get there safely - right?
Now I want you to do an exercise with me and it is important that you pay attention to the rules of this exercise. On a separate piece of paper, write everything that you can think of that will make you feel great that earning a larger income will provide. I want you to write how you will feel when you achieve it as if you are feeling it right now. 5 years is a long time in the future but let's imagine your life going great and your business is fantastic and you have the income that you dream of coming in on a consistent basis 5 years from today. Everything is efficient. You are smiling and when you sit down with people imagine them laughing and smiling with you. You're talking on the phone to a past client who has just called you to let you know that they referred a client to you and you are speaking and smiling and making notes. Imagine yourself as a successful REALTOR. What do you look like? What kind of clothes do you wear? How fast do you walk? What kind of car do you drive? What does your home office look like? How organized is your desk? Is it piled with papers or neatly organized? What is the ideal person for you to become in order to be what you consider to be successful? These are just a few questions to ask yourself to get you thinking but really take the time to describe in utmost detail the ideal life. Try to touch on all aspects of life. Business, Personal, Relationships, Money, Spiritual, Family etc. Make the effort and try to imagine yourself living that life as if it is happening right now.
My wonderful, fulfilling, exciting, fun-filled, ____________________, _____________________, ________________________, LIFE 5 years from today.
I drive a _____________________________________ with a(n) _______________________ transmission and it is _________________________ in color.
My home is located in ______________________________ with a lot size of approximately ______________________________. It has a kitchen with ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ and my master bedroom has ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ some other great features of my home are ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ and I love the location of where it is situated because ____________________________________________________________________________________. I get a fantastic sense of accomplishment when I go home because it satisfies so many things that we need for _____________________________________________________________ and I am so grateful that my efforts have really paid off and I am so appreciative of the abundance that has come my way.
Some other things that I have obtained and accomplished over the last little while that I am enjoying is ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
I have some extremely loyal clients and have made a lot of friends along the way that I believe I will enjoy for the rest of my life. I have made some fantastic strategic alliances with some key people and we benefit each others' business in a great way. Business just seems to be easier now and most of my time is spent on "money making" activities. I have ________ appointments per week with people that want to list their home and I average about _______ appointments per week showing properties to Buyers. My yearly income has now increased to $____________________ and I have managed to save $____________________ for the future and I own _______ other property(ies). I am in total control of my finances and my business. I have effected over _______ transactions this year.
My /family and I / wife and I / partner and I / take ______ vacations per year now and are making plans to go to ________________________.
More on your future ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Now on another blank page take a snapshot of your life in 10 years. Fast forward for a second to your life 10 years from today and talk about all aspects of your life. Let's pretend that you are now being interviewed by a reporter from a local newspaper and they want to do a story about you and your life as a REALTOR but they want to do a proper editorial to understand you- the person. They want to know all about you. Write the editorial as if you are the writer and write the story that you would like to see in print. A story that you would be proud to read to your grandchildren. If you read this story about someone else you would be greatly impressed and inspired. How would you describe your Financial Life, Business Life, Family Life, and your Spiritual Life? What are your hobbies? How do you contribute? How are you involved in the community?
Now that you have finished that exercise you have created a picture of the future for yourself. You have achieved the action of making a decision to take control of your life. You have created something for you to be accountable to but you have allowed yourself to feel what it feels like to be great. You are meant to do more than put in some time, make some money and just make it by and then die. You are meant to be more and mean more to this world. Congratulations!! You are in the top 30 percent of the population in my estimation. Now remember that you can do this exercise any time and re-write it over and over again and fine tune it to how you develop as a person as well. As your mind expands you will want to keep adjusting your objectives. I encourage you to do that a lot. But for the purposes of this manual I would encourage you to read the last 2 pages every night before you go to sleep and every morning when you start your day. It will take about 1 minute at a time. Not much time investment but the mental investment is enormous. Do this consistently and watch what happens over time. You will be amazed at the results.
A fun activity is to get some magazines and find pictures of some of the things that you dream about and make a collage of the pictures with your loved ones. Include your family. Let them in on your dreams so that they support you on those long days when it happens. Frame it and put it up on the wall and look at it every day.

Chilliwack Real Estate Market Report for July 2009

Chilliwack and District Real Estate Board Statistics for July 2009 as interpreted by HappyhomesBC

Chilliwack had a major heat wave reaching temperatures over 35 degrees !!! But there was another heat wave and that was the Real Estate Market. Hot hot Hot!!!!
We are feeling the heat and we are fired up about it.
The total value of residential sales increased almost 42% compared to last year and the amount of units that sold also increased by the same basic number which means that prices have stabilized and there is a major increase in market activity.
Total inventory in the Chilliwack and District Real Estate board decreased from 2008 by almost 30%.
There are less than 50% of the townhomes on the market today than there were last year....
The number of days on the market for residential homes is in the 70 to 85 day range which is a little bit longer than last month. That tells us that the really good deals that injected the market a few months ago have been snapped up and now people are pricing realistically but have just taken a little longer to react. The second layer of homes are now selling which is good - good - good news for everybody.
60% of all the sales that took place were in the price ranges of $225,000 to $400,000. That is the hottest price point. If you are priced in that area then you should be getting a lot of action on your home.
This is really balanced market right at this point. This is a good time to sell and more importantly - This is a great time to buy right now. Did I mention that this is a great time to buy??? If I forgot to mention before – THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!!!
The market is now in the incubation stages and we will be experiencing some market changes that will begin the next wave in a short period of time.
This is what you have been waiting for....Right now is it.

This is HappyhomesBC signing off with your monthly market report for July 2009. Have a good summer.

Part 2 of "CERTIFY THE WHY"

This is Part 2 of a series on getting the "Why" nailed down so that you can Certify the reason you are working in the first place.....
Get that BURN.....What gets your fire going.....
Let's start with the basics and move forward form there...
Other words that describe the word "Certify" are: confirm; officially state; verify; endorse; attest; declare.
Those are pretty accountable words. It is a positive affirmation. In order to solidify your understanding of your "Why", we need to take some time to confirm what you are officially stating and verify the meaning to you so that you can properly endorse your commitment. Then in the future you will be able to attest to what you had formerly declared. In other words "CERTIFY the WHY".
Steps to "Certify the Why"
C. - CLARITY
E. - ENERGY
R. - RETURN ON ENERGY
T. - TIME INVESTMENT
I. - INCLUDE YOUR SUPPORT NETWORK
F. - FORMING THE RIGHT HABITS
Y. - "YES" ATTITUDE
Rule #3 - Be honest with yourself
The exercises will only work if you are totally and freely honest with yourself. This is paramount for your success. I believe in you and know that you can build a fantastic business if you just do every exercise in this manual completely and honestly. Free your mind and let go of all the stuff cluttering it up. Allow yourself to be honest and you will grow a lot quicker in this manner.
CLARITY - Ask yourself some questions to clarify where you are today. Clarify your current situation:
•1. What are my assets today? (Make a list and ascertain an approximate value)
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
•2. What are my immediate needs for my home and business that I need extra money for? (Itemize and attach a dollar amount for each and then total the amount)
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
•3. If I could ask a Genie today for the money that I need to clear up all my debt except for my mortgage, how much money would I ask for? (Itemize if you want or just write the total down)
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
•4. The sum total of all household and life expenses that I am responsible for on a monthly basis is $________________.
•5. Add $1500.00 per month for Real Estate business expenses and the total "nut to crack" monthly is:
$____________________/month x 12 is $____________________ per year. (turn to page ___ and write this total in the space provided)
We have now succeeded in Clarifying the present state of your financial life. It is now established that you NEED to earn $________________/year which is $______________ per month and there is a total amount of $_______________ required to be debt free except for your mortgage. Take the amount of debt and divide it by 2 and add that to your yearly total that you are required to make.
The Total amount of money I need to earn per year required to pay for my yearly obligations and pay off all bad debt in 2 years is: $__________________.00.
I would say that this is a pretty good place to start. Now make a decision to meet that requirement as your minimum. 24 months later you will pay for everything and get yourself into a debt free situation. These are your business building months. Anything that you can make over and above that can go back into your business into marketing yourself and getting your name out there. After that you can put money away for later and for future investments. Remember to give back and support some other worthy causes along the way. More on money distribution later.
Where you are today is the direct result of the efforts and focus of the past. Everything that you have done in the past; everything that you have thought about in the past; everything that you have focussed on in the past; all of the mental influences of the past; all previous experiences of the past and all money spending and investing of the past have brought you here today. It is important to establish where you are today and then decide on how it can be improved and then focus on what tomorrow will look like so that you can take control of your future. It is all in your hands. This is where we draw a line in the sand and move on from here.
The next step is where it really gets exciting.....Look for Part 3 shortly!!!!

Certify the Why

This will be a 2 part segment on getting your "Why" figured out...... This is part one and look for Part 2 in a little bit....

WHY?
Now the office is set up and we have a basic list of things to do. We haven't started to get into the specifics of how the get the business going yet and the reason for that is that it doesn't matter unless you have discovered within yourself WHY you are now going to set this ship to sail. Where are you going? Why do you want to go there? What is there once you get there? How will you feel? What does it look like? How fast are you going to go? What bumps will you hit along the way and how will that slow you down? What will keep the ship going when you hit challenges or- to keep the analogy going - when you hit stormy seas. Well Captain. I hate to say it there, matey, but you are the one steering the ship and we need to spend a little time charting the course. Sound fair?
Have you ever heard the saying... "Whatever the mind can conceive and then truly believe, it can achieve"
Or...... "Thoughts are things" Or...... "As a man thinketh in his heart, so he will be"
Or...... "We need to spend a lot of time thinking about the future because that is where we will be spending the rest of our lives"
And finally...... "Setting goals is nothing more than predicting our future. It's choosing our destination before starting the journey"
So .....When would Now be a good time to start thinking about where you are going? How about Now.
Let us move into the conception stage and simply free our minds for a bit and just really get excited about the possibilities that you can accomplish. We have discussed briefly about what this business has to offer and it is all exciting in a book but there is a reason that you have been attracted to this business and there have been some sort of parameters that you have set for yourself that you believe that you can accomplish. Maybe the inner conversation goes something like "oh if I could just replace the income I was making at my last job then that would be fantastic" or "I know a guy who I graduated with in high school and he is making a killing and if he can make it then, man, I know I can" or there may be a lot of other inner conversations that you have had with yourself and that is normal but we need to go deeper than that and really get the juices going for you so that you will make this business a phenomenal success like I know you can.
We will get into the details of work ethic and how to goal set strategically but for now we need to "Certify the WHY". By ‘Certify', I mean to make certain what it is that gets your motor running. Implant it in your brain. Make a concrete choice. Take the reasons that get you excited and Certify them. Certify the Why.
Money is a great thing and it is ok to want to make money and lots of it but ...Why do you want it? Why do you need it? Why is more, better than less? What difference will more money make in your life? What can you obtain to make your life better? What would you like to contribute to your family, your church, your community? Does more money buy you time? Obtaining stuff is ok too. A nicer home or nicer car or the ability to take a vacation once in a while when you feel like it and pay for it. Maybe it is just getting rid of debt.
Other words that describe the word "Certify" are: confirm; officially state; verify; endorse; attest; declare.
Those are pretty accountable words. It is a positive affirmation. In order to solidify your understanding of your "Why", we need to take some time to confirm what you are officially stating and verify the meaning to you so that you can properly endorse your commitment. Then in the future you will be able to attest to what you had formerly declared. In other words "CERTIFY the WHY". Make a declaration of your Goals and future achievment that will/must be obtained. There is no "maybe" or "wow that would be nice" or "that would be cool" or "Boy if that happened I would be excited"......We need to stop that internal dialogue right away and make a paradigm shift in your thinking but for now and until the 2nd segment of this gets posted just free your mind and ask those questions....write them down and internalize the "wouldn't it be nice" and let your mind go there. We will work on exercises to solidify those "dreams" later. For now just have fun and let yourself dream. Until next time...."Dare to Dream".....

June 2009 Chilliwack Real Estate MArket Report

Market Report for June 2009 from the Chilliwack District Real Estate Board statistics.
This is HappyHomesBC with the monthly market report taken from the Chilliwack and District Real Estate board for the month of June 2009.
Well summer is here and the temperature is heating up but so is the Chilliwack Real Estate Market. Personally we have increased our sales in our office over 30% over the last 60 days but the stats across the Chilliwack and District Real Estate Board remain active and are rising slightly.
The number of days that homes are listed on the market before selling is hovering around the 70 day mark and that was consistent with the month earlier. I think we will see that number decrease over the next couple of months. If you have listed your home this year and have not received an offer within 70 days of listing then there are 3 things that you need to consider – 1) either nobody knows about your property or 2) you are over-priced and need to think about adjusting your price or 3) you are priced in the upper echelon price point over $700,000.
For Single Family and attached town-homes we saw a slight increase in those target areas of about 10% from the year before. Total sales value was consistent with last year so prices have stabilized.
The biggest jump in sales occurred from $225,000 to $275,000. About a 28% increase in homes sold compared to the month of May. Who are those buyers? Investors and First time buyers. Welcome back you guys. Good to see you again. Interest rates were too good and you just had to get off the fence didn’t you. We are happy to see you back in the game.
Once gain for the second month in a row, - the most amount of sales were in the $300,000 to $350,000 bracket. OK now, I repeat from last month. If you have a home priced in that category and it hasn’t sold over the last 30 to 60 days then chances are you are over - priced for what you have and you are just helping other people sell their homes. We encourage you to consult with your REALTOR today to analyze where you are at.
We are looking forward to helping people get into homes over the summer and we are here to serve you. google Chilliwack Real Estate and you can find us on the internet or just type in HappyHomesBC.ca and you can learn a lot about how we can help you. Have a great July

A poem I wrote in 5 minutes

Wake up each day with a song in your heart and a smile on your face

Greet each person you meet and say “I love you” with your eyes

Give thanks for everything and everyone just in case…

Respect your elders for they are the wise

Don’t hesitate - take the plunge

Learn all you can - be a sponge

Encourage others to achieve

In YOU, be the first to Believe.

Kelly Johnston – Sutton Group Showplace Realty