Victoria British Columbia Real Estate Information

I just want to say thank you for the support of all my clients and friends. This month marks my 25th year in Real Estate. I started in February 1985 and its been a blast.

If I can be of assistance please let me know.

Keep your eye out for our 25 year celebration !

Take care and thank you again!

Well its that time again. I am headed back to Romania to do work with Hope For the Nations Romania. I will be leading a team to do a home makeover on a very deserving families home in Budiliea and spending some time at the Childerns Hospital. If you would like to Join me , I have room for 2 more people and would love to talk to you about it. Email me or call me at 250-544-2929 and let me fill you in on the trip.

We have been using Total Market Overviews to give our clients insight into the market for the last few years. We break down the market by area and by price point and compile all the data. This gives our clients a complete look into the market by price range and allows you to see what is going on. Its fine to act on averages but in this day and age you need more accurate info. For more information check out www.ronkubek.com/market-news and see historical and current data.

If you would like this sent to you monthly send me an email at ron@ronkubek.com and let me know what area you would like.

We are growing our team and have over 150 leads on our buyer profile system and we need help! We have many great clients who send us lots of business and we need more help to take care of them. In addition my training and speaking business is taking me out of city a bit more than planned and I want to make sure all are take care of.

Here is the ad we have posted on different sites. if you have anyone you know who you think would be good for our team please let me know! Thank you!

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It takes more than a license to be a successful Realtor in today's market. It takes, training, mentoring and ongoing coaching - and that's where the Ron Kubek Team shines! Joining our team means you get the best training possible and the support of a team to help you achieve your desired financial goals. At the Kubek Team we are committed to helping our REALTORS® help their clients succeed, and to accomplish this while enjoying a balanced and healthy life. As one of North America’s leading Real Estate Trainers and a Award winning Realtor in Victoria for over 23 years, our team will help you to meet your goals.

A commitment to ongoing professional development and a passion for excellence are vital, and a sense of humour is always an asset as far as we are concerned! If you desire a team approach and are dedicated to putting your client's needs ahead of your own, we want to speak with you! Your new career is waiting! Contact us at  realestate_position@hotmail.com and lets meet. 

Options available include split or salary and commission positions. If you want to improve your career and work with an award winning team

The hospital part of the trip went well this year.

 The volunteers and staff love it as the rooms are much brighter now with the additions of Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Pluto, Donald and Daisy Duck, Goofy and more by Jan. There is such a need and if you ever want to join us in painting or working with the kids on one of our trips or on one of your own please contact us at ron@kw.com or ron@ronkubek.com and we would be glad to assist you. We think that we are doing lots for them but after each one of our trips we realize that we get so much more back from the kids in the hospital, the nurses and the great volunteers. It truly is a life changing trip.

Check out some of the hospital photos here at http://picasaweb.google.com/RonKubek/RomaniaApril2009?feat=directlink

We  just finished another successful trip to Brasov Romanaia with Hope for the Nations.

Its always humbling to see the work that goes on over there and to be part of it. We are only there for a short time working with volunteers who have committed from 2 months to 6 years and in the case of Mark and Coreen Biech who run Hope for the nations Romania , 10+ years.

Here is a link to some of the work we did in the hospital this year and with the volunteers. From handing out easter packages to all childern and moms in the hospital to baby shifts to amazing paintings it was truly a blessing to give back.

check out this link to some of the pictures.  http://picasaweb.google.com/RonKubek/MakeoverProject?feat=directlink

There was a great article in the financial post today with regards to mortgages. Now maybe the time to refinance and get yourself a much lower rate. Check out this article  and see how you can save thousands of dollars.

We had another busy month last month with 6 sales and we have already started march out with 5 this week alone! Its the right price and the right marketing that are helping me and my team to succeed!

Call us today if you are looking to buy or looking to sell!

Numbers just in for February show a gain of 65% over last month. Whew. Still off from February 2008 but going in Right direction.

A couple of things I think that have helped are:

1. more inventory. There is an 11 month supply of homes out there so clearly a buyers market

2. Mortgages. My gosh the government is giving money away at .5% and its still not enough. I believe this is due to the fact that Banks are trying to bolster their balance sheets at the expense of taxpayer. It is soooo hard to find any commercial money out there for loans. I was working on one with a 50% loan to value and the terms and high high interest rate made it unaffordable.

3. Pent up  demand. We had a great month in February. We got real with clients, showed them the numbers and then homes sold in a week or 2. Many clients happy.

4. People fed up with stock market. It keeps dropping. More and more scams, schemes and out and out theft are causing people to realize they don't have any control or chance against the insiders. In real estate you control it.

Its a great time to move up. its a great time to move.

Well this week is over and it was busy, 4 listings and 3 sales. They say the market is slow but for me its been very busy. Price ranges of sales this week ranged from 249,000 for a condo to $730,000 for a new spec built home.

I was out with buyers today and if its priced right it has multiple offers but if not then its sitting for long time.

The challenge I find is getting the buyers and sellers to get real. Buyers think its worse than it is and Sellers are in denial about how bad it is. We use lots of charts and graphs to help both sides to get real. That's why the call it REAL estate! If you want to sell in this market then you need to get real and get it priced at the market. anything above will not get offers and will be used by Realtors as a comparison only. This market creates winners and wannabes. Lots of opportunity but its important to price it right and be realistic when making offers.

Wow! Bank of Canada lowers rate by 50 basis points to 1%. Who would have thought. Following this the major banks also reduced rates. I got off the phone with a client who was quoted 4.45% for 5 years! at that rate who cares what happens with Real Estate prices! it sure beats Renting.

Now don't get me wrong. I don't run around 24/7 telling people this is a good time in spite of whats going on. The world financial system is in a mess, layoffs all over the place and can we really trust wall street? But in Victoria we have a unemployment rate of less than 4%, we have seen homes drop 20% from the top of the market and we have seen interest rates tumble. I was with a few clients yesterday who were looking at homes we are going to make an offer on and their attitude was, it sure beats rent. I mean if the house does nothing over next 5-10 years but  your mortgage payments and rent payments are the same, what will you have at the end of the period? IF renting - zero, nada, zilch. If owning then you will have paid down some of principal of mortgage and have a true asset. In addition you will have had the pride of ownership.

We have lots of reports that we use with our sellers and buyers to help make sure that they are getting the most for their dollars. We analyze the market to let you know whats selling and whats not and many of clients have appreciated that information. if you live on Southern Vancouver Island then you owe it to yourself to email me or call me and set up a meeting and let me show you how 24 years of experience and surviving 3 downturns can help you with your real estate needs. Talk to you soon.