Most of us have been in real estate denial. At times, we confuse our situation or circumstances as problems. Bear with me a bit here, and in my simple way, try to explain.

 Is it a Situation or Circumstances?

• You don’t have enough money for a down payment; that’s your situation or circumstances.

• Mortgage payments are too high; that’s a situation.

• You can’t find a house you like in the area you like with everything you want; that’s a situation.

• Your spouse, mate, children, parents, or dog don’t want you to move; that’s not a problem, that’s a situation.

• Your house is too big or too many stairs, but you love your garden and neighbours, that’s a situation.

• As a real estate investor, you can’t make any money; that is not a problem, that is a situation.

I am not being glib, but when most people say they have a problem, they either quit, sit on the fence, or deny themselves the right frame of mind. They get angry, blame someone else, criticize someone or everyone, and deny any responsibility for their situation. Albert Einstein said that if you use the same mindset that got you where you are now, that same mindset will not get you out!

The single parent who works two jobs, denying their comfort for their children, has a situation but is doing something about it, as is the young married couple, or the newly arrived family in Canada, saving and sweating for a better life, that is a situation because they are doing something about it and don’t see setting aside money every paycheque, busting their butts to feed their family as a ‘problem’ but an opportunity! They find a way, they don’t complain about their circumstances, they do something about it.

Stock market going down, your RSP taking a hit, that’s not a problem; it’s a situation, a circumstance that you have some control over, do something about it, and if you don’t know what to do, that’s on you!

Trying to lose ten pounds for the last ten years is not a problem; that is a situation; there are millions of articles on how to lose weight, so is it a problem or a situation? Or how most solve the situation is by buying bigger pants!

Is the weather a problem? The temperature? Our government policies, local, provincial or federal? 

“You shouldn’t give circumstance the power to rouse your anger, for they don’t care at all.” Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

Note: If your situation or current circumstances elevate your commitment to improving your lifestyle for you and your family, isn’t that wonderful and better than denial of the truth?

Situations, circumstances, or so-called problems are not solved by sticking your head in the sand.

What are free home valuations worth, and why are they offered? Almost every Realtor has “Free Home Valuations” all over their messages; all you have to do is click on their message. They will gladly prance and parade to your residence with the primary purpose of hoping that you will sell your home with them.

In my experience, 50% of those valuations are in the ballpark. The remainder tell people what they want to hear or are afraid to tell the truth because they do not want to upset a potential seller. They gather all the glamour B.S. and dump it on you to impress you. Or try to!

Wanting you to like them.

You don’t have to like a heart surgeon if you’re having heart problems. You don’t have to like a paramedic if you’re in an accident. I know I want professionalism and to be cared for 100%, nothing less.

Free has no value; there will always be a price to pay, now or later. I don’t know who said this, but I love it: “Pay the price once and only cry once”!

What is a Comparable Market Analysis? (CMA)

My interpretation of a CMA is the following:

A Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) helps determine a property’s correct selling price. Ultimately, the best price the market will bear is the correct selling price.

A market analysis is divided into three categories:

1. Comparable homes that are currently for sale

2. Comparable homes that were recently sold

3. Comparable homes that failed to sell

By looking at similar homes currently offered for sale, you can assess the alternatives a serious buyer has. You can also be sure that we are not underpricing your home.

Looking at similar homes sold in the past few months, you can see a clear picture of how the market has valued homes comparable to yours. You can also see the days on the market for these to sell. Homes that sell for the correct price sell the quickest.

Banks and other lending institutions also analyze these sales to determine how much they can lend to qualified buyers.

Looking at similar homes that failed to sell or had price reductions, you can avoid pricing at a level that would not attract buyers.

I ask you, now what do you think are free home valuations worth?

More Home Seller Ideas or Contradictions

Are you unaware that spouses differ selling a home? If not, you are not married, you may never get married. If you remain unaware, your life is not going to be easy.

In a recent survey, male and female home sellers were asked. “What did you find to be the most difficult part of your home sale transaction?”

The most intriguing part of the above survey was that determining the list price of their home was the least complicated part of their home sale transaction.

When couples decide to sell a home, they have a price range in mind; they do not wake up one morning and decide on a price. The process of selling a home from thinking to doing will, on average, take nine to twelve months.

The paperwork and disclosures were almost equal in difficulty. That surprised me at first, but then, not everyone is organized. Or has systems in place to ease the process for home sellers. Thoroughly clarifying and understanding the process before signing anything is prudent.

Getting their home ready to sell, such as painting, repairing, and cleaning, was a 10% difference on the difficulty score. For good reason, you are going to have people going through your home, so first impressions count. You can guess with certainty which spouse will be cleaning and decluttering.

There are three phases in the selling a home process:

Before

During

After

Ensure you understand the before, during, and after of your listing. 

Who does what, and when?

How and when will you be informed?

I know that when clients are informed and understand the home-selling process, there is less anxiety and disruption. Regardless, spouses differ in selling a home, along with the rest of the family, Aunt Thelma and your third cousin on your first husband’s mother’s side!

It should not be a mystery to price a condo to sell in London, Ontario. It’s not what you think it is worth. It’s what a reasonable buyer will think your condo is worth and willing to pay.

Hey, wait, if I left it up to a buyer, they would pay me as little as possible! True, they would. In the real world, every buyer knows you are not obligated to sell your condo at any price. To purchase your condo, the buyer must make you an offer you can’t or won’t refuse. One that will motivate you to pack, hire a local mover, wave goodbye, and sayonara.

Successful condo sellers understand that a Realtor’s responsibility is to provide marketing, expert advice, and negotiating services. Your Realtor does not own your property or make the final pricing decisions. You do, and ultimately, your asking price will determine how quickly and at what price it sells.

Focus on the Major Key Issues & Be Realistic

Common mistakes sellers (and some Realtors) make:

• Putting the property on the market at an unrealistic price and not pricing it on a comparative basis to similar properties. (Yes, your place may be different, will buyers think so?

• They are unaware of a seller’s or buyer’s market.

• Not thinking that buyers aren’t comparing your place, on a dollar-for-dollar basis, with every other apartment or townhouse condo on the market.

Many sellers will argue that their condo has an insurance replacement, appraised, or tax-assessed value. Unless your insurance agent, banker, or tax assessor writes you a cheque, none of that matters.

A condo without a buyer has no value in the marketplace. Sure, it has value to you, and again, it might have value to your banker, insurance agent, Uncle Bob, hairdresser, friends at work, drinking buddies, bridge club or appraiser.

None of those are buyers!

Want Buyers?

Who would you want representing and protecting your interests, a transactional or transformational Realtor in London Ontario?

What is transactional? Transactional means there is an expectation that if one gives, one will receive. Study.com. In the real world, in it for the money, not you.

What does transformative mean? Causing or able to cause a significant and lasting change in someone or something. Merriam-Webster. In the real world, in it for you and when successful getting you what you want, you get rewarded.

Transactional

It’s like going to a doctor’s office and saying you are not feeling well. The Doctor goes to a shelf and gives you four different pill bottles and says, “Take these. These will help.” Also, drink lots of water, stand on one leg, and whistle Dixie. If you are not feeling better, make an appointment in a month or so! The Doctor made little effort to know about you, your concerns, fears, and history or to listen.

There is no difference with a Realtor who will tell you anything and show you anything to get you to buy or sell.

Transformational

The Realtor, who takes the time to understand your wants, needs, fears, goals, and concerns, will not tell you what you want to hear, but will walk you through the process and ensure he or she protects you and your family.

Who will have your best interests at heart and be there for you during the process and after you move in? You may be surprised at the questions you may have after a transaction closes. Or the names of some tradespeople.

How will you know if a transactional or transformational Realtor? Or Lawyer? Home inspector or mortgage lender? Listen to your gut. Feel it in your bones. Give yourself some credit; you can tell the difference in a heartbeat!

Real estate fence sitting in Canada seems like a pastime for anybody thinking of buying or selling a home. Why? Is it a buyer’s market or a seller’s market? Are prices too high? Are they unaffordable? Interest rates going up or down?

If Numbers Do Not Lie, Is It How The Numbers Are Created or Interpreted That Is Wrong?

I talk to buyers and sellers, Realtors, and mortgage brokers daily about the London, Ontario real estate market. At the end of most conversations, I ask, “Where did you get this information from?”

Now, perceptions of reality come to the forefront, reminding me of a quote from Miles Kington: “knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.”

• Opinions are not facts.

• Biases are not facts.

• Are perceptions facts? Beliefs? Emotions? A gut feeling? Social media? Dreamers?

Where Do The Real Real Estate Facts Come From?

• In London Ontario, The London Ontario St. Thomas Association of Realtors (LSTAR).

• For Canada and all the Provinces: Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA).

• However, from the two above, the numbers are at least one to two weeks old and are history. What was, is, today?

• Your local Realtor, if he or she is in the market every day, talks to a minimum of 10 people a day about real estate and will tell you what is for sale today, what the prices are today, what sold today, and what did not.

Where Not To Base a Decision About Real Estate

• Social media.

• Your neighbours, your co-workers, your mechanic, your hairdresser, your pickleball friends or your golf friends.

• Economists.

• Provincial or Federal Government Forecasts.

• Bank of Canada Forecasts.

• Your financial advisor or pastor.

Now, you may think I am biased as I am a Realtor in London, Ontario. Nope, I am a realist. I know where the majority of people get their advice from, and when that advice is wrong, it is the real estate market’s or the Realtor’s fault.

In summary, real estate fence sitting could end up being a pain in the butt! Or not!

There are many opinions on where the London, Ontario real estate market is heading. There are the pessimists and the optimists, the fearmongers, the “the sky is falling” crowd, and the “I don’t care” crowd!

I have included below a few facts (the truth) about the London and area market as of April 30. Briefly explain the facts and how to respond to them. Predictions are for those with nothing valid to say; hence, verbal diarrhea.

Average home price

• North London: $724,739

• South London: $684,335

• East London: $514,004

• St. Thomas: $574,887

• Central Elgin: $641,445

• Strathroy-Caradoc: $682.149

April 2025

• Sales: 653, down 14.3% from 2024

• Dollar amount: $427 million, down 14.8%

• New listings: 1,523, down 10.1% 

• Active listings: 2,891, up 19.6%

• Average price: $654,147, down 0.5% 

• Months of Inventory: 4.4, up from 3.2

• Days on the market: 21, up from 16

Year-to-date 2025

• Sales: 2,107, down 19.2% from 2024

• Dollar amount: $1.3 billion;, down 18.4%

• New listings: 5,190, up 1.5%

• Active listings: 2,417. up 22.5%

• Average price: $645,593, up 1.1%

• Months of inventory: 4.6, up from 3.0

• Days on Market: 24, up from 18

The table below displays April’s benchmark prices for all housing types within LSTAR’s jurisdiction and compares them with those recorded in the previous month and three months ago.

Meaning?

For Sellers:

• With 2,891 properties for sale, buyers have choices. Most can read, listen to, or watch the news and feel they have an advantage in the price they are willing to pay.

• It behooves a home seller to understand that other homes compete with yours. You may feel your place is a castle, but buyers won’t.

• Buyers know prices. They view 6-10 homes, price, condition, and location matter.

• There are buyers out there; attract the right buyer. How? My home seller guide has quite a few tips and ideas.

For Buyers:

• Know what is out there and what you can expect for your budget.

• Fully understand that over 60% of homes listed for sale are priced right, and the only loser in lowballing a seller is you.

• Yes, there will be sellers who must sell, have to sell, but they are in a minority.

• Remember, you are buying a home, a place you can come home to and live in; real estate property is not a commodity. A few home buyer ideas in this market.

The chart below shows the most recent HPI benchmark prices across Canada. Vancouver has now overtaken Oakville with the highest home price in Canada, with a MLS® Home Price Index Benchmark Price of $1,184,500.

According to a recent study1 by Altus Group,

Have you considered who would buy your home in London, Ontario, if you were to sell? How could you attract the right buyer who would love your place and pay your desired price?

One of the biggest downfalls I see when selling a house or a condo in London, be it through a real estate brokerage or a For Sale by Owner (FSBO) company, is that most marketers & Realtors  think that if they do the following:

Why am I not getting any offers on my home in London Ontario?

• Put a for-sale sign up?

• Put it on MLS, Kijiji, or Facebook?

• Take pretty pictures (or doctor them)?

• Make up some fancy brochures?

• Maybe run an ad in a glossy magazine that is one month too late, a newspaper ad ( called tombstone ads for a reason), or a giant ad with the Realtor’s picture larger than the home?

• Do an Open House? (Less than 1% of houses sold are through an open house!)

  Who is going to buy your home? Marketing to that group, in other words, focusing on the type of buyer your home will attract, is beneficial and works!

Don’t Worry About How, It is Who!

  For example, if you have a four-bedroom, two-car garage house close to good schools, of course, you would market it to families, not to empty nesters or single people. Or, if you have a one-floor, two-bedroom condo in an upscale London neighbourhood, you would not market it to a family of four!

   Focus, narrow down, focus, focus, & clarify!

  Most homebuyers view between 10 and 16 homes in London, Ontario. They are aware of other homes’ prices and conditions similar to yours. If they have a top-notch Realtor helping them, they laser-focus on the house that fits their client’s budget and criteria. They do not get lost in the bling and shine of properties that do not meet their client’s profile.

You can have the fanciest billboard in the world, but if it is in the middle of the Sahara desert, who will see it? If they did, how many miles and hours will it take to get to London, Ontario, to see it? (I googled it, 9519 KM)

  I hope this and other tips are helping you get your home ready to sell. Your thought processes should be clearer. Though selling a home creates anxiety, if systems are in place and your what-ifs are covered, your home will sell!

All you have to do next is choose wisely who will help you make it all happen.

House Seller Tips Condo Seller Tips

Understanding the London Ontario real estate market is quite simple! You can study all the statistics you want, gaze into crystal balls, or get advice from a meteorologist(weatherperson), a Realtor, or a Mortgage Broker, your relatives or co-workers.

Who is the market? Why? When?

In Hyman Minsky’s ‘Financial Instability Hypothesis,’ here goes:

• When an economy is stable, people get optimistic

• When people get optimistic, they go into debt

• When they go into debt, the economy becomes unstable.

Since Adam and Eve wanted more than an apple and bought their first home, history repeats itself—maybe not history, but people do.

Those who say they can time the market; walk away. Is the Spring, Summer, Fall or Winter the best time to buy or sell a home? The best time is when you want, not have to!

There are outliers to this hypothesis of understanding the London Ontario real estate market.

• Being transferred between cities

• Marital challenges

• Death

• Need to Sell

• Don’t need a mortgage

• A need to impress someone

• Ignoring reality

• Wanting to downsize

Beware of Real Estate Experts

Full Disclosure:

• I am a Realtor

• I am classified as a Senior

• There are some things I know

• There are a lot of things I do not know

• I am right-handed

As you can see, I’m normal besides being a Realtor because I keep my perspective of the London, Ontario real estate market in line with reality.

I have experienced all the markets in South West Ontario, lived them, and survived them—as did my clients! That is not to say a market eye-opener that the COVID debacle created will re-occur, not reacting and responding instead is more progressive than harmful!

A house or a condo is brick and mortar, a home is you, your comfort zone, your reward at the end of a day to come home to!

The most essential thing homebuyers want from a Realtor is risk management! Yes, arranging for showings, referring mortgage providers, home inspectors, and lawyers is not risk management. That is providing a service and a responsibility of the profession.

Over the years, I have helped hundreds of buyers from all income groups, ethnicities, and cultures, from investors to first-time buyers. At the end of the day, buyers want to feel that their decisions were right and in alignment with their comfort zone.

Some buyers’ perspectives: 

• “Am I paying the right price for this home?”

• “What if something major goes wrong with this place I’m buying?”

• “Are the interest rate quotes I got from my bank good or bad?”

• “Are interest rates going to go down?”

• “What will happen if I feel in one year that this place is not for me and my family?” “My kids hate the schools more than I do?”

• “What happens if I get transferred, or laid off, or my company shuts down?”

• “I want to buy a place. What about down payments, insurance, home inspections, lawyers, and movers?”

• “Is this Realtor transactional or transformational? How can I tell?”

• Add your fear or concern here: ___________________________________________________________________________

Buying a home today can be an emotional experience, not a financial high-wire act.

How do I define risk management for home buyers?

• Listening and understanding a buyer’s needs and wants, ‘it would be nice,’ and if?

• Explaining the reality of what they want and need regarding their buying power with facts, not opinions.

• Investing the time to explain the buying process from start to finish and afterwards can be boring for an excited buyer; they want to see properties! However, without a review of the buying process and the what-ifs, jumping into buying off the bat leads to emotional exhaustion and buyer’s remorse.

The two links below will help you find more ideas, tips, and prudent methods for buying a home in London, Ontario! This is what I think homebuyers want from a Realtor and nothing less!

Home Buyer’s Guide London, Ontario
Condo Buyers Guide London Ontario

I started writing this blog post about real estate experts, and it became longer and longer. It was about all the so-called experts, gurus, economists, relatives, hairdressers, etc.

Instead, I have enclosed some quotes that may help you distinguish between an expert and someone who talks like one!

• Mark Twain said kids provide the most interesting information because they tell all they know and then stop. Adults lose this skill and go on babbling!

• “The wise in all ages said the same thing, and the fools, who at all times form the immense majority, have in their way, too, acted alike, and done just the opposite!” Arthur Schopenhauer

• “Focus is the art of knowing what to ignore”. James Clear

• Using words to plead your case is risky business. Words put you on the defensive. If you must explain yourself, your power is already in question.” Robert Greene

• ‘If someone we know took traffic signals personally, we would judge them insane!” Ryan Holiday

• “A wealth of information creates a poverty of attention.” Herbert Simon

• “When two people believe opposite things, chances are that one of them is wrong.” Ray Dalio

Don’t get me wrong, there are experts in many fields, if I need heart surgery, I go to a heart surgeon, but I don’t ask her for real estate advice. My barber knows more about hair than I do. I don’t ask him about real estate advice or even listen.

I end with my two favourite sayings about real estate experts:

• “A rational person (realist) never leaves their interests at the mercy of any one person.” Ayn Rand

• “Big hat, no cattle!”

What does a threshold price buying a home mean or matter?

A threshold price is one at which you can be confident that you are offering a fair price and that, in the future, if the market does take a downturn, your financial world will not be turned upside down.

I have been in several offer situations, won some, and some say ‘lost some,’ but my clients can’t lose something they never had. My clients and I do a threshold price and stick to it; we try to keep the emotion out of it and avoid one of the biggest motivators in the world, “fear of missing out.”

Not too long ago, homes received 7-15 offers without conditions, and some homes sold 12-18% over the asking price.

Jim Rohn wrote: “The pain of discipline weighs ounces; the pain of regret weighs tons!”

Speculation is dreaming, and though we read about the money that less than 5% of speculators say they make, we very seldom hear about the other 95% of speculators who lose. It may not be in the short term, but second and third consequences can come back and haunt you.

History does not repeat itself; only humans do.

I have rearranged one of Warren Buffet’s beliefs and changed the word stock to property: “It is far better to buy a wonderful property at a fair price than a fair property at a wonderful price.”

If you are in the market to buy a house or a condo in the London, Ontario, area and want a prudent advisor and Realtor to help you with your threshold price, what more can I say?