I’ve had the title of this post on my mind for several weeks now…it’s pretty much been the reason why I’ve done so few updates as of late.

What you’re about to read is a random collection of ideas that has crossed my mind throughout the last few months.  There isn’t much order or literary structure to this post, so bare with me!…. and if you’re my client reading this, not to worry – it has nothing to do with you! You’ve all been an absolute pleasure to work with.  (life’s too short to work with clients you don’t like in my opinion!)

There’s been several aspects of the business that have caused…for lack of better term “a real estate media meltdown”.   Take for example the way we handle multiple offers!  A few weeks back I was involved in two separate cases where some questionable tactics went down.  In both cases the sellers could have potentially achieved more than they got had a better procedure been used.  I’m all for having an open bidding system in place.  By that I mean, all offers come to the table with their cards up.  Whoever truly has the best offer wins.  No “a faxed offer just came in” BS or “we’re at $375,000″ only to find out days later they actually accepted $370,000.

Affordability is one of my biggest concerns for the Toronto Real Estate market, especially with condos.  One of the key components of “fair market pricing” is using comparable that sold without and undue pressure.  Most people use the example of a power of sale, or distress sale but remember a price that is achieved through a bidding war is also obtained by the pressure of the multiple buyers who bid on it.  Therefore Realtors have to be careful when selecting comps to price the unit.  With the limited supply we’re seeing coupled with a “blind style” of bidding, prices are continually being pushed up.  In my opinion, salaries in the City aren’t going up at the same speed as some of the sales numbers I’ve been seeing.

…there’s far more that can be said on this topic, and in future posts I plan on tackling both sides of the argument.  In an effort to carry on with my rant, I present to you: personal problem number 2!

There’s a lack of creativity in so much of  pre construction marketing in the City.  We use waaay to much sex to sell.  I get how the wheels turn, and I figure it must be working since the strategy has been used for so long… but coooome on already.  I don’t care if you’re buying a condo for investment or as an end user…at the end of the day we’re selling a necessity for life: Shelter!!! Let’s start treating it as that.  I could care less how hot the babe on the front page of you’re brochure is!  I want to know why your building is more superior than the other 50 going up in the City.  Tell me about the sound installation, show me the quality, MAKE ME WANNA PAY $800 A FOOT!  Don’t entice me with foolish radio ads ripping off Motown hits.  Crowd source what the people want, and build it.  At least when I buy a pair of running shows I’m educated why one brand is more comfortable than the other…and that’s for a $100 pair of shoes.  I think the public deserves a bit more when shelling out $300,000 (for example).

The promotion of these developments by other Realtors in the online community is just as bad!  Google adwords have become the new Motorola pagers of the 90′s…every Realtor has one.  They often lead an unsuspecting buyer to a knockoff of the developments website.  Truthfully, I’m not even mad at that.  It’s a “creative” (used loosely) way for my competition to attract to business.  BUT ATLEAST ADD SOME CONTENT WITH VALUE. Instead they’re literally copy and pasting content from the developers website onto their own.  Aside from possibly breaking a few copyright laws, there isn’t anything stoping them from continuously being built. And if the public is happy buying that way…who am I to say it’s wrong?  It goes back to my point a paragraph above about us selling more than a pie in the sky dream, we’re selling shelter.  In a perfect online world, I’d like to see more creativity from my peers and hopefully a better buying experience can be created out of it!

Several blogs have popped up as of late. Before I get into this one, I want to be clear that I am in no way trying to slander any colleagues, their work or effort. This post is an effort to explain my lack of online interaction as of late and all of these problems are my personal opinion.    With the exception of a very small few…majority seems to be so peachy about EVERY project that launches.  I’m guilty of this too as seen in some of my earlier posts but after several years of writing I’m learning that mentioning that not so good parts of a project are just as valuable as the good!   If I recall correctly, 2011 is bringing close to 30 new condo launches to the City.  I won’t be covering them all because I don’t truly believe that all are worth they hype.  The select few that I do cover though will not JUST mention the good, but instead also include the not so good as well!

I lost my passion to participate in the online conversations, the blog posts seemed like a waste of time, and most importantly the red hot resale game has had me busy with clients.   I’ve used the last week to have some “me time” and gather my thoughts.  As usual, writing on the blog has helped clear my mind and inspire me to come up with more engaging and valuable content!  In the coming weeks I’ll be working on writing in a new style.  Expect more entries, better stories and a much more realistic voice.

Had I decided to write this post as soon as the title came to mind, I probably would have had a much more cynical take on it. Thankfully, I’ve met great people in the last few weeks and attended some amazing seminars.  In future posts I’ll be highlighting several of the topics and how they’ll be improving the real estate process for us all in Toronto.

While it’s true that I definitely hate some of the minuscule routines of the job, I ultimately love my career… and at the end of the day, I’ve come to realize (and enjoy) that’s what it’s all about: Shifting through the BS to get the straight goods for my clients.

Thanks for listening,
Mark

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