By Shawn Lackie Imagine, for a second, going into a fast food place and ordering a cheeseburger. You pay for it and they deliver it to you wrapped up. However, when you open the wrapper, there it sits, just the burger and whatever toppings you ordered. No bun. Nada. That’s kind of like what the condo market morphed into the last 20 years or so. It’s no wonder that market is in free-fall right now, and justifiably so. For years, the deck was stacked in favour of the condo deve

DARRYL KNIGHT Local Journalism Initiative Reporter for The Standard SCUGOG: Additional dwelling units are expected to become easier to understand, and safer to build, following the launch of a new Township of Scugog guide and registration framework, designed to help homeowners create legal secondary living spaces. Approved by Council, on June 22nd, the new Additional Dwelling Unit (ADU) Guide and ADU Registration By-law build on housing policies, first adopted in March of 202

By Shawn Lackie That’s a question which seems pretty easy on the surface. However, once you start peeling back the layers like an onion, it might not be so straight forward. Most people start out in a simple way, renting an apartment or room, in the early stages of career advancement. There will be all sorts of exceptions to the rule, especially for those who are privileged to start out with more. I’m just talking in general terms here. I think many people never take the time

DARRYL KNIGHT Local Journalism Initiative Reporter for The Standard SCUGOG: A proposed mixed-use development which could bring between 950 and 1,375 new homes, employment lands, commercial space, parks, and a long-term care component to Port Perry, took its first public step through the planning process, at a Statutory Public Meeting, held by Scugog Township's Planning and Community Affairs Committee, on June 15th. The proposal affects approximately 64 hectares (157 acres) of

by Shawn Lackie This article could also be titled: Buyer quirks and quarks. Remember the old adage, if it’s too good to be true it probably is? That pretty much sums up some of the potential clients you meet in the wonderful wacky world of real estate. If they run in the door waving a check-book saying, “We’re buying a house today,” chances are you’ll never see them again. Any realtors reading this will be smiling and thinking, 'Ya pretty much.' That’s the nature of this busi

by Shawn Lackie There was a recent announcement which will have a lasting impact on the Real Estate trade, for many years to come. Real and Re/Max merged, in an $888 million deal. This has deep ramifications on a number of fronts. Real has only been around for 12 years, while Re/Max has been a major player in the trade for 50 years. Expect some other mergers to follow and maybe even some to eventually fold. Why, you might ask? A number of answers could be put forth, but the m

By Shawn Lackie If you looked up the term Market Correction in a reference book or online, you would see: “A market correction is a short-to-medium-term decline of 10 to 20 percent in a major stock index or individual stock from its most recent peak. These are considered normal, healthy market events that reduce overinflated prices and bring valuations back in line with economic fundamentals, usually lasting weeks or months.” Here are some key factors influencing market corre

by Shawn Lackie It’s a good time to dispel a few Real Estate myths. One of the largest and most oft quoted is, Open Houses only account for 2 per cent of all houses sold. Many agents pooh pooh the idea of even holding them, claiming they “Never do anything to sell the property.” Wow, there’s a real open minded ideology. I have lived by a handful of credos over the years, one of which is, to never pre-judge a situation. Expect the unexpected. That most definitely includes host

by Shawn Lackie Time to take a trip back in time. You know the saying, “What goes around comes around?” Well how about a return to old time advertising and the benefits which come with it? Since 1996 we have been taken over by, what was then referred to as, this new thing called, the Internet. Many said it was just a trend and wouldn’t last. Really? Here we are 30 years later looking at the newest trend called AI. Many are saying that won’t last either. I guess what I am tryi

DARRYL KNIGHT Local Journalism Initiative Reporter for The Standard KAWARTHA LAKES: Rising demand for affordable living options is prompting a closer look at how more people are sharing space under one roof, across City of Kawartha Lakes. With population growth and housing pressures continuing to mount, municipal officials have launched a public consultation on high-occupancy housing, an umbrella term which includes accessory dwelling units, room rentals, and other shared liv

by Shawn Lackie How long have you been living in the home you are currently in? It used to be, many years ago, you would buy a home and pretty much live there all your life, unless you had a job transfer or some other upset in your life (i.e. family death, divorce). My grandparents lived in two homes their entire married life. The first was a small home, then they built a large four bedroom home, to move into and start their family. It was also on the same street, so that is

by Shawn Lackie “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” Dickens wrote this in A Tale Of Two Cities, in 1859, but it could have been written yesterday. Need proof? Take a wander through any of the social media sites and check out the finger pointing and name calling. It is astounding; and a huge amount of the bitterness is around political beliefs. Even the Winter Olympics couldn’t escape the wrath of the political effect. The great divide comes from whether you

By Shawn Lackie Over the last 22 years, I have had more than a few clients looking to buy a new (to them) home. Some have been easy to please. Some not so much. But for the most part, it was an enriching and rewarding process. I take great pride in matching the right buyer with the right house. That’s not always easy. In fact, it is seldom easy, for a myriad of reasons. Wrong size home. Wrong size lot. Don’t like the area. Needs too much work. Why is that street light there?

by Shawn Lackie Since there haven’t been a whole bunch of new ones these days, maybe it’s a good time to talk about listings and the different types you may encounter, when it’s time to sell your humble abode. There are many different types of listings and you can pretty much choose the one which best suits your needs. Make sure you have a reputable and reliable agent and also make sure you discuss EVERY step along the way. If you ever have a question about something and the

By Shawn Lackie Remember the saying, you can’t choose your family but you CAN choose your friends? How about neighbours? In 1952, Norman McLaren created a short film, for the National Film Board, called Neighbours. It was so good, it won an Oscar. Talk about being ahead of its time. See if you can find it on YouTube and have a look. It’s THAT good and still relevant to this day. It pretty much encapsulates what happens to people living next door to each other, when things go

by Shawn Lackie Quick question. Do you ever just pause and take a look around you and acknowledge the changes which have been happening? John Lennon wrote, in one of his songs, “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.” He was so right. We often get caught up in the day to day madness of jobs, raising kids, making and saving money; always making future plans. Then we wake up one morning, take a look around and say, “Where did all these houses come fro

by Shawn Lackie Got my property tax bill in the mail the other day for 2026. I know, I know, let’s not go there. But, as always, I feel I must say something. You should be listening to the excellent Beatles tune, Taxman written by George Harrison, while you read this. So here goes. The latest half-year interim bill is equal to what we paid for the whole year when we first moved back to Port Perry, 19 years ago. And while I am more than aware things go up (like the price of g

By Shawn Lackie The ever-changing world of Real Estate encompasses many components. One of the largest, and obviously most important, would be how to stimulate new business. After all, you can only count on friends and relatives for so long and then that source dries up. In some cases it was never really there to begin with. In the good old days, Realtors advertised in newspapers, magazines and local publications. Many still do, with good results. (We second that! – Editor –

By Shawn Lackie Hey, if I could answer THAT question, I would be posting all the lottery numbers I think are going to win and see how successful that turned out. I get asked, all the time, just what is going on and what’s next? The simple answer is, let’s wait and see. I can say, with some certainty, what we have been seeing these past 15 months is more than likely to continue. There are too many intangibles right now: jobs, inflation rate, interest rates, an insane dictator

by Shawn Lackie Every week we continue to be inundated with stories about housing and whether or not areas have under-bidding or over-bidding. We wait in breathless anticipation, to find out where the deals are being had, much like the annual Black Friday or Boxing Day sales. This is a recent phenomena, one which was never really a big part of the action back in the day. Since the buying world partly lost its mind in 2016 and then fully lost its collective mind in 2019-21, it