by Shawn Lackie Have you ever heard the saying, “Old Habits die hard?” It still resonates to this day. Except, some old habits are making a comeback, especially in the Real Estate (RE) world and for some, these “old Habits” have never left. Take Dan Maundrell, for example. Dan has been a veteran of the RE wars for almost 35 years, and to this day, he still carries out some of the traditions which were his calling card all those years ago. The operative word is Calling. Dan is

by Shawn Lackie For the last few years, we have heard non-stop about the need for affordable housing. And with good reason. Developers roll into town and put forward a development plan for the local zoning people to approve. Almost all of them include some form of affordable housing. They get approval and start their build. But a funny thing happens between the planning stage and the actual implementation. All of a sudden, those affordable townhouses disappear and up pops mor

by Shawn Lackie The 100 Men of Scugog staged the third meeting of 2026, in fine fashion, on a Wednesday night. Hey, more snow. The group met at the Port Perry Legion, on July 15th. The Legion, with a huge amount of help from Doug Babcock, has been an amazing partner in facilitating these meetings. The group is more than grateful for their ongoing help. Presentations were made by Big Brothers/Big Sisters North Durham, North House and The Lake Scugog Historical Society. It was

by Shawn Lackie We have been hearing ad-nauseum, recently, about “housing affordability.” Ok folks, I get it. Times are strange for sure. When we bought our first house in Toronto it was for less than a deposit adds up to these days, and that was for the whole house. We couldn’t afford to move back to Toronto these days. The gap between the haves and have-nots has become very wide indeed. Sure, people will tell you, salaries these days are far ahead of what was being paid out

by Shawn Lackie Real Estate is a funny business. Funny ha ha and funny not so ha ha. Just ask anyone who has been at it for any length of time. As a full-time business, not some side hustle, all too prevalent these days. When things die off, like they have the last few years, it’s interesting watching all the wanabees scramble out of the madness. Speaking of madness, a lot of a sales persons reputation depends on their innate ability to satisfy a buyer (or seller’s) expectati

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

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

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

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 In one of my previous missives, I talked about having crazy neighbours and ended the piece by mentioning we were fortunate to have neighbours like Ross and Debbie, who weren’t afraid to help out. That means a lot. One of the big things about Port Perry has always been that the town is home to a great number of people who genuinely care. For the welfare of the community, the buildings, the environment and the people who inhabit the area. Take a look around at w

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