October 11, 2019 Sales Summary:

GRATITUDE

Welcome to the 2019 Thanksgiving edition.  

Yesterday, a group of us spent the better part of the afternoon at the Guelph Food Bank.  I was aware of this group and what they did.  I’m also aware that there is a sustained demand for assistance from the food bank.  What I wasn’t aware of was the size of their operation and how much they accomplish with few resources.  Our group of agents sorted and boxed up 4 skids of non-perishable food, probably in excess of 2,000 pounds.  A drop in the bucket for the GFB, and what we did was essentially clear space for them to sort and box the next shipment that came in the door as we finished up.  The demand is incredible and this organization is constantly working on the edge of not being able to service all the need that is out there.  

Waste is minimized and any “excess” (usually perishables like fruit and veg) is quickly distributed to other organizations in the area that will be able to use it - Hope House, GW Women in Crisis, and Michael House, to name a few.  There’s even a thriving trade between regional food banks as they help each other keep staples in supply.  I’m going to date myself here, but it reminds me of the horse trading done by Radar O’Reilly in Mash.  A skid of canned beans can be traded for half a skid of diapers or formula, always in very high demand.  

It's a fascinating micro economy and clearly one that is critical to survival for a lot of people.  I’m grateful for people like Executive Director Marilyn Worobec and her team who are able to run what would amount to a medium sized grocery store on a shoestring budget. Sourcing what their clients need and maximizing the value for everyone.  Impressive. 

Which brings me to the annual Thanksgiving food drive.  The University of Guelph's Central Student Association (CSA) have traditionally collected over 40,000 lbs of canned goods and non-perishable food for the GFB through their Halloween "Trick or Eat" event.  This year it won’t happen.  One of the unintended consequences of the provincial government allowing students to opt out of non-academic fees is that some of those fees go towards organizing and running events like the Halloween food drive.  We’ve been told the drive might be back next year, but this year the students won’t be collecting food.  You can still support the need for increased donations during the period from Thanksgiving to Christmas, as we have learned that all the local grocery stores and fire halls in the city will accept food donations year round.

According to the GFB, there is enough food in stock to get them through October and November.  December and January - the highest demand months - may be a struggle. 

Home Group Realty has made arrangements to become a permanent donation drop off point for Guelph Food Bank donations.  I’m grateful that our small brokerage has the opportunity to help out in the community.  We understand the need for people to have shelter and food security and we want to be part of a sustainable and long term solution.  

On that note, have a wonderful Thanksgiving however you celebrate, and you're interested in learning more about food security and the amazing work being done in our community, head to the Guelph Food Bank website.

The week in review: 

This week we are reporting 47 homes sold in Guelph and the two surrounding townships, a 20% increase over the same period last year.  This past week has actually been pretty incredible when you compare to the same week last year, which on its own was quite good. 

Of the 47 homes reported sold, 21 sold at or above list price.  That’s 44.7% of the homes sold!  We haven’t seen those kind of numbers since 2017.  With that many selling at or above list the median numbers are really incredible.  

The median home this week,1,392 square feet, sold for $535,000 or $404.25/sqft.  We’ve been approaching the $400/sqft sales range for some time.  This could be an anomaly or an indication of where our market will continue to go.  Stay tuned there.  The median home took 18 days to sell, all the while Seller’s were able to negotiate a sales price of 99.88% of their original list price.  

Compared to the same week last year when the median home took 25 days to sell and sellers were able to achieve 98.2% of their original list price.  Some perspective on the difference between the two weeks.  That 1.6% difference between what sellers sold for last year and this year translates into an extra $8400 more this year.  On a typical $500,000 list price using last year’s numbers vs this year’s numbers sellers have been able to net an additional $8,400.  Pretty impressive gains.  The question is how long can these sort of numbers be sustained.  I suspect we’ll see a softening of these numbers as the year winds down.  

Featured Property

22 Lane Street, Guelph

2 BED | 2 BATH | 1,347 SQ FT

$439,900

Solidly built in the fast-growing St. George's Park neighbourhood, this mid-century detached home is ready for its next chapter.

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