The Kids Are Alright

I played hooky one afternoon last week and disappeared from the office.  It was one of the best afternoons I had spent in a long time.  

I spent the day at the University of Guelph’s Gordon S. Lang School of Business & Economics.  In particular, I was participating in a group at the Business Hub Incubator with 8 students, watching them work on their business plans and pitches.  The energy in the room was palpable and contagious.  This wasn’t like the old business school days, working on case studies and business problems of yesteryear.  These young entrepreneurs were working on their own businesses that were either already running or still in the planning and launch stage.  We’re not talking about "I’m doing this for a degree credit", these were some legit, and in my opinion, very impressive early stage companies.  

One in particular was already challenged with scaling up and having to look for production facilities that could meet food grade and export standards.  Impressive to see them work through the challenges that would even have well-established business people pulling their hair out. 

The “elevator pitch” in business is a skill that takes time to hone and get right.  Boiling your business story down to mere minutes means being succinct without losing clarity.  I heard some really good pitches that afternoon.  Even more impressive was how they collaborated to improve each pitch.   

I can imagine you are thinking, what has this got to do with the Guelph real estate market?

Plenty, in fact!  Some of these startups are based upon services that will be appealing to homeowners.  Regardless of the business being grown in this incubator, the skillset being developed will benefit our community and our country as the next generation of entrepreneurs launch their ideas.  Based on my observations, our future looks bright with these ambitious and smart students of business.  

I’m grateful to be invited to watch and participate in events like this.  It further demonstrates the vibrancy and energy in our community, and that we can compete with the large urban and international centres when it comes to innovation.  I’m passionate about this community and it’s continued sustainable growth.  Our small company in some ways mirrors the business incubator at the University, in that we make it a safe environment for our new agents to grow under the mentorship of our senior team members and learn the valuable skills needed in order to best serve our clients on their real estate journey.  

I’m looking forward to my next opportunity to listen and share with the next generation.

LAST WEEK IN THE GUELPH MARKET

Our word of the week, and probably for the year is consistency.  The Guelph real estate market has been consistent in its performance.  

Last week there were 34 homes sold in Guelph and the two surrounding townships.  1 less than the same week last year.  38.24% (13 out of 34) of the homes sold this past week went at or above list price, which has been consistent throughout the year.  

The median home was a 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 1,272 sq.ft. home that sold for $520,000.  That home took 22 days to sell, 5 more than last year, with homeowners being able to negotiate 98.85% of their original list price.  This compares to last year’s sales to list price ratio of 98.03%.  Real estate in Guelph continues to grow and attract attention.  

Speaking of consistency, we can expect the next eight weeks to remain relatively slow with weekly sales likely numbering less than 40 per week.  Normal, given the time of year and the lead time it seems to take now to get homes ready for the market.  More on that subject in next week’s issue.  

As always, thanks for reading & enjoy the weekend!

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