Women VS Men - Home-Buying Decisions

Coldwell Banker® recently published a survey about how men and women differ in their home buying decisions.  Here are the results:

Coldwell Banker Survey Finds Women and Men Make Home-Buying Decisions with Head and Heart

PARSIPPANY, N.J. (March 27, 2012) – Square-footage and price are important elements to consider when selecting a home but according to a new survey from Coldwell Banker Real Estate of 1,000 men and women, they both also rely on how they feel and how their lifestyle fits into a home when looking for a place to live. The survey found 28 percent of women and 25 percent of men put more emphasis on their feelings about a home than they do on the layout, square footage, or price. The majority of women (62 percent) and men (61 percent) also know within the first visit if the home is right for them.

“A home is more than square-footage and the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, and this survey shows just how much emotion can play a role in home buying process,” says Jessica Edwards, Coldwell Banker Real Estate consumer specialist. “When two people are looking for a home together, there are many considerations to take into account.  Of course, price and layout matter, but ‘feeling at home’ is an important factor.”


The survey also reveals insights into the roles men and women play at home and finds some interesting differences between age groups. 

Women Take Charge of Making a House a Home:

• Over half of women (54 percent) say that they take the lead when it comes to decorating.  However, younger men play a larger role in décor decisions than their older counterparts. Forty-eight (48) percent of younger respondents, age 18-44, say decorating is mutual; this decreases to 36 percent for respondents 55 and over.
• Women also cook it up in the kitchen. Sixty-eight (68) percent of women say they are the “primary chef” for their household.  Not to be outdone, some men are also putting on the apron – occasionally.  Nearly a quarter of men (23 percent) say cooking is their job.

Age Changes How Men and Women Feel “At Home”

• Sharing financial decisions may get easier over time. Fifty-four (54) percent of people age 18-44 say major financial decisions are mutual, compared to 60 percent of those 45-54. This increases to 70 percent for people 55 and over.
•  Interestingly, as age increases, so does contentment with the current status of the home. Almost half (45 percent) of those older than 55 say they are very happy with their home just the way it is, compared to 25 percent of those age 18-44.  More men seem to be focused on making significant changes to the home (9 percent) compared to women (5 percent).

Check out this video from Coldwell Banker highlighting tips for both men and women for buying a home.

For couples entering the home-buying process, here are Edwards’ tips for harmonious house-hunting:

• Each person should come up with a list of a few things that are most important and then come together as a couple to decide on a list of the top three to five things that are important for the home. 
• When looking for a home, communication is key. Consider designating a point person for different aspects of the home-buying process, so that information is not delayed or communicated to just one part of the couple.
• Don’t get too many people involved; typically more people means more stress and what is most important is that the couple is happy with the decisions being made.
• Don’t forget to have fun! Remember that this home will be the place to build memories and a life together.

What has motivated you in your home buying decisions? Whether you are a head or heart person, make sure you are represented by an experienced licensed REALTOR®. 

When the going gets "Tough"...just call me.

Susan Tough

For more information please visit ColdwellBanker.com. 

Survey Methodology: Coldwell Banker Real Estate engaged SSRS to conduct an omnibus survey via telephone in February 2012, among more than 1,000 respondents. This study was conducted in SSRS’s EXCEL Omnibus. EXCEL is a national, weekly telephone omnibus service designed to meet the standards of quality associated with custom research studies. The EXCEL survey consists of a standard set of introductory and demographic questions supplemented by a changing series of questions on various topics as contracted by participating companies.

Sample Design: Each EXCEL survey consists of 1,000 interviews, with 50% men and 50% women.EXCEL uses a fully-replicated, stratified, single-stage random-digit-dialing (RDD) sample of telephone households. Sample telephone numbers are computer-generated and loaded into on-line sample files accessed directly by the CRT system. Within each sample household, one adult respondent is randomly selected using a computerized procedure based on the “Most Recent Birthday Method”. Respondents answering questions in an EXCEL insert specifically designed for this survey were 1014 men and women ages 18 and older.

Margin of Error: Because this is a sample, and not an actual population, an associated margin of error applies. At a 95% level of confidence, the margin of error for this sample of 1014 is +/- 3.08%. This essentially means that we can be 95% certain that, for any percentage result for the total sample, the “true” percentage is within 3.08 percentage points of that which is actually reported.

Significant Differences: Within this report, significant differences are reported at the 95% level of confidence.

“Are you sure You know what you are doing?”

The issues that cross my desk are sometimes ordinary, comical and even bizarre.  They will stem from uncontrollable circumstances with clients, with property issues and just plain life.  They can also stem from dishonest parties to the contract (again uncontrollable on the part of the REALTOR®).

The ones that truly trouble me are the ones that come from ill prepared or uneducated  REALTORS®  working in an area of the business that is beyond their expertise.  The people that suffer are the clients from their loss or circumstance –----- it could have very easily been avoided.







I’ve asked permission of one of our REALTORS® to share his post from facebook the other day.  I did receive a call from the REALTOR® that is the “hero”  in this, confirming her position and authority to act for her client the way she intended. Confirmation, Preparation, Education, Diligence, and also keeping the clients best interests at heart.  I am very proud to say the Marlene Braun works with Coldwell Banker Horizon Realty.



I am very sorry for the clients that were not properly represented and lost out on something they likely really wanted only because their REALTOR® didn’t know what she was doing.  When that happens – the whole industry suffers.

Enjoy the read.

Quoted from Blake Robert’s FB post:

This is why you hire a real estate professional with experience who knows the ins and outs of the business:
This morning at 8:45AM, Marlene Braun gets a call from a client who wants to put an offer in on a property in the Shuswap that is in foreclosure. There is an offer already in from another REALTOR®  that is set to be presented at 10:00AM.
For those who don’t know how foreclosures work, the first offer in, the once accepted by the bank is publicly disclosed so others can appear in court to write their own offer as well.
While Marlene scrambles to wrap up an appointment she is already dealing with, I get three offers written... One sufficient to outbid the offer already in from the first REALTOR®, plus two more so we are ready to go head to head against others who may arrive in court or if the first offer written is increased when they learn someone else has arrived in court.
9:55AM Marlene arrives in court along with her buyer so they are ready for all circumstances.
The  REALTOR® with the initially accepted offer is in court, surprised that someone else has arrived to compete with the first offer.
The initial buyer has not accompanied that REALTOR®, nor is there another offer prepared in the event another REALTOR® and client (Marlene) arrives in court.
This story wraps up by 10:20AM with Marlene’s offer accepted, her client suitably impressed that she worked as hard and efficiently as she did on VERY short notice...the REALTOR® and client with the first accepted offer out in the cold.

When the going gets "Tough"...just call me.

Susan Tough

COLDWELL BANKER® REAL ESTATE SURVEY

COLDWELL BANKER® REAL ESTATE SURVEY REVEALS GROWING FAMILY    NO. 1 LIFESTYLE MOTIVATOR FOR NORTH AMERICAN HOME BUYERS 

 A recent survey of 700 Coldwell Banker® Real Estate professionals across North America revealed home buyers are motivated by lifestyle needs, with growing families ranking as top motivator on both sides of the Canadian/U.S. border.  Meanwhile, sellers are becoming increasingly aware of the value of presenting a home with buyers appeal, and are becoming more willing to go the extra mile as they compete for buyers’ attention.   

Sellers are More Willing to De-clutter, De-personalize
and Make Repairs To Increase Buyer Appeal

Of those Coldwell Banker professionals surveyed:

• 94 percent say their sellers are getting rid of clutter and making cosmetic updates, such as fresh paint and minor repairs.  This percentage was the same for both Canadian and U.S. respondents
• 60 percent of Canadian respondents agree that clients are willing to “de-personalize” the home.  This percentage was much higher in the challenging U.S. market, where 76 percent agree.
• 59 percent of North American respondents say sellers are even bringing in new home decorations or furniture to help make the home more appealing.  

“When marketing your home, it’s important to help buyers imagine themselves living in the property. De-cluttering and de-personalizing is crucial to this process,” says Susanita de Diego,  Coldwell Banker Canadian Consumer Specialist. “Sellers need to recognize that while demand for Canadian homes remains strong; their home is competing with other listings to get results.  I always advise sellers that if their home is presented with a minimum of clutter and distracting personal items, it will appeal to buyers and improve their chances of a successful sale.”  

Buyers Get ‘Back to Basics’ ….

Preferring Updated Kitchens And Open Floor Plans Over Trendy Media Rooms  

Sellers, take note: when it comes to selecting a home, buyers are going back to the basics.  They value new or updated kitchens, bathrooms and open floor plans as the most important features for a new home. 

• 33 percent of agents surveyed across North America say that   a new or updated kitchen is the most important feature to homebuyers. 
• 14 percent say the most important feature to homebuyers is an open floor plan, while 12 percent say it is a new or updated bathroom. 
• Only 1 percent of the real estate professionals surveyed say they believe that entertainment rooms or finished basements are the most important feature.

Home Buyers Moving for Babies and Careers

The survey also drilled down into which life events are motivating the most people to buy homes.  According to the Coldwell Banker Real Estate professionals surveyed, growing families is currently the biggest lifestyle driver for home buyers in both Canada and the United States.  
70 percent of real estate professionals surveyed say a new baby or growing family is the “most common”, or a “very common” lifestyle reason that North American buyers search for a new home.  Other key motivators include: 

• Marriage - 59 percent.
• Divorce - 48 percent.
• Retirement - 37 percent. 

While the majority of survey responses regarding buyer motivators were similar between Canada and United States, and although job reasons was the No. 2 reason overall across North America, there was one marked difference.  Fifty-five percent of Canadian respondents cited job reasons vs. 69 percent of respondents in the United States, where the economy and job market have endured recent downturns.  


“For most of us, while a home is probably our largest investment, the fact remains that people move for lifestyle reasons,” says John Geha, president, Coldwell Banker Canada Operations ULC. “Regardless of market conditions, buying a home remains an investment in our lifestyles where the emotional and psychological benefits can hold equal value to the pure economic investment.”

Canada vs. U.S. Pricing Variances

The survey also indicated a clear difference between the two countries when it came to sellers’ pricing strategies.  Unlike the stable Canadian real estate market, much of the U.S. market has been challenging for the past few years.  The Coldwell Banker survey indicates that U.S. sellers are ready to ‘get real’ about real estate.  In the United States, 51 percent of those agents surveyed said sellers were more willing to price their home competitively than at the same time last year, while in Canada only 31 percent of surveyed agents said their sellers were willing to do so.    


“Canada continues to enjoy a stable, balanced market,” says Geha, “with near historic low interest rates, and a good inventory of homes for sale.  This supports demand for housing, and sellers here are continuing to price their homes according to our healthy market conditions.” 

When the going gets "Tough"...just call me.

Susan Tough

Survey Methodology: Coldwell Banker Real Estate conducted an online survey among Coldwell Banker real estate professionals across North America about housings trends in 2012. The survey was fielded between January 24 and February 7, 2012. 

The base (sample size) for calculating results varies slightly from question-to-question.  The approximate sample size answering each question was 615.  Maximum error range based on this sample size - at a 95% level of confidence - is +/- 4 points.   Note that standard error calculation applies to random probability samples and is included herein to serve as a guide-only.
*Some answer percentages in the above may not total 100 percent, if only the most popular responses are listed.  In other cases, respondents had the option to check all that apply, which may mean that percentages total more than 100 percent.

The Value of a Home

I cannot say enough about the new ad campaign released by Coldwell Banker® LLC on Monday March 5th. The ads remind us of the “value of a home” as being not just an investment for your money, but a place where memories are made and remembered.  Take a look for yourself:

By the way, do you recognize the voice in the ads?  Yes that’s right, it’s Tom Selleck.  Tom’s Dad worked for Coldwell Banker for 38 years, retiring as Executive Vice President.  The sentiment the campaign presents encouraged Mr. Selleck to participate in the ads, as you can see in his message to all the Coldwell Banker agents at our recent Generation Blue Experience in New Orleans:

These ads are not just for potential home buyers, but also speak to the agent as a reminder of the importance of relationships in our professional careers.  With the plethora of new technology out there pushing information, making our lives more efficient, it’s important to remember nothing can replace face to face contact with clients and colleagues to build the lasting relationships our business rewards us with.

Changes to the real estate industry will continue to morph and roll through our shifting times.  The constant has always been,

“Trusted Agents, with the Right Tools, helping you Make Better Decisions.”

When the going gets "Tough"...just call me.

Susan Tough

fi•du•ci•ar•y /fəˈdo͞oSHēˌerē/

fi•du•ci•ar•y   /fəˈdo͞oSHēˌerē/ 
Adjective:   Involving trust, esp. with regard to the relationship between a trustee and a beneficiary.
Noun:   A trustee.
Synonyms:  trustee – confidant


Real estate Licensees are often described as owning their clients’ a ‘fiduciary duty”.   Let’s be reminded what that means – for both the expectation of the client and the delivery of services for the REALTOR®.


To be a fiduciary means that your client has put trust and confidence in you to deal with their real estate transaction.  A fiduciary duty is a duty of utmost good faith which means you – as the   REALTOR®  , are expected to be completely loyal to your client and NEVER put your own personal interests before the ‘duty’.  It also means that you must not profit from your position as a fiduciary.


In the Professional Standards Manual that all licensed   REALTOR®   have and are expected to follow it states:


As an agent, a brokerage and the licensees related to the brokerage have certain duties to their client. As explained in the Working With a REALTOR® brochure, the brokerage and the licensees related to the brokerage have: 

• a duty of undivided loyalty to the principal; 
• a duty to keep the confidences of the principal; 
• a duty to obey all lawful instructions of the principal; and 
• a duty to account for all money and property of the principal placed in the brokerage’s hands while acting for the principal. 

When does the ‘duty’ start and when does it end?


Your ‘duty’ comes into existence when you start to provide trading services to a buyer or a seller.  The origin is usually straightforward – When the client begins to receive guidance or advice from you – and when they believe you are working for them – Agency is created – therefore a fiduciary relationship and the obligations that go along with it are created.  It can be more difficult to say when the duty comes to an end. A lot will depend on the circumstance of the transaction.  A fiduciary relationship does not end with the existence of a contract of purchase and sale.  It lasts at least until the listing agreement expires or the transaction completes.  It is important to note that the Real Estate Council of British Columbia has taken the position that the duty of confidentiality remains even after the contractual arrangement between the licensee and the client has ended.


A licensee acting in a fiduciary relationship has a duty to disclose all material information to his or her client.  I always remember something my professor taught me at UBC – “You are to be a conduit to your client -- not a sieve.”  It is not up to a licensee to decide what is “material” or not, for any given client.  “Material” information can be different for one client or circumstance, to another.  It is information that would likely influence the clients’ conduct – or their decision – in the transaction.  The consequences of the disclosure of the information are not relevant.


A licensee must keep confidential ANY information received from their client pertaining to the transaction.  What a seller is willing to accept or a buyer is willing to offer should never be disclosed.  Realtors that insist on negotiating for their clients through verbal communications between licensees walk a very slippery slope and not only are at risk of breaching their fiduciary duty, they are also very likely in contravention of the Real Estate Service Act, the  REALTOR®  Code of Ethics, and Board Regulations and by-laws – to negotiate verbally is wrong on so many levels and fraught with huge consequence and risk to the licensee.  “I was trying to save time” – is NOT a defence that would ever be accepted in court, or for that matter, not likely by your client either.


Sorry  -  got off on a tangent there – verbal negotiation is an issue that causes me personally, great frustration and worry.  There is just no reason to ever do it. 











What it is important for both  REALTOR® and client to take away from this BLOG today – is to know exactly what Fiduciary duties are so the  REALTOR® knows the professional standard to which they are measured and so that the client knows what they have a right to expect from their Professional Real Estate Agent.

When the going gets "Tough"...just call me.

Susan Tough

Money FROM the Government ??? Really ?? How?

I did it!  Within two weeks of making a first call – I had my furnace serviced and H2O tank checked out, recommendations from Wightmans’ Mechanical –250-762-3122 (they were great by the way!), house inspection from  EnergyWise Solutions (a contact provided to me from Wightmans)




Furnace, H1O tank and air conditioner installed, Finished off with a post inspection from Energy Wise Solutions  (pre and post inspections cost was $335 total)

Efficient and a money saver!

Energy Wise Solutions will rate your homes efficiency on many levels and let you know what you can do – should you choose – to improve your homes efficiency, your carbon footprint AND get money back from the government.  I have to say I was very surprised at the amount of Grants offered by both Federal and Provincial governments.  Here is a link to the chart on the Energy Wise website.

The inspector that came out was knowledgeable, polite and professional. 

I learned that regulations on coolant have changed and once the current inventory of air conditioners is used – the new models go up by at least $1000. Turns out the decision to replace my 12 year old air conditioner BEFORE it broke down was a good one.   As the technicians were installing the new – the oil in the lines made it apparent that my unit would have very likely seized during  the first few weeks of summer use (with my luck, after the more affordable inventory on replacements units was gone).  I saved on labour by doing it all together and wait time as, of course in the summer, the mechanical companies are a lot busier when it comes to air conditioners.

Hawley Works (my fabulous handyman) installed new weather-strip on my doors, a new Energy Star bathroom fan, plus rubber seals around my attic hatches.  This will improve the air leakage (likely not the technical term) of my home by over 10% so I will qualify for a Grant towards that cost as well.

When all is said and done – my rebates will total over $2800.  This of course depends on the work you have done, that it meets the qualification standards of the program and the ultimate improvement to your homes  current status but I would  suggest it is certainly worth checking out.

Energy Wise completes and submits the forms for the Grant from the government for you!  Wightmans also completed and submitted the rebate forms available to me from Lennox and Teresen gas.  Wightman’s will credit you back the charge for the furnace service if you proceeded to install a new one.

They truly make the process stress free.

I’m sure there are other qualified mechanical companies out there that can do this – my personal experience has been with Wightmans.  One of my sisters runs the largest Plumbing and Heating Mechanical company in Saskatchewan  so I had some inside encouragement and advice available to me.  She was very pleased with the information, recommendations and quotes that I received from Wightmans.

Time is running short!  This program, surprising to me, has been available for quite some time and your final post inspection on work done must be completed by March 31, 2012.

In a years’ time – I’ll let you know where my utilities have gone to as a result of more efficient equipment and air management of my home.

When the going gets "Tough"...just call me.

Susan Tough