It need hardly be said again that 2020 was a year unlike all others.
Expectations being defied and norms being cast aside were common threads which seemed to run through each aspect of the year, since our lives changed dramatically last spring with the onset of an ongoing emergency in our province, country, and the entire world.

Every industry was forced to scramble to adjust, with certain sectors being
hit harder than others. We who work in the real estate field must recognize
that we remain fortunate in the grand scheme – being deemed an essential
service by the Government of Ontario enabled me to continue working to helping individuals and families find a place to live. At Chestnut Park West, I have been committed to this duty to my clients throughout the trials of 2020, all while recognizing my simultaneous obligation to adapt business tools and practices to keep my clients, peers and colleagues safe.

In keeping with the theme of defying expectations, the Waterloo-Wellington
market surged in 2020, despite an initial sputter of uncertainty in March and April. The remaining months of last year, without exception, saw large
increases in average sale prices across all property types, record numbers of sales, and ever-lower average days spent on market. These are all tell-tale
indications of heavily seller-friendly market, as available inventory struggled to meet the demand from the many thousands of people and families who are looking to settle in our part of Southwestern Ontario. Through it all, my brokerage leveraged remote technologies such as virtual tours, digital signature platforms and remote meeting software responsibly and efficiently to manage an unprecedented surge in business.

2020 was also a special year for Chestnut Park West, as we expanded into the Guelph-Wellington market with the opening of a Downtown Guelph location this past January. At the time of this writing, we’re celebrating exactly one year in business for the Douglas Street location – a year in which we made significant inroads against all odds and under the extremely difficult circumstances of the ongoing pandemic. All this is owed completely to the dedication and professionalism of our representatives both in Guelph and Waterloo. Guelph and its immediate surroundings will play a key role in the Southwestern Ontario real estate market for decades to come, owing to its strategic location along the GTA – Kitchener-Waterloo – London corridor, and was just named the number one place to invest in the entire country by MoneySense Magazine!

As a Broker here at Chestnut Park West, I could not be any prouder of how our team has fulfilled these duties and obligations in the face of the many challenges 2020 presented. It is a rare honour to be able to work each day alongside the calibre of professionals our brokerage fields. To not only have survived this past year, but to have in fact grown substantially as a business over the past 12 months, is a testament to the ability of our Realtors and to the strength of the Chestnut Park West brand in our communities.

So, from me – thank you to my clients, family and friends. I wouldn’t be
here without your trust and support, and I look forward to serving you
throughout 2021 and for many years beyond.

Happy New Year!

Your Real Estate Resource,

Miranda O’Sullivan, Broker
Chestnut Park West