SNOW-ZILLA: The Day After

So let’s be honest, Groundhog Day 2011 otherwise known as Stormzilla (or a host of other clever monikers) was a big bust. Yes it is true there was a heaping spoonful of snow. Yes it is true this is the most snow we have been recent snowfalls, but come on people let us not blow things out of proportion.

First off the called for 20-35 cm of white stuff did not come to fruition. It was more like 10cm plus with some minor snow squalls. Busses for the most part were staying on a “scientific pace” of a schedule and restaurants and pubs were bustling with people. The streets were a mélange of cars, vehicles and people and you could definitely tell schools were cancelled. Children ran rampant on the street and this so-called “Snow Day” engulfed the city.

So the question to our client and real-estate agent friends is, “Did you take a snow day”? On our end business was as usual albeit a lot less calls than we normally get. I think people were so scared off by the possibility of snow that they pre-emotively took time off.

So “The Great Groundhog Day Storm”, not so “Great” and such a “Storm”.

I tip my cap to whoever made it a day of normalcy.

SNOW STORM VS REAL ESTATE

It 4:00pm on a blistering cold Tuesday, the first of the new month of February 2011. Snowflakes have been falling from the sky like wildfire all day and dancing around the dreary sky. As the calm of the afternoon continues, we in Toronto (as well as most of Ontario and some of the states) brace for what could be a terror of a winter storm, the storm of a new century they are calling it, The gossip mill is at full force and waiting in line at the bank you can here people tort and shout saying such things as “I heard it is starting at 4pm” or “No I heard Midnight and 10 cm”. One woman even recounted hearing on the radio it would start around 10pm and we would see 30 plus centimetres. This is how the rumor mill works. Will it be the big bad storm, or a shy little kitty of a fleurry? Will it be Quebec Icestorm from 1998 or the exagerrated relation to the storms of 2010 that never came to fruition.

So with business recently booming and the Spring market looking to be just around the corner, will this be the behemoth that for 1-2 days grounds real estate agents and prospective buyers and sellers? Will Toronto be in a virutal tsunami of snow? Real Estate agents work hard and make sure to properly service their clientele, will this milieu of white stuff really slow them down, or just put a slight damper on their day?

It will be quite interesting to see if for agents and prospective home buyers if business will be as usual. For me I will be at my desk promptly in the moring with a cup of java and my game face on! Also will this day be declared a snow day? This meaning no school, essential services and such? Will the new Mayor of Toronto call out full force to clean are streets? This is going to an interesting days to watch how it unfolds!

So whatever way you want to look at it February 2nd, 2011 (GROUNDHOG DAY as well) could go down into Toronto history…or wimper its way into the pile of other
“Could have” and “Should Have” events.

In any case I tip my toque to you and wish a good snow day!