Karl made his entry into the Niagara Real Estate market in 2004 and not once has he questioned that this is his calling. His ever growing passion for architecture and the next great cup of coffee to fuel his drive has solidified him as an industry leader.
It has been 20+ years and Karl’s passion is stronger than ever, but his game has changed. Pauline, the love of his life, his children Naomi, Arie, Maaike and Bodi have helped him to put things in perspective. Warm and generous and always quick to tell a joke, Karl ensures that his clients feel valued and appreciated throughout the buying and selling process.
CHRISTINA BALAH
Don’t be fooled by Christina’s charisma and easy smile—she’s a hustler in the best way. Family comes first, with real estate close behind. With three kids competing in elite hockey and baseball, you’ll often find her at the rink or on the field. Her psychology degree from the University of Waterloo serves her well in both life and business. Passionate about investments, home design, and renovations, Christina takes a personal approach to real estate. “I love building lasting relationships that turn into friendships. My goal is to guide clients through every stage— whether buying a first home, investing, or downsizing.”
With Christina, you’re in great hands.
CARLI DORTONO
We can all forgive Carli for channeling Julie Andrews around the office, as she’s always ready to burst into an impromptu whistling tune, like a morning robin straight out of Mary Poppins. She has a knack for finding positivity in the most offbeat ways and is an absolute pleasure both in the office and when visiting clients’ homes. A natural creative with a flair for graphic design, quick-witted quips, and a sharp eye for detail, she’s the Swiss Army knife of the office—keeping everyone in line, crossing the T’s, and dotting the I’s. Not to mention, she elevates both the brand and office culture off the charts.
RECOGNITION & ACHIEVEMENTS
• RE/MAX Hall of Fame Lifetime Achievement Award
2012 to Present–Top 10 Individual Realtor in Sales (Niagara Real Estate Board)
• 2013 to Present–Member of Toronto Real Estate Board
• 2014–Niagara Community Design Awards, Façade Improvement, The UPHouse
• 2015–Founder the St. Catharines Disc Golf Course
2015–Led the successful campaign of changing Municipal (boring) to Sunset Beach (dreamy)
• 2016–to Present–Founder of the St. Catharines Wing Fest
2017–Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce Young Professional of the Year Award
• 2019 Established RE/MAXGC UPHouse Realty Brokerage
2022 NAR® Community Involvement Award
• 2020 to current–Founder of Walkers Creek Outdoor Skating Rink
• Numerous TEAM sales awards over the years with the most recent being the RE/MAX Chairman Award
WHY UPHOUSE REALTY?
TOP PRODUCER
We understand every home is unique and has the ability to sell itself. We simply showcase your home’s merits and celebrate the lifestyle your property exudes. This gets buyers to the negotiating table. Our tireless efforts, boundless energy and incomparable work ethic result in superior (and award-winning) sales performance.
STRONG NEGOTIATORS
We are motivated by the art of deal-making to secure the absolute best value for our sellers. Our friendly first impression, keen listening skills, and genuine compassion support our in-depth preparation when negotiating with buyers or their representatives.
NOTABLE NETWORK
When it comes to selling your home, the truth is, “it takes a village.”
That’s why we’ve partnered with some of the best in Niagara to maximize exposure and market your property effectively.
UPHouse Realty collaborates with Class Act Productions, a toptier video production company, and FPV (first-person drone technology) to create stunning, immersive video content that showcases your home in a unique and captivating way.
To further elevate your listing, we work with our secret weapon—graphic design guru Gerardo Lopez (Art Director), who brings visions to life. Additionally, we team up with digital creative agency AE Media Inc. to craft stylish, high-impact websites that enhance your property’s online presence.
WHY WEB STRATEGY MATTERS
Studies show that 90% of home buyers use the internet to buy their home and it takes more than a listing on realtor.ca to get noticed by the right buyer.
GETTING SEEN ONLINE
WEB MASTER
UPHouseRealty.ca is more than just bells and whistles to attract attention — it has the top-quality features to attract and keep buyers’ attention on your property. We have some of Niagara’s finest in the tech industry keeping UPHouse Realty among the top on Google. Your listing gets the attention it deserves when buyers search for their next home. It’s no secret how he draws 40% of his web traffic from the GTA.
SOCIAL MEDIA NINJA
As social media has become the norm, people visit X, Facebook, and Instagram multiple times everyday.
We embrace the power of social media marketing and advertising to find potential buyers. Using targeted content, we focus on the demographics, interests, and lifestyles your home appeals to. Our sponsored Facebook posts reach an average of 9,400 targeted Facebook users in just one week.
VIDEO GURU
When it comes to selling your home, the key is making sure potential buyers receive all the information as quickly and easily as possible. And what’s easier than pressing play? UPHouse Realty HD Lifestyle Videos capture the unique features and feeling that will ultimately sell your home. They enable a buyer to fall in love with your property and make a memorable keepsake for the homeowner.
Check out youtube.com/@uphouserealty to see how UPHouse Realty HD Lifestyle Videos make listings stand out.
When you’re selling a home, you’re selling a lifestyle. Using high-quality photos, videos, immersive 3D technology, and professional copywriting, we communicate the story of why your home is unique. Then, we target this narrative directly at your ideal buyers with our strategic mix of web, social media.
UPHOUSEREALTY.CA AVERAGES OVER 4,600 MONTHLY PAGE VIEWS
Over 1,800 Facebook Followers
Over 700 X Followers
Over 1,200 Instagram Followers
Over 160,000 YouTube Views
UPHouse Website Blog Page hits 350+ avg blog views/month
UPHouse bi-monthly eNewsletter 1000+ avg reads
UPHOUSE VS. EVERYONE
ALTHOUGH, WE DO LOVE OUR COLLEAGUES… WE ARE LIKE A FRATERNITY.
UPHOUSE COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS
WHY IT WORKS
Our extensive real estate experience allows us to see the truly exceptional features in a home and understand the value that makes it stand out from the rest.
Our careful calculations and gut instincts will ensure that you list your home for the most appropriate dollar per square foot, getting you top value for your home.
And with the right numbers backing up some of the industry’s best marketing, your home will sell quickly and for top dollar.
A comparative market analysis has always been the old standby marketing tool for Realtors who are trying to win listings. The agent will try to showcase their value by pulling sales numbers they claim only they have access to and will put together a set of recent home sales to give you context for pricing your home.
WE DO IT DIFFERENTLY
We go above and beyond the standard, run-of-the-mill comparative market analysis. We look at the true value of your home. Of course, comparables matter too. We will provide you with street history from the past two years, active homes and recently sold homes. These numbers will help us give you an accurate evaluation of what your home is worth. Our dedication and knack for what we do gives you the most in-depth evaluation around.
THE DIRECT COST APPROACH
We carefully examine the market over the course of the last 5 years, determining the cost of your home from its original purchase price plus market increase. If you didn’t update your home in the time you lived there, that might be the end but, we see the value in updates and will add an estimated cost value of those updates as well.
BLUE HOUR REVEALS THE FEATURES OF A HOME IN THEIR BEST LIGHT
BLUE HOUR
IS THERE A MORE MAGICAL HOUR? WE DON’T THINK SO
BLUE HOUR HIGHLIGHTS UNIQUE AND INTIMATE FEATURES
BLUE HOUR IS DESIGNED TO STIMULATE ALL THE SENSES
At sunset into the “Blue Hour”, we bring the best in the business to highlight it’s unique and intimate features.
Our friends at Giant Shoe Creative are leaders in the business. We bring the best to your listing, to make you stand out from the others.
“Blue hour photography is about painting a picture that stands out, revealing the features of a home in their best light.”
Is there a more magical hour? We don’t think so.. we find the homes exteriors come alive in radiant colours while showcasing the home’s unique exterior lighting and flashes of brilliance. It allows us to highlight key features such as the beautiful exterior architecture and water features when lit up only by the home’s own landscape and interior lights.
“Blue hour photography isn’t a simple or standard technique but the results are undeniably remarkable.”
Lucas
Claxton | Media Production Director - Giant Shoe Creative Agency
HELLO
MATTERPORT TAKES INFORMATION IN A COMPLETE 360O SCAN
HOW MATTERPORT WORKS
Matterport is truly the king of all cameras. Comprised of one regular camera and 8 additional sensors, the Matterport takes information in a complete 360º scan. Room height, object surface area and distance from one object to another are immaculately captured.
Thousands of 3D images are gathered and woven together by the software to create a completely accurate and immersive rendering of your home.
ENGAGE BUYERS — ANYTIME, ANYWHERE
In an increasingly busy world, Matterport’s 3D Showcase gives potential buyers an online experience that allows them to move through a home and see it from literally every angle. Buyers can wander from room to room with the click of a mouse, in their downtime. They can even get a complete and unique sense for a property with Matterport’s “doll house” view, to see exactly how everything lines up.
Meet Matterport — the most realistic and immersive way to experience a property online.
Matterport is engaging buyers and delighting sellers across the real estate market. Karl is thrilled to have invested in this state-of-the-art technology to capture each and every Niagara listing in 3D.
With Matterport, we can create an emotional connection with your home and the lifestyle that comes with it. Ask us where this tech is going next. It’s wild and exciting.
WHY SELLERS LOVE MATTERPORT
Selling your home is a busy time. It can be difficult to ensure your home is ready for viewings at the whim of any potential buyer and getting out of the house to allow buyers time to view your property can be challenging.
Matterport appeals to the out-of-town buyers by providing the opportunity to view from afar what they would actually see if they were right here in Niagara!
FPV DRONES
Nothing is COOLER than 1st Person View Drones (FPV) flying through homes, capturing conversation, high lighting unique angles, specialty features and seeing things through a different lens.
What do the shingles look like? Or perhaps the soffits. Does the basement window lead to outside? How else can we capture the vaulted ceiling and light fixtures by flying inches past them.
Looking to separate your home from other? This is it.
“We are able to go anywhere and everywhere. The WOW factor is real, and potential buyers will experience a special and intimate connection to your home.”
WHY WE DO WHAT WE DO
THE VALUE OF VIDEO
When it comes to selling your home, the key is making sure potential buyers get as much information as quickly and easily as possible. And what’s easier than pressing play?
“We want to engage you with a video that makes you feel comfortable inside the house. A sense of belonging. A sense of growing within that space. A feeling of contentment.”
– Ron Shafir of Class Act Productions –
THE STATS
• Facebook videos average 8 billion daily views.
• High quality video on real estate listings generate more than 1,200% more social shares than text and image posts.
• Video drives a 157% increase in organic traffic from search engines, like Google.
• Buying a home is an emotional purchase so your listing needs to not only convey information but also inspire emotion.
• Providing quality photos together with well written copy can definitely help sell your home. Video, however, takes this to another level!
TORONTO REAL ESTATE BOARD
MEMBER
We have been an active Toronto Real Estate Board member since 2014. Why? Because it matters and makes a difference to our listings. With 40% of our web traffic from the GTA, it is important to understand the needs of the GTA public and their ever-changing market conditions. This allows us to counsel you through all of the important decisions and negotiate for you to maximize your return.
SELLING NIAGARA TO GTA BUYERS
COMMUNITY TOUR GUIDE
What better way to get to know the area than through a personal tour with a proud Niagara resident? As a proud citizen of St. Catharines with a passion for the region, Karl started out as a community tour guide for the Niagara Hospital System (NHS) to new physicians flocking to our new state-of-the-art hospital. The tour explores the highlights of St. Catharines, telling the history of the area, includes a list of places to shop, visit, dine and explore as well as a cultural communities listing. In the weeks after the tour, Karl continues to follow up to offer further information and remind potential new residents that Niagara truly is Canada’s best kept secret to live, work and play.
LIFE IS AN ADVENTURE
An avid world traveler with 36 stamps in his passport, Karl has made it his mission to better understand cultures different from his own. With his wife and kids in tow, their international excursions have allowed Karl to have fun and positively experience culturally diverse areas across the globe. These experiences make it easy for him to relate to many people on a personal level. Arts, architecture, food, and spontaneity mixed with the people you love—nothing is better!
VOICES OF TRUST
We had a fantastic experience with UPHouse Realty. Not only are they fun and personable, but they also helped us secure our new Bench property without pressure or added stress. They worked hard to get us a deal on terms we were comfortable with. Highly recommend the UPHouse Realty team—we look forward to sharing a beer!
UPHouse Realty team were really great to work with. They responded in a timely manner to all of our questions and concerns and took the time to understand us and our needs. We are really happy with how everything came together, got a great price for our place and love our new house and nieghbourhood. UPHouse Realty really is the north end specialist!
UPHouse Realty team were fantastic to work with. They helped us find our dream home and sell our starter homes. Very professional in their approach and their knowledge of the Niagara market was phenomenal. Would highly recommend the UPHouse Realty team to anyone looking to buy and/or sell in the region!
73 Queen Street, St. Catharines
L2R 5G9
Phone: 905-641-1110
Direct: 905-704-8701
Email: info@uphouserealty.ca
UPHouse Realty listed our house on a Friday and after many showings on the weekend, by Monday afternoon we had 6 offers for our house. This was the second house that they has sold for us and we were very happy with their professionalism, knowledge and help. Our emails were answered quickly and we were kept in the loop every step of the way.
