October 2009

You are ready to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars and make a commitment for 25-35 years of your life based on the advice you receive from your real estate agent… With any luck, you will make the right decision. We are very fortunate here in Calgary, Alberta to have a professional regulatory body (RECA) in place, but is that enough to trust virtually anyone with a real estate license? The truth is that there are several levels of quality, business style and most definitely competence.

 

You should be asking yourself the following questions:  - does your real estate representative have your best interest at heart? But more importantly, are they even capable of properly representing you? There are some Realtors with the best intentions in the

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Gypsum board, wallboard, plasterboard, sheetrock they all mean the same at end of the day – Drywall. Through out North America this product is very widely used in residential homes and it’s gaining more popularity throughout Europe as well.

 

The boards are made out of compressed gypsum sandwiched between layers of durable paper on both sides. Most commonly they are manufactured in thickness of half-inch, however some installation may require five-eights as a desired thickness. There are many other types of drywalls available on the market to withstand special environments such as bathrooms and other high moisture content circumstances.

 

An insider trick of the trade is to install the boards horizontally to minimize the amount of taped joints

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BMO economists conclude that the economic and interest rate outlook will ultimately again slightly favour the variable rate option

It's the question Canadian home owners are obsessing over: Should I stay fixed or go variable?

Historically, borrowers have saved money by choosing a variable mortgage product, according to a report from BMO Capital Markets. But a risk of a pronounced upswing in interest rates, which can only move higher as the economic recovery takes hold, means fixed rates could actually prove to be the cheaper alternative at this particular point in time.

“In fact, mortgage pricing is relatively efficient and the fixed rate is usually a good approximation of expectations of the variable rate,” BMO economists Douglas Porter and

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The kids have finally grown up and moved on with theirs lives and your nest is now empty… As you take a glance at your wall which is full of family memories and obvious signs of wear and tear, as your eyes scroll from one beat up corner to another you quickly realize that this place could use a serious overhaul in order to bring the looks of your home into style.

The unavoidable and annoying conversation of “renovating” starts surfacing with your spouse at an increasing regularity. Welcome! If this makes you feel any better you are not alone. A growing number of empty nesters are deciding to remain in their existing homes much longer nowadays – a trend of a new lifestyle seems to be emerging which greatly influences the type of renovation projects that

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The Bank of Canada announced today that it will hold its overnight rate at     The Bank of Canada announced today that it will hold its overnight rate at 1/2 percent. Banks therefore are expected to keep their prime rates at 2.25%.
The Bank of Canada has said that recovery from the recession appears to be happening both in Canada and globally. The Bank of Canada says we have been buoyed by the government stimulus package, increased household wealth, improved financial conditions and commodity prices and business and consumer confidence. The one down side to recovery appears to be a strengthening Canadian Dollar which will slow any increase in export demand. The Bank has forecast a 3.0% increase in our economy in 2010 and a 3.3% increase in 2011. The Bank…

Canadian housing sales set fresh records in the third quarter, but a dearth of new listings threatens to push prices substantially higher and price many buyers out of the market.
"Listings have really gone down," said Wayne Hartley, a realtor at Sudbury Achievers Realty Inc. "At the higher end of the market things have really tailed off, you just can't find anything for sale. So if they list, they go fast for pretty good prices."

The Canadian Real Estate Association said Thursday 135,182 homes were sold from July to September, an increase of 18 per cent from last year and the most ever sold in the third quarter. Average prices gained 11 per cent to $327,736.

"It is perhaps not a surprise that with demand up and supply down, the differential has

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In the heat of a bidding war it might be tempting to waive a condition of financing to obtain an edge over (or merely keep up with) other bidders. This isn't always the wisest move - especially if you're prone to emotional bidding.

Even if you're preapproved for a mortgage, it's not guaranteed that you'll receive financing. Only once your lender (and mortgage default insurer, if you're putting down less than a 20% down payment) examines the details of the property (including purchase price, taxes, condo fees, etc.) will you know where you stand in terms of financing.

If you've grossly overpaid for your new home - and blown all previous comparables right out of the water - you might be in trouble. If you had a 5% down payment, and you were

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A very straight forward graph showing the true relationship between fixed rate and variable rate mortgages for the past 25 years. To me it seems to be obvious which product makes more sense. Any comments?

 (click on graph to view larger image)

 

Joe Samson, a Calgary REALTOR® who has been helping clients to achieve their goals in the Calgary real estate market for many years now. Please visit some of his other web pages such as Evergreen real estate.

The latest report on Canadian housing prices echoes the findings of local data that suggest a rebound in home sales and prices in the Calgary market.

Released Wednesday, the Teranet-National Bank house price index shows home prices in Calgary edged up one per cent in July, the first monthly gain following 12 consecutive months of decline.

Home prices were still well off pre-recession highs to the tune of 14.6 per cent, however, and 11.1 per cent shy of where they were a year ago. Still, July's gain "signals to me that the market correction is behind us," said Marc Pinsonneault, senior economist for the economy and strategy group at National Bank Financial.

"The important thing is that it is backed by the improvement in market conditions," he said.

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