55 Wentworth Circle SW

What a great deal for a great home! Just one block from Joan of Arc Catholic elementary and also within the walk-zone for West Springs public elementary. Downtown is an easy commute via a short drive or you can use the newly-opened West LRT station. This home boasts a unique and functional open floor plan with a fully developed basement which includes a full bath, an extra bedroom and a large family/rec room. Even with 4 bedrooms, 3.5 baths, and 2500 developed square feet, this is still the best deal in Springside. Upgraded hardwood is found on the main floor, AND up the stairs and throughout all upper bedrooms. Other recent upgrades include all the trim, a fully fenced yard, and programmable irrigation. The home has central air-conditioning too, so you’ll be able to get a good night’s sleep every night. Ahhh!

For more photos, virtual tour & full listing details visit our webpage.

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Whether you are looking to buy, sell, or just want to keep up-to-date on market trends, this free report is an excellent tool.  Simply fill in your information and you’ll automatically receive a detailed sales-history report with information about home values in your neighbourhood, complete with pricing information, addresses, and pictures.  Be the expert on your block!

I mentioned this in a previous post, but it bears repeating: the Alberta government is seeking public input on ways the Condominium Property Act can be improved through a survey available until May 2. As was discussed in the Calgary Herald on Tuesday, plenty of people have had less than stellar experiences with condo boards, builders, contractors, and the like (although many, many more have never had a problem with their condo or condo board), and there may be ways the Condominium Property Act can be updated to better reflect current realities. It’s been 13 years since the Act was last revised; in that time, tens of thousands of units have been built and their average price has tripled. Our market’s not the same as it was in Y2K – help the government figure out what’s changed, and make things better for buyers, sellers, and builders alike.

Painting your home is the do-it-yourself renovation that carries perhaps the biggest bang for your buck – not just come resale time, but in terms of adding to your overall enjoyment of your living spaces. Whether it’s developing a unified scheme that pulls together the decor, designating a boldly coloured feature wall to jazz things up, or simply putting up a fresh coat of whatever’s on there already, you can make your home feel like new for a relatively small investment in both time and money. There are a few considerations, however, that might not be immediately obvious.

First, think about the mood and energy level implications of the colours you choose. There’s plenty of information on online that can help you make your rooms’ colours match their purposes, so do your research. Orange, for example, is a cheery, energizing choice that might, at first, seem perfect for your kids’ bedroom; at bedtime, though, the last thing you need is something giving the youngsters extra energy. Maybe green – a tranquil, calm colour – would be a better choice, and save the orange for a play area.

Another consideration is the way people will look in a space painted a certain colour. A light green theme throughout a home, for example, may look beautiful, but might also make guests look perpetually unwell thanks to the light reflecting from the walls, so use moderation.

Finally, remember that rich shades of dark colours could need many, many coats of both tinted primer and paint to achieve the desired effect, and if you ever want to go back to something significantly lighter, it’ll be even more work.

If you have the means, interior designers can be a great asset for ensuring your newly painted home is everything you want it to be, and that you don’t put tones side-by-side that’ll drive you slowly crazy.  On your own, though, you can still get great, satisfying results with a little forethought and planning.

1 Sheep River Ht, Foothills

#1 Sheep River Heights in Okotoks Alberta. This is a Court Ordered Sale. Please do not enter the property. The listing Realtor has not been able to gain access. Interior inspection is not possible at this time. All information obtained has been by visual street side inspection and tax records with the assumption that the interior has 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths and a developed walkout basement.

For full listing details visit our webpage.

This comes as no surprise for me!  The latest CTV news article, Decrease in listings increases demand for Calgary homes, outlines some of the reasons why this year is proving to be a hot one for real estate sales.  There are nearly 20 percent less home listed compared to the same time last year, which is driving prices upwards and days on market downwards.

As our city sprawls out there is also increasing demand for inner-city property.  The Calgary Herald recent posted an article stating that inner-city neighbourhoods saw an increase of 250-260% between 2000-2012.

If you want to take advantage of this market contact me today!

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402039 6 St W

What a great place to live! Country living mere minutes from Okotoks. Over 5 acres of fully fenced land. Many, many trees line the property, the driveway, and are interspersed throughout. There’s also a large vegetable garden. Walk-out bungalow has views of the land from anywhere in the house. Very functional and open floor plan. The cook’s kitchen has new stainless steel appliances throughout including built-in ovens, a walk-in pantry, and a large west deck with a gas line for your BBQ or heater. There’s a massive multipurpose laundry/mud-room leading from the garage. What a garage too; over 1000 square feet of over-sized, four-car, heated man-cave. Full walk-out basement has high ceilings and is partially finished and drywalled with a 4-piece bathroom, a den and rec-room (or 4th and/or 5th bedrooms), and a huge family room. Also included: all TVs attached to the walls, wine fridge, and enough laminate flooring to finish the lower level.

For full listing details, more photos, floorplan and virtual tour visit our web page !

So this was unusual: Finance Minister Jim Flaherty apparently convinced Manulife Bank to reconsider a rate cut the institution had put in place, citing concerns about consumer debt levels. Manulife had just posted a five-year fixed rate mortgage at 2.89 percent when Mr. Flaherty’s office called the bank with a message that such a move would be “unacceptable.” Two weeks ago, BMO received a similar warning after posting a 2.99 percent five-year fixed rate; that bank, however, decided against rolling back.

While very good, these rates are certainly not unheard of in the broader market.

This type of basically unprecedented intervention is concerning and problematic, even if you can see where the government is coming from. Unlike in Calgary’s market, real estate sales are down significantly in the rest of the country, but prices aren’t yet dropping a commensurate amount. That means those who are looking to buy a home are still paying big prices, and some are taking on large mortgages to cover the costs. Should the market continue to stagnate, prices will inevitably go down and a segment of those new buyers may end up underwater. Flaherty has already made stricter rules around qualifying for mortgages with less than 20 percent down (meaning, those that require insurance through CMHC) four times in recent years, and has now, it seems, taken to pressuring private lenders directly.

At the end of the day, though, banks should – and still do – have the right to set their rates as they see fit, competing for, in some places, a shrinking pool of buyers. The meltdown in the US was a cautionary tale, but our financial system is a far cry from being as corrupted as that one was, and while house prices have room to go down, panic that we’re on the cusp of a bursting bubble is, in my opinion, somewhat misplaced. Limit CMHC-backed mortgages to 25-year amortizations? Sure, sounds reasonable, and limits the government’s exposure. But let the lenders do their thing.

227 Tuscany Drive NW

Original owner home. Clean, neat and ready to sell. New carpet and new paint. Developed basement with a wet-bar/kitchenette. Dual laundry, one in the main bath upstairs, and one downstairs. Split side entry. Double garage. Landscaped South back yard. In the walk zone for Tuscany School. Act fast, this will sell right away.

View more photos and full listing details on our webpage.

According to a just-released Harris/Decima poll, 47 percent of Albertans would take a fixed-rate mortgage if they were applying for one today, as opposed to just 26 percent preferring the variable-rate alternative. That’s pretty close to the national number – 45 percent favouring fixed – and not really that surprising. People tend to like predictability, and are often willing to spend a bit more to get it; the popularity of gas and electricity contracts, in a time when both are pretty inexpensive, is another example of this.

There are plenty of reasons to go fixed, and plenty to go variable. The Globe and Mail reported in December that variable-rate mortgages have been cheaper than their fixed counterparts some 90 percent of the time over the past 25 years, meaning those who rode out market fluctuations came out significantly ahead. On the other hand, right now fixed-rate mortgages are being offered for within one percent of variable rates, meaning the premium paid for stability is lower than it has been in the past.

Ultimately, buyers must make their own decisions based on their immediate circumstances, plans for the future, and tolerance for risk. I know some great experts that can help sort through the choices, and am happy to refer my clients to them, but a hard look at one’s own financial goals is key to setting up a mortgage that won’t lead to any lost sleep.