Calgary Real Estate Blog

Finally, finally, the last of the snow in Calgary is melting off lawns; the only downside being what an ugly, matted mess front yards across the city now look like. It’s time to get to work.

• Use a sturdy metal rake to get rid of as much thatch and other debris as possible. This in itself will go a long way toward sprucing up your curb appeal.

• Spread fertilizer, using a lower nitrogen concentration for the spring than in the fall (or start your Nutri-lawn service).

• Mow your lawn frequently to strengthen roots for the summer.

• Begin your watering routine, using an upside down frisbee to gauge when you’ve sprinkled enough.

Eventually you’ll need to start taking care of weeds, and letting the grass grow a little longer to survive the summer months, but for now these simple steps will make you proud to bring visitors in the front door again.

As our market continues to favour sellers, there are more and more homes being sold for higher than asking, in remarkably short periods of time. In February, one out of every five properties sold in Calgary went for above list price, and buyers in March have been even more aggressive; I set up five showings for a condo last week on its first day on the market, and it sold within 24 hours.

This is the reality right now: supply is low, and demand is high, especially in attractive locations. But there are real downsides associated with getting caught up in a bidding war, of which I strongly caution you to be aware.

It’s easy to fall in love with a home when you tour it for the first time: if the seller’s done a good job presenting his property in its best possible light, it can look absolutely flawless. Stepping away for a couple of days, looking at other homes, then coming back to that first property can be a real eye opener, as the inevitable compromises and areas for improvement become more apparent. Unfortunately, when the market is as heated as it is right now, you simply don’t have the luxury of time to consider other options, since your offer will probably come in at the same time as several others. If you like a place, you’ll need to move fast, but be sure to keep your head on straight.

In the midst of a bidding war, logic can quickly go out the window, replaced by a desire to ‘win’ at all costs. That’s called game theory in economics; another name for it is the “winner’s curse.” Buying more home than you can afford, or removing important conditions like a home inspection, are actions that might secure your new property but be highly regrettable later. Even when time is a factor, it’s important to think hard before you act.

Your Realtor has his finger on the pulse of the market, and knows what sellers are expecting right now; he can help steer you to success without compromising your family’s financial well being. Listen to this expert, and heed his advice – make sure when a seller accepts your offer, it’s a reason for celebration and not a Pyrrhic victory.

Apple’s marketing slogan, “There’s an app for that,” gets more true by the week – these small programs for mobile devices are becoming increasingly powerful and popular. You can find a series of apps for basically any industry you can imagine, and real estate is no exception. Here’s a list of five of the best apps for Canadian buyers and sellers.

1. Realtor.ca

This app puts the power of the MLS system in the palm of your hand, allowing you to search listings across Canada by a variety of criteria. An added value, compared to the desktop version, is the GPS functionality that can tell you about listings near your current location, making your Sunday house shopping drive a whole lot more efficient.

2. Magic Plan

Create a floorplan of a home simply by taking a series of pictures and letting the app do its magic. Great for making decorating and furnishing decisions, or just to get a sense of a property from a new perspective.

3. Canadian Mortgage

Calculate your mortgage payments, land transfer fees, CMHC premiums, and more, helping you get a grasp on how much home you can really inform. This app even includes sliders to take into account roommate income, bi-weekly vs. monthly payments, and first-time homebuyer rebates.

4. Ready Set Home

Designed especially for first-time homebuyers, from Canada’s national housing agency, CMHC. Helps determine affordability and tracks details during the homebuying process.

5. Starbucks

What would a day of house shopping be without coffee? The Starbucks app tracks your purchases (you can pay right from your phone if you load a gift card into the app), and lets you hit purchasing goals that earn perks like free refills.

Close to SAIT, a quick trip across the Peace Bridge from downtown, and walking distance to some of the city’s trendiest restaurants and coffee shops, Hillhurst is a young couple’s dream community, evidenced by the fact that nearly 80 percent of its residents are single or couples. Hillhurst is celebrating its centennial this year, making it one of the city’s oldest communities. Nearly 6,300 people live in the community, which measures a little under one square kilometre.

Aside from great eating and drinking, Hillhurst residents take full advantage of the 20-acre Riley Park, as well as an active community association that organizes youth soccer, an annual comic book sale, flea markets and seniors groups. The community hall is one of Calgary’s bigger ones, with two licensed kitchens, a gym, board rooms, three halls, craft areas, and more; they even have their own bouncy castle to rent out for birthday parties.

Hillhurst was among the communities affected by 2013’s flood, and the community association offers extensive resources regarding flood recovery on its website. Much of the area is back to pre-flood condition however.

With both public and separate school options for elementary through high school, Avenue Magazine’s annual survey declared Hillhurst the fifth-best neighbourhood in Calgary for 2013.

To see homes available in Hillhurst, do a Quick Search.

To get a complete market report on Hillhurst, or any other neighbourhood you are interested in, use our quick and easy market report request.

As the temperature continues to dip into the minus twenties and below, and spring break quickly approaches, for many of us thoughts turn to tropical vacations. Whether it’s Mexico, Cuba, California, Jamaica, Hawaii, or a cruise, a week someplace warm can be just the ticket for conquering those Canadian winter blues. Before heading to the airport, though, you need to make sure your home is safely secured both for your own peace of mind and to keep your insurance valid should anything happen.

Let’s start with insurance: first of all, make sure you have enough of it. Most banks require homeowners insurance as a condition of extending a mortgage, but it’s your responsibility to be certain your policy covers everything you own. Talk to your broker to review your coverage, especially if you have any especially valuable jewelry or collections – these may require specific riders to be covered at their full value. Once the policy is in place, take a video camera (or your phone) and walk throughout your home documenting everything in it: should you be broken into, this will help you discover if anything is missing, and also acts as proof of an item’s existence to the insurance company. Just don’t keep the only copy of this footage on your home computer, as that’ll probably be stolen if you were broken into; put a copy on Dropbox, Google Drive, or a similar cloud storage solution.

Also related to insurance is the need to have someone look in on your home regularly while you’re away. Most homeowners policies require someone check on your house at least every three days; read your policy documents to find out what your obligation is. If you’re away for an extended period and something happens to your house that doesn’t get discovered until you return, you may not be covered.

Otherwise, you simply need to ensure your home is as secure as possible, and that all essential systems are working properly. Have your furnace inspected annually, as if it decides to conk out during a cold snap while you’re away you may return to burst pipes and flooded property. Check the condition of your front and back doors and their locks, along with those of your garage if you have one. Lock all of your windows, pull the blinds, and put your lights on a timer if you can. Even if he won’t be the one physically checking on your home while you’re away, let a neighbour know you’re leaving; the more eyes looking out for suspicious activity, the better. Handyman and ‘doing it right’ guru Mike Holmes penned a good article in the National Post last year that has some additional tips.

Knowing your home is secure and your property is safe will be a huge load off your mind, and will help you truly relax on that beach, margarita in hand, without a thought of the Hoth-like temperatures awaiting your return. Have a great trip.

What an amazing family home, and offered at an awesome price too! Super-clean with many upgrades and updates throughout the years. Maple kitchen cabinets with stainless steel appliances. Upgraded flooring and bathrooms. Fully developed basement including a full bathroom and deluxe laundry area. Large south back yard that gets plenty of sunlight has lots of room for playing and entertaining, and with space for a future parking pad or garage. Front veranda with access to the back yard, plus a 16.5’x10′ deck. Located in a family-friendly and quiet cul-de-sac.  Parks and playgrounds nearby. Plenty of street parking out front.

To view more photos, floorplan and virtual tour visit my webpage.

Great double-master plan. The bedrooms are at either end of the home, separated by a central cat-walk with views down to the dining room. Each bedroom has a large walk-in closet and their own full ensuite with jetted tubs. The large U-shaped kitchen with loads of storage and counter-space is open to the dining room, which features a 2-storey vault and a three-sided fireplace. Main floor laundry. Updated lighting fixtures and fresh paint throughout. The basement has three large windows and roughed-in plumbing, and awaits your storage items and/or development plans. There’s also a west back yard that is fully fenced, and which boasts a 13.7’x10′ deck and a 2-car parking pad.

To view more photos, floorplan and a virtual tour visit my webpage.

Just over a year ago I started giving clients the keychain pictured above, which has a “quarter” and a “loonie” that can be used in place of real currency in grocery shopping carts.  They have been quite the hit!  Yesterday I got a call from the Houston Airport to tell me that a set of keys was found there with my keychain on it.

Please give me a call or email if you think these lost keys may be yours!

People have often speculated on when exactly the best time to buy a house might be – what combination of a bountiful market and a scarcity of buyers will lead to the best deal on a great home. Charts and graphs have been studied, deep thinkers have thought deep thoughts.

Well, there’s definitely a right answer, but it’s hardly scientific.

The best time to buy a home is when you’re ready to buy a home.

Okay, maybe that’s a little anticlimactic, and a touch glib, but the truth is a buyer’s preparedness is the most important factor in making a successful purchase. If you’re thinking of selling and moving up to something larger, bear in mind that the high tide raises all boats: waiting for your property to go up in value is also waiting for your future home to get more expensive too. Maybe there can be an advantage to be found on this front when it comes to downsizing, but generally if we’re in a market that’s raising prices, it’s because there are an increased number of buyers at all levels, and so everything becomes more valuable.

Low interest rates are sometimes cited as a driving factor for more sales, but for the majority of us the purchase of a home requires a long term mortgage that will weather potentially massive fluctuations due to the health of our economy; the early 1980s saw rates as high as 22 percent, which dropped to around eight percent by the mid ‘90s. So, sure, today’s low rates can certainly make entry into the market easier, but they shouldn’t be the only reason to buy a home right now.

No, there’s no external factor that should shove a potential homebuyer who’s sitting on the fence into the market. Instead, look inward and examine your family’s financial position, anticipate upcoming expenditures and cash flow boosts, come up with a list of reasons to move and another of reasons to stay put, and have candid conversations with your family. Then, when you’re ready, get pre-qualified on a mortgage, spruce up your present dwelling, call a great Realtor, and, most of all, have fun shopping for that dream house. Good luck!