8508 Wentworth Dr SW

Upgraded townhouse in prestigious Wentworth. Over 1750 sq.ft. of developed space. Kitchen with walk-in pantry and a breakfast island, and stainless steel appliances. Bright open living room has large south-facing windows and a gas fireplace. Hardwood floors complete the main floor. Upstairs all three bedrooms are quite large. The master and the 2nd bedroom both boast deep walk-in closets. Family/media room in the builder-finished basement, along with the possibility of more development. Located 1/2 KM from public elementary school, and 1/3 KM from catholic school. Walking distance to numerous great food joints like Fergus & Bix, Vin Room, Mercato West, Ohh La La Patisserie, My Favourite Ice Cream Shoppe as well as many shops, services, groceries, drug stores, banks, etc. Click the links for hi-res photos and floor plans. This one is a fantastic deal. Act fast!

To view more photos, full listing details and the floorplan visit my webpage.

What a year 2013 has been for Calgary’s real estate market. We saw a return to a sellers’ market, with multiple offers on hot properties (i.e. anything under $500,000), and well-appointed two-storeys selling in days. Prices hit record highs as inventories dropped, and predictions for 2014 are to see these trends continue, with more people looking to move up while interest rates remain low.

All of this has led to me having one of my busiest years ever, and I extend my heartfelt appreciation to all of my clients who trusted me to help them find their prized new home. As I enjoy a bit of respite during the holidays, sharing meals and gifts with family and friends, I find I am looking forward to all of the new clients I’ll get to meet and work with in the coming months. Next year’s going to be a good one, I can feel it.

Take some time, amongst all of the season’s hustle and bustle, to reflect on your past year, the successes and learning opportunities, and to appreciate all that we have in this great province. I know I certainly have much to be thankful for, starting with my supportive, adorable family.

All the best to you and yours throughout this holiday season, and I wish nothing but good fortune for you in the New Year. Stay safe, take care, and I’ll hope to see you in 2014.

The frigid temperatures and ridiculous amount of snowfall has forced many of us to spend a lot more time ensconced indoors than usual. Looking around your house, you might start to daydream about  things you’d like to change: the flooring, light fixtures, paint, maybe even knock down a wall. It’s no coincidence that the Calgary Home and Garden Show is scheduled in February each year, after we’ve spent a couple months fantasizing about home improvements. By the time the Show rolls around, many people are ready to make decisions and get started; no dummies, those organizers.

While pretty much any upgrade will contribute to your and your family’s greater personal enjoyment of your home, which ones also add value when it’s time to sell?

The obvious starting points are the kitchen and the bathrooms. Everyone likes a bright, spacious kitchen with plenty of counter and cupboard space, modern fixtures, and a logical layout, so renovations that make your kitchen more welcoming are always going to have an immediate impact on people viewing your property. Bathrooms, too, are an area where buyers place a premium on cleanliness and modernization. That said, going overboard on the highest-end fixtures and rarest countertops may be counterproductive if these upgrades are out of place in your home or neighbourhood.

Other smart ways to upgrade are adding a deck, tasteful landscaping to improve curb appeal, finishing the basement, and building a garage.

On the flip side, the Globe and Mail published a good article recently listing six renovations that don’t add value, citing swimming pools, elaborate landscaping projects, and wall-to-wall carpeting as upgrades that won’t really pay off when it comes time to sell. Click through to read the article, it’s worth your time.

So, as I mentioned, the Calgary Home and Garden Show is just a couple of months away, and I’m sharing a coupon code that’ll give you 2-for-1 tickets. Just click here to buy your tickets with the discount (valid until Dec 24th). I go every year to stay current with the newest and best trends, and I hope to see you there too!

Acadia is a southeast community that a little over 10,000 people call home. The 53 year-old neighbourhood – voted Calgary’s second-best (after Arbour Lake) by Avenue magazine in 2013 – is served by a long list of schools, businesses, and recreational facilities, including the community hall and curling rink. With quick access to the Bow River, walkers and cyclists have plenty of opportunities to get out and about, while the close proximity to Macleod Trail and Heritage Drive means commutes are pretty straightforward.

Avenue Magazine cited the nine schools, rec centre (including a pool), and multiple nearby services as reasons for this to be the city’s second-best place in which to live.

Acadia is a growing community, with its population going up nearly one percent year-over-year, and a little over half the homes are owner-occupied.

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

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

It’s that time of year again, when homeowners wait for a relatively mild weekend to climb ladders and engineer elaborate plug-in management, all in the name of putting on a light show for neighbours and passerby. It’s one of my favourite parts of the season: even in the most blustery snowstorm, colourfully lit houses shine through as beacons of Christmas cheer.

Here are a few tips to help make your light-stringing a little bit safer, easier, and less expensive.

• Make a plan for where you want lights, and how you want to install them, so that you can use the right equipment for the job.

• Make sure you choose extension cords rated for outdoor use – indoor ones are less insulated and generally too wimpy to put up with mother nature.

• Check for frayed or broken wires, and discard strings of lights where these are found.

• Test your lights before you hang them.

• As you replace or add to your lighting package, choose LED lights over standard bulbs. While more expensive up-front, LEDs use just a fraction of the power and last for years.

• Use a timer to turn your lights on and off, for both convenience and power savings.

• Use an A-frame stepladder, or have someone hold the ladder as you install lights up high.

• Don’t plug too many strings together – check the packaging on your lights for recommended maximums.

• Think about the entire exterior of your house, not just the eavestroughs and railings – trees, shrubs, and other landscaping features are great places to decorate too.

• Let the kids help! While many of your decorations will end up three feet off the ground, the good memories will outlast the season.

Whether you’re going for elaborate, Griswold-esque designs that force your neighbours to pull down the blinds, or a tasteful holiday accent to your home’s decor, plan your design, execute it safely, and celebrate with an eggnog afterward.

Just prior to the civic election, an article appeared in the Calgary Sun, furnished by the Canadian Home Builders Association – Calgary Region (CHBA-CR), raising the old arguments of a lack of serviced land in the city. The article ominously predicts the city will run out of serviced land by 2018, and bedroom communities such as Airdrie will be the only hope for those looking to purchase new homes.

However, a joint statement released last March by both Mayor Nenshi’s office and the very same CHBA-CR responsible for the Sun article detailed how Calgary currently had 22 square kilometres of serviced land available for new developments – enough for six new Auburn Bay-sized communities – with another 28 square kilometres planned for approval by the end of 2014. That remains as true today as it did seven months ago.

So, now that the election’s over, lets all just calm down and enjoy the fantastic shape our city’s in, the high quality of life Calgarians enjoy, and the wide diversity of new and longstanding communities in which we can raise our families.

Interesting article in the Calgary Herald recently posits that the now-moving-ahead southwest portion of the ring road could dramatically increase property values in nearby neighbourhoods. Especially encouraging, from a homeowner’s standpoint, is the fact that much of the land being discussed is already developed, meaning it’s owners themselves – not developers – who’ll see the profit.

It all comes down to accessibility. Commuting in Calgary’s not bad at all compared to other major markets, and thoroughfares like the ring road just make getting to work from the burbs that much easier. Anytime you can combine efficient access to services and workplaces with the quiet suburban lifestyle available near our city’s limits, you’re going to see values increase.

Of course, it’ll be years before the ring road is finished. I’ll be interested to see how many people build and buy in areas that will eventually be near the completed freeway in a short term pain, long term gain strategy.

4108 Marbank Dr NE

Need lots of space? This home offers a total of 5 bedrooms and 2 full baths in almost 1400 Sq.Ft of developed space; and a large double-car garage. Updated kitchen, fresh flooring, and recently painted through-out. Within walking distance of the C-Train and the new Walmart Supercenter. Quick possession is available.

To view more photos, full listing details and the floorplan visit my webpage.

1518 18 Av Nw

What a great price for a solid home in a great area! Just minutes from all that Capitol Hill has to offer, including shopping, groceries, golf, SAIT, multiple restaurants, Confederation Park, and much more. Just close enough to the C-Train without being too close, and a very short commute to downtown via transit, bike, or car. Super-clean 2 story detached home in perfectly livable condition, with a double garage to boot. Yes, the price is correct. Awesome front living-room with bay windows to let the sun shine in. Large rear family room with a brick fireplace and a French door that leads to a large new deck and an easy-to-maintain yard that also boasts a brick patio. This family-friendly floor-plan is great for entertaining. Upstairs, there is a big master with 4-piece ensuite with dual sinks. Also up: laundry, two more bedrooms and a 5-piece main bath with dual sinks and a tub & commode lock-off; great for room-mates or kids. The unspoiled basement awaits your storage items or development ideas.

To view more photos, full listing details and the floorplan visit my webpage.

One of the major advantages of buying a new, as opposed to previously owned, home has long been the warranty coverage.  To some buyers’ chagrin, however – especially those buying homes in the mid-2000s, when labour shortages occasionally led to substandard subcontractor work – the warranty coverage maxed out at a mere 12 months. Issues that didn’t show themselves within that one year window became the homeowner’s responsibility. The vast majority of homes in Calgary are, and have been, built to high standards that lead to extremely happy homeowners. For the unlucky few, however, the short warranty has been problematic.

New home buyers can rejoice, then, as the new year will bring with it the Alberta New Home Buyer Protection Act, a piece of legislation aimed at raising the standard of construction in our fine province, making builders increasingly accountable for the products that they sell. Details are available here, but the highlights include a minimum of ten years’ coverage on major structural components, and five years of building envelope protection (with the mandatory option for homeowners to be able to purchase additional coverage).

Now, labour and materials still fall under one year’s worth of coverage, but in certain cases that coverage extends to two years, so there’s progress even on this front.

Is this Act the ideal level of protection for all new home buyers? No, of course not. It would be nice to see labour and materials be covered for longer periods of time. It’s certainly a step in the right direction, though.