4203 Vauxhall Cr NW

Same owner last 30 years! Lovingly cared for and maintained. Renovated kitchen with maple cabinets and cork flooring. Refinished original oak hardwood. Upgraded electrical panel. Replaced windows and doors. Updated furnace. Basement was developed some time ago, and would function just fine until you’re ready to add your own personal touch. Bitumen torched roof. Extra large double detached garage with tall ceilings, overhead radiant heat and 220V circuits. Great location across the street from Varsity Acres School and close to public transportation and shopping.

To view more photos, floor plan and virtual tour visit my web page.

A short article in the latest edition of CREBNow points out that, with house prices continuing to increase each month (Calgary’s growing faster than anyone), it’s becoming more difficult for young families to follow the traditional middle-class progression of graduation-marriage-first home-family-bigger home. Starter homes are selling for far beyond what a dream home might have cost in our parents’ day and, especially when interest rates inevitably increase, it can be difficult to ‘move up’ without a big boost in salary.

So what to do about this? How about picking the right starter home so that it can grow with your family over several years rather than seeming poorly suited for your family situation after just a year or two. With the right planning and a little vision, you can find that ideal property and plan to develop it as your family grows.

When shopping for that first home, look for a solid, well built and well-kept property with potential. Can an unfinished basement be finished to add a third bedroom and play area? Is there space to build a garage with a loft for storage? How about knocking out a wall to increase the size of the kitchen, or adding a sunroom-style mudroom to the back entrance to hold winter coats and boots. These types of upgrades, while far from free, can be a lot more cost-effective than shopping for a new home with comparable amenities. And by smartly investing in your current property, you’re boosting the resale value and socking away equity for when you really are in a position to move.

Beyond the property itself, carefully consider your neighbourhood – and consult with a professional familiar with the demographics of the area. If you are starting a family, is the home you’re considering located in a family-friendly area, with respected day homes and preschools nearby, plenty of park space, and kids riding their bikes in the evenings? How about grocery stores and restaurants? Is the commute to work reasonable, with transit options? Is this a place you could see yourself calling home ten years from now?

The days of buying a home with the intention of moving up in a couple of years are, for many people, coming to a close. But with the right advice and some careful thought, stretching that first home’s usefulness can really put you ahead in the long run.

This coming weekend is the Calgary Home + Design show; if you plan on attending and would like 50 percent off your ticket price (who wouldn’t?), use this link and enter promo code SHOWWEEK on checkout. Enjoy the show!

You may have read recently that an increase in listings has started to soften Calgary’s market a bit. This is true – there are nearly 20 percent more homes currently for sale than there were a year ago. This is a good thing, as single-family home prices were up more than ten percent, year-over-year, in August, and that kind of increase is obviously not sustainable. Eventually we’ll move away from current market conditions, heavily favouring sellers, to a more balanced situation.

This is a good thing. More families are moving toward condos than detached homes right now because of the affordability factor. As those families grow and start looking for larger residences, a balanced market means they’re more likely to find them at a price they can afford. This doesn’t mean your home’s value will necessarily start dropping, just that its valuation won’t continue to jump at the same speed. You’ll be thankful for this when your property tax bill shows up.

I like a balanced market. Sure, when things are hot, homes move quickly and for high prices, and there’s a certain excitement to the industry. The downside shows up when a family I’m working with loses out on the property of their dreams because of a bidding war, or when a seller must scramble to find a new home after his current place sold quicker than expected. In slightly slower – but not slow – times, buyers can take a breath and really evaluate the home they’ll be paying for over the next 25 years, sellers can start shopping while their home’s on the market, and I get to eat dinner with my kids more often. Wins all around.

The Calgary Home + Design Show is just two weeks away – save four dollars with the promo code SAVEFOUR when you buy your tickets online before September 12!

# 602 2505 17 Av SW

Here it is! You can have everything you want right here. Chic design with contemporary lines, mountain and city views, heated titled parking, insuite laundry, high-end appliances, the list goes on… 2 bedrooms with 2 bathrooms perched atop the hill on 17th Ave near Crowchild Tr. A stone’s throw from downtown, and all the shops and restaurants just down the hill. Don’t feel like leaving? No problem, there’s an organic market and wine store on the main floor! Because of its convenient location, Chinook Centre and Westhills are both about five minutes away. Like to get out of the city for the weekend? No problem, that’s just ten minute drive. Want more? How about hardwood and porcelain tiled floors, quarts counter tops with a gas cook-top, built-in appliances, floor to ceiling windows and a balcony with 3-sided views from the mountains to downtown? There’s even an advanced HVAC system that includes air-conditioning. Ahhhh! Available for immediate possession.

To view full listing details, more photos, floor plan and virtual tour visit my web page.

In the news a few days ago was the story of Derek Johnson, a man who allegedly posed as a Realtor, under an assumed name, to illegally obtain the title of a home in foreclosure. It reportedly cost the victim several thousand dollars, over the course of more than half a year, to reclaim his home’s title. Johnson has been fined by the Real Estate Council of Alberta $50,000 for posing as a Realtor; this is not the first time Johnson has been in trouble with the Council.

This story serves as a reminder to anyone seeking to engage in a real estate transaction that the licence status of any real estate professional or brokerage may be easily verified through the Real Estate Council of Alberta’s website. Using the public search, you can instantly confirm that the professional with whom you intend to do business is indeed in good standing with the RECA.

Realtors need to be licenced by RECA, and to uphold the organization’s standards of conduct to maintain that licence.

There’s a plethora of other useful information on the site as well, so I encourage you to take a few minutes to surf through it if you are considering entering the market as either a buyer or seller.

On a side note, the Calgary Home + Design Show is coming September 18-21, and I have a promo code that’ll save $5 off your tickets if you buy before August 26: click here, and enter the code SAVEFIVE.

We all know Alberta’s economy is leading the country growth-wise, but you might be surprised to find out our growth rate is nearly double the national average, and is a fair sight ahead of what was accomplished last year. No wonder, then, that the period from April 2013-2014 reportedly saw Calgary’s population increase more than ever before in the city’s history. Nearly 39,000 people became Calgarians, either through immigration or by being born, which is about 25 percent more than in 2012-2013. Alberta is the Land of Opportunity, with more than four million residents and counting.

That opportunity is certainly being seized by home builders: there were more new homes started between January and April of this year than in all of 2013.

Despite higher land costs and increased home prices, it’s still a seller’s market because demand is outdoing the supply. That may level off slightly in the coming year or so, but there’s not really any reason to think a major economic cool down is on the horizon; people will continue to flock to the home of the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth.

Despite sensational headlines and the occasional, truly shocking and tragic violent crime (of which there have been two too many in recent months), it bears a reminder that Calgary is a remarkably safe place in which to live. Our crime rate, along with the rest of the country, has been on a downward slope over the past 40-plus years, and last year our fine city was ranked 25th out of 33 cities in terms of crime rate (Toronto had the lowest number of crimes-per-100,000 people, while Kelowna, BC had the highest).

Surely there are a multitude of factors contributing to our safe streets. Effective policing, especially on the prevention side, our mayor’s efforts to build a greater sense of community through things like Neighbour Day, the high rate of employment and relatively good wages available, even our cliched-but-true notion of cowboy hospitality. Are there some neighbourhoods that are rougher than others? Sure there are, as there would be in any city. But they’re all pretty safe, especially compared to pretty much anywhere south of the border.

As we grieve, en mass as a city, for Nathan O’Brien and his grandparents, along with the five university students murdered at a party in April, it’s important to maintain perspective with regard to how violent – or not violent, as the case may be – Calgary is as a whole. There will always be senseless crimes in the world, but there will also be inspiring feats of generosity and caring, and in Calgary the latter greatly outnumbers the former.

27 Westbluff Court

Welcome to 27 Westbluff Court. Outstanding, unrestricted mountain and valley views from this 2.12 acre property. The home is a fully developed walkout bungalow with 5,674 Sq. Ft. of custom quality. Specially equipped with a state of the art air filtration system. The gas fired boiler for the hot water in-floor heating system is located in a separate building so there are no fumes what so ever in the house. The garage, although attached to the house, has a separate breeze way system to enter the home. The yard is fully landscaped including a private, tree lined curved road from the front gates to the circular drive; there is ample paved parking for your guests. The rear yard of the home is a like a sanctuary. Multiple retreats include a large patio, a hot tub deck from the walkout, and two-more decks off the main floor. Oh, and there’s a full tennis court on the property too.

To view more photos, floor plan, virtual tour and full listing details visit my webpage.

Not at all unsurprisingly, according to the Calgary Real Estate Board’s most recent statistics the tide is starting to turn with regard to supply and demand in the city’s market. More specifically, June 2014 saw nearly 30 percent more new listings added than one year earlier. As homeowners see their neighbours’ properties selling in days for above asking price, it’s only natural that they’d think about listing themselves.

Interestingly, however, Calgary’s surrounding towns are also seeing a boom. Cochrane and Okotoks are becoming prime locations for commuters looking to stretch their home buying dollar by a few percent; sales in Airdrie are up a whopping 40 percent year-over-year.

Add these communities’ properties to our own market, and there are more and more homes for buyers to choose from, which will inevitably cause prices to plateau at some point. I highly doubt we’ll see any significant downward pressure on prices – with Calgary’s population growing by more than 4 percent every year, we’ll have plenty of people looking to buy for the foreseeable future – but if the growth dials down a bit, it might be a little easier for those looking to sell and move up to calculate what they’ll be able to afford.

# 1207 1818 Simcoe Bv Sw

Dana Village at 1818 Simcoe Blvd SW. This is a 50 plus age restricted building built with seniors in mind. Great location with LRT and bus transportation at your door. Activities galore should you want to be involved or not. Large deck 4.2×3.6 meters (11’9″ X 13’8″)for you to enjoy your morning tea or coffee. One bedroom home with all appliances included. In suite laundry room and storage plus secure underground parking with additional storage space. The common areas feature meeting rooms, party rooms, games area, exercise area plus so much more. The smaller one bedroom units seldom become available so take advantage now.

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