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1st Year of Blogging Completed… Happy Birthday!

I was looking through past articles and posts, and realized that Today one year ago was my first blog post.  and we have done 95 posts in one year.  Much has happened over the past year with the economy, the real estate market and life in general for yourself and for us!

I hope that you are finding the posts that we put time and care into valuable for you.  If you ever have questions about the Calgary real estate market, or ideas for interesting posts, we would love to hear from you…

I want you to stay tuned, as we will be having a new look to the The Calgary Real Estate Blog.com over the coming weeks…

Thank you for reading, and posting your comments and thoughts!

To another great year!

Jared & Rebecca
www.ChamberlainGroup.ca
www.TheCalgaryRealEstateBlog.com

September 2008 Market Review

September has been a good and bad month for real estate.  What I mean by this is that the Single Family market has recovered some in the absorption rate to 4.7 months of invetory from 5+ last month, and the Condo market has gone over 6 months of invetory.  For single family, this is a good thing… what I mean is that it is now a strong buyers market and prices should not decrease and such great speed now.  But rather float around where they are currently at.  For Condos on the other hand, the prices will probably continue to drop much quicker.

The Condo median price has decreased 11.67% from September 2007 to $265,000 where as the Single Family homes median price has only decreased 6.06% to $395,000 from the same time last year.

Advice to Sellers:

My advice to sellers continues to be to emphasize the critical importance of pricing your property for the new reality. It is crucial to get ahead of the decreasing prices in this market. Most sellers instinctively want to be on the higher side when choosing a list price – it is natural to do so. To be honest, it is also a mistake in this market. If anything you want to be on the aggressive side with respect to list price in this market.  There are many reasons for this, but the biggest one is competition.  You as a seller will have a number of homes that you are competing against, and you need to make your home stand out to the potential buyer.  Most buyers the we work with day in and day out are looking for one thing… a good deal.  It is human nature to want to get a deal, and rightly so.  We all want a deal!  As I have talked about before as a seller, you need to put your foot in the shoe of a buyer, and offer what they are looking for.

Advice to Buyers:

BUY… Right now there are great opportunities to purchase.  With the banks starting to tighten their lending, and prices in single family homes starting to stabilize, but still remaining a strong buyers market, there are some great deals to be had.  If you are looking in the Condo market, prices will most likely continue to fall further, as the number of new condos coming on the market via builders, and speculative buyers will rise and in turn create a further downturn in the prices in condos.

Below are a couple graphs that you may find usefull.

Preparing Your Home For A Winter Sale

In doing this article, I’m not wishing that winter be upon us as of yet, but when it comes here are some thoughts to keep in mind during those chilled months.  Winter has never been the best time to sell a home, especially if you live in an area that is besieged by bad weather. But sometimes it is necessary to sell during the months of less desirable weather. Well, that’s alright, it just gives you the opportunity to try something different when it comes to home staging. Actually it can be quite an opportunity as it will show off your home at the worst of times. This is the perfect time for you to crate the warm and inviting atmosphere that you need in order to make the home inviting.

During winter with snow and rain, water and associated damage is one of the biggest issues.for you as a home owner. The biggest issues for the viewers will be their safety in getting to the house and their warmth once in it. If you have a fireplace then ensure that its lit during the show times. A warm home will encourage people to stay longer and view more of the home, whereas a chilly home can quickly drive viewers out.

If there is snow and ice then you will need to spend some time making the approach to your home safe and easy to navigate. Driveways and walkways should be completely shoveled and clear and should be keep free of ice all day. Keep a bag on de-icer on hand in case things get slippery. Also take care to note whether falling snow from the roof could be a concern.

Some thoughtful touches that will help a home show better are things like warm drinks for the viewers. A little bit of hot chocolate or apple cider warms viewers up and helps them to remember your home. This also gives a great aroma to the house that will be fondly remembered. Another nice touch would be some plastic slip-ons so that viewers don’t have to remove their shoes when looking at the home. This also goes a long way towards protecting your floors. Staging isn’t impossible during the winter, just different.

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Article Source: Kerri Demski

CMHC is Purchasing $25 Billion in Insured Mortgages

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation(CMHC) will purchase up to $25 billion in insured mortgage pools as part of the Government of Canada’s plan, announced today, to maintain the availability of longer-term credit in Canada.

Now this is not a bail out plan like in the US.  Rather this is an attempt by the current government of Canada to keep the banks wanting to loan out to Canadians for Cars, Homes etc.  By buying some of the insured mortgages, key word is insured (unlike the US), it frees up some of the banks money, and will allow to also lend to other banks and not keep such a tight guard on lending.  To explain how banks and bankers work, they have suspenders, a jock strap and a hard hat… they are always protecting themselves too much, which in our case right now is good.  The government is doing this, so there is less pressure by the world markets.

The first purchase of $5 billion will be made October 16, 2008 through a competitive auction process. The mortgages involved are high-quality assets that are already guaranteed through government-backed mortgage insurance. The Government will announce a schedule of future purchase dates to take place over the coming weeks.

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) has been Canada’s national housing agency for more than 60 years. CMHC is committed to helping Canadians access a wide choice of quality, affordable homes, while making vibrant, healthy communities and cities a reality across the country.

Please refer to the this link to see a detailed layout of how they choose the mortgages, and the auction works.

Canada Has Best Banking System in The World

So it appears that Canada has the best rated banking system in the world as a survey done by the World Economic Forum has found as financial crisis and bank failures shake world markets.

For years, other countries would mock Canada on being so tight, and conservative, but look at us now.

Canadian banks received 6.8 out of 7, just ahead of Sweden (6.7), Luxembourg (6.7), Australia (6.7) and Denmark (6.7).

UK banks collectively scored 6.0, narrowly behind the United States, Germany and Botswana, all with 6.1. France, in 19th place, scored 6.5 for soundness, while Switzerland’s banking system scored the same in 16th place, as did Singapore (13th).

The ranking index was released as central banks in Europe, the United States, China, Canada, Sweden and Switzerland slashed interest rates in a bid to end to panic selling on markets and restore trust in the shaken banking system.

The Netherlands (6.7), Belgium (6.6), New Zealand (6.6), Malta (6.6) rounded out the WEF’s banking top 10 with Ireland, whose government unilaterally pledged last week to guarantee personal and corporate deposits at its six major banks.

Also scoring well were Chile (6.5, 18th) and Spain, South Africa, Norway, Hong Kong and Finland all ending up in the top 20.

At the bottom of the list was Algeria in 134th place, with its banks scoring 3.9 to be just below Libya (4.0), Lesotho (4.1), the Kyrgyz Republic (4.1) and both Argentina and East Timor (4.2).

You can view the whole report here….

And to be honest, if Canada has the best banks in the world, and Alberta is number 1 in Canada in majority of areas, we are in a good spot right now.  We will be able to weather the economic storm that is over us.  We are not immune to it, but have a strong economy that will be able to push through..

I’m glad to be Canadian!

World Bank Rankings

1. Canada
2. Sweden
3. Luxembourg
4. Australia
5. Denmark
6. Netherlands
7. Belgium
8. New Zealand
9. Ireland
10. Malta
11. Hong Kong
12. Finland
13. Singapore
14. Norway
15. South Africa
16. Switzerland
17. Namibia
18. Chile
19. France
20. Spain

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39. Germany
40. United States Of America

44. Britain
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124. Kazakhstan
125. Cambodia
126. Burundi
127. Chad
128. Ethiopia
129. Argentina
130. East Timor
131. Kyrgyz Republic
132. Lesotho
133. Libya
134. Algeria

The Launch

As is the case with everything in life, the current topsy-turvy economic outlook is cyclical, hence the launch of my new blog titled "The Mortgage Circle." Covering a variety of topics real estate related, I aim to share my candid opinions in an attempt to enlighten and inform the typical layperson of what the mortgage process entails.

I hail from a health-care background and prior to my current career as a Mortgage Broker found that the attempt to describe medical procedures in common terms to be mere suggestions and most certainly not the norm. Rather than have you suffer through the fine print and illegible terms, I'll be breaking it down for you in a variety of topics to be covered throughout the year. I'll try to stay on-topic although no promises can be made should I drift off onto another tangent such as this ridiculous head cold I'm currently battling...

Wall Street’s Melt Down Explained

I have to say that this is a good behind the look at what has happened in the US and the financial markets.  The one thing they are missing is a ‘big thing’.

CONSUMERS…

The main reason this whole collapse has happened, as consumers / investors are always chasing the dollar and chasing the ROI (Return on Investment)  that companies create risky products to keep shareholders happy, keep investors investing and their companies strong.  This is a very simplified version of the reality, but it’s true.
What are your thoughts?  How did this collapse happen?

The Sad Reality of US Foreclosures

I encourage you to watch this video, and please make your initial comments below…

It is shocking what is happening in the US!

Canada to lead G7 in GDP growth in ‘09: IMF

Canada will lead the other G7 countries in economic growth in 2009, a muted honor considering that the global economy should slow markedly, according to a new IMF study released Wednesday.

The International Monetary Fund said this country should see economic growth in the range of 1.2 per cent next year, less than half of what Canada experienced in 2007, but the best performance among Japan, the United States, Italy, France, Germany and the United Kingdom.

Still, Canada’s economy is not immune from the ongoing global financial collapse, said the international monetary think-tank.

“Although resource-intensive sectors have benefited from high commodity prices, the lagged effects of past real appreciation of the Canadian dollar, together with the United States slowdown, has hit manufacturing hard,” said the IMF’s World Economic Outlook, produced just ahead of a two-day meeting between IMF and World Bank officials.

Overall, the world economy will grow by 3.9 per cent in 2008 and three per cent in 2009. That level is 40 per cent slower than the five per cent increase it averaged for 2004-2007.

The IMF anticipates the U.S. economy will stumble badly next year, posting a microscopic growth rate of 0.1 per cent next year, a far cry even from this year’s expected GDP increase of 1.6 per cent.

All of the major industrialized countries are grappling with the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression in the 1930s, the IMF said.

cbc.ca

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It is truly amazing how this article has been hidden from mainstream media.  This is an excellent example of why listening to the media and following their every move can hurt us as a nation.  Canada will be effected by the global melt down, but it will not destroy us.  We are in the number 1 spot right now to lead the G7…  This is awesome news…

This is what I like to read about, instead of reading how we are going to be going into another depression, recession etc.  The best apart about it is the within the country to lead the G7, which of those provinces will lead that nation?  That’s right… ALBERTA…  I don’t know about you, but I’m continuing to put my money into real estate here.

What do you think?

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