Calgary Real Estate – One To Do Prior To Buying a Reno Home

Jared Chamberlain a Calgary REALTOR® talks about he one biggest thing that you must do before buying a house that needs renovations. Whether it is a full tear down or gut reno job or just a simple moving a wall, this is a must for you. You can contact Jared at jared@tcgroup.ca for comments or questions about this.

Who’s The Appliance Criminal Among Us? -Part 1-

Whose The Appliance Criminal Among Us? from Jared Chamberlain on Vimeo.

Jared Chamberlain a Calgary REALTOR® vlogs and tells a story about stolen appliances in a home that his buyers moved into. If you are able to help him and his clients out in any way with tips or have a story of your own, please leave a comment below or head over to http://www.ChamberlainGroup.ca to tell your story! You can also email Jared at jared@tcgroup.ca.

Home Maintenance Tips

I received this list of great tips for ongoing maintenance for your home from Tom Connell of Whole House Inspections and wanted to pass it along to you all…

Upon Taking Ownership

Monthly

Spring and Fall

Annually

Your home is your single largest investment of your lifetime. Take these measures to protect your investment. For more home maintenance tips and energy saving advice contact your home inspector.

Calgary Real Estate – Buying a Home on the Golf Course

Jared Chamberlain, a Calgary REALTOR®, discusses some things to think about when looking to purchase a home in a golfing community. The biggest one of all is the location on the course and where on the hole the home is situated. Please leave your comments here or email Jared at Jared@tcgroup.ca or head to http://www.ChamberlainGroup.ca

Why I Was Hibernating PLUS New $1000 Contest

Jared Chamberlain video blogs about why he has been hibernating over the past two weeks. As well, he talks about a brand new facebook photo contest that The Chamberlain Group will be launching and giving away $1000! Check out The Chamberlain Group on Facebook for more info.

Are You A Stalker?

Jared Chamberlain Video Blogs about how you may be a stalker. A Home Stalker that is. Do you find yourself driving by and ’stalking’ your new home after you’ve purchased it? It’s OK to admit it! If you would like to leave your comments or thoughts, please do so below or email Jared at Jared@tcgroup.ca.

Calgary Best Place To Invest In Canada

Calgary is the best place in Canada to invest in the residential real estate market, according to a new report released today.

The Real Estate Investment Network’s report said that Calgary experienced one of its best economic and real estate periods in Canadian history a couple of years ago but then entered a strong, and needed correction.

“During the economic downturn, Calgary’s market is making a predictable correction resulting in slightly more affordable housing compared to recent years passed,” said the report. “It was economically impossible for the market to continue at the pace at which it was heading and now finds itself adjusting to market realities.

“This adjustment period, as the market searches for its new foundation from which to build, should continue in 2010 as the provincial economy is poised for another growth spurt.”

The REIN report said the in-migration pace in the city continuing to lead the country combined with the “renewed affordability” will help propel the local market over the coming years.

“We, fortunately, should not see the massive over-boom situation we previously witnessed as the market remains more in line with the fundamentals,” said the report.

Following Calgary as the top Canadian real estate investment cities are Kitchener-Waterloo-Cambridge, Edmonton, Surrey, Maple Ridge, Hamilton, St. Albert, Simcoe Shores (Barrie-Orillia), Red Deer, Winnipeg and Saskatoon.

“Successful real estate investing is all about identifying a town or neighbourhood that has a future, not a past,” said the report. “Sadly, many investors like to invest based on past performance; thus, they are constantly chasing the market. This is called speculating – not investing.”

Interest Rate Increase – Bank of Canada

The Bank of Canada raised their rates today to .5% which is up from .25%.  This is the first time since 2007 that the rates have increased.  You will most likely see the banks in canada change the prime rate to 2.50% from 2.25% which it has been at for some time.

Here’s a full article from Today’s Globe and Mail…

The Bank of Canada raised its benchmark interest rate for the first time since 2007, saying inflation is unfolding as expected and that spillover from the European debt crisis has been limited, while stressing there remains “considerable uncertainty” about an “increasingly uneven” global recovery.

With his much anticipated decision to lift the central bank’s overnight rate by one-quarter of a percentage point to 0.5 per cent after more than a year at a record low level, Governor Mark Carney has become the first central banker in the Group of Seven to tighten since the financial crisis and recession began in 2008.

In a statement on the move, however, Mr. Carney and his rate-setting panel sought to emphasize that investors should not necessarily interpret the increase as the first in an uninterrupted series.

“This decision still leaves considerable monetary stimulus in place, consistent with achieving the 2 per cent inflation target in light of the significant excess supply in Canada, the strength of domestic spending and the uneven global recovery,” the central bank said Tuesday. “Given the considerable uncertainty surrounding the outlook, any further reduction of monetary stimulus would have to be weighed carefully against domestic and global economic developments.”

Economists interpreted the Bank of Canada’s statement as a bucket of cold water on any remaining expectations for an aggressive tightening campaign, as policy makers nervously monitor economic and financial-market developments in the weeks leading up to their next decision on July 20.

“Those looking for a clear roadmap (or GPS) for the Bank’s tightening path will be sorely disappointed by today’s cautious statement,’’ said Doug Porter, deputy chief economist at BMO Nesbitt Burns in Toronto. “The Bank has left its options wide open even on the July rate decision.’’

Markets clearly took the same message, with bond yields dropping and the Canadian dollar slipping after the decision, “definitely not standard fare for a rate hike day,” Mr. Porter noted.

The loonie fell 0.8 per cent against the U.S. dollar as of 9:45 a.m. in Toronto, while the yield on two-year Canadian government bonds retreated to 1.71 per cent from yesterday’s 1.82 per cent.

Eric Lascelles, chief macro strategist with TD Securities, said while he expects a second straight 25-basis-point increase on July 20, “barring significant negative developments either domestically or globally,” further moves won’t be any bigger.

“What is clear is that despite the ultra-low level of the overnight rate, the present environment is not one conducive to outsized rate hikes of the 50-basis-point or larger variety,” Mr. Lascelles said.

The central bank’s statement touched on themes that will no doubt be front-and-centre at the Group of 20 leaders’ meeting in Toronto at the end of June, where Canadian officials have said they will be pushing for continued efforts to smooth out the global imbalances that exacerbated the slump that much of the world is still clawing out of.

“The required rebalancing of global growth has not yet materialized,” the bank said, contrasting “strong momentum” in emerging markets with recoveries in economies such as the United States and Japan that remains “heavily dependent” on low interest rates and government spending.

“In general, broad forces of household, bank, and sovereign deleveraging will add to the variability, and temper the pace, of global growth,”’ policy makers said.

The bank flagged the possibility of “renewed weakness’’ in Europe, where drastic spending cuts and higher borrowing costs will be the likely result of continent-wide debt problems, but said that, so far, the effects of the crisis on Canada have been “limited to a modest fall in commodity prices’’ and somewhat tighter financial conditions.

The Canadian economy, which on Monday posted a whopping 6.1-per-cent annualized growth rate for the first quarter – the fastest in more than a decade – is “unfolding largely as expected,’’ the bank said, led mostly by a hot housing market, higher incomes and a labour-market recovery that have helped fuel consumer spending.

Still, the central bank suggested that household spending and the economy will slow in the coming months as consumers deal with higher borrowing costs and try to limit or reduce their debt loads and as government stimulus spending fades. As a result, an “anticipated pickup in business investment will be important for a more balanced recovery,’’ the bank said.

Inflation, which the central bank has been watching closely for months, has been in line with policy makers’ projections to exceed 2 per cent this year and reflects a combination of strong domestic demand, slowing wage increases and “excess supply’’ leftover from the recession.

The central bank also said it is making a technical, yet significant, change to re-establish “normal functioning’’ of the overnight market, whereby its benchmark will return to halfway between the rate it pays to chartered banks to hold deposits and the amount that it charges private-sector lenders for loans.

Is It Better To Be A Home Owner vs. A Renter For Taxes

Jared Chamberlain video blogs about being a home owner versus a renter in Calgary’s real estate market, specifically for tax purposes. Jared outlines the 3 reasons why it’s better to be a _____! Watch to see which is better. To leave a comment or if you don’t agree with what Jared is saying, please email him at jared@tcgroup.ca or head over to ChamberlainGroup.ca

Is It Better To Be a Home Owner vs. Renter for Tax Purposes

Jared Chamberlain video blogs about being a home owner versus a renter in Calgary’s real estate market, specifically for tax purposes. Jared outlines the 3 reasons why it’s better to be a _____! Watch to see which is better. To leave a comment or if you don’t agree with what Jared is saying, please email him at jared@tcgroup.ca.

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