Want Your Input…

I am wondering if you could help me out… I would love to have some feedback on this question… and be honest…Please!

In your experience in working with a Realtor, what has been some of your worst and best experiences you’ve ever had?

Again… please be honest…

Cheers

Should You Sell Your Home?

Millions of homes are sold every year. Even though each transaction is different, all sellers want the same result – the best price in the least amount of time with the fewest problems.
Selling Calgary Real Estate is more difficult than it used to be. As a seller you need to be aware of a range of issues and deal with many complex forms. You also need to know that buyer agents represent buyers and each of them are giving their fiduciary responsibility to their clients.

Successfully selling a property requires the Realtor to have experience and training in areas like marketing, financing, negotiation and closing deals – this is the very expertise that Real Estate Agent offer.

It is Important to Know Why You Want to Sell Your Home.

1. You should have a clear idea why you want to sell your home.  Selling a home is an important matter and there should be a good reason to sell, such as moving to a new community, needing more space, retiring to a smaller home or moving closer to family. Your reason for selling can impact the negotiating process so it’s important to discuss your needs and wants in private with the Real Estate Agent who lists your home.

   To get an idea of whether it’s a seller’s market or a buyer’s market, many people start by looking at online or printed real estate guides to research the current market and the price of comparable properties.

2. Is Your Home Ready to Be Sold?
   The home-selling process typically starts several months before a property is made available for sale. For best results when selling your home, you need to look at your home through the eyes of a prospective buyer and determine what needs to be cleaned, painted, repaired and thrown out.

   Ask yourself: “If I were buying this house, what would I want to see?” The goal is to show a home which looks good, maximizes space and attracts as many buyers – and as much demand – as possible.

When setting a list price for your home, you should know the current market conditions. Consider the following pricing factors:

• If you set the price too high, your house won’t be picked for viewing, even though it may be much nicer than other homes on the street. You may have told your Real Estate Agent to just bring an offer, but compared to other houses for sale, your home looks way too expensive to be considered.

• If you price too low, you’ll short-change yourself. Your house will sell promptly, yes, but you may make less on the sale than if you had set a higher price and waited for a buyer who was willing to pay it.

Map of Calgary Show Homes – January 2009

Buying a brand new home can be a very exciting, as most likely you are getting exactly what you want, and not settling for a resale home with aspects you may or may not love.  There is a giant myth out there that Real Estate Agents are not able to work with new home builders, but in fact, this is not true, especially in this current market where builders are needing the MLS to market their homes.

Some builders will do almost anything to have you sign on the line, and with some rep’s that sit in the show homes not be fully qualified to sell homes, you will want someone on your side who has your best interest in mind and fully qualified.  We at the Chamberlain Group have had extensive experience with new homes and new home builders as we were apart of a development that sold 93 brand new condos where we did marketing and sales.

We have also had clients who wanted us to sit in on all meetings with the builder and even attend the meetings for picking out their flooring, lighting, cabinets etc. But then we have had clients that just want us to help them with all the paperwork and read over what the contract says to make sure that they are fully covered, as builders & developers use their own offer sheets that are drafted by their lawyers, and in most cases cover their ASSets before yours…

Whether you use us or not, it is very important to have a third party representative who has your interest and only yours as their number one priority.

On that note…

Below is a map of all the show home location in Calgary that was used in The Calgary Herald on January 3, 2009.  If you have any questions about new homes, show homes, spec. homes etc. please contact us at sales@tcgroup.ca or 403-366-3130

Please Click On The Image To Enlarge It

New Condos in NW Calgary – Updated for Jan ‘09

BLUE SKY: By Streetside Development Corp. Townhouses with mountain views starting at $299,000. At 2 164th Rockyledge Vw.N. W.

EDGE ON 17TH, THE: By Strathridge Apartments Inc. At 1231 17 Ave. N. W. One-bedroom and two-bedroom units from $239,900 to $369,900. Show suite open.

KENSINGTON, THE OXFORD: Townhouses on 12th Street. From$599,900. ORCHID, THE IN TUXEDO: Three-storey condominium building has one-bedroom-plus-den and two-bedroom units available. Starting at $319,900. At 2012 1 St. N. W.

PANORAMA POINTE: By Pointe of View Developments. From 579 to 1,243 square feet. Presentation centre at 60 Panatella St. N. W.

PANORAMA HEIGHTS: By Rockford Ventures. From the low $300,000s. Show home at 398 Panatella Blvd. N. W.

PANTELLA LANDING: By Carolina Homes Inc. Two-storey village-style homes, each with own private entrance. From 813 to 1,168 square feet; starting at $215,900.At 55 Panatella St. N. W.

PLAZA AT ROYAL OAK: By Streetside Development Corp. Townhouses starting in the $320,000s. At 118 30 Royal Oak Pz. N. W. Show suite open.

PROVIDENCE AT KENSINGTON: By Providence Development Corp. From 1,024 to 1,101 square feet. From$487,900. Twostorey townhomes from about 1,600 square feet. Presentation centre at 1321 Kensington Cl. N. W.

RANCHVIEW VISTAS: By Cardel Lifestyles. At 6315 Ranchview Dr. N. W. One-and two-bedroom apartment-style condos from the low$240,000s.

RED HAUS: By Streetside Development Corp.Apartment condos from$199,000.At 118-30 Royal Oak Plaza N.W.

SWAN LANDING AT ROCKY RIDGE : By The Swan Group.At 525 Rocky Vista Gardens N. W. Bungalow-style villas from $449,900 to $599,900. Apartment condos from$269,900. Show suite open.

TUSCANY POINTE: By Cedarglen. At 104 Tuscany Ravine Heights N. W.

URBAN VIEW BY THE RIVER: Urban View Projects. $408,000–$512,000. Presentation centre at 204 8 Parkdale Cres. N. W.

VIDA: By Luxe Developments. At the corner of 17th Avenue and 3rd Street N.W.

VILLAGE AT WEST SPRINGS: By Landstar Development Corp. Terrace townhomes and patio homes. At 73rd Street and Old Banff Coach Road.

VILLA D’ESTE: By Knightsbridge. Apartment-style condos south of Tuscany Boulevard. Show home open.

THE VUE: Two-bedroom apartment-style condos in Hillhurst from$332,900.At 429 14th St. N. W.

WEST BY STONECROFT: Luxury condos from$275,000.At 88 Arbour Lake Rd. N. W., near Crowfoot Crossing and a short walk to the future C-Train station. Furnished show suites open for viewing.

Weekly Market Update – Week 48

Over the last week, the number of listings on the market has dramatically fallen off.  We believe this to be a combination of a couple things.
1)    Listings that were set to expire at the end of November did so, and have not been relisted yet
2)    Listings have been taken off the market because we are heading into the December months and Christmas.

Although the number of sales dropped over all, the number of condos sold actually increased by 5 units vs. last week.  The number of showings over the past week, we have noticed to slow down, and most showings are happening on the weekends, as the evenings get shorter.

Again, heading into Spring of 2009 we could expect more listings to come back on the market that have been or will be taken off, with more buyers coming out of the woodwork.  Will this change the average and median prices?  Probably not, because there are many sellers who are waiting until the spring to put their property back on the market.  If you are considering this, your home may have more showings and potentially get offers, but the price most likely will not be increasing.  Why?  There could be more listings, but there could be more buyers as well, and the supply will stay high, and in the big scheme of things, the demand still lower.

CMHC 2008 Canadian Observer

CMHC came out with their 2008 Canadian Observer today…  In going through it, there were many interesting and informative graphs that I wanted to highlight and pass on to you.

Looking forward to hearing any comments or future predictions on the real estate market in Calgary or even in Canada…

Weekly Market Update – Week 47

We will be starting a new weekly post that will give you an update on what has happened in the Calgary market over the last week…

Please leave any comments you have about the Calgary market, and thanks for reading.

WEEK 47

We have noticed over the last week that this market has picked up in number of showings, the number of sales and the active number of listings on the market has decreased, and we are now under 8000 listings in Calgary.  This is good, but there are still many bargain hunters out there as we mentioned last week.

We are not expecting prices to see instant growth, and turn around over the next couple months, but rather reach new bottoms, and most likely bounce around the $390,000 median price.  We hit the $390,000 median price back at the beginning of October and have been around this number since then.  It is hard to say what the Christmas season will bring, but most likely we will see the number of listings decrease, due to sellers not wanting to sell over Christmas, and their listings expiring.  The number of sales could drop off a bit as we get closer to the arrival of Santa.

Heading into 2009 we could expect more listings to come back on the market, with more buyers coming out of the woodwork.  Will this change the average and median prices?  Probably not, because there are many sellers who are waiting until the spring to put their property back on the market.  If you are considering this, your home may have more showings and potentially get offers, but the price most likely will not be increasing.  Why?  There could be more listings, but there could be more buyers as well, and the supply will stay high, and in the big scheme of things, the demand still lower.

Before You Sign!

I was reminded yesterday that when you are working with a builder or developer on a new property, or even any transaction for that matter, you really want to make sure to read everything!  There are clauses that developers and builders will put into their contracts that really favor them.  They are truly looking out for their own self, and you need to as well.  I would suggest having a third party like a lawyer, real estate agent etc. look over the docs with/for you, if you are unsure of anything.

The situation that a client of ours is dealing with is that they purchased  pre-built condo in Calgary, and are now wanting to list it as soon as they take possession.  The developer had put a clause into the contract that stated that if a condo that was in possession of an owner was to go on sale, whilst the developer still had some units on the market, the developer is able to set the price and who the listing agent is for the owner. This is crazy… first off, the units in this building are now way overpriced that the developer has in their possession, and have told my clients that their unit is worth appx. $120,000+ what the market says it is worth.  If this clause holds up, there condo will not sell, as there hasn’t been an MLS sale in this building yet.

Again I say, please make sure you read everything thoroughly, and have someone who knows what they are talking about look at the documentation.

New MLS.ca

I have had a few clients give me a call in the last couple days, and complain about how the new www.MLS.ca is a very poor design, and is very hard to search.  I logged on today to find the same result.  I think the new design and layout came in over the last couple weeks or so, as I personally don’t use this site, I’m unaware of the exact date of change.  From my own searches, I was unware of a way to search by community?  This is an important factor in searching for a home.

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If you are in this boat, I want to encourage you to check out www.ChamberlainGroup.ca as you are able to do much more, and in depth searching from there of the Calgary and area real estate than the MLS.  You will need to become a member, but once you are in, you can actually get the full address and days on market of properties that are listed, which you are not able to get through the MLS.  I’m not saying this so that you will become a client of ours, but rather so you are able to find what you are looking for if MLS.ca isn’t going to provide it for you.

If you have any questions on our site, please let us know…

Happy Hunting!

Condominiums Achieve Unprecedented Favor

After more than three decades of slow but steady growth, the condominium concept has finally clicked with Canadian homeowners. The lifestyle has proven to be a solid investment in housing markets across the country, chalking up some of the most impressive gains in residential real estate in 2007, according to the RE/MAX Condominium Report.

Their universal appeal is substantiated, with every market reporting increased momentum in condominium sales volume over 2006 levels. In fact, 80 per cent of markets surveyed reported double-digit gains in sales year-over-year, with 53 per cent reporting increases over 20 per cent. The greatest growth was experienced in Canada’s small to mid-sized markets. Leading the country, in terms of percentage increase in sales so far this year, are Kitchener-Waterloo (+59%), Regina (+57%), St. John’s (+54%), and Saskatoon (+33%).

The white picket fence, sprawling green lawn and tidy urban bungalow has become an unattainable ideal for many first-time buyers—especially in the West. By necessity, condominiums have become the only practical means to homeownership for a growing segment of the population. Today’s entry-level purchasers aspire to manageable mortgage payments, sunset city views, and the non-stop action and amenities of central core living, all packed into 600 to 800 sq. ft. The momentum of the market in recent decades has redefined the home buying process.

While price appreciation on freehold properties, in particular, was the primary factor in the upswing, the strong desire among baby boomers to lead an active, carefree lifestyle has also driven the concept to unprecedented popularity. The RE/MAX Condominium Report identified Greater Vancouver as the strongest market in the country – where close to 60 per cent of all residential sales now involve a condominium. Condominium presence is also on the rise in centres such as Toronto, Edmonton, Calgary, Regina, Ottawa, and Hamilton-Burlington, where condos now represent 20 to 30 per cent of all MLS sales.

Deteriorating affordability levels in major Canadian centres have lead to the resurrection of the condominium lifestyle in recent years. Condominiums are clearly the answer to the skyrocketing cost of land and shelter that has all but eradicated the dream of homeownership for many first-time buyers.

Condominium values were also up from coast-to-coast in 2007, with all major markets reporting an increase in average price. Thirty-three per cent of cities surveyed reported double-digit price appreciation. The most dramatic hikes were seen in Western Canada’s red-hot housing markets, led by Saskatoon (+24%), Calgary (+22%), Edmonton (+19%), Kelowna (+16 % for town homes, +12% for apartments), Vancouver (+14 % for town homes, +11% for apartments), and Victoria (+9% for town homes, +12% for apartments).

At the top end of the market, condominium ownership has been equated with lifestyle. Throughout 2007, aging baby boomers fuelled demand for luxury condominium units. Upper-end activity was reported to be on the rise in all markets examined, with the greatest appreciation occurring in Edmonton (+154 %), Greater Toronto (+98 %), Victoria (+85 %), Winnipeg (+58%), Vancouver (+49%) and Kitchener-Waterloo (+39%). The maintenance-free factor, the ability to travel and to enjoy the best the city has to offer—from restaurants to recreation—were citied in overall condominium appeal.

In years past, there seemed to be a ceiling in terms of what buyers were willing to pay for this type of product. Widespread acceptance has seen that philosophy tossed out the window. In the upper-end especially, buyers have demonstrated a willingness to set new benchmarks, and in some cases, are spending more than what a detached home might cost. Multiple offers, once unheard of, have become a reality in some centres.

New benchmarks for the most expensive apartment-style condominium units ever sold through MLS have been reported in several cities in 2007, including Vancouver ($18 million), Calgary ($3.7 million), Edmonton ($2.3 million), Winnipeg ($1.25 million), and Kitchener-Waterloo ($670,000).

Given solid demand through all price ranges, it comes as no surprise that investors have been very active in the majority of markets surveyed, hoping to snap up a piece of the pie while demand remains at peak levels. Yet, with a growing number looking for a quick return on investment, swelling inventory levels have become a serious concern in several markets, most notably in Calgary and Edmonton, and to a much lesser extent, Kelowna.

The impact of speculation, especially in Canada’s largest condominium markets, have yet to be determined, but concerns for the future are relevant. In downtown Vancouver, an estimated 50 per cent of sales activity is attributed to investors, whereas as much as 60-85 per cent of new condominiums sales in Toronto’s downtown core reportedly involved investors in 2007. This is a major factor that could influence prices in years to come.

For now, a number of market fundamentals point to increased growth in sales, prices and demand well into 2008. These include vibrant economies, Canada’s aging population, rising prices, and higher levels of immigration, to name a few.

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RE/MAX of Western Canada (1998) Inc. Condominium Report issued November 14th, 2007.

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