Fun Facts About Canada - 06/28/07 07:47 PM
It is almost Canada Day! (and a slow news day) so....What Do Canadians Have To Be Proud Of?Canadian Inventions, Products from Canada and Etc. 1. Smarties, Crispy Crunch, Coffee Crisp and Apple pie are products from Canada. 2. Baseball, Hockey and Basketball are Canadian inventions. 3. Mr. Dress-up kicks Mr. Rogers butt 4. Tim Hortons beats Dunkin' Donuts 5. We have the largest English population that never ever surrendered or withdrew during any war to anyone, anywhere. 6. The Hudsons Bay Company once owned over 10% of the earth's surface and is still around as the worlds oldest company. 7. We … (5 comments)
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2 Calculators I Couldn't Live Without - 06/28/07 07:10 PM
Is it better to rent or buy? How much will my mortgage payment be? What will I have paid down on my mortgage by 2015? If you are plagued by these questions then I suggest you head over to ATB Financial for their great mortgage calculators.ATBHere is my favorite appreciation calculator. It's easy to use and very accurate. Appreciation Calculator … (0 comments)
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Eskimos Are Going To Be Okay! - 06/26/07 08:11 PM
The first Eskimos challenge of the new season was the Edmonton housing crisis but 20 new Eskimo players have found many leads on places to live. "Every second call we took to our administration office yesterday at the Edmonton Eskimo facility was someone in the Edmonton area, either offering up a place for a player to live, or telling us that they knew a friend of a friend who had a place, a basement suite and that kind of thing," Dave Jamieson Spokesman for Edmonton EskimosIn a city with record low vacancy rates and high rents this situation is not uncommon."The … (2 comments)
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$250 Million to Heritage Scholarship Fund - 06/26/07 07:26 PM
To those that say they aren't benefiting from the Alberta Oil Sands, perhaps your children can."The Alberta government is using some of its energy revenue windfall to add $227 million to the province's largest scholarship fund. Premier Ed Stelmach has announced a 35 per cent increase to the Alberta Heritage Scholarship Fund, bringing its total value to $851 million. The program provides annual scholarships to high school students as well as undergraduate and graduate students. Interest from this new money will allow an additional $10 million dollars in scholarships to be paid out, starting in the fall of 2008. This year … (0 comments)
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How Do You Spell Relief? - M-a-n-a-g-e-a-b-l-e Gr-o-w-t-h - 06/22/07 07:39 PM
Some relief is in sight for buyers into the Edmonton market. We are still having stellar appreciation with price growth slowing only slightly to 21.6% from 28.9%. Genworth financial estimates that the average new home price in Edmonton will reach $388,694 in 2007. They also predict a 5% increase in 2008 and 4% annually to 2011. Let`s do the Math So if your house is valued at the average price now $388,694 and it increases 5% in 2008 = $408,128.70 Then 4% every year to 2011 compounding of course 2009 at 4% = $424,453.84 2010 at 4% = $441,431.99 2011 at … (0 comments)
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Chicken Littles - Are They Right?? - 06/21/07 10:13 PM
Somewhere, someone is saying, "I told you so" because Edmonton Real Estate prices dropped over the last three weeks. Keep in mind the market has doubled over the past two years. Edmonton real estate skeptics aren't in for the last laugh yet, because the market isn't falling just softening, a little.The market is less frenzied and we can say goodbye to multiple offers and offers with out conditions - a very dangerous practice. Buying houses without inspections is a good way to purchase someone else's headache and moneypit."Edmonton buyers were getting used to bidding wars and buying homes without inspections, but … (0 comments)
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Long Term Looks Like Edmonton - 06/21/07 09:48 PM
The new LRT and proposed Bitumen upgraders in the northeast are two more solid reasons why Edmonton is the No. 1 city in Canada for long-term real estate investment. Any improvment in transportation for renters will improve property values as commutes shorten. The Bitumen upgraders set to employ 4,000 labourers during construction will put the squeeze on an already tight housing market. Full ArticleDon Campbell also put out his list of Alberta Top Ten Towns: Alberta's top places for real estate investment1. Edmonton2. Grande Prairie3. Calgary4. Red Deer5. Sturgeon & Strathcona6. Lacombe7. Sylvan Lake8. High River9. Devon10. Fort McMurraySource: Real Estate … (0 comments)
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Celebratory Dinner - Not Safe For Squeamish!!! - 06/20/07 10:06 PM
We are in our Japan office now and after a week of trials and tribulations, successes and our wedding anniversary we went out for a celebratory dinner.Japanese food is quite mainstream in North America but what we get there is the "mild" version. Todd and I are gourmets or at least adventurous eaters so we always try the "wild" side of Japanese food. I think we topped it all this weekend with these culinary challenges:1.raw horse meat thinly sliced with slivers of raw garlic dipped in wasabi soya sauce2.raw Bonito innards (guts) mixed with olive oil, gorganzola cheese, pink pepper corns … (7 comments)
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The Best Reality Show - EVER! - 06/18/07 10:11 PM
The website Wealth address is doing a reality blog/podcast/show where they will turn an average guy into a millionaire by giving him the opportunity to study with the best gurus in the business."Each day, visitors to the site can log on to Wealth Address, read Wes’ blog, watch his podcasts, see the daily videos of his adventures, watch his bank account grow and follow him step-by-step on his journey to earning big money. Better yet, they can mimic his actions and make a huge income right along with him. It is an incredible opportunity for anyone serious about making a name … (1 comments)
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Three Tips For New Landlords - 06/17/07 08:43 PM
New to land lording? It isn't a walk in the park but it also isn't all 4am broken toilets. In fact it has never been 4am broken toilets for me. One reason is that our properties are managed by an outstanding property manager. Caroline is incredibly efficient and really good at anticipating any work that may have to be done. She deals with all the day to day stuff so we can focus on the big picture.So my first bit of advice is:1.Get a property manager- if you are too busy now with work, kids etc then adding property management into … (7 comments)
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It Only Stands To Reason - 06/15/07 07:20 PM
If house prices go up then insurance prices will go up. As the Japanese say "Shoganai" which translates to "It can't be helped" or "There is no ginger" ( I am referring to the former not the latter) I guarantee you that you would be much more upset if something happened to your home and your insurance company only covered to last year's values. Taxes and insurance costs increase when your property value does. Think about the $82,500 you made last year and weigh it out. A helpful tip:"Karen Hopkins-Lee, chief underwriter at Canadian Direct Insurance, said homeowners can reduce their … (0 comments)
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I Forgot To Mention......... - 06/15/07 06:21 PM
ROARING ALBERTA FUELS RECORD MAY SALES!!Yup, we did it again. it's starting to not be news anymore but once again. Alberta both Calgary and Edmonton have hit record sales this month. One good thing is that there is a lot more product on the market and houses are staying on the market longer. There is less of the frenzy we saw late last year and the beginning of this year. … (0 comments)
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Follow The Leader.... - 06/15/07 06:11 PM
As I have said before, "Where Calgary goes Edmonton follows". Calgary is hitting new housing highs and Edmonton will follow the leader. CMHC released a forecast in May projecting that single detached homes in Calgary and area will hit $474,000 by the end of this year."Only Edmonton is forecast for a bigger percentage hike, with prices expected to jump $90,000 to $340,000 by the end of this year, up 35.5 per cent."We (in Alberta) have the strongest economy in the country," Vinay Bhardwaj, manager of market analysis for the prairies region of CMHC, said."We have virtually full employment ... just about … (0 comments)
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Legalize It! Don't Criticize It! - 06/15/07 05:43 PM
Now instead of furtively trying to get into you side door basement suite apartment, you can enter your home like any full fledged member of society. Well soon anyway. Edmonton is finally moving ahead with making basement suites legal in most residential areas of the city. Although illegal, many many people had them and just tried to hide the fact that people were living under the stairs."An estimated 10,000 homeowners rent out suites in their homes, but the majority are illegal. For the plan to work, thousands of existing illegal suites would have to conform to new zoning rules."A Few … (4 comments)
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The Second Best Year On Record - 06/12/07 06:20 PM
Edmonton prices are slowing for a mini plateau, but that doesn't mean that the prices are going to fall. In fact, Edmonton is still on track for it's 2nd best year on record.
In April Edmonton led Canada with a 4.4% increase for the price of a new home.
"A tight housing market coupled with rising materials and labour costs powered Canada's largest increase, of 4.4 per cent, in Edmonton, the federal agency said. Edmonton also led the country with the largest 12-month increase, at 40.5 per cent." Full Article
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Disgruntled - 06/11/07 07:34 AM
This comment came from a disgruntled Edmontonian. I planned to email him directly but Dustin's email address was a dud. "Dustin's email: Your "real estate investments" are going to put me on the street. Unfortunately, real estate has now become something that only investors can afford. I am a professional engineer making good money and housing in Alberta is simply unaffordable. I have absolutely no idea how it is affordable for a grocer or the rest of the working class to afford a home. Why not focus your business on helping people find affordable housing regardless of socioeconomic status? Your greed … (2 comments)
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More Tips From AWEBER - Real Estate Emails - 06/05/07 09:10 PM
I also received this:
Five Content Ideas for Real Estate Emails Email Marketing - Justin Premick - April 12th, 2007 - PermalinkTuesday's post about Real Estate email marketing talked about what's wrong with a lot of campaigns.
I don't mean to pick on agents - there are a lot of fields that don't email market as well as they could/should - but they're at the front of my mind. See, I've been poking around in the local real estate market myself and I just wasn't getting what I wanted and hoped for as a subscriber.
So I wanted to offer some alternatives … (2 comments)
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AWEBER'S Real Estate Advice - 06/05/07 09:05 PM
If you send out newsletter or any direct mail to your client list you may use have heard of AWEBER.com.
They sent me some tips for Real Estate professionals today and I though someone on rain can make use of this:
Real Estate Email Tips, Pt. 1 - Don't Do This! Email Marketing - Justin Premick - April 10th, 2007 - PermalinkIn the highly competitive Real Estate market, agents bend over backward to earn business and close sales, and to differentiate themselves from the rest. They're some of the most aggressive and industrious salespeople out there.
A lot of them are adding permission-based … (1 comments)
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Trashing Your Competition - 06/03/07 10:02 PM
Watch What You Say About Your Competition
"It’s easy to admire Apple’s stylish TV spots, which personify the Mac as a smart hipster bemused by the luckless PC’s endless problems. The ads highlight a Mac’s pros and a PC’s cons with irreverent glee and—some might suggest—a degree of smug self-satisfaction.Apple can get away with it, but not many companies can take on the “leading brand” with such panache. Before using marketing dollars to call out your own competition, blogger Spike Jones has some advice: Don’t. Why? * You’re spending your money to highlight a competitor’s features and benefits. Even worse, if you … (11 comments)
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Don't Say No To $226.03 A Day Profit - 06/03/07 09:55 PM
If you own a home or investment properties in Alberta you made $82,500 last year. That is $226.03 per day. "Alberta's average resale price of $359,640 was up 29.8 per cent over the April 2006 figure — the biggest percentage increase among any province. Put another way, that means that the average homeowner in Alberta made $82,500 on paper simply by living in their home over the past year." Read MoreThe amazing thing is in Alberta housing is still affordable. Sure it is harder to get into the market but compared to Vancouver, where an astonishing 73% of the local average … (0 comments)
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Hot Economy 5 to 8 With Good Behaviour - 06/03/07 09:53 PM
If you are worried that Alberta's hot economy will freeze any minute - don't. Taking into account the $100+ Billion of smart money investmented into the province, economic growth rivaled only but China and immigration numbers that are leading Canada; this province is in for a long hot economic run.IF Alberta was only about oil the above graph courtesy of www.Rigzone.com should quell your fears. We aren't even at the beginning of the big increase in oil production. Alberta has an incredibly diversified economy, oil is big, but other industries like nanotechnology will help keep the boom alive."Strathcona County’s manager of … (0 comments)
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