The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation just released their latest stats a few hours ago. Hot off the press, so to speak, please click on the thumbnail to the left to read the full article.

In Brief the numbers will be down slightly for 2009 but forecast to improve in 2010. This is not surprising if you remember last January and February as the market was almost at a standstill. Actually, if you had asked anyone at that time they never would have guessed the year would have ended so strong.

Are you in the Market to buy or sell a condo or home. Please give me a call.

King's Wharf just had their grand opening for their model suite! This is a very exciting project especially for me as I live just a few minutes walk away. It will also have a huge positive impact for Dartmouth. (Finally, we are going to get some good coffee shops). Please click on the thumbnail above to visit their site. I was able to get in yesterday to get a sneak peak. Here is a short video of the King's Wharf Model Suite posted here with permission:

I would be happy to introduce you to the King's Wharf Condos and show you around Dartmouth. Whether you are looking for a Condo to move into, or if you are looking to purchase a few units as an investment, Nova Scotia has never seen such a Real Estate Project! 

The supply of new listing across Canada is going down. Please click on the thumbnail above to read the full article from the Financial Post. All in all we can not complain about the Real Estate market in Nova Scotia.... It's a good time to get out there and buy a house if you have been on the fence according to this article. 95% of the Real Estate news coming out for Nova Scotia and Canada at large has been very positive for the last several months.

If you look at all my recent posts you will see that all show how well the market in Nova Scotia and Canada is doing. However, is it really?  Please click on this article (below) from the Globe and Mail to read the full story.

For example:

"Across Canada, inventories of newly built houses that are completed but not yet sold is about two and a half months, as measured by how long it would take to sell inventories, according to Altus Group research.

That's much higher than a year ago, when it was just one month."

Nova Scotia Real Estate

     Here is another article hinting that the Real Estate Market in Canada, and most of the world, is starting to look better. However I believe that we have to keep in mind the unemployment situation in American is still getting worse and if this continues, as some say it will, there will be an adverse effect on the Real Estate markets in general.   Click on the thumbnail above to read the full article from the Glove Investor.

If you can’t read the comic, above, it is a guy asking how much to fix his flat. The other guys says, “We charge a Flat Rate.” Hilarious.

So what is going on, in terms of Real Estate Values, in the HRM area? Well compared to the period (May – July 08) values have gone up an average of 3.5% from the same period in 09. Great news if you own property. I know many people were very worried last winter when the RE market basically stopped. Please click on the thumbnail above to read the whole story from the Burnside News.

Mike Smith, REALTOR® | Family First Realy | iListinHD.com | 902.209.6745 

Home Sale are up 4% in the Halifax-Dartmouth-Truro area. Although these number are not bad this article, from the Truro Daily News, points out that a balance is the best the economy and I agree. Please click above to see the full article. Although Truro is about and hour drive from Halifax I would be happy to service this area for your real estate needs as my girlfriend is from there.

I thought this was an interesting study which I found from Peter's blog in Edmonton:

A new survey by Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC of 1,000 people reveals that men and women shop differently when looking for a house.

Seventy percent of women surveyed know if they like a house the day they walk into it, as opposed to sixty-two percent of men. Even when it's not love at first sight, women aren't as as likely to revisit a house: thirty-two percent of men do so versus twenty-three percent of women.

Women prioritize family over their work: fifty-five percent of women surveyed said that living closer to their relatives is more important than living close to their job, compared to only thirty-seven percent of men.

Men are a little less likely to be worried about the security of a house. Just over half said security problems would make or break a real estate deal, while sixty-four percent of the women surveyed wouldn't buy a house if security was an issue.

One thing men and women do agree upon is a need for a work space in the home. Coldwell Banker says this has become an increasing trend over the last forty years.

The Canadian Commercial Real Estate Market is still facing troubled times as the Residential market recovers. Click on the thumbnail above to read the full story from the Chronicle Herald. Sales are down 50% for the first 1/2 of 2009 compared to where they were the year before. However things starting looking alittle better in July...

Below is a great funny video of why to work with a REALTOR® and the dangers if you don't.

I actually will knock on the neighbors doors when I have a buying client to get any "insights" into the neighborhood they are buying into. You know to check for serial killers, grow houses, etc. hehe. But seriously how many REALTORS do you know that will go that extra step?