Midwest Canada Minute - November 23, 2008 - 11/24/08 12:33 PM
100 in Review
  Two years ago I sat down with Deanna Reschny, sales manager for the Lloydminster Source, and Robyn Newstead, accredited buyer's agent with the McClelland Group, in a local coffee shop to talk about the concept of writing a weekly commentary on Western Canadian real estate.  It would be published as part of the regional real estate guide plus circulated on-line to keep in touch with clients of the McClelland Group in five countries.  The primary goal was to bring the experience down to earth and not particularly polished like some of the television shows seen on HGTV.  One … (0 comments)

Midwest Canada Press Release - 11/21/08 03:38 PM
Press Release - For Immediate Release
Lloydminster, AB - November 18, 2008
  New service allows for online bids on Midwest real estate from anywhere in the world!
 Canada's first online real estate auction site supported by professional advice from real estate brokerages, www.bid4realestate.ca , has been launched by Canadian Online Auction Services, Lloydminster.  This site enables buyers to bid on properties in a real-time auction format using convenient, time-saving, and secure information technology that is available over the Internet 24/7/365.
 IT enabled auction, like live auction, offers an opportunity for motivated vendors to move a property quickly.  Sellers can choose to … (0 comments)

Midwest Canada Minute - November 16 - 11/17/08 05:38 PM
Canada's Newest Real Estate Tools
  
Last week we discussed the many ways in which real estate is bought, sold or leased including the Multiple Listing Service, exclusive listings, for sale by owner, trades, and live auction. The Internet and personal computers has become increasingly pervasive in our society; consumers expect access to detailed information about properties to be available 24/7.  In fact, a recent survey by the U.S based National Association of Realtors discovered that 83% of prospective buyers start their search on-line before ever talking to the seller or their agent.  In fact, the newest generation of home buyers, … (0 comments)

Midwest Canada Minute - November 10, 2008 - 11/10/08 02:36 PM
Going Going Gone
  
There are many ways in which real estate can be bought, sold or leased.  By far the most popular today is using the assistance of a professional Realtor to place the property on the Multiple Listing Service.  Real estate brokerages created this system in order to share information about properties their clients have for sale plus it encourages agents from other firms to bring forward their buyers.  In our country, members of the Canadian Real Estate Association even share the cost of maintaining a national website called www.realtor.ca (formerly known as mls.ca) and make it available to … (1 comments)

Canada's Midwest Minute - November 3, 2008 - 11/04/08 09:32 AM
Now is the Time
  
We may not be able to do anything about the financial problems of our neighbours to the south, their angst over who will be leading them the next four years, the difficult war that has drained trillions of dollars from their economy, but we can dispassionately examine what is happening in our own backyard.  I maintain that this could be one of the very best times for people in the Midwest to trade real estate.  In fact, I am going to go out on a limb and state that only 2 years from now, everybody will … (3 comments)

McClelland Minute - 11/03/08 06:01 PM
In the Zone
  
We often get questions from landowners considering subdividing their property, primarily for resale at a higher value.  It can be an attractive proposition as the sum of the parts is often significantly greater than the whole.  What land owners often don't anticipate is the amount of planning, work and investment that needs to go into successful re-development.
 
The first is zoning.  All titled land is mandated a current purpose that is approved by government.  The five major categories are residential, commercial, industrial, agriculture and other.  Changing this land use or density requires approval, not just of … (10 comments)