Rayna McKay & Mike Frechette's blog. Calgary Condominiums

July 2009 Calgary Condominiums Market Statistics

Rayna McKay & Mike Frechette (CIR Realty) — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 15:54:26 -0500

Quick July 2009 Calgary AB Market Statistics:

Calgary's condo market stayed strong for the month of July dispite people turning there thoughts from buying real estate. People focused on things like Stampede, Bar BQs, and Camping; this is how it affectd the July 2009 Calgary condominiums Statistics. Inventory is down again and there were 702 condo sales in the month of July with the median sale price in Calgary at $263,000 which is within $3,000 of last month. Sale prices in July ranged from $110,000 to $1,050,000.

June 2009 Calgary Condominium Statistics

Rayna McKay & Mike Frechette (CIR Realty) — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 14:03:32 -0500

Quick June 2009 Calgary AB Market Statistics:
Calgary Condo inventory is down for the fifth consecutive month, while sales rise bringing our absorption rate to the bottom of a balanced market. Calgary's condo sales have been on the rise for 7 months, from 208 condo sales in December 2008 to 738 condo sales in June 2009. Statistically it look like the buyer's market is coming to an end and if these trends continue we may see seller gaining a little more control before the fall slowdown. Calgary's median condo sale price is $265,500 the highest it's been since October 2008. The June 2009 sale price range for condos in Calgary was between $117,000 and $1,100,000 being the highest price condo sold in June 2009.

First-timers key to reviving market

Rayna McKay & Mike Frechette (CIR Realty) — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 11:08:00 -0500

The expected return of first-time homebuyers to the marketplace is seen as key to the rejuvenation of Canada's housing sectors, says a real estate industry executive.

A growing number of newbies to home ownership-- considered the largest single buying segment--have been sitting on the sidelines since it became obvious Canada wasn't going to avoid the global recession, says Phil Soper, president and CEO of Brookfield Real Estate Services.

At the height of the housing boom, which started to deflate partway through 2007, first-time buyers accounted for as much as 70 per cent of all transactions, he says.

One of the key reasons --and a positive to the downturn-- has to do with the decline in house prices that followed in the wake of the recession.

"Significantly lower costs of ownership should bring the first-timer back to the kitchen table in increasing numbers this year, which would get the overall industry moving again," Soper told a recent Scotiabank forum on the economy and real estate.

Among the factors he pinpointed that would see the re-entry of first-timers are: - Targeted government incentives that include $750 for closing costs, and an increase in the RRSP withdrawal for a down payment. - Lower-priced homes. The national average selling price has fallen to $288,641, down from $312,852 a year ago, says the Canadian Real Estate Association. - Historically low mortgage rates. - Reduced risk through the return of the conditional offer.

In an interview, Soper said the lack of first-time buyers can stall the real estate market.

"It's like sand in the gears," he said.

Canada has managed to avoid the brutal real estate pounding the United States has had to endure.

There have so far been no wholesale foreclosures here and the credit markets remain fairly healthy. But resale activity slowed and the pace of new home construction shrivelled as consumer demand backed off.

The revival will be slow.

Housing construction starts across the country dropped to slightly more than 211,000 last year, which is about eight per cent below the average of 230,000 starts tallied annually from 2004 to 2007.

At the same time, the number of resale homes changing hands decreased by 17 per cent and the average price slipped one per cent.

Scotiabank has predicted a further decline for new and used housing this year.

Housing construction starts are going to fall to about 155,000, while resale figures will drop another 15 to 20 per cent-- along with another 10 per cent slide in prices.

By Marty Hope, Calgary HeraldJune 6, 2009

Buyer who hesitates ends up losing out. Low interest rates joining federal incentives

Rayna McKay & Mike Frechette (CIR Realty) — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 11:03:14 -0500

To jump or not to jump.

I guess the question that plagues new home buyers is "should we jump in now, or should we wait to see if the market is still dropping?"

Well, if you know someone in this situation, they may have already missed the bottom.

Let's take a few key indicators of what's going on in the market : - Because of the low interest rates there has been a flurry of new home buyers who didn't have to sell their home because they were renting.

People didn't want to list their homes because of the price drop so inventory of houses for sale went down and seems to still be dropping. - What this means is there are fewer homes for sale in the market. - When this happens, prices start to go up. - Now the economy seems to be on a slow but steady road to recovery. - Oil prices are on the way back up (great for the industry in Alberta ). - More jobs in this sector are being created once again which in turn creates jobs in other sectors. - Our banking system is strong (compared to the rest of the world.) - People are feeling better about things. - Take an improving economy and what happens to interest rates? - With people feeling better about the economy more people jump from the safe bond market back to other more risky investments.

When this happens, the bond yield increases. When the bond yield increase so do the fixed rate mortgages.

OK, I have indicated that there is some motivation to jump in to the market because of the low interest rates and the low prices that seem to be increasing.

So, what other motivating factors are there?

The banks and the government have stepped up to the plate to encourage new home buyers to take action: - The banks have decided to create quite a few programs to motivate the home purchaser. - No down payment. The banks call it a cashback mortgage.

There are only three that I know of that will allow you to apply the five per cent or close to that towards the down payment.

Of course, the banks want some protection so they want to make sure you have a good credit score, anywhere from a beacon score of 620 and up.

The lower your credit score, the higher the interest rate. Also, you must have a good job.

It probably won't work for those of you who are self-employed. - The other bank-driven incentives are the quick-close specials. These super low rates are offered to homes that you take possession of within 45 days (some are 30 days).

At the moment, the rate I like is the 3.05 per cent, three-year fixed, quick close rate offered by Street Capital. - The government has also stepped up to the plate. Besides dropping the prime lending rate to a historic 2.25 per cent, the government offered some major incentives to the first-time home buyer.

These include: - A change to the first-time home buyers RRSP plan. This program increased the amount a person can withdraw from his or her RRSP from $20,000 to $25,000.

For a couple purchasing a home this equates to $50,000 without penalty provide you pay this back to your RRSP within 15 years. - Anew first-time home buyers' credit towards closing costs. This program provides up to a $750 tax credit.

Refer towww.fin.gc.cafor more details.

This is what is happening at the moment. Interest rates are on the move up once again and house prices are on the move.

So for those waiting for the bottom, it seems to have come and is sailing away.

Now, I'm not saying the deals are gone. That would be an incorrect statement.

There are great deals to be had at still historic prices--but there is no bottom to wait for. Get in now, as your property will only increase in value--and the interest rate you see now will be gone soon.

By Vic Cotton, Calgary HeraldJune 6, 2009

Oslo by Homburg-Centron Teamwork

Rayna McKay & Mike Frechette (CIR Realty) — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 12:04:45 -0600

Living green finally meets you were you live! If you choose to live in Homburg-Centron Teamworks' new project Oslo at Kia towers. Located on the corner of 11^th avenue and 12^th street S.W. urban chic meets environmentally responsible living in this condo building. While staying true to the look and feel that is expected from new condominiums this building is being built with sustainable living in mind. A concrete and steel construction using 75% recycled steel with a conscience effort to reduce waste on the construction site. Now all this is great, but what will you enjoy when you take possession? These units will come with energy star appliances, high efficiency lighting fixtures with compact florescent bulbs all set up to motion sensor switches. Floor to 9' ceiling low-E double sealed windows that will give you a great view of the beltline and downtown. Your unit will also come with dual flush toilets, programmable thermostat, and a recycling bin that you may bring to the central recycling area with-in the complex.

What sort of lifestyle could you have in your new green life? Oslo is made up of 2 towers with 474 suites and 15,000 sq. ft. of retail space with two restaurants - Redwater Rustic Grille and Il'Pescatore. The goal of the retail space is the put in businesses that will reflex the theme of the belt line community and the needs of the residence. For your comfort and convenience the building features secure underground parking, large storage space, and bicycle storage. Keep in shape and mental wellbeing by taking advantage of state-of-the-art fitness and rejuvenation center being placed in the first tower, or get some fresh air on the 7200 sq. ft. green roof patio. Those that buy suites on the second floor with enjoy these combined grass and prairie flower gardens at their doorstep. All leading back to green living with the efficient irrigation feed by rainwater harvesting, this new way of living will allow you to enjoy the world you live in by protecting the world you live in.

www.CalgaryCondominiums.com/content-14.html

November Market - Calgary, Alberta

Rayna McKay & Mike Frechette (CIR Realty) — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 07:25:47 -0600

November 2007 Statistics have been put out by CREB® and we are finally seeing a decrease in inventory for the Calgary area. For the first time since February we have seen a drop in inventory. While the sales have leveled off around the 2000 mark for the last 3 months we still have 5 months of inventory with 10455 listings on the market, if all numbers stay the same.

In a market like this it's important to price your home competitively. As in any market hire a REALTOR® with the skills to know the market to help you price and advertise your home effectively.

Spell Check Anyone?

Rayna McKay & Mike Frechette (CIR Realty) — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 16:10:33 -0500

Earlier this year our board did this wonderful thing to our MLS system, by adding spell check. Being the awful speller I am, this saved me the effort of coping my descriptions from word into my MLS input fields. Now even with spell check being only a fast click away I find that people are not using the tool! This is a matter of professionalism. These descriptions say as much about you as they do about the house.

An example of a very damaging spelling mistake was in the address of a property. I had a client looking at a unit on Stonemere Place. When I searched Stonemere Place the unit he wanted did not appear to be on the market anymore, only after I searched by price, building type and bedroom. I found the unit located on Stonmere Place. How many showings did the realtor loose because of the missing 'e' in Stonemere Place.

Rayna McKay & Mike Frechette

www.CalgaryCondominiums.com

Condominiums are not a type of Building...

Rayna McKay & Mike Frechette (CIR Realty) — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 15:57:29 -0500

I'm really not sure who is to blame the public, or the industry for this very common misconception, but I really want to clear it up. You can not tell if a building is a condominium by looking at it. Too often people think that condominiums are apartment style, when in reality a vacant lot in a subdivision can be a condominium form of ownership. So I would like to take this moment to list off the many styles of condominiums for anyone in the market.

The most well know and recognized form of a condominium would be the apartment style.

Another form of ownership is your townhouse or duplex style condominium. A large benefit to having condominium ownership of a townhouse or duplex is the condo board is responsible for exterior upkeep. Instead of mowing the lawn and shoveling the snow you can be enjoying your property.Generally all the units are painted the same color and maintained in a respectable state. For anyone that has seen an old duplex with one well maintained side, and the other side run down with towels in the windows with long unkept grass. When you look at these units you can see the need for articetual controls found within the bylaws.

The final and most mistaken from of condominium is bare land condos, these look like nothing more then a subdivided community. For this reason these cause numerous problems due to poor research by Realtors and buyers. When they find out there is a set of bylaws that come with that new piece of land that they thought they had to freedom to build to there hearts content.

So really the point of this little rant is that you can never judge a property by the cover, but you need only read the title to understand.

Rayna McKay & Mike Frechette

www.CalgaryCondominiums.com

Condo Home Owners Insurance

Rayna McKay & Mike Frechette (CIR Realty) — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 15:32:19 -0500

"Why do I need home owners insurance, it's listed right here under my condo contributions?"

This question fills me with fear. Which is why I always try to bring up the subject of insurance before clients hear about it from somebody else. Any Condominium that someone would want to buy will have insurance. Your insurance is paid for by a portion of your condominium contributions. This is not personal insurance! The insurance that you pay out of your condo contributions is corporate insurance. It covers the corporation in the event that the building gets struck by lightning or other natural disasters so that they can fix the building with no other cost being incurred by you. The other main need for corporate insurance is if the mail man slips on ice on the common property he can sue the owner of that land which is the corporation and by relation yourself and all your condo contributing friends. This all sounds like great news, You say "I'm Covered!"

I have some very bad news, your building has just burnt down. Your standing outside in your bathrobe asking your neighbor where to put in the claim for your plasma 72" big screen TV with surround sound and your leather sectional sofa. This is really not the optimal time to discover that your insurance only covers the corporation, it doesn't cover your hard earned personal possessions. So if you live in a condo, and don't have homeowners insurance I hope that you don't have any expensive possessions.

Rayna McKay & Mike Frechette

www.calgarycondominiums.com

P.S. go buy insurance