alberta: Alberta Real Estate License Parking
- 03/26/24 01:21 PM
Once you have an Alberta Real Estate License granted to you by the Real Estate Council of Alberta (RECA) you are eligible to register with a Licensed Alberta real estate brokerage. However, if you are not registered with an Alberta brokerage for some time, your Alberta real estate license will expire and be permanently cancelled. We will explain below why you may want to register with Park and Protect. *You are NOT authorized to trade in real estate in Alberta without being registered with an Alberta Brokerage. Trading without authorization may result in financial penalties as well as license suspension or cancellation. Here is (2 comments)
If you are a Lethbridge homeowner and you have been served a notice of foreclosure, you are probably scared and wondering what to do. Let me help by giving you some direction.
The Bank does not want to repossess your house!
A notice of foreclosure is served upon an Alberta homeowner typically after they have fallen behind on their mortgage payments for more than 90 days and have not been in communication with their bank or mortgage company. Typically if you miss 1 payment, they will try to contact you by phone. They (2 comments)
Relocating to Lethbridge and wondering how much a home here is worth?
For those seeking to relocate to Lethbridge, Alberta a common question I am asked is "How much is the average home there?".
The short answer is that an average home based upon MLS sales data collected by our useless Lethbridge Real Estate Board is $263,000. Now for anyone moving here from any of the major cities in Canada, that is probably about half of what homes are worth in your city. For those moving from more rural markets, you should still find that fairly affordable, as Lethbridge is (3 comments)
alberta: Prince of Wales Hotel Waterton Alberta
- 03/13/16 11:54 AM
We spent the day today hiking in the snowy Rocky Mountains at Waterton National Park in southern Alberta. This is one of our favorite outdoors places to spend time. Here is a pic of one of the most iconic buildings in our entire Province. This building is known as the Prince of Wales Hotel and is an old, vintage hotel that still operates seasonally. We took some newly arrived people from Mexico and Brazil on a bit of a tour today showing them some of the beauty our region offers. More and more international people are discovering the benefits of moving (2 comments)
These days when you are searching online it is difficult to cut through all the bs and sometimes find exactly what you are searching for. This is true when searching for a good real estate agent too. There is so much marketing hype and so many agents who spend thousands of dollars trying to make themselves look like a super agent, that it is really hard to tell who is great at their job and who is just full of hot air.
I have been in the Alberta real estate industry since 1993. I have worked as an real estate Agent, as (0 comments)
alberta: Calgary Real Estate in 2016
- 02/05/16 09:37 AM
Calgary Real Estate in 2016 The Canadian economy and the challenges in Alberta oil industry have presented some unique situations in the Calgary real estate market. A city that was once used to having a solid supply of more buyers than sellers is currently in a market where the buyers are getting harder to find and the prices are weakening. This is not true in all price ranges and in all locations though. There are still neighborhoods that are in high demand and there are still property types and styles which are in reasonably short supply.
This qualifying rate applies to anyone who is seeking mortgage financing and is taking a term of less than 5 years.
The qualifying rate as of today has changed to 5.24% for terms less than 5 years. This still seems somewhat high, as the short term mortgage rates can readily be found for under 3%, however the intention of the Bank of Canada to encourage longer terms and avoid purchasing beyond your means is good.
For consumers, this means that more than ever they will be encouraged (1 comments)
alberta: USA vs CANADA - 2 Diverging Markets
- 04/09/12 04:54 AM
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK United States • Details of the huge shadow inventory of vacant foreclosed real estate is starting to shake prices. There is speculation that as these homes now come to the market in higher numbers that they will push down prices further and increase the supply of property well above the market demand. • While retail gas prices have grown 20% over the last three months, we count ten separate occasions over the last decade where prices have jumped by an equal or greater amount. The problem is that prices are rising off levels that are (1 comments)
alberta: 2012 Canada Vs US Real Estate Markets
- 03/07/12 07:26 AM
Recent studies of the US and Canadian real estate markets presents a tale of two markets on distinctly different paths. While the global economy continues to struggle, the opinions and predictions of what 2012 holds in store for the real estate market of each country is quite interesting.
The following infographic provided by Activerain, the largest internet blogging community designed specifically for real estate professionals, tells the story in a more creative and informative way than several paragraphs of boring statistics can.
Take a look and enjoy. I would appreciate hearing your comments and feedback on it. (0 comments)
alberta: Canada Real Estate Average Prices
- 06/20/11 05:47 AM
Calgary average house prices fifth highest in Canada A report by the Canadian Real Estate Association indicates Calgary had the 5th highest average MLS residential sale price in the Canada in the month of May. The survey of the major real estate markets across Canada showed Calgary's average price for the month was $416,055 for all residential properties (down by 0.5 per cent from May 2010). Leading the country was Vancouver with a whopping average sale price of $831,555, up 25.7 per cent from a year ago. A boom which once again is being caused by investment from Asia. Vancouver high (2 comments)
Recently there has been lots of news coverage about the various real estate markets in Canada. Alberta continues to be the most solid and stable market in the country. Also of note is that New Home Construction in Lethbridge continues to be hot. Also, the average home price was the lowest of any city in Alberta in Lethbridge, coming in at $248,000 for an average home. This just points to one more reason why Lethbridge is poised to see another influx of home buyers this coming real estate season.
Photo Courtesy: Robert W. May Title: Sunset on New Havana
Just got an email from one of our private lenders. They are offering a unique product which basically amounts to 85% financing for clients with slightly bad credit or otherwise challenged mortgage applications.
This is a great opportunity for those who have been held back and not had financing available to them because of these issues. A client who now suffers from some weak credit can buy or refinance with only 15% equity.
Of course, with this type of mortgage product there are (0 comments)
Not Lethbridge Real Estate news directly, but indirectly good news for those with an interest in real estate and financing, or economics in general.
Unemployment reached its lowest point in two years in May.
According to StatsCan, the unemployment rate fell to 7.4 per cent last month. The economy saw net gains of 22,300 jobs in May, part of a cumulative gain of 273,000 jobs over the past year. StatsCan said the combination of more jobs and fewer people seeking work was responsible for the decline in unemployment. (no tutor needed for that info?)
. Canadians rack up debt How do you compare to other Canadians? "Low interest rates today do not necessarily mean low rates tomorrow," warned Bank of Canada's Mark Carney. "Risk reversals, when they happen, can be fierce; the greater the complacency, the more brutal the reckoning." According to the TransUnion credit rating company, Canadians average $26,000 total debt on their credit cards, lines of credit, and vehicle loans. That's an increase over the same period last year of 4.5 per cent, or another $1,000 per person. Average Canadians also owe just over $1 trillion in mortgaged debt. An amount that (2 comments)
alberta: Zero Down, Cash Back, and Flexible Down Payment Programs?
- 06/10/11 05:10 AM
Lethbridge Real Estate - Calgary Real Estate Flexible DP Program; have you considered offering the client an alternative to ‘Cash Back’, I know Cash Back has its advantages, however, we know the rate is much higher than other rate offers, which results in the client paying much more in interest, and there is a claw back along with penalties if the client decides to make changes during the term; benefits of considering the Flexible DP Product; No premium on rate. No claw back, standard penalties apply. Allows the client to ‘Borrow’ their DP from their own resources, loan, LOC, credit card, (0 comments)
alberta: Lethbridge Real Estate - Bank of Canada Announcement
- 05/31/11 09:00 AM
Bank of Canada maintains overnight rate target at 1 per cent OTTAWA, May 31, 2011 /CNW/ - The Bank of Canada today announced that it is maintaining its target for the overnight rate at 1 per cent. The Bank Rate is correspondingly 1 1/4 per cent and the deposit rate is 3/4 per cent. The global economic recovery is proceeding broadly as expected in the Bank's April Monetary Policy Report (MPR). The U.S. economy continues to grow at a modest pace, limited by the consolidation of household balance sheets. Growth in Europe is maintaining momentum, although the risks related to peripheral (0 comments)
What this means to you as a consumer is that if you are applying for a mortgage and want to take a 5 year term, you must qualify at the actual rate you are getting from the bank. For example, 3.69%.
However, if you are taking a term of less than 5 years, despite the fact that you may be getting a rate of 3% or 4%, you must be (0 comments)
alberta: Lethbridge Real Estate - CMHC Pessimistic
- 05/30/11 07:00 AM
Mortgage rules to push housing lower: CMHC Housing starts and sales will fall more into line with “demographic fundamentals” this year and next, according to the latest housing outlook from the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation. The crown agency said it expects housing starts will range between 166,600 to 192,200 units in 2011, with a point forecast of 179,500. That’s a slight dip from 2010 numbers, when Canada saw 189,930 housing starts. "Modest economic growth, in conjunction with relatively low mortgage rates, will continue to support demand for new homes in 2011 and 2012,” Bob Dugan, chief economist for CMHC, (0 comments)
alberta: Weekly Financial Round-Up
- 05/30/11 06:58 AM
TSX +21.69 to 13,797.59 (Reuters) in a broad-based advance led by mining stocks amid rising prices for metals. But the TSX was held back by another earnings disappointment from the banking sector with RBC. All except National came in below analyst expectations for earnings. DOW +38.82 to 12,441.58 New York markets were higher amid investor disappointment with the latest pending home sales data. The number of people who signed contracts to buy homes in April plunged 26.5 per cent from a year earlier. But balancing that data was another report showing consumer sentiment in the U.S. rose in May as expectations (0 comments)
Check out this new Lethbridge listing. Golf season is upon us and the course at Paradise Canyon is looking good as usual. You do not need to fly to Arizona or some other awful place to enjoy the scenery and lifestyle of living right on a great professional quality course. This great upper floor condominium unit is packed with features and value.
The home has over 1300 square feet, 2 large sized bedrooms each with a walk in closet, 2 full bathrooms, fireplace, air conditioning, clay tile roof, (0 comments)