The Chris & Lisa Real Estate Blog

Spring is here! Links for home & yard spring cleanup schedules.

Mon, 19 Mar 2012 03:00:00 GMT

Along with the warmer weather, the melting of the last of the snow & the first day of spring almost here, it is time to start thinking about your spring home and yard maintenance projects.

Home Maintenance

According to CMHC getting in the habit of a regular home maintenance schedule can spare you from common and costly problems. CMHC has a great online home maintenance schedule broken down by season at http://tiny.cc/CMHChomemaintenanceCMHC , they have a printer friendly version if you prefer.

Lawn Maintenance

Richmond nursery has a great article on how to care for your lawn at http://tiny.cc/springlawncare

Yard Maintenance

Here is an article on spring cleaning in your yard http://tiny.cc/springcleaningyard

If you don't feel comfortable doing some of the home maintenance, you may want to consider hiring a qualified handyperson to help you.

Enjoy the spring weather!

October 2011 Market Update

Fri, 14 Oct 2011 03:00:00 GMT

October 2011

Market Update

The national housing market remains firmly planted in balanced territory. Year-to-date sales continue on pace with the ten-year average. According to Gary Morose, CREA president, "Through their actions, home buyers are showing that they remain confident about the stability of the Canadian housing market, and recognize that the continuation of low interest rates presents an excellent opportunity to buy their first home or trade up."

While debt levels around the world remain a downside risk to the outlook, Canada's gradually improving domestic landscape provides a margin of safety. "Despite an increased focus on external risks, the Bank still expects Canada's economy to post stronger growth in the second half of the year, supported both by business and household spending." The key will be to do so without elevating household debt to unsustainable levels.

The balanced market provides a fair playing ground with opportunities for both buyers and sellers. For the time being, interest rates remain historically low and present buyers with extremely favourable financing, but as global recovery regains its footing, rates will likely rise to keep inflation in check.

Interest Rates

Low interest rates and stabilizing home prices are bringing home ownership within reach for an increasing number of Canadians. When widespread global recovery gains a stronger footing, rates are expected to increase to keep inflation near the 2% target. Although rates are up from record lows in December and January, the Bank of Canada has lost urgency for additional rate hikes, given the increasing concerns over debt levels in Europe and weakening economic indicators in the United States. The low rates offer increased affordability for home buyers.

Home Sales

Resale housing activity remained steady for the third month in a row and is a testament to the strength of the housing market, particularly given the recent volatility in the financial markets around the world. Although it largely reflects the weakened activity one year ago, this marks the third time since April 2010 that sales were up year-over-year. Moving forward, sales are expected to remain stable.

Home Price

The average home price in August stood at $349,916—down 3.1% from last month, yet still up 7.7% over last year. Earlier this year, elevated sales of higher-end homes skewed the national average price higher. The drop in average price is more a result of sales in the most expensive markets coming back in line with normal levels, rather than a depreciation of overall home values. This should have a minimal, if any, effect on buyers and sellers.

Inventory

The national housing market remained firmly planted in a balanced market in August, as marks the fifth month of a sales-to-new listings ratio of 52%. More than 70% of all local markets were balanced—more than any other time on record. Balanced inventory indicates a greater likelihood of a steady and stable market in the coming months, which is a good sign for the housing market moving forward.

Harvest Fest - Our 1st client appreciation event!

Mon, 19 Sep 2011 12:46:00 GMT

Our inaugural “Harvest Fest” was a great success! We had a great turnout of clients and friends come out to Mountain Orchards and enjoy the day with us; it was great to see all of you! Great food and activities were enjoyed by all, and we lucked out with the weather too!

We enjoyed wagon rides, apple picking, tether ball, the straw jump and the nature trails. Kids (big and small) got turned around in the corn maze – but we are happy to report everyone made it out!

Congratulations to our draw winners!

Claude & Diane - won a pair Senators tickets!

Ray & Lee - won a gift certificate to the Keg!

P.J. & Kelly - won a gift certificate to Chapters!

A huge thanks to Shelley at Mountain Orchards for allowing us to host our event, Catered Affairs for providing refreshments, and to Julia O’Grady from In the Moment Party & Event Planning for taking family portraits!

Last but not least, thank you to all our clients who make it possible to host family fun days like this. We look forward to seeing all of you again next year!

June hot for home sales

Mon, 11 Jul 2011 03:00:00 GMT

This article has been reposted from the Ottawa Citizen:

June hot for home sales

First-timers busy

BY VITO PILIECI, OTTAWA CITIZEN JULY 7, 2011

June turned out to be a hot month for home sales in the nation's capital, as low mortgage rates and a large selection of available properties drew out first-time buyers.

Figures released Wednesday by the Ottawa Real Estate Board show 1,712 properties were sold during the month. That's an 11-per-cent jump over the 1,543 properties sold in Ottawa during June 2010.

Resale home sales in Ottawa have been sluggish throughout most of this year. June marks the first month in 2011 in which the number of resale homes sold topped the same month one year ago.

"It's obvious that the dream of home ownership is alive and well in Ottawa, with solid sales numbers like these," said Joanne Tibbles, president of the real estate board. "Firsttime buyers are out in the market in a big way, due to continued low interest rates."

According to the board, the average sale price for all properties except condominiums in June was $375,539, an increase of 7.3 per cent over June 2010. The average price of a condominium was $275,996, up 9.6 per cent over the same month last year.

So far, a total of 7,765 homes have been sold in 2011. That trails last year's sales pace. In the first six months of 2010, the sales total reached 8,286 as buyers rushed to avoid paying the pending harmonized sales tax.

Read

Should I Buy a Home Now?

Mon, 04 Apr 2011 03:00:00 GMT

I'm often asked if this is a good time to buy a home. Some clients are concerned that home prices may fall further than they have already. They are assuming that the best course of action is to wait for the bottom in the market and then buy. The problem with this approach is that you don't know where the bottom is until you see it in the rear view mirror, meaning until you've missed it!

Home prices are one factor in determining your cost of ownership, but so are interest rates and financing availability. Even though interest rates have gone up in the last six months, they are still near historic lows. Since your monthly mortgage payment is a combination of paying down your principal and paying the interest owed, if home prices come down a little further but interest rates up, it could cost you even more to service a mortgage on an identical home!

While a home is a major investment, it is also the center of your personal life. It's important to live in a home that reflects your taste and values, yet is within your financial "comfort zone." To that end, it may be more important to lock in today's relatively low interest rates and low home prices, rather than to hope for a further break in prices in the future.

Please give me a call if I can be of any assistance in determining how much home you can afford in today's market.