Real Estate Blog - Real Estate

Vacation Properties

If there is one thing Calgarians love, it is a beautiful vacation home somewhere warm to visit on chilly winter days and as a summer getaway. Not only are vacation homes a great refuge to escape the busy city life, but they are also a fantastic investment. While real estate is one of the most popular places people invest their money, it can also be a risky investment if it is not done properly. So, today we are going to be going over how to find a great vacation property that doubles as a great investment.

Popular places for owning vacation homes are Palm Springs CA, Arizona, and Radium B.C. You definitely aren’t limited to only searching for homes here, but they do have some bonuses: the plethora of other vacation homes there mean that it is a…

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June 2015 Statistics

It has been a long time coming, but we can finally say with certainty that the Calgary Real Estate market has finally stabilized and is back to where it once was. For some, this is incredibly surprising considering the fact that the overall economic market of Calgary nearly plummeted back in January when the oil sector crashed. For the optimists, this in an unsurprising result of a city who has fought through way too many things to be thrown off track for long. Welcome back, Calgary. We missed you.

While transaction levels this June were 5% below the average, this is completely consistent with trends we’ve seen over the past 10 years.

“We’ve seen less concern from consumers lately. Consumers who were waiting for wide-spread price declines have been…

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How To Find An Open House

June has a long history of being a popular month for buying and selling here in Calgary. With the nice weather, vacation time, and influx of new families before the new school year starts, June is the perfect month to be active in the world of real estate. Whether you are buying or selling, now is the time to enter the market.

If you are planning to buy a home, June is a great month to start going to as many open houses as possible. Not only will this give you a good idea of what is out on the market, but it will also help you to get a feel for benchmark prices. Plus, open houses can be really fun if you go into them with a positive attitude.

There are a number of ways to find open houses to visit.

Open Houses are a lot like garage sales:…

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May 2015 Statistics

Spring is all about fresh beginnings, and that is what is happening in the Calgary real estate market: Calgary is finally recovering from the hit it took back in January when prices in oil fell. Against all odds, Calgary is coming back out on top.

While doomsday forecasters predicted an economic crisis to rival that of America’s crash, the Calgary Real Estate board held onto hope. That hope is starting to pay off. It has taken some time for the real estate market to stablilize after January’s economic hit frightened citizens away from being active in the market, but as the economy gets its footing once more, so has the housing market.

CREB® chief economist Ann-Marie Lurie reports, “For the third month in the row, new listings have eased compared to…

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Property Investments and Vacation Homes

When people think of recreational properties, they often think of a small house in Palm Springs or Arizona that they can retreat to during the cold winter months. This is absolutely true: many people who can afford the cost and upkeep of a second property somewhere outside of their primary area of living choose to invest.

Recreational properties are great for personal use, but they can also make extremely sound investments. Many people pursue real estate as a way to make money, whether its their primary job or not, and investment properties are one of the ways they do this. An investment property is not so different from a recreational property. In fact, the only difference is the mindset: a recreational property is for personal enjoyment, and an…

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CMA's for Buyers

Earlier this week on Monday we featured a blog post that discussed CMA for sellers. In it we explained what exactly a CMA is and why it is important to have done on your property before you list your home. If you have not read that post already, please do now. Here is the link: http://blog.kenrichter.com/2015/04/14/cma-for-sellers/#sthash.2iUj4jlU.dpbs

Now that you know exactly what a CMA is, you may be surprised that we are discussing why a CMA is important for buyers to do on homes they are interested in. After all, shouldn’t the current homeowners have done their due-dillagence and already had a trustworthy CMA done? The answer is, hopefully. However, here are the reasons why a CMA (Comparative Market Analysis) is important for you to do on any…

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March 2015 Statistics

March was a good month for the world of real estate! Calgary is still in recovery mode from the drop in oil prices earlier this year, but conditions have remained relevantly stable and continue to stay in a healthy environment.

The most significant thing that happened in March that you, a potential buyer or seller, need to be aware of is the rise in inventory and the fact that benchmark prices dropped %0.44. Why is this? The more houses there are on the market, the more competition sellers have. If you are looking to buy, this means you have lots of options at reasonable prices. If you are looking to sell, remember that there are a lot of houses on the market right now, so you need to make sure you are offering a fair, competitive asking price.

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Ken Richter is #1... Again!

Team Ken Richter has done it again! This 2015 awards season we are thrilled to report that we have been recognized as leaders in the industry. This is all thanks to you, our amazing clients, who have decided to partner alongside us. We hope that we can live up to these titles and continue bringing you experience, expertise and passion. Without further ado, here is the official list of the awards we are so honoured to have won:

• Re/Max Real Estate (Central) – #1 Office Worldwide for the 16th Consecutive Year

• #1 Office Worldwide for Number of Closed Transactions – Metro Market

• #1 Office Worldwide for Total Sales Volume – Single Office

• Largest Single Re/Max Office in the World

• Ken Richter has also…

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The Importance Of Location

As we have discussed, buying and selling a home goes beyond aesthetics. Yes, a beautiful garden and freshly painted trimming will add value to a home and make it appear more desirable. However, the building itself cannot be the only important factor. One could even argue that location is the most important thing to look at when choosing a home.

Location is important for a number of reasons, the most prevalent being that you need to find a home in an area that will suit your needs and desires. For example, if you have teenagers, finding a safe neighbourhood with good public transportation lines and nearby recreational facilities is preferable. What about the flip side? Why is location important to people selling their home?

Location is important for…

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February Statistics

At the end of each month we turn to CREB®, the Calgary Real Estate Board, for statistics on what went on in the market that month and what consumers can expect to see in the coming month! At the end of January, we did not have the best news to report. Unfortunately, due to the significant drop in oil prices, the market was shocked out of a highly optimistic forecast for 2015 and into a month where everything slowed down. People were neither buying nor selling as unstable economic conditions loomed over the market.

We are thrilled to say that this is no longer the case! The market in February was still not at where it was forecasted to be, but that is completely understandable due to the changes in January. February was a month for recovery, and recover…

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