Real Estate Blog - YYC Living

Where To See The Autumn Leaves

F. Scott Fitzgerald once wrote, "life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall"; and oh, how crisp it has become! The autumn leaves are in full bloom, flaunting gorgeous shades of reds, yellows and oranges. Autumn is a beautiful--but short--transition time between our hot summers and cold winters, so embrace this small window of beauty while it lasts!

The most popular destination to see the fall colours is the mountains, where larch season is underway and autumn is on full display. However, mountain destinations can be packed with locals looking for an escape and tourists coming to stand in awe and wonder. Popular Kananaskis hiking destinations, the towns of Banff and Canmore, and Lake Louise are crowded these days, so skip them! Did you…

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When to Move & When to Stay

As a real estate group, we want you to sell or buy a home. After all, that is what we are here for! We are so proud to serve our valued clients, helping you make your big move. It is one of the biggest financial decisions you'll make, so we want you to feel good about it every step of the way. We are here to help relieve stress and any fears of the unknown. When you partner with Team Ken Richter, you can be assured you'll be supported every step of the way. 

If some of your anxiety comes from being unsure of if you should stay put or make a move, take a deep breath. This is normal; this is a massive decision to make! We always recommend first meeting with Ken Richter to discuss what you're hoping for. With thirty-plus years of experience helping…

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Selling Your Home This Fall

Are you selling your home this fall? Here are some tips:

1). Don’t rely on the market to sell your home for you. While we may be at the tail end of a seller’s market, things are shifting. Gone are the days of every home selling before it’s ever listed for way over asking price. While the market still skews slightly in the seller’s favor, you need to be strategic to set it up for success.

2). Figure out what your home’s selling feature is. Every property has that key, top-of-the-list quality that is it’s best feature. This could be the neighborhood, new appliances, the layout, the zoning for the lot; whatever it is, capitalize on it and highlight it as much as possible.

3). Get staged. Whether you think your home is beautifully decorated and…

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Back To School Advice

Back to school season is in full swing, with many grade schools starting classes as early as August! With the back to school season comes new schedules, activities, processes, people, and so much more. It can be an overwhelming and over-stimulating couple of weeks getting settled into a new routine; so be gracious with yourself and your loved ones as you navigate this transition. We know it’s exhausting, so take care of each other.

One of the ways you can be gentle on yourself and others during this season is to celebrate the start of the school year the best way possible: by ordering take-out and putting on a family-favorite movie. Jen Hatmaker, author and speaker, encourages her readers to make the first Friday of back to school season a pizza…

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September 2022 Events

Happy September, Calgary!

Autumn is on the horizon, Back to School is in full swing, and some great events are coming to our city. Check some of them out!

September 1-31 Millarville Farmers Market
September 9-10 The Price is Right Live
September 11 ZooLaLa
September 11 Canadian Country Music Awards
September 16 Carnivale at Heritage Park
September 16 Ultra Calgary Night Run 5K & 10K
September 17 The Stampeders vs. Lions
September 22-31 Pumpkins After Dark
September 22 The Calgary Opera's 50th Anniversary Concert
September 23-24 Etsy Calgary Fall Market
September 29 Tracy Morgan Live
September 30 National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

What are you most looking forward to this September?

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August 2022 Real Estate Market Summary

It was another busy month in Calgary Real Estate! The Calgary Real Estate Board has released it's monthly summary of what happened in the market, which is an excellent resource for buyers, sellers and investors. Read the highlights of the August 2022 Calgary Real Estate report below: 

• "...there continues to be a shift towards more affordable options as the year-over-year pullback in detached sales was nearly matched by gains for multi-family product types."
• "... new listings continue to trend down, preventing any supply gains or a substantial shift in the months of supply."
• "The months of supply in August remained at just above two months, not at tight as earlier in the year, but still below levels traditionally seen this time of year."
…

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How To Make Your Home Stand Out to Buyers

Making your home stand out to buyers is an artform. It all comes down to one key factor: selling your home is not an opportunity to show off your personal belongings or home. It's about showcasing the core property and creating an environment where buyers can envision themselves making their own home-sweet-home. Making your home stand out to buyers not only helps draw more attention away from competition, but will ensure you get a top-dollar offer. Help your home put its best foot forward by doing the following:

1). Stage Your Home: There are two types of home stagers: ones that will come in and do the home staging for you, and ones that will come evaluate your property to provide you with their recommendations on how best to present it. Either…

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Questions To Ask Your Real Estate Professional When Selling

When you’re choosing a real estate professional, you need to make sure your partnering with someone you trust to help you navigate the biggest sale of your life. There are hundreds of real estate professionals, but only an elite few who will be a good match for you. When you’re trying to make a decision on who should join your home selling team, here are some questions to ask the candidates:

1). How many sales have you closed yearly for the past five years? Like we said, there are tons of real estate professionals out there; but not all of them have a track record that you can count on. Looking at their stats from the past five years will help you see how they’ve performed in a multitude of markets. Here at Team Ken Richter, we are proud to…

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July 2022 Real Estate Statistics Update

The stats are in! Here are the highlights from the Calgary Real Estate Board's latest report:

• "Significant slowdowns in the detached and semi-detached market were nearly offset by sales growth in the apartment and row sectors." (CREB®)
• "Listings for homes priced below $500,000 fell by 18 per cent, while levels rose by 20 per cent for homes priced above $500,000." (CREB®)
• "With just over two months of supply, the market remains far tighter than anything experienced throughout the recessionary period experienced prior to the pandemic." (CREB®)
• "As expected, the benchmark price did see some slippage relative to levels seen earlier in the year and rising lending rates have cooled much of the bidding war activity that was driving significant…

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August 2022 Long Weekend Activity Ideas

Ahhh, the long weekend is here! Everyone seems to take a deep breath when a long weekend arrives, knowing they will have one more day to rest.

Did you know that in some countries, such as Belgium, nearly every workplace keeps to a four day work day? They find it makes employees more productive, and has increased levels of happiness. Instead of packing one day of your weekend with errands, you have a day just for that. After all, we were never intended to work a 40 hour work week AND take care of domestic duties. If you’re having trouble balancing it all, go easy on yourself.

This is why long weekends are so lovely. They allow time for you to really rest, and go do something if you’re so inclined! If you’re looking for something fun to do this long…

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