Real Estate Blog - yyc

Renegotiating Your Lease

Many leases on suites across the city end this month, prompting listings to rise for rental units. This is a great time for this to be happening because Calgary is currently in a buyer’s market. This means that buyers (or renters, in this case) can be more selective since there is a lot on the market but not a lot of demand.

In this buyer’s market, renters have the upper hand. If you are renting and your lease ends soon, it is time to take a look at your lease and evaluate if you are happy with it remaining unchanged for another length of time. For those of you unhappy with the current agreement, now is your time to negotiate.

The first thing to consider before attempting a negotiation is that even though the market favours renters right now, there…

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Places To Check Out in Bowness

Here at Team Ken Richter we love working in the City of Calgary. One community that is especially close to our heart is Bowness. Few neighborhoods have as much resilience, passion, history and community spirit as Bowness. We are so excited about what is going on in the community of Bowness, so for today’s blog we are going to share some of these things with you.

The Re-Opening of Marty’s Corner Store: Back in 2013 the Calgary flooding drowned Marty’s Corner store, which had been a Bowness staple for almost 70 years. The corner store “[offered] residents a community gathering place where children spent their allowance on sweets, parents purchased bread, milk and other groceries, and seniors gathered for morning coffee” (The Calgary Herald). Newly…

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August 2016 Statstics

Every month the Calgary Real Estate Board (CREB®) publishes a monthly housing summary. These summaries go over what happened in the real estate market, how trends shifted, what to expect moving forward, benchmark prices, information behind changes in the market, etc.. This is a fantastic resource that we highly recommend! The most successful kind of buyers and sellers are the kind of buyers and sellers that are informed.

Most recently CREB® divided their report into two parts: the Calgary statistics and the Calgary region statistics. In our monthly summaries of the CREB® report, we focus specifically on the Calgary statistics. However, if you are interested in knowing about Calgary and its neighbouring areas, check out the full Calgary region…

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Block Party Essentials

Can you believe it is already the last week of August? Summer flew by, as it always does. However, here at Team Ken Richter we are committed to helping you get the most out of the remainder of the summer. One way to take advantage of the long summer days is to host a block party.

Block parties are a great way to meet more people, eat good food and enjoy the beautiful outdoors. Whether your neighbourhood has done one before or not, we encourage anyone who is interested in having one to go for it. Here are some block party essentials:

1). Team Up: If you are already friends with people in the neighbourhood, team up with them to host the block party. Having other people to help organize all the details can be a huge help. Have one person in charge of…

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July 2016 Statistics

This year’s census data has shown a major decline in net migration. While families already in Calgary are growing, the number of people coming to Calgary from other places has decreased. This has affected the housing market by sales activity dropping.

CREB® chief economist Ann-Marie Lurie explains, “continued pullback of sales activity is a sign of economic conditions. The number of unemployed workers keeps rising and when you combine job losses with declining net migration, the result is going to be weaker housing demand.”

One thing that worked in favor of this was a decline in new listings. Less buying activity was matched with less inventory on the market, which significantly helped prevent pressure on benchmark prices. CREB® notes that the…

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Home Staging: Kitchen Edition

Kitchens are one of the most frequently used areas of the home, making it understandable that they often experience the most wear and tear. Kitchens are an area where dust and grime can build up quickly if left unattended, making them one area potential buyers will zero in on quickly to see what the level of cleanliness is in your home. When it comes to home staging, kitchens cannot go neglected.

Here are some easy ways to fix up your kitchen without having to completely remodel it. Doing this will be good for your wallet and good for your home, along with making it a much more aesthetically pleasing space for buyers.

1), Wipe down all surfaces and re-paint where needed. Using a simple mix of water and vinegar helps clean away dirt, stains and…

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June 2016 Statistics

The June statistics are in!

For those of you just joining us here at Team Ken Richter, welcome! Every month the Calgary Real Estate Board (CREB®) publishes a summary of what happened in the housing market during the previous month. This is a fantastic way for buyers, sellers, investors and renters to stay up to date on market conditions. By tracking trends you can make smarter real estate choices, and we are here to help.

So, what happened in June?

Home prices continued to slide downwards as a buyers market persisted. What is a buyer’s market, you ask? That is when there are high inventory levels with low prices. This kind of market gives buyers the advantage because they have more to choose from at a lower price.

The detached home sector was…

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Daycation Ideas

August long weekend is almost here and with it comes the opportunity for many people to get away from the city and go exploring. While not everyone has the time or the money to go on some elaborate vacation across the globe, one needn’t drive far to find beauty and new things.

Here are some daycation ideas for those wanting to explore Alberta this August long weekend:

Frank’s Slide: This is the perfect place for those of you who love history. Frank’s Slide is located north of Calgary and is a historic site marking the place where part of Turtle Mountain collapsed, burying a small town back in the early 1900’s. Not only is there a great visitor center full of old photos, artifacts and information, but you can walk through the massive rocks at the…

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Ice Cream in YYC

July is National Ice Cream month! Finally, a month where our ice cream habit has a good excuse. Surprisingly, for a city that is so cold with not ideal ice cream conditions, Calgary has a great ice cream scene. YYC has stepped up its game when it comes to frozen treats and we are so excited to share them with you. Without further ado, here are some great places to grab a scoop in YYC:

1). Made By Marcus: This company began on the streets of Calgary, using festivals and markets to share their delicious ice cream with the world. They opened their flagship store on 17th Ave and have a new location coming to Hillhurst later this month! The ice cream flavours are decadent and surprising, like Beets & Cream. Our favourite is the White Chocolate Birthday…

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May 2016 Statistics

In May inventory levels continued to rise as more homes were put on the market. Meanwhile, sales activity slowed to one-thousand nine-hundred twenty-three units being sold. CREB® explains this development in their monthly housing summary for May. An in-depth report with specific statistics can can be found at their website, www.creb.com, but here are some of the major highlights:

Why did the market play out the way it did in May?

“While recent oil price gains may have some feeling optimistic, weakness in the labour market continues to impact housing demand,” says CREB® chief economist Ann-Marie Lurie. “Job losses are spreading into other sectors, wages are declining and unemployment levels remain high. At the same time, we’re seeing housing supply…

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