Real Estate Blog - yyc

Getting A Mortgage With a Student Loan

University is over for students across the globe. Some will be resting over the summer break before hitting the books again in the fall while others have graduated and get to move on to new and exciting pursuits. Either way, students everywhere are desperate for a job.

Tuition is very expensive, averaging approximately $10,000 per year for classes alone. This number does not include living expenses, textbooks or transportation. This is why during the summer months, students work hard to save enough money to pay for their upcoming school year.

Despite this, even if a person works 40+ hours a week in the four months leading up to the new school year, many still do not have enough to cover tuition. This is why students turn to student loans. The…

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April Statistics

At the start of every month we go over what happened in the world of the Calgary real estate market in the previous month. This enables you as a buyer, seller, investor, renter, leaser, etc. to stay up to date on exactly what is happening.

Market conditions are constantly shifting and evolving. They provide crucial information regarding a sector that involves major financial decisions. Keep yourself informed so you can be educated and informed!

So, what did the market look like in April? We’re turning to the Calgary Real Estate Board (CREB®) to find out.

The market is finally starting to shift. Inventory remains high, but prices are starting to decline as sellers become more realistic about the market they are in. Prices have been slowly falling…

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2 Tips for Landlords

The Calgary real estate market has been suffering ever since the fall of oil last January. While the economy has been slowly regaining its footing, the housing market continues to be seriously affected. With so many job loses, people are leaving the city, leading to high inventory levels. These inventory levels have not significantly affected pricing of homes as stubborn sellers hold onto hope that the market will turn back in their favour. This leads to high prices and high vacancy rates.

These market conditions put landlords in a tough situation, as many are left with great properties that are going unrented. So, what can be done when vacancy rates continue to rise? There are two major things you need to do: you need to be tough on yourself and you…

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New Inner-City Businesses

With today’s economy many people are shying away from brand new start-ups and business endeavours. However, that hasn’t stopped some from putting it all on the line to bring Calgary a new business. Luckily, their courage has paid off and now Calgary has a great new establishment to enjoy. In today’s post, we will be outlining some of the fantastic new businesses that have come to inner-city YYC. With the weather so nice, now is the perfect time to check out some new favourite spots.

The Beltliner: If you like breakfast and brunch, this is the perfect place for you. They have a wide variety of food and cafe options, from your classic eggs and bacon to new and exciting dishes. Located in the heart of downtown, they are quickly becoming a Calgary hot…

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March 2016 Statistics

April is here, much to the delight and surprise of many. It seems as though March flew by with the help of the beautiful weather and so many special events.

With the beginning of April comes the ability to see what happened in March as a whole. This is what CREB (the Calgary Real Estate Board) does: they look back on everything that happened in March, then summarize it and record the data so overall trends can be discovered. Every month we take the CREB summary and give you the highlights. If you want more detailed information, go to their website HERE. They are a fantastic resources for buyers, sellers, investors and anyone else wondering what is going on in the real estate market.

Without further ado, here are the CREB March housing summary…

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Unique Coffee Shops in YYC

Calgarians are busy. We are a city that thrives on an entrepreneurial spirit that works hard snow or shine. With such a bustling atmosphere, Calgary needs something to keep it chugging along at full speed ahead. Lots of things enable Calgarians to work hard: family, culture, community, etc. And what is the key ingredient to the start of a long day? Coffee.

Here in Calgary you can find a Starbucks, Tim Hortons, Good Earth or Second Cup on nearly every block. However, we also have a thriving independent coffee shop community. These coffee shops are locally owned and curated. These unique shops are the perfect place to grab a cup of joe on the go, or to sit and soak in the atmosphere. Either way, we guarantee you’ll love every single one.

Without…

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January 2016 Statistics

Every month we post the real estate market statistics from the previous month. This is a good way for us to summarize city-wide activity in the market and also give you some insight into what is predicted for the current month. We recognize that not everyone is numbers focused, but here are two good reasons why you should be reading these posts:

1). The housing market is a reflection of the city’s economic condition, so you gain insight into that sector, too.

2). They enable you to be an informed buyer / seller / investor.

So, without further ado, here is the January housing market statistics summery:

2016 has started off as a buyers market, just like this time last year. CREB® chief economist Ann-Marie Lurie explains this by saying, “The…

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2016 Housing Market Outlook

The 2016 Housing Market Outlook by RE/MAX is officially available and filled with important information for buyers and sellers alike. To read the whole report, click HERE. It is definitely worth the read, giving you an inside look at what the projections are for the housing market in 2016.

The report covers all of Canada so that you can get a birds eye view on what the market looks like as a whole. In this post, we will be highlighting the information specific to Alberta and Calgary. However, we highly recommend reading up on the other provinces.

Here are some key things to note from the report as we head into 2016:

As we are all well aware of, the sudden drop of oil prices was a shock to the system for every sector, including the real estate…

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December 2015 Statistics

Can you believe it’s already 2016? It seems like just yesterday it was 2012. 2016 has a lot of promise, full of adventures and changes that we are really looking forward to. In the meantime, we have a review of what happened in the housing market during the last month of 2015, December.

While December is a great month to close on a house sale to squeeze in end of the year tax savings and take advantage of builders wanting to get rid of inventory, this December’s market slowed down. With Calgary’s economic condition borderline critical, December did not leave room for massive purchases. That on top of the money people were already spending on gifts and parties for the holidays left little room for the housing market to flourish.

The CREB® housing…

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November 2015 Statistics

CREB® has released the November housing summary recap. Here are some of the highlights that you should be aware of:

November was not a tumultuous one for the real estate market. Despite the downward trend in activity, conditions are remaining stable enough to not cause too much worry. One good thing about less activity is that the housing market is officially a buyers market right in time for you to close a deal before the new year.

What is the headline CREB® gave the November housing statistics? “Weak sales activity relative to inventory places downward pressure on prices.”

High inventory levels in the Calgary resale sector persisted through November. These inventory levels were paired with weak sales levels, leading to a buyers market. Monthly…

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