About South, AB

Total New Housing Starts (Seasonable adjusted and annualized)

Source: CMHC Housing Now - September 2009 and September 2008.
This seasonally adjusted data goes through stages of revision at different times of the year.

With economic recovery firmly underway, an end to these fantastic interest rates may come sooner rather than later. Of course they will not shoot up rapidly overnight, however the trend is now flat and expected to be up and not down, going forward. For consumers who are trying to pick a term for their next financing this presents some important info to consider.

Check the following article from Reuters.

SUMMERSIDE, Prince Edward Island, Sept 23 (Reuters) - The Bank of Canada foresees higher interest rates following the expiry of its conditional pledge to hold them unchanged till the middle of 2010, Deputy Governor David Longworth said on Wednesday.

"Interest rates are low and consistent with our projection of inflation, one would expect there would be some movement up in interest rates following the end of June 2010, but anything to do with magnitude would depend on our future inflation projection," he said after a speech in Prince Edward Island.

It was the most explicit statement the central bank has made about what could happen after mid-2010. However, Longworth did not specify exactly when to expect a rate hike.

Thinking about selling your house?

Think you will save money by trying it on your own and without professional representation?

The desire to sell your own home comes from wanting to save money. Many people estimate how much their home is worth and then figure somewhere between 4 to 7% of that would be paid out in commissions to call up their neighborhood real estate pro. The thought of paying 5, 10, 15 thousand dollars to have someone sell the property for you sometimes seems excessive.

I agree, it is a substantial amount of money. However, there are some reasons that paying this commission can be the right decision.

1. Listed homes sell faster

-while there are no great sources for facts on for sale by owner properties, the reality is that the majority of them eventually give up or else eventually call in professional help, often after an average of 60 to 90 days. In the Lethbridge market, a properly priced home listed on MLS and marketed reasonably well, can expect an offer in less than 30 days.

2. More Money

-Listed homes almost always sell for more money than comparable for sale by owner properties. This is due to the fact that the home is exposed to more buyers and also to the best type of buyers. The best type of buyer is not the guy who lives down your block, it is someone who needs to buy asap, often a relocation or someone who has just sold their home. These people are working with a real estate professional 100% of the time. If you want to sell your house to a motivated buyer who will pay top dollar for the right home, you need to get it in front of these buyers. Listing it is the only way.

3. Advice, Knowledge, and Insurance

-I like to throw all 3 of those in the mix. A professional real estate person will know the value of your home in the current market, The should be aware of what you can do to the property and for marketing in order to achieve maximum selling price and to attract the best offers. Also, licensed real estate professionals carry insurance which helps to protect YOU should there be something unfortunate happen during the transaction. This insurance alone can often be well worth the value paid in commissions.

When I sell my own real estate, I use a real estate professional to help me, even though I could do it myself. I also pay top dollar commission and price my property to sell. My listing attracts both real estate professionals but also the best buyers in the marketplace. Keep in mind, any real estate person can list your home, but only the best real estate people can get you maximum dollar for your property in the least amount of time.

Call me anytime for no obligation conversation about your real estate needs. This is what I do! Let me show you how to maximize the dollars in your pocket by making smart real estate decisions.

This has been a crazy month for me so far. I have been interviewed by 3 major media outlets who were gathering info for various articles they were writing.

Canadian Real Estate Investor Magazine was the first to make contact with me a couple of weeks ago. They often write pieces about various regions in the country and what the rental and revenue market is like. I really enjoyed talking to this reporter, as it made me even more aware of the things that investors from outside our area are interested it.

As a long time resident of Lethbridge, it is easy to not have noticed how rapidly our population grew, how much more development has come in recently, to not see our marketplace changing dramatically. Speaking with the reporter about rental properties in Lethbridge made me realize just how great our market is and how fortunate our local investors are.

The second contact came from Inman News. Around here, nobody would recognize that name, but Inman News is 'THE' major player when it comes to Real Estate news in the US marketplace. According to their website, "Inman News is the leading source of independent real estate news, information, advice, research, opinion and commentary for industry professionals and consumers alike."

The 3rd call came late this week and was from CTV news. These guys are a staple of the Canadian media and I have actually spoken to them in the past. With the Alberta marketplace seemingly weathering the economic downturn rather well, we are attracting national and international attention. I was thrilled to be the positive voice on this issue and to contribute some opinion and facts regarding how things are going. I personally believe that much of what happens in the market is a creation of the mindset and attitude of consumers, real estate professionals, and the media.

If we want a strong economy and real estate market, we need to focus on the successes and on the good news that is around us. Sure there are a few hardluck stories and there are some markets elsewhere in which things are still not going well. Lethbridge is doing great though. Alberta is still going strong. Canada in general is still one of the leading marketplaces in the entire world.

So I just wanted to brag a bit about these media requests I had received. Hopefully my contributions will be informational, educational, or at least entertaining. Thanks so much for reading.

For the past 15 years, I have had many real estate clients who arrive to live and work or retire to Lethbridge from various locations across Canada and the world. In the past, I used to provide these clients with a package in advance of their arrival to the area. This bundle was referred to as a 'relocation package'.

Stuffed into this package of info was always a map, lists of schools and recreational activities, economic projections, housing stats, and lots of other dry stuff that really was just in there to make the pack look much more extensive and helpful. The reality was though that the majority of those packages probably went unopened or only looked at for less than a brief moment.

As much as some of this information seemed useful, most of it was statsitics and stuff that the average person really doesnt' care about. Most of it was not tangible real life stuff.

Who cares who the 3rd biggest Lethbridge employer is, or who is on the City Council, or how many days below freezing there are?????

What people really want to know is stuff that matters to their real lives. Stuff that matters day to day. Stuff like:

-is there a place I can get Japanese food?

-is there a gun club?

-is there a waterpark for kids?

-where do you go to buy car insurance there?

-which shopping center has the best stores?

-which streets or areas have lots of crime?

The real valuable relocation package comes not from some branch of the government or the City of Lethbrige. It comes from living in the community, raising a family here, participating in sports and cultural events, shopping, dining out, and entertaining friends and visitors here. The real relocation package is experience and not statistics.

If you are considering moving to Lethbridge and southern Alberta, give me a call and lets talk about the real relocation package and about the things that matter to you and your family. Robert May 403-330-3039 or robertmay (at) gmail (dot) com.