Chris Penner ~ Real Estate Consultant Keller Williams Valley Realty

I know we have all been sitting here on the fence for the last 6 months to 2 years depending on where you are from. I would like to take a minute to address my local community and the surrounding areas.

So Abbotsford, here is what the deal is we have been in a buyers market, and I know you have all heard this before and maybe even heard it from me, so I would like to explain for one second what exactly this means if you don't quite understand.

Simply it means that there has been a shift in the supply and demand which has caused the market value of homes in the area to decrease. Market Value is determined by what a buyer is willing to pay and what a seller is willing to accept for there home, this is what determines market value. That is simple enough, right?

So that being said, the market value on homes has significantly decreased over the last 6-9 months in the Abbotsford and surrounding areas. As a diligant Realtor I have done my job and continue to do my job on advising my clients where the market is and where we need to be on price, which a lot of the diligent Realtors who stay on top of the market are doing right now.

What does this mean for you?

It doesn't mean: Low ball offers all around, because in reality most properties have been reduced to get them looking attractive to you to get you to call them on the home. Which probably means they aren't to far out on there price.

It does mean: You get a chance to buy where the housing prices where in 2004-2005 which is a fair better opportunity than even last year.

Here is the challenge:

The media has totally bombarded you with every form of negative media to tell you the sky is falling in on us and that everybody is going to be unemployed and we are headed for a depression.

Maybe in some parts of the country this is true and most likely not to the exaggerated extent that has been portrayed.

My encouragement to you is to look at your own situation and see where you are at with income and job security and all the other things that factor into a slow down in the economy and look out and see what kind of opportunities there are right in front of you.

"No one has every capitalized on an opportunity without there being some degree of risk".

The opportunity at this time is great the risk is dependent on what you decided to do. If you don't own a home and are thinking about it, or just have more questions, call me. If you own a home and are thinking of moving into a bigger one, or just have some questions, call me. If you own a home and are happy where you are, but you think you might be interested in investing in Real Estate today (ie. vacation home, rental property, etc) or even just have some questions, call me. I would be happy to talk to each one of you. I am here to help, that's why I got into this in the first place.

Look forward to hearing from each and every one of you.

Cheers!

My daily driver used to be a Kenworth...

Now it's a Chevy Tahoe, I am the Vancouver/Fraser Valley Truck Driver Relocation Specialist. My days used to be filled with fighting traffic in and out of Vancouver and occasionally down the I-5 to California for my cousins outfit J.D. Transport in a 379 Pete.

I understand what it means to be a Truck Driver and the things you deal with daily on the road. I also know that in this economic pinch there are a lot of you who happen to be in the process of thinking about relocating to find new jobs so that you can keep the wheels rolling.

I want to take the time to help people of a forgotten industry: The Trucker. It seems people very easily take the Trucker for granted, but we rely on you for much more then we ever realize.

So if you men/woman of the road are on the hunt for work out side of your normal area and are considering making a move to or from the Vancouver/Fraser Valley area please don't hesitate to contact me.

Cheers!

Hello to all my Fraser Valley and greater Vancouver readers out there I just wanted to take a minute to let you know what exactly is happening out in Port Coquitlam with the Keller Williams Results Realty. I have a talk to a few associates and other people in my life that have been asking and I am sure you all are asking and wondering the same things.

So before the rumors get out of control and everyone is saying KW is folding in Western Canada.

IT IS NOT. I repeat IT IS NOT!

It basically has been a complicated ownership change. Due to rules and regulations of KW international it is a bit of a process to get new ownership and certain people in positions approved. All the approvals where done in record timing and the new office will be open ASAP.

KW Results turned into a Re/Max Franchise at the discretion of the past ownership team. This is really to bad but they had to do what was best for them.

On the up note and why you are all reading this. On Monday March 2, 2009 a rally was held to see who was going to be staying with Keller Williams. There was over 100 agents there and we had to open a wall to make room for more.

This is an agent driven company run by agents for agents and it is no wonder why there was that much support. If you have any question about KW please feel free to contact me @ 604.807.9020.

New ownership is in place and the official name is Keller Williams Elite Realty. So have no fear there is still a KW agent near you ready and will to help.

The Abbotsford Office is not effected by this change other than the increased level of camaraderie between the agents.

LONG LIVE KELLER WILLIAMS.

Cheers!

...Abbotsford is one of the top five places to invest in Real Estate in Canada, according to Canadian Real Estate Magazine. This is great news for people who live here as well as all those who have been thinking of re-locating to the wonderful city.

With the new bridge coming to replace the Port Mann, this will hopefully bring some relief to traffic, at the same time making it more economically feasible to commute to Vancouver with Abbotsford being the hub.

With affordable housing prices compared to Vancouver and a strong buyers market that has been around for the last 6 months and signs of a change for the next while it brings more and more affordability to the area. With condos back down to $170,00-$185,000 for a nice place and houses down in the $300K-$350K for a reasonable home in the area. We provide far better dollar value than Vancouver.

Abbotsford is also serviced by an ever growing international airport, with commercial and industrial parks growing like wild fire with new business and fresh ideas. The city of Abbotsford is here to stay and grow and is in the top 5 best places to invest in Real Estate in Canada.

For more information feel free to email/call/SMS.

Cheers!

Watch the video and you will see what I mean...Don't worry it's short.

As you can tell I am focused on something here and you probably guessed it, getting waterski communities happening in BC, Canada. If you have waterskiied, barefooted, wakeboarded, kneeboarded, airchaired, or even tubed in the last 365 days and you would love to be able to step out your back door and do this when ever you start jonesing for it, than this applies to you.

You don't have to be a realtor to comment, you could be a home owner who drives a truck for a living, or a marketing exec for a company. The only thing you need to be is excited about towed water sports wether you are actively participating now or maybe you have just started looking into getting involved in what maybe the greatest sport of all time, that is fine, and I want to welcome you all to this discussion. I hope this post can be a great place for sharing ideas around towed water sports and how we might go about starting the craze of waterski communities here in BC, Canada.

I have made a few other posts that haven't received any comments that I am looking for. So with that in mind let me tell you what I am honestly looking for. Feedback, feedback and more feedback I need to know if anyone has any great insights into private waterski site communities and/or developments. Is there a market for them? Are people in your area interested enough to want to get involved financially? Is this a dream that seems way off in the distance? I see they are building them in Illinois so that means surely the weather here in Abbotsford, or Southern BC isn't to terrible to warrant not building waterski communities here too. I mean really the weather is more or less temperate all year round here in Abbotsford, BC, Canada.

So if you know nothing about this but you know someone who does, would you mind having them come on down and leave some insights, comments, or idea on this topic. If you your self know something about this that would be great too.

I unfortunately don't have a spare 10 million bucks kicking around to go out and build one on my own and test it in my own back yard, and trust me if I could I would. So this is where the dialog begins. If you are from any where that has private waterski sites and communities around great, if you live or have lived in one awesome, if you are from the Fraser Valley in BC and have thought about doing this or might be interested in this even better.

I look forward to reading what all you wonderful people have to say. Hope you enjoyed the video.

Cheers!