Miranda Moser Realtor® Century 21 Bamber Realty Ltd.

Another important real estate market indicator that has seen improvement in the last month is the amount of new housing starts. Generally, residential construction companies build 6 months to a year in advance. And, an increase in the amount of new starts translates into a vote of confidence for both today's housing market but more importantly, the housing market 6 to 12 months down the road. For the month of October, housing starts increased 5.4%, building on increases in previous months.

And with all of this positive data, CMHC has gone ahead and improved their forecasts and outlooks for 2010. After a year of dismal news on the Canadian economic and real estate fronts, this is welcome news.

As always, visit my Calgary Real Estate website for further information regarding the Calgary Real Estate market.

Google Street View was launched in the U.S. in early 2007 and now after a long wait Google Street View has gone live in a number of Canadian cities, including Calgary. While this technology has a novelty value (yes you can have all your co-workers show you where they live), it also has a practical value for the real estate industry. For clients who aretransferring to a city where Google Street View is offered, this technology can allow people to get familiar with those communities that they are interested in, before stepping foot in that city. As well, I am now using this technology to help potential buyers view my listings and the surrounding community, from the comfort of their homes. So, if you're a buyer who is interested in one of my listings, you will be able to see a street view of that listing, the houses in the neighbourhood, and schools and shopping in the vicinity. While I don't think GoogleStreet View is a 'game changer' , I do believe that it is another important tool in a Realtor's technology tool belt and I'm happy to offer this feature to my clients and anyone browsing my website.

As always, visit my Calgary Real Estate website for further information regarding the Calgary Real Estate market.

Cheers,

A few years ago, I was representing both the buyer and seller in the sale of a bungalow style home, in my licensed area. The home was a terrific price but needed some cosmetic work in the basement. The buyers had a vision for what it could look like and they had the skills to make their vision come true. As a result, they jumped on the property and the closing proceeded without a hitch.

It was three months after possession that I met one of the buyers during an evening walk around our neighborhood. The buyer informed me that he was enjoying his stay-at-home lifestyle with his new baby boy and that he was ecstatic about how the renovations had turned out. It was at this point in the conversation, however, that he proceeded to tell me that he had found some 'interesting items' in the walls, in the process of renovating. Curious, I prompted him to go into details. He told me that upon "removal of a wall panel that about 75 photos had fallen to the floor, to his shock and amazement." With some amount of horror, he realized that he was peering at a series of explicit photos and that the subjects of the photos were in fact, THE SELLERS!

I can only imagine that I turned 10 shades of red and I think I remember sputtering some explative. I was thankful, however, that my clients had viewed the ordeal with humour and it was with sheepish smiles that I bid him a good evening.

Would love to hear your comments on this one?

Cheers,

With all of the cold weather we've been having in Western Canada, it got me thinking about how the weather affects buyers. I suppose for those who are forced to buy, due to a job related move or transfer weather doesn't really make a difference. From experience, however, I know that a snowy day in October or April can lead to a quiet phone or slow open house, especially in the Calgary real estate market. For those who can afford the time, it seems that buyers would rather wait for the sunshine before venturing out house hunting.

As always, visit my Calgary Real Estate website for further information regarding the Calgary Real Estate market.

With September's numbers in, it is clear that the Calgary real estate market is experiencing a modest, if not solid uptick. The average sale price for both condos and homes have stabilized and, for myself, I have definitely noticed more buyers in the market. The average price for a home came in at just over $459,000 while the average condo was priced at about $290,000. Hopefully this will continue into the future and as it stands the future looks bright for the Calgary real estate market.

As always, visit my Calgary Real Estate website for further information regarding the Calgary Real Estate market.