About Halifax, NS

Hello! Thank you for visting our blog. We have qualified buyers who are currently looking for the following:

1) A semi-detached home in Eastern Passage-Dartmouth

2) A 1 or more bedroom condo or home on the Halifax penninsula with a deeded parking space & a balcony or outdoor area for under $250,000

3) A bungalow in Portland Hills for under $380,000

4) A home with a double detached garage for under $310,000 in Dartmouth, Fall River, Enfield, Elmsdale areas

5) A 3-4 bedroom home in Colby, Woodlawn, or Forest Hills upto $250,000 prefer that it not be a bungalow.

6) A 3-4 bedroom 2or more bath home within 45-60 minutes of downtown Halifax with stables, barn for horses & is appropriately zoned for keeping them.

Please keep in mind that we are aware of homes currently listed on the mls system & we do charge a commission for our services plus, unfortunately, HST.

If your home meets any of these needs & you are considering selling, please give us a call at ( 902 )497-1217 with the details regarding your property.

Thank you again for your consideration,

Merv Edinger & Associates

http://www.MervEdinger.com

The Condos in Halifax sales for January are in. The pending condo sales ratio to active listings
have never been higher. I've tracked the data for 3 years now and it's usually below
10% . It peaked last year at 11.5 %. 41 Pending sales / 260 actives = 15.7%!

The inventory is a bit low for this time of the year, but this is unprecedented! - Data date - Feb 05/12

The MLS(R) sales for homes is fairly healthy at 254 Homes sold in HRM (Halifax
Regional Municipality) . They are up marginally over last year.

I had a look at peninsular Halifax just to see if that made a difference but
that too remained even. All data from Condos Nova Scotia Blog

The interest in condos is real and it's been affecting Halifax since Mid- October
when they announced the Irving Shipyard Contract. At first we thought it was
just a spike in the data, but on-going condo in Halifax sales seem to tell the story!

Investors are scooping up $200,000 to $300,000 condos! The interest rates
are super low. People just wanting a safe place to put their money are making
close to 10% ROI on their money. When investors get to be a certain age
they get a bit more careful with their money.

Halifax has always been slow and steady ,but always going up. The rate was always
2 - 3 % every year. This was why during the global recession that occurred in 2007
2008 we never missed a beat!

In areas like Lakeside, Spryfield etc: the returns can be even higher but there are
no condominiums in those areas.

http://condosnovascotia.ca is the property of Stages Real Estate

Paul Viau is licensed to sell real estate in the Province of Nova Scotia.
Condos in Halifax

Many real estate agents tell their sellers that open houses are a waste of their time because they don't sell the home. However, these real estate agents are only looking at open houses from the possibility of themselves picking up the buyer for the home.

I look at them differently. It is true that I rarely pick up the actual buyer for the home a am doing the open house on, but I DO often find THE BUYER, who has their own agent, for that home. Often, seeing other buyers actively looking at a home, hearing their comments, will strike a chord with a buyer & create the urgency to get their offer in on the home. Even yesterday, I held an open house on one of my listings. A buyer came through. Then they returned with their parents for a second look. Within 30 minutes of having left the open house, I had received a call from their agent to get back in with them in the evening. And they tell us that they will be writing an offer this evening.

Do open houses work? Absolutely! Are they worth my time? Absolutely. If it results in a sale for my clients then it is worth my time as that is the reason they hired me. It is just a tool in the toolbox for marketing the property & myself.

A new feature! I got this idea from an article on blogging!
A compilation of some of the blogs direct from Condos Nova Scotia.

Halifax ,Nova Scotia is a vibrant city. recently we won a Canadian
shipbuilding contract worth 25 Billion over the next 25 years. Basically
enough jobs for 1000's of workers - with job stability to boot!

Since November 17th -when it was announced we have had a pretty
good run on the condo market . The first two Blogs - 1-Description of the Market in Jan.

2 As first reported in December

The 3rd Blog reports on 3 The Trillium - Halifax.

The 4th is Bishops Landing - 4 Halifax's own waterfront condo!

For info on Condos - This is the place to come. Condos Nova Scotia is the most visited condo
website in Nova Scotia. We currently get over 100 visitors per day! Why not contact us if your
thinking of a condo purchase in Nova Scotia. No better internet visibility for your condo as well!

Paul Viau has been licenced to sell real estate in the province of Nova Scotia for 18+ yrs.

Grow-ops"

Contrary to popular belief, Grow-ops or drug houses do not make good long-term investments. Whether you have or have not been faced with a Grow-op yet in your career, it is of great importance to take extra steps in identifying a grow-op (or drug house) before entering into any contractual obligations with clients or the public. Grow-ops are dangerous for several reasons but in most cases it's the structural integrity of the house & the risk of being innocently involved in criminal activity that are the two most serious. The exposure of moisture & humidity to the walls & interior of the house can yield material latent defects (not easily discoverable), which can cost significant money to remedy.

Here are some quick tips to keep in mind...

Identifying a Grow-op:

• Mould in corners where walls & ceiling meet
• Signs of Roof/Window venting
• Painted concrete floors (often times with circular potter marks)
• Damage/Tampering with the electrical panel or meter
• Modified wiring
• Brownish stains below exterior vents/soffits
• Patterns of excessive screw holes in walls
• Signs of damage in entry ways - due to forced entry
• "Grow-Op" sign above front door :)
• In Canada, visit the RCMP website http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/ for a list of addresses where they have cracked down on a grow op.