Calgary Market set for Spring Thaw

According to figures released by CREB® (Calgary Real Estate Board), Calgary home prices remained stable, recording a moderate growth in average price.  While the City of Calgary, year-to-date sales volume declined by 6 per cent compared to the first four months of 2010; the decline was offset by the 14 per cent decline in listings over the same period, resulting in lower inventory levels, and a more balanced spring market. This is a full description of the April 2011 Statistics.

Calgary NW posts best gains in March

Single family home sales in the first quarter of 2011 showed a 4 per cent increase over 2010.  Average single family home prices remained stable compared to the first quarter of last year, as people continue to purchase more homes at the lower end of the price spectrum.  The rise in sales has been offset by a corresponding increase in listings, resulting in stable average prices.

Improved affordability levels in single family homes have offered some individuals the opportunity to purchase homes in areas of the city that were once unattainable.  The combination of stable home prices, low interest rates and year-over-year improvements in employment are the primary factors fueling the growth in Calgary’s Real Estate market.  View the full report on Creb.com

Arizona Real Estate

The US Real Estate Market could witness the greatest transfer of wealth in our lifetime. Given this possibility we thought we should investigate further, so we toured Scottsdale Arizona to review a real estate fund intending to invest in Arizona residential real estate. The plan is to purchase single-family properties using (proprietary) best  practices and inventory them in a rental pool until the market recovers. An action packed trip on a whirlwind schedule hosted by Steve McKenzie of TJ Capital provided a group of investors and experts an overview of the American Residential Income Fund. It was a very informative and thought provoking excursion, that provided valuable insights into the foreclosure and non judicial sales market in the US. If you are interested in US real estate, contact us to discuss what we’ve learned and how you can benefit from this enormeous shift in wealth.

Realtor.ca goes Mobile!

This is a must have for anyone interested in staying aprised of the real estate market. Anyone with an iphone now has real time access to local listing information of any home listed on the Realtor.ca website. The application uses your smart phone’s GPS to determine your location and queries Realtor.ca for listings within the vicinity. The listings will display in either a list, map or aerial view and you have the option to define filters which will allow you to set minimum search criteria including the ability to view open houses or only new listings since a set date. You can also search by MLS# or by property location (city only). You can also find a Realtor by using the search Realtor function. The best feature is that you can set “your agent” in the program so that your agent is saved as the default contact. If you discover or are driving past a property that interests you, rather than having to speak to a stranger, contacting your favorite agent is only one click away. Check out the new Realtor.ca mobile app  for the iPhone at itunes app store

The opinions expressed in this blog are the personal opinions of Sano Stante and do not reflect the opinions of any other organization or affiliation.

Christmas in Raccachaca

Last year we hiked the Ancient Inca Trail to Vilcabamba and ultimately visited Machu Pichu, the ancient  capital of the Incas. We discovered that hiking over the six days at 4,000 meters altitude offered challenges that only the ancient tradition of chewing coca provided relief from, as well as strength to endure the climb. Read More