Here is a rare opportunity for developers or investors to acquire 21.2 acres of prime building land nestled in Elbow Valley. The property has been approved for 21 residential lots ranging from .7 to 1 acres and all engineering will be complete this year. This prime piece of land is located close to golf courses, ski resorts, hiking and is only a 20 minute drive to downtown Calgary. Developers could break ground in the spring of 2011 and have homes started by mid year.

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According to a recently released report, Calgary, the largest city in the Province of Albeta, Canada, located in the south of the province, is the place for real estate investments in Canada.

This information was revealed by the Real Estate Investment Network’s (REIN). It has been reported that it is predicted that Calgary and its housing market will reach reality, because the home prices are much more affordable than in recent periods.

The president of the REIN, Don Campbell is also an author of books about real estate investment. He stated that the network found Calgary to be a city with a strong economy for the next five years. This doesn’t mean that the following year will be free of ups-and-downs, good or bad news, but when you look around the country and see the cities’ economic performance estimations for the next 5 years, you can see that Calgary will outperform all of them, added Campbell. When REIN releases such a report stating this type of information, the estimate of the future economic performance of the city is determined based on a variety of factors including the current condition of the city and its real estate market.

Don Campbell referred to the situations we see in Toronto and Vancouver. He said that the future of these cities is predictable due to the fact that there simply is not more room for growth. The president of REIN said that Calgary has learned the lesson about inflation and the boom witnessed years ago, and is now operating more cautiously. This is the key and the strength of the type of growth that is being predicted for Calgary.

Another key for a successful investment is identifying a neighborhood or a city not by its past, but its future. The report reveals a common mistake that most real estate investors make. They invest in a city based on its past economical performance. This way of thinking requires the investor to constantly chase the market – This is called speculation, not investment the report, he says.

The Calgary Real Estate Board also reveals that most of the MLS sales prices showed a nearly 11% increase in the past month, both in condominium and single family markets.

Calgary, April 1, 2010 – Calgary’s housing market enjoyed a healthy boost in March as homebuyers anticipate an earlier than expected rise in interest rates, according to figures released today by the Calgary Real Estate Board (CREB®).
The number of single family homes sold in March 2010 in the city of Calgary was up 29 per cent from the same time a year ago, while condominium sales saw an increase of 37 per cent from the same time a year ago.
March 2010 saw 1,396 single family homes sold in the city of Calgary. This is an increase of 35 per cent from 1,035 sales in February 2010. In March 2009, single family home sales totaled 1,086. The number of condominium sales for the month of March 2010 was 609. This was an increase of 14 per cent from the 536 condominium transactions recorded in February 2010. In March 2009, condominium sales were 446.
CREB® commented that improved economic conditions, better employment prospects, and an earlier than expected rise in mortgage rates are all contributing to this early boost in sales this year. The recent announcements by all our major banks to raise mortgage rates are motivating buyers to take the plunge, but Calgary’s market remains in a healthy position and our sales are not outstripping supply. The rise in demand will also motivate sellers to consider listing this spring. There has been some speculation that mortgage rate hikes will adversely affect housing demand in the long-term, but we should keep in mind that a rise in rates was fully expected. The Bank of Canada has been operating at emergency rates as a response to the global recession. While a rise in rates may tone down demand later this year, we don’t feel this adjustment will prevent the vast majority of buyers with healthy credit to enter the housing market.
The average price of a single family home in the city of Calgary in March 2010 was $471,269, showing an increase of 3 per cent from February 2010, when the average price was $458,254, and showing an increase of 12 per cent from March 2009, when the average price was $420,354. The average price of a condominium in the city of Calgary was $296,660, showing a 5 per cent increase from February 2010, when the average price was $282,880 and a 4 per cent increase over last year, when the average price was $284,056.
The median price of a single family home in the city of Calgary for March 2010 was $423,000, showing a 3 per cent increase from February 2010, when the median price was $411,000, and a 13 per cent increase from March 2009, when the median price was $375,000. The median price of a condominium in March 2010 was $275,000, showing a 3 per cent increase from February 2010, when the median was $265,900. That’s up 6 per cent from March 2009, when the median price was $260,000.
Single family listings in the city of Calgary added for the month of March totaled 2,988, an increase of 39 per cent from February 2010 when 2,154 new listings were added, and showing an increase of 48 per cent from March 2009, when 2,023 new listings came to the market. Condominium new listings in the city of Calgary added for March 2010 were 1,376, up 24 per cent from February 2010, when the MLS® saw 1,109 condo listings coming to the market. This is an increase of 52 per cent from March 2009, when new condominium listings added were 903.
All city of Calgary MLS® statistics include properties listed and sold only within Calgary’s city limits. The median price is the price that is midway between the least expensive and most expensive home sold in an area during a given period of time. During that time, half the buyers bought homes that cost more than the median price and half bought homes for less than the median price.
It’s important to remember that average price information can be useful in establishing trends over time, but does not indicate actual prices in centers comprised of widely divergent neighborhoods or account for price differentials between geographical areas.

OTTAWA - The downturn in Canadian housing prices appears to be a thing of the past, economists say, citing a report showing that home values rose for the second straight month in June.

After eight consecutive monthly declines, prices gained 1.5 per cent in June following May’s two per cent advance with the rebound in prices showing up in even some of the markets hardest hit by the recession-driven housing decline, according to the Teranet-National Bank report.

“The worst of home price deflation in Canada is behind us,'’ said National Bank senior economist Marc Pinsonneault.

A “huge'’ improvement in market conditions combined with the second consecutive month of gains suggest this is not merely a temporary reprieve from a correction that knocked 6.8 per cent off average home prices since they peaked in August 2008, Pinsonneault said.

“On balance, there are signs that house prices are slowly staging small improvements. And this indicator joins existing home prices as being firmly on the rise,'’ added TD Securities economics strategist Charmaine Buskas.

Canwest News Service

CALGARY - Single-family home sales in Calgary increased in June for the sixth consecutive month, even as the city’s once-heady buyer’s market lost significant steam.

The number of single-family homes and condominiums sold in Calgary in June notched double-digit percentage gains compared with a year ago, while average prices inched up from May.

“The good news is pricing remains relatively affordable,” said Bonnie Wegerich, president of the Calgary Real Estate Board.

A rise in demand combined with fewer listings has helped bring supply in balance with demand, she stated in CREB’s June report on MLS sales activity released Thursday.

The inventory turnover for single-family homes and condos in Calgary metro now sits at just over two months, Wegerich said, compared with January’s glut of 11 months of inventory.

Richard Cho, market analyst with Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp., said June’s increase in sales is positive.

“Overall, when we look at the market, it looks like there are more signs the market is moving closer toward balanced conditions,” he said.

Year-over-year price declines and low mortgage rates have enticed many buyers, Cho added.

The move toward more balance conditions will help both buyers and sellers, he said.

According to the real estate board, MLS sales activity of single-family homes in the Calgary metro area hit 1,837 in June, up 28 per cent from a year ago.

June’s figure is also 16 per cent higher than a month earlier, when May sales numbered 1,584.

The average price for a single-family home was $447,142, down six per cent from a year ago, but an improvement of two per cent on a month-to-month basis. In May, the average price of a single-family home was $436,427.

The median price was $399,000, off two per cent from last year but up two per cent from May’s $390,000.

New single-family listings for the month of June hit 2,244, a 19 per cent decrease from last year and flat from May’s 2,235.

Condominium sales in June numbered 738, up 33 per cent from last year.

Condo sales also gained 13 per cent from May, when 653 transactions were recorded.

The average price of a Calgary condo was $285,595, nine per cent less than a year ago. However, the amount was up four per cent from May, when the average price was $275,212.

The median price for a condo was $265,500, off six per cent from a year ago but up four per cent from May’s $255,000.

New condo listings in June were 927, down 25 per cent from last year and off seven per cent from May’s 998 listings.

The real estate board is encouraged by the upward trend in sales, Wegerich said.

“But there are still some economic fundamentals needed before we will see a full recovery in the housing market,” she said.

TORONTO, July 1 (Reuters) - The worst of Canada’s housing market woes appear to be past but the sector’s rebound will be tenuous as a rise in mortgage rates and high unemployment limit the recovery in prices and sales. Property experts say first-time buyers and Bank of Canada rate cuts have helped restore stability to a market that slumped from late 2008 to early this year, when the worst leg of the global financial crisis battered consumer confidence. (more…)

The key to a successful mortgage experience is carefully considering all your options and buying within your means so that you can sustain your payments. Borrowers unsure of which approach is best can fall back on certain time-tested strategies for ensuring they don’t overextend.

Here are a few tip to boost affordability when arranging your mortgage:

1. Know what you can afford. A mortgage pre-approval helps you establish a price range and the maximum mortgage you can reasonably afford. Most lenders will lock-in a rate for up to 120 days when pre-approving potential borrowers for a mortgage. (more…)

Selling a house in a slow real estate market can be difficult. In times like these, it’s not enough to simply list your home and wait; you actually have to sell your home. No one really wants to sell anything when the market is bad, however, it’s not impossible to sell your house in these conditions. It just takes a positive attitude and a different kind of game plan.
Even though the market’s not favourable to sellers and widespread economic recovery may be months, even years off, there are a number of tactics available to increase the likelihood of a sale.

1. Know your market
One of the most important things you can do to get your house sold is to learn your market, the value of your property and your competition. Most sellers operate in the dark, simply offering the property for the price they want, without regard to what other homes have sold for and are currently selling for. Undervaluing or overpricing your home can cost you tens of thousands of dollars. (more…)

With falling markets and failed bail out plans taking centre stage in the press, it is reasonable to assume would-be homeowners here in Canada might be leery of getting into the real estate market at this point in time.
(more…)

The buyer’s market trend continues, according to figures released by the Calgary Real Estate Board (CREB®).

In a news release issued yesterday by the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA®), president Calvin Lindberg said, “We must remember that all markets go through cycles and remember that the national housing market is actually made up of different communities. Real estate markets are local and every community and every area is different in terms of trends and pricing.”
(more…)