Real Estate Blog - MLS listings

Shopping in the Foreclosure Market

Essentially a foreclosure is a home that is bank owned. This typically happens as a result of previous owners defaulting on their mortgage payments. Because they could not afford to make the payments on the house, the bank reclaimed the home. Generally speaking this situation has pros and cons for a potential buyer.
Pros of shopping for a foreclosure
Typically (although not always) the bank is looking to recuperate the money it was owed by the previous owners. This means that a home may be listed well-below its value, or at a price that will cover the banks losses, rather than garner a large profit. This is not always true, however, so it is important for you to discuss the asking price with your realtor to decide if both the price and the property are…

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Using Home Staging to Sell Quickly

In a buyer’s market, or a saturated market, selling your home can be tough – there is a lot of competition out there. Staging your home is one way that you can set your property a part from others, but home staging isn’t only beneficial in a buyer’s market. In a seller’s market, homes may be selling quickly but oftentimes that will depend on the price range your home fits into. Even in a seller’s market there may be niches where a seller finds quite a bit of competition and this is where they can utilize home staging too.
Home staging is the practice of completely setting your home up as if it were a show room. You choose stylish furniture and accent pieces, it doesn’t have to be a lot either, just the basics to give potential buyer’s an idea of how the…

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Single Family Homes are the Pinnacle

Single family homes are the pinnacle for most people when they envision their dream house. A single family homes typically refers to a detached home, or a home without neighbours who share walls with you. Duplexes, apartments and townhomes are not considered sing-family homes, but rather multi-family dwellings.
The reason the single family home is so sought after is because it provides far more privacy and space then multi-family homes generally do. While a single family home may come in the shape of a bungalow, two-story, back-split, side-split or even a raised home, they also come with things like garages (attached or detached), driveways, yards (fenced or not), basements and possibly attics. Depending on the age of the home, it may come with all or only…

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The Benefits of Being a First Time Homebuyer

For a first time homebuyer, realizing you’ve finally saved up enough for a down payment is a proud and exciting day. But where so you begin? There are many things you’ll want in your new home, and maybe a few different neighbourhoods you would consider living in.

Begin by searching a neighbourhood or city you are interested in, within your price range. This will give you some idea of the amount of homes available within your budget, even if you don’t necessarily find anything you love right away. Secondly, you should contact a mortgage broker. A broker will tell first time homebuyers exactly what you can afford, which may mean adjusting the budget you already had in mind. A broker will take into consideration what you have saved, your credit, your…

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September housing prices up 5.4% from last year

The REALTORS® Association of Edmonton released market housing statistics for the year to date (YTD) including the month of September. The all-residential average price for the first three quarters of the year in the Edmonton CMA is $350,741 as compared to $340,090 in 2012.

In September, the all-residential average was $352,057, up 5.4% from a year ago and inching up from $351,455 in the previous month.

Year-over-year sales were also up 19.4% with 1,466 (adjusted, 1,357 actual) all-residential sales in September. There were 13,691 residential sales in the Edmonton CMA in the first three quarters of 2013 as compared to just 12,876 sales at the same time last year.

“Our members report that the market is very active with many properties…

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