"Advice would be more acceptable if it didn't always conflict with our plans."

Sunday, January 1, 2012 - WHAT IS THE MARKET DOING?

ALL OF MY CLIENTS ask me... what is the market doing right now?  What can I expect?  Most of those who ask this are those NOT in the oil and gas business.  Those in O & G know that the market for jobs is tightening, that projects after projects are lined up and BUSINESS IS GOOD IN ALBERTA!  Those not in the O & G industry base their opinions on observations in their own industries as well as what is reported in the media. First let me way the media across Canada... let's say CBC television tend ... Full Article...

posted in General at Sun, 01 Jan 2012 18:01:38 -0700

Saturday, June 11, 2011 - Oilsands to bring in $1 trillion

Oilsands to bring in $1 trillionPosted on May 31, 2011 Alberta’s oilsands could deliver $67.5 billion a year into provincial government coffers by 2044, says a new report from the Canadian Energy Research Institute released Monday. And by that time, the total paid over the decades to Alberta will be close to an astounding $1.1 trillion. In its annual industry update, CERI takes its “realistic scenario” of growth to also estimate that oilsands production will grow from 2.1 mill ... Full Article...

posted in General at Sat, 11 Jun 2011 13:11:06 -0600

Saturday, April 16, 2011 - Top Producer? Whaaaaat?

Have you ever opened up the Calgary Herald or other real estate publications and seen those rows and rows of pictures of real estate agents who apparently have received some kind of big award for being a top producing agent?  I've seen hundreds of them and its time to set the record straight.  When I worked for a prominent real esate name we've all heard of (starting with "R") someone came up to me and asked me if I wanted to be in the big ad.  I asked what this was all about and was told that ... Full Article...

posted in General at Sat, 16 Apr 2011 09:34:19 -0600

Friday, February 25, 2011 - Don't be fooled...

WE RECEIVED THIS NOTE FROM A RECENT CLIENT OF OURS AND IT RAISES SOME QUESTIONS THAT NEED TO BE ASKED:  "I recently listed my home with CAMERON REALTY GROUP INC. after I had a friend recommend them.  I had used another discount real esate company in Calgary and while they advertised that I would save thousands of dollars in real estate commissions my house didn't sell.  I then became double mortgaged as I had bought a new house so now I was carrying two mortgages!  I was very stressed and could ... Full Article...

posted in General at Fri, 25 Feb 2011 21:28:41 -0700

Wednesday, February 16, 2011 - Secondary Suites in Calgary

Business organizations demand council legalize secondary suites in Calgary.  By Legalizing secondary suites in Calgary can potentially help renters and homeowners in a big way. The Calgary Herald covered this potentially good news story. Five business organizations united Tuesday to demand council legalize secondary suites throughout Calgary, create logic out of a now-illogical system and provide more safe affordable housing for their employees. The joint appeal of the development and property- ... Full Article...

posted in General at Wed, 16 Feb 2011 19:08:51 -0700

Sunday, October 24, 2010 - Negotiating Trick or Treat...

Over the last two years I’ve noticed an increasing “trick” used by real estate agents who have just shown one of my listings. They call shortly after they’ve showed one of my listings. Their call is to inform me that while their clients are interested in the property, they just can’t figure out where I am coming from on my price. That the property is just simply priced too high. While this might immediately seem to many of you as a tactic for negotiation, you just ... Full Article...

posted in General at Sun, 24 Oct 2010 11:36:49 -0600

Monday, September 27, 2010 - The pace of activity in Calgary's residential condominium market continues to slow down.

The pace of activity in Calgary's residential condominium market continues to slow down. The number of newly-completed apartment suites in the Calgary region and unoccupied in August was at a record high, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. In August, it was 710 units, up from 229 in August 2009. The resale condo market has also had its challenges this year. According to the Calgary Real Estate Board, year-to-date sales until the end of August were down nearly 10 per cent compared wi ... Full Article...

posted in General at Mon, 27 Sep 2010 07:51:30 -0600

Monday, August 9, 2010 - Protect Yourself Against Mortgage Fraud

With the recent rise in mortgage fraud cases in Calgary, the Calgary Real Estate Board (CREB®) is encouraging members of the public to be informed about mortgage fraud red flags and to do their 'homework' to avoid becoming a scam victim.   "Mortgage scams are carried out in all different forms and involve a multitude of people; some who don't even know they're being taken advantage of," says Diane Scott, president of CREB®. Participating in a scheme that requires you to provide false or mislea ... Full Article...

posted in General at Mon, 09 Aug 2010 09:31:11 -0600

Wednesday, July 7, 2010 - Is your mortgage portable?

Selling your current home and moving into a new one can be stressful enough, let alone worrying about your current mortgage and whether you’re able to carry it over to your new home. Porting enables you to move to another property without having to lose your existing interest rate, mortgage balance and term. And, better yet, the ability to port also saves you money by avoiding early discharge penalties. It’s important to note, however, that not all mortgages are portable. When it ... Full Article...

posted in General at Wed, 07 Jul 2010 10:49:01 -0600

Tuesday, March 2, 2010 - Interest Rates... Where to from here?

On March 2, 2010, the Bank of Canada confirmed that it would not be raising the Prime Rate.  Good news for all of us!  Those of us on a variable rate mortgages... its time to think about locking in!  And how about the Olympics?  It was probably the first time in my life I actually watched a bit every day!  I'm VERY proud of our Canadian athletes.  Good job you guys!

posted in General at Tue, 02 Mar 2010 13:06:33 -0700

Sunday, February 7, 2010 - Haiti Relief - We have to think about this!

Let's take a break from real estate issues for a day and talk about relief money going to Haiti.  It has recently been published that Charitable groups such as WORLD VISION CANADA and INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT & RELIEF FOUNDATION take anywhere from 8.5% to 10% of all donations and use it towards administration.  This means SALARIES.   So if these organizations recently received something in the area of $10 Million, then 1 million went to salaries and administration?  Just in January 2010 alone? ... Full Article...

posted in General at Sun, 07 Feb 2010 12:50:48 -0700

Friday, January 29, 2010 -

The City of Calgary Property Assessments are out!  What has happened to your property value?  Yep, its dropped.  Keep in mind that this assessment covers the period from July 2008 to July 2009.  The good news is there was some moderate growth in the last two quarters of 2009 so many of your assessments will once again be inaccurate!  For example, I've evaluated a house in Rocky Ridge at $400,000 whereas the new property assessment indcates $322,000.  If course not all the assessments throughout ... Full Article...

posted in General at Fri, 29 Jan 2010 09:51:19 -0700

Friday, September 11, 2009 - What's the market doing now?

From the Desk of Dory Cameron… What’s the market doing now? Pretty much the same as it has done the last 3 months… those houses that are PRICED COMPETITIVELY are selling nicely and at about 98% of list price! We are still seeing some overpriced homes and even if those overpriced homes do get offers on them, the deals are not firming up because the bank appraisers are not appraising them at those higher prices. So everyone needs to be aware not to overprice their homes. Even ... Full Article...

posted in General at Fri, 11 Sep 2009 11:02:28 -0600

Sunday, July 26, 2009 - So, what's the market been doing?

OK, so summer is finally here! Stampede is over, hot weather is here and there’s long lines of campers heading off to vacation sites every Friday! But what’s the market been doing? Pretty darn good! While we are not seeing huge jumps in list prices, houses are nicely selling! Some areas, of course, faster than others but overall the market is healthy! Good news from the Bank of Canada…. Looks like the low interest rates are here to stay for quite a while now! Also, has an ... Full Article...

posted in General at Sun, 26 Jul 2009 09:55:47 -0600

Monday, July 6, 2009 - Calgary Home Sales Increase for Sixth Consecutive Month

Calgary Home Sales Increase for Sixth Consecutive Month Calgary real estate shifts to a balanced market Calgary, July 2, 2009 – The number of single family homes and condos sold in June in Calgary metro are both up from the same time a year ago. MLS® sales activity of single family Calgary metro homes was 1,837 in the month of June 2009, showing an increase of 16 per cent from 1,584 sales in May 2009, according to figures released by the Calgary Real Estate Board (CREB®). This is the si ... Full Article...

posted in General at Mon, 06 Jul 2009 12:06:35 -0600

Tuesday, May 19, 2009 - Time is right for first-time homebuyers

Time is right for first-time homebuyers, housing experts say THE CANADIAN PRESS TORONTO - Panelists at a BMO real estate conference say there is no doubt that now is a great time for first-time homebuyers. President and CEO of Brookfield Real Estate Services (TSX:BRE.UN)Phil Soper says affordability in many parts of the country is improving for the first time in a long time. He says the housing market has shifted from a seller’s market to a buyer’s market, which is good news for som ... Full Article...

posted in General at Tue, 19 May 2009 20:06:18 -0600

Tuesday, May 19, 2009 - Direct from the Desk of Dory Cameron

Direct from the Desk of Dory Cameron…. an update for May 19, 2009. Over the last year, I have secretly begged the Bank of Canada to lower their rate. I have also secretly hoped that Kuwait oilfields would erupt in a sea of fire. I have prayed that people from all over the world would flock to Calgary as the best and most stable place on earth to live. None of this happened. Still, we desperately needed something to reduce the 8,000 listing that we’ve seen over the last year. The m ... Full Article...

posted in General at Tue, 19 May 2009 20:05:04 -0600

Saturday, May 16, 2009 - Stability Returning To Real Estate

Stability Returning To Real Estate - Confidence Seen Helping Calgary Resale Market Calgary's resale housing market is seeing an uptick in activity as consumer confidence increases and we can expect a slow, steady return to stability over the coming months, says the president of Coldwell Banker Canada. The local resale housing market has slowed compared with last year because of the current economic conditions and the high inventory of new homes built during the past few years of the boom, sai ... Full Article...

posted in General at Sat, 16 May 2009 07:37:16 -0600

Thursday, May 7, 2009 - April Market

April Market The average price of a single family Calgary home in April 2009 has increased by 1% to $426,311 from March 2009. But we are showing a decrease of 10% from April 2008 when the average price was $474,564. A year over year decrease of $48,253. We are seeing single family home prices stabilize as we move back to a more balanced market. The average price of a Calgary condominium in April 2009 was $277,056 a 2% decrease from March 2009, and a decrease of 11% from April 2008 when the av ... Full Article...

posted in General at Thu, 07 May 2009 12:19:13 -0600

Wednesday, January 28, 2009 - MARKET GOT YOU NERVOUS?

All of us are nervous about the market these days. We’ve all had our RRSP’s take a dive, our house values have decreased, gas prices have suddenly taken a plunge… and we’ve been nervous for good reason!!! Is this a good time to buy? You bet!!!!! But should you buy a condo or a house? OK, condos are cheaper but hear me out! For 2009 we can expect housing prices to drop another 3% and condo prices to continue their decline at a 5% drop this year. What does that show us? ... Full Article...

posted in General at Wed, 28 Jan 2009 15:48:31 -0700

Monday, January 26, 2009 - The New Website!

Today marks the first day of the new website. The new site offers a wealth of fresh industry information that's constantly being updated. Have a great time checking it out!

posted in General at Mon, 26 Jan 2009 10:44:46 -0700

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The most common question I am being asked lately is "do we sell first and then buy or buy first and then sell? " While I am always being asked this question I think what the real question is "If we sell first, will we be able to find a house we love or are we going to be stuck with settling for something that's just ok".  I have always been a careful person.  Both with my client's money and my own.  Too many times I have seen people sell their house for less than they should because they've purchase another home already.  In the last year I've sold a couple of homes that the current listing realtor wasn't able to sell and now the sellers are ünder the gun" to get their house sold because possession is just around the corner on their new house!  

I always believe in SELLING FIRST!  First of all, you don't know what possession date you need on the house you are buying until you figure out what the possession date will be on the house you currently live in.  Secondly, you don't know how much money from the sale of your current house you are going to be putting down toward your next house.

Although the market has picked up a bit in the last year or so, we are still in what I consider to be a buyer's market.  Because most people are selling first and then buying, the sellers of the house you are buying know this and they understand if you need a quicker than normal possession.  How quick of a possession can one expect when putting in an offer on their next home?  1 month.  Usually that's the minimum.  If the house is vacant, then obviously the sellers would be delighted for a quick possession... say two weeks?  In fact vacant homes are often open to a market where occupied homes cannot go and that is:  immediate possession!  When the house is vacant, the buyer can opt for a possession date of their choosing.  So to summarize:  sell first.  If you see a house you like and its seller occupied... just ask for the possession date you want... chances are you will get it!  If you are a seller and are concerned about selling your house vacant - don't be.  Check on the house daily during the winter months to monitor the furnace and hot water tank as well as shovelling the drive way but honestly sellers LOVE vacant houses.

When the market changes and it becomes a seller's market.... I'll let you know.  Then you are cosiderably safer to buy first and then sell... but until then... PLAY IT SAFE!  Don't get emotional!  Sell first.  Trust me... I'll find something you love!  Dory