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Bank of Canada holds rate, drops forward guidance
The Bank of Canada announced on October 23rd 2013 that it was keeping its trend-setting overnight lending rate at 1 per cent. It has been at this level since September 2010.
The biggest change from previous statements was that it no longer hinted that the next move will be a rate hike. Instead, the Bank defended its decision not to cut rates amid persistently low inflation.
The Bank said it does not want to risk reversing the current “gradual unwinding of household imbalances” and slowdown in household debt growth. In other words, the housing market is well behaved right now and the Bank wants to keep it that way.
The Bank said global growth had become “less favourable” for Canada. This is a reference to the slow pace of economic recovery and increased uncertainty in the United States, which is resulting in weaker than expected Canadian export growth and business investment.
Accordingly, the Bank has lowered its projections for Canadian economic growth this year and in each of the next two years.
The Bank now expects economic growth of 1.6 per cent in 2013, down from the 1.8 per cent projected back in July. Growth is expected to pick up to 2.3 per cent in 2014, which is down from a 2.7 per cent projection in July, and edge up further to 2.6 per cent in 2015, also down from 2.7 per cent in July.
The Bank now expects that inflation will not return to its 2 per cent target and the economy will not return to full production capacity until “around the end of 2015”. That’s been pushed back from the previous expectation of their doing so by mid-2015.
As such, the possibility of the Bank hiking interest rates anytime this year or next is likely off the table at this point. If anything, the odds that rates could be cut has increased; however, unless the economic outlook deteriorates further, the most likely scenario is that the Bank will keep interest rates on hold for quite some time yet.
As of October 23rd, 2013, the advertised five-year lending rate stood at 5.34 per cent, unchanged from the previous Bank rate announcement on September 4th.
(CREA 10/23/2013)
Alberta home sales set new September record
Residential sales activity reported through the MLS® Systems of real estate boards in Alberta numbered 5,694 units in September 2013, up 21 per cent from a year earlier. This was the best September sales figure ever reported. At the national level sales were up 18 per cent from September 2012.
On a year-to-date basis, provincial home sales totalled 52,794 units over the first three quarters of 2013. This was running nine per cent ahead of the same time last year, and marks the best performance over this period since 2007.
The provincial average price of homes sold in September 2013 was $381,308, an increase of seven per cent from September 2012. The national average price, by comparison, rose nine per cent on a year-over-year basis to $385,906.
Monthly residential average prices were up from year-ago levels in Medicine Hat (+21 per cent), Lloydminster (+12 per cent), Calgary (+8 per cent), Edmonton (+8 per cent), Alberta West (+8 per cent), Grande Prairie (+6 per cent), Fort McMurray (+2 per cent), Lethbridge (+0.7 per cent), and Central Alberta (+0.7 per cent). The average price declined 12 per cent in South Central Alberta.
New listings on the MLS® Systems of real estate boards in Alberta numbered 8,380 units in September. This was up two per cent from year-ago levels.
Overall supply levels remain at lower levels compared to recent history. Active residential listings numbered 22,176 units at the end of September, down 13 per cent from September 2012.
There were 3.9 months of inventory at the end of September 2013, down from 5.4 months at the same time one year ago and below the long-run average for this time of year. The number of months of inventory is the number of months it would take to sell current inventories at the current rate of sales activity.
The value of all home sales in the province totalled $2.2 billion in September 2013, up 30 per cent from September 2012. The dollar volume of all home sales in Canada was up 29 per cent on a year-over-year basis.
Sales of all property types in Alberta numbered 6,197 units in September, up 22 per cent from September 2012. The value of those sales amounted to $2.4 billion, rising 24 per cent from a year earlier.
A total of 2,475 home sales were recorded through the MLS® System of the Calgary Real Estate Board in September, rising 21 per cent from a year earlier. The combined value of home sales activity in Calgary was $1.1 billion, a 30 per cent increase from year-ago levels.
There were 1,712 home sales recorded through the MLS® System of the REALTORS® Association of Edmonton, up 25 per cent from September 2012. The total value of home sales in Edmonton was $599.1 million in September 2013, up 35 per cent on a year-over-year basis.
Source: CREA
It has been a long time coming but here is the final total raised for The Riseup House in Leduc.
Through our work at the beer gardens this summer, and our Slo pitch team AMP’T, Sherrie and Tracey helped to raise $10,000.00 for RiseUp House! Thank you Riseup ladies for all your work in our community! See you next season!
It’s official, fall is here… this image was captured on the front lawn of our latest listing.
This key release is going in my books as one of the best ever.
Candace gets the keys to her new home
After what seemed to be the longest wait to get a call from a lawyer to confirm key release it finally happened. I got the call and immediately called Candace to let her know.
The hours had gone by so slow today as we wanted so bad for Candace to be able to get her keys and share the experience with her boyfriend before she had to take him back to the airport to catch his flight.
As I pulled up to her new home I got out of the car and started walking towards her and held the keys up and this is where the fun starts. Candace covers her face and begins to cry. The joy could not be contained. She had waited so long and finally found the perfect home.
She kept repeating “Tracey I can’t believe this is mine”…
This is what it is all about. I LOVE MY JOB!
At our year end party (that we always have in the new year) our clients Reuben and Jessica became the winners of a trip for 2 to Las Vegas. What a deserving couple we are so happy for them!!!
Congratulations to our clients Reuben and Jessica
Just a quick snap of the Prosellers team at our year end party!
Home Staged Home
What to do before you sell
“Home Staging” is more than just preparing to sell your home by making it look the best it can. It’s really the art of first impressions. For many home sellers and real estate agents, the concept of “home staging” is being more frequently recognized and used to effectively promote and market a home in the marketplace. However, while real estate agents are experts in the field of selling houses and closing the sale, many are not experts in design. If you are in the process of, or thinking about, selling your home, you may want to consider hiring a professional home stager to assist you. They work with the “flow” of a home, eliminate clutter, arrange furniture, and even assist in enhancing curb appeal. Or, if you’re more the do-it-yourself type, below are some tips on what you can do to improve your home’s “first impression.”
Start at the curb
Curb appeal is the first step to selling your home. No one wants to buy a previous owner’s dirty house. Power-wash the siding and wash windows until they shine. Trees, shrubs, and flowers should be neat and tidy, the garden weeded and the lawn mowed and edged. Once you’ve removed everything that isn’t necessary, add touches such as large, lush flower pots or hanging planters to welcome visitors.
Move inside
Once you’ve created a promising exterior, you need to focus on the interior. The key to staging is to make it meaningful, set the tone and suggest countless possibilities. That means you need to remove everything that could distract the buyer’s attention. Keep only what you must to remain functional. If you don’t use something everyday, pack it for the move.
Like the exterior, the inside needs to be neat and clean. If paint is showing signs of age, repaint. Neutrals often work best.
Once the house is clean, stage your home with minimal furnishings. If you need inspiration, visit some model homes to see how decorators have put rooms together.
Clear out closets, cupboards, and drawers.
Strip the kitchen down to the necessities. Counters, however, should be clear, except for a decoratively placed bowl of fruit or bouquet of fresh flowers.
It’s not necessary for individual rooms to be used for their original purpose as long as the functions they represent are logical and show the space off well.
Remove anything personal such as family pictures and mementos.
Edit books, CDs, and videos on bookshelves.
Arrange furniture to enhance the strengths of the room and facilitate traffic flow.
If your furniture shows signs of age, consider borrowing pieces.
Open the curtains to allow natural light to fill the room.
Appeal to the buyer’s sense of smell. Hot apple cider, cinnamon rolls, or fresh baked cookies add a homey smell.
Simplicity and comfort is your ultimate goal!
Get out of dodge…
It is always best to leave your home when a showing is scheduled.
We understand it may be inconvenient but if you do it from the start then chances are greater that your home will sell quicker.
I had a showing today and the owners stayed home. This is uncomfortable for the potential buyers because they will not be able to speak freely and generally just want to get through house as quickly as possible.
Well today we had the owner follow us around and when we came upon a closed door I turned and looked at owner to see if we could go in. She said yes. Well I open the door and what do we see but a little girl sitting on the toilet for her potty training. Needless to say the showing came to an abrupt end as the buyers wanted to leave.
So take note sellers whenever possible leave the home for showings…
This has been a free public selling announcement.