I'm committed to helping my clients buy, sell and enjoy their homes and I strive to provide an added level of value and service at every stage of the Real Estate transaction.Friday Report - October 10, 2008
Author: Michael Bladon | October 10, 2008
This update covers the activity for the period of October 1 - October 8, 2008
| Calgary Metro - Single Family | 2008 | 2007 | % Change |
| Sales | 251 | 263 | (4.5%) |
| New Listings Added | 718 | 716 | 0.2% |
| Inventory | 5,543 | N/A | N/A |
| Sales to New Listings | 35 | 37% | (2%) |
| Sales to Inventory | 5% | N/A | N/A |
| Calgary Metro - Condominium |
2008 | 2007 | % Change |
| Sales | 114 | 116 | (1.7%) |
| New Listings Added | 352 | 335 | 5% |
| Inventory | 2,754 | N/A | N/A |
| Sales to New Listings | 32% | 35% | (3%) |
| Sales to Inventory | 4% | N/A | N/A |
This report is based on data made available by the Calgary Real Estate Board on October 10, 2008.
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Q: When are property taxes due, and how are they paid?
Author: Michael Bladon | October 10, 2008
A: Another question reviewed on a recent episode of Calgary Home Podcast. The question simply was, when are property taxes due and how do you pay them.
In Calgary, municipal property taxes are due to be paid by June 30th of each year. The payment on June 30th covers the entire calendar year, so you pay in June to cover January to June in arrears and July to December in advance. We also have the option of joining the TIPP program, which is the Tax Installment Payment Plan. Essentially this converts your once a year tax bill into a monthly bill.
What you need to be aware of when buying a home is that if the seller has paid the taxes for the entire year and you purchase after June 30th, there will be an adjustment where you’ll need to reimburse the seller for the taxes they have pre-paid for the time you’ll be living in the home. For example if you took possession of a home at the first of the month, on October 1st and the taxes were pre-paid for the entire year, part of the adjustments due on closing would be for approximately ¼ of the annual taxes to cover the three months from October to December.
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Building Your Team - Ep #09
Author: admin | October 9, 2008
This week I’m discussing the team of people involved in helping your buy your first home, and how to select the right team for you.
Featured properties are now available in video tours on Tour Homes in Calgary.
Resources mentioned on this show:
First Time Buyers’ Guide
Previous posts about changing mortgage rules (post 1) (post 2)
Comments are feedback are most welcome, please email homes@michaelbladon.com
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Curb side recycling details
Author: Michael Bladon | October 9, 2008
The City has released new details about the curb side recycling program coming to single family homes in Calgary next year.
The service will be rolled out by quadrant. Service will start in the South West in April. This will be followed by South East, North West and North East communities serviced by June. The service will be a mandatory $8/month charge for weekly pickup at the same time and location as the regular garbage collection.
The program will recycle “plastics labeled with the recycling triangle 1 to 7 (except Styrofoam). The program will also accept newspapers, magazines, mixed paper, cardboard, milk containers, food cans and glass.” Best of all, there’s no need to sort, everything will go in the same bin and be sorted at a depot.
Single family homes, duplexes and fourplexes will be covered but condominium locations will not have the curbside pick-up. These homes will not be charged the $8/month and will have to continue to use the community recycling locations throughout the city or rely on private companies that currently provide pickup services.
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Q: What resources are available regarding the condominium documents condition?
Author: Michael Bladon | October 9, 2008
A: My second question featured on a recent episode of Calgary Home Podcast was in response to the episode on condominiums. This is the condition on the sale that allows you to review of the documents regarding the state of the condominium corporation before proceeding with the purchase. The question I received was asking what the review process is and what resources are available to purchasers to help.
The documents are fairly complex – they contain everything from the bylaws governing the owners of the corporation and how they are able to use and enjoy the units they own, the budget and financial condition of the condominium and reports about the structural condition of the building and condo property. If you don’t feel comfortable analyzing them yourself you can ask your lawyer to review them or hire one of a number of companies that specialize in reviewing condominium documents for consumers:
Condo-Check
Condo Document Inspection Centre
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How do Canada and US House & Mortgage Markets Differ?
Author: Michael Bladon | October 8, 2008
In light of the activity in the United States housing, and now stock markets, clients have been asking a lot of questions about whether Canada should expect the same kind of correction in the near future. The truth is that no one knows exactly how the markets will behave, but there are significant differences between our Real Estate markets and Mortgage lending practices and those in the States.
My colleague Sam Iaquinta from Broadview Mortgage (403-246-4009) recently emailed me an article from the Globe and Mail outlining the differences between Canada and US in these areas. You can read the entire article here.
A few highlights:
• Canada’s subprime market is small (5-6 per cent of outstanding mortgages) whereas the U.S. share peaked at about three times that. As a share of originations, 20-25 per cent of new mortgages in the U.S. were subprime over the 2004-06 period. So Canada isn’t anywhere near as exposed to the products that caused most of the damage in U.S. housing markets.
• Mortgage interest is deductible against taxes in the U.S. It generally is not in Canada. That creates vastly different incentives to leverage oneself in the two markets. (investors)
• Further to this latter point, long-amortization mortgage products actually extend the Canadian credit quality cycle. Long amortization periods of over 25 years have been dominant as a share of new mortgage originations since the 40-year mortgage was introduced almost two years ago. However, there is still an overwhelming majority of Canadians who face the option of extending from the previously standard 25-year product into longer amortization products in a manner that lowers their payments in the face of shocks. Even though insured 40-year mortgages are now banned in principle, 35-year mortgages still provide this flexibility.
• Investor mortgages were among the first products to default in the U.S. ,where they account for about 9 per cent of all outstanding mortgages, similar to the U.K. (9.5 per cent) and Australia (10 per cent). In Canada, however, they are about 2-3 per cent of all outstanding mortgages. There are problems in the investor segment the world over, but the magnitude of the exposure in Canada is far less significant.
• If there is an imminent problem brewing, then it’s not showing up in terms of industry-wide mortgage delinquency patterns. Mortgages 90+ days in arrears in Canada remain at 27 basis points, which is the range around which they’ve been floating since mid-2004. By contrast, even when the country had double digit variable mortgage rates and double digit unemployment rates in the early 1990s, the peak rate of delinquency was about 65 basis points. We’re of the opinion that delinquencies will deteriorate going forward, but will be nowhere close to the U.S. experience.
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Q&A : When is the money due when buying a house?
Author: Michael Bladon | October 8, 2008
This is in response to the last episode of Calgary Home Podcast where I talked about the offer process. The question is about deposits and when the money is due when you purchase a home.
A: Generally speaking you’ll need to make an initial deposit with your offer - just for example purposes I’ll say $5,000. This will be held in trust by the seller’s real estate brokerage and eventually go towards your down payment when the deal closes.
It’s possible to make an additional deposit at some point after the offer is accepted. What you might encounter is a deposit due after all of the conditions of the sale have been finalized.
The balance of the money is due on the closing date. This would be the remainder of your down payment, the mortgage funds, and any tax adjustments, condo contribution or home owner association fee adjustments. In practice you’ll probably need to write a cheque for the balance of your down payment to your lawyer ahead of time. The lawyers will hold the money in trust until the closing date and release the funds once the legal title for the property is transferred into your name.
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#61, 5425 Pensacola Cres SE - $199,900
Author: admin | October 4, 2008
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#61, 5425 Pensacola Cres SE
$199,900
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Excellent well maintained three bedroom townhome. Lots of improvements in complex including new windows. This townhome shows 10 out of 10. Gleaming original hardwood in the main floor’s spacious living room. The functional floor plan also offers dining room, bright white kitchen and a half bath on the main floor. All three bedrooms upstairs are well sized including a very large master bedroom. This is a great home in a wonderful location just a block from Penbrook Elementary with a large field and park. Great access to major transportation and walking distance to the Bob Rahan Aquatic and Fitness Centre.
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