Year in review

Well since Entertainment Tonight, TSN, and a bunch of other people are doing a year in review, I have decided that I will do one myself. Of course I will not have the final number of houses sold in Vulcan and the average sale price until next month, but I can give some insight as to how the market went. The residential market in real estate had another slow year. We had a few highlight weeks where we were writing one or two offers each week for a month or so, but that was not the norm. The inventory numbers are down somewhat, but from what I have seen the slight decrease is due to owners taking their properties off of the market and either renting them out, or just leaving them vacant, ready to try again in the new year. New home sales are at a stand still. There is just not the market for builders to come in and build and hope to make a profit right now. There is no demand for it. I mean there have been a couple places built, or in the process of being built right now, but there is certainly no line up for people trying to get in to these places. We have several residential lots for sale, but not getting any bites from people or builders ready to make a move. There are no new jobs in Vulcan or the surrounding area to bring in people. In order for Vulcan to grow without new jobs, the market in the larger centres, such as in Calgary, needs to take off. The prices there need to be sky high so that people will look at smaller centres to live and work from home, or commute when need be. Vulcan is about 12 to 18 months behind the Calgary real estate market. With the Calgary market starting to show some growth, I think that we will see a better market here in 2013. How much more growth will we see? That I am not sure of. Calgary prices did not go crazy like the last boom. Prices seem to be moving gradually. This is good for the market. Consistency is good. Much more sustainable in the long run. Vulcan is a nice little community. We have a hospital, major highway access between two large centres (Calgary and Lethbridge), an 18 hole golf course, and affordably priced housing. Last year the average house price that sold was around the $171,000 mark. I am quite confident that the average house price for 2012 will be more than that once all of the tabulations are complete, but that is still quite affordable. We as a town, just need to get out there and promote ourselves to the world and get people to come and see what all we have to offer. With our centennial year coming up in 2013, maybe that just might happen! I am looking positive on the upcoming year and I expect great things coming to the marketplace, and a great year putting buyers and sellers together to help them reach their goals! Happy 2013!

Events lined up for New Year’s Eve | Local | News | Vulcan Advocate

Events lined up for New Year’s Eve | Local | News | Vulcan Advocate

Tips for selling your property in the winter

We all know that winter in Southern Alberta has its challenges. We never really know what the weather has in store for us. It can change from one hour to the next. When you have a property for sale in the winter, here are a couple of tips to help improve your chances for getting an offer: - make sure your sidewalks are shoveled. This includes access to the garage, if you have a detached garage. No one wants to be trudging through three foot high drifts to get to the front door, or to check out the garage. Plus, you do not want to have anyone falling down your steps and getting hurt. Keep the sidewalks clear of snow and of ice. A little investment in a snow shovel, (or hiring someone to clean the walks for you), and some de-icer are a good investment. - have your furnace checked. Replace your furnace filter and make sure that your furnace room is free from junk. Potential buyers will want to have a look at the furnace and like to see one that has been taken care of, especially when they are more aware of it during the cold winter months. Too much debris around the furnace does not look good and also hinders air flow. Things like this cost little, but could be worth a lot. - if your property is vacant, make sure someone is checking on it daily. At least have someone drive by to check that there is smoke coming from the chimney. If not, get in there right away to make sure that the furnace is running. A frozen house and frozen pipes are no good! On that note, I suggest putting a sign on the switch for the furnace. I found out the hard way that people like to turn switches on and off when looking at a house for sale, and sometimes they do not leave things they way that they left them. I had my house for sale and it was vacant. Someone looked at the house and flicked switches, and turned off my furnace. It was not labeled and they must not have realized that this is what helped keep my house warm. Well, to make a long story short, I had frozen pipes that burst and there was damage in my basement. It was a mistake someone made and now we will just classify that as a lesson learned. - one more thing, if you house is vacant, pour a little bit of liquid fabric softner down the floor drain in the basement (usually in the laundry area). This helps keep the drain from drying out and getting some unpleasant odors in the house. Basically, make sure that the property is being taken of, that there is still pride of ownership, even though you have decided to let this property go. Ask yourself, what would I like, or dislike, if I were looking for a property. Then act accordingly.

Cool website used to help attract people to Vulcan

This website was made to help attract those in the medical field to Vulcan. It's a neat site that gives highlights of what Vulcan has to offer.

Aerial View of Vulcan taken this past fall

Budget facelifts that add value to your home | The Chronicle Herald

Budget facelifts that add value to your home | The Chronicle Herald

Slip sliding...

We have had freezing rain and fog the past day or two and it has made for some slippery sidewalks and roads. I just want to say a thank you to the Town of Vulcan and Vulcan County for a job well done in working on keeping our roads and sidewalks as clear as they can. I have been in other communities in my travels and I must say that Vulcan does a very good job compared to these other places. I am not sure if it is because of our senior citizen population, or just because it is their priority, but hats off to those folks who keep our streets and sidewalks clear!

Vulcan re-branding clip on CBC

The following is a news clip from CBC that aired on October 29, 2012 regarding Vulcan's re-branding. It is an interesting story and I have been following it for a while. It seemed like just a crazy dream, but as time goes by, it looks like more promising on coming true! If the link does not open for you, just copy the link below and paste to the address bar. http://www.cbc.ca/video/watch/News/Canada/Calgary/ID=2298195930

In like a .....snow storm!

Old man winter rolled into Vulcan this past week and welcomed us all to the season! We all knew the storm was coming and, yes, the weather guy got it right - we got a dump of snow! Talking with a local RCMP member, the snow plows were out at 2am, clearing the highways, laying down whatever they lay down to make it not so icy. The morning of the snowfall was a little quiet to begin with, but as the day wore on, people were out with their shovels and snow blowers, pushing the white stuff away. Some people did have a "snow day", but I still saw many businesses carrying on with life. I know I showed one property in the afternoon (thanks to the tenants there who shoveled the sidewalk!), and caught up on paperwork throughout the day. And yes, I got the snow blower hooked up to the garden tractor and felt like a man as I bulldozed my way through the drifts and conquored what I would have otherwise had to have shoveled! Yep, chalk one up for the good guys! Wrote up an offer last night, and I need to set up some showings for the coming week. Nice to see things still happening as we get closer to the holiday season where things historically slow down. Then again, I did not win the lottery AGAIN last night, so my theories are out the door!

Vulcan's 100th Anniversary Gala and Dinner

Thumbs up to past and present residents of the Town of Vulcan! Last night there was a dinner and auction to raise money for Vulcan's 100th Birthday Celebration and Community Improvements. The dinner was sold out (fantastic food I must say!), and people did not sit on their hands for the auction. There must be a huge shout out to all of the sponsors as there was a huge selection of items to bid on. Among the items auctioned were a trip to London, Trip to Vegas, 4WD John Deer Gator, and much more. This number is not official, but the preliminary numbers announced were $99,500 raised through the auction and another $30,000+ raised from sponsors! Well done Vulcan! For information on the 100th Birthday Celebration taking place August 2, 3, 4, and 5th, 2013, please visit www.vulcan100.com.

Slow summer season

This past summer's real estate market in the town of Vulcan has been slow. There is still a large amount of inventory of residential properties for sale, but not much for demand for these properties. Interest rates are still good, selections is above average, but, as is the challenge of many small towns, there are no new jobs to bring families into town. I still feel that the market will change as it goes through its economic cycle, and in a year or two, people will be wishing that they had bought "back in 2012 when it was a buyer's market." Commercially, there have been a few shops changing hands. Those looking for a place to park their larger trucks inside for the winter have had their choices reduced. For example, I have had a shop that was listed for two or three years that finally just sold. Another shop sold this spring, and yet another just a few weeks ago. I saw on the news the other day that Calgary is going through an industrial real estate boom. Perhaps this is why buyers have been looking outside of the city for these large shops. They are getting more for their money in Vulcan than they would in the larger centers. At least, that is my opinion.

Reader, television viewer, radio listener... beware!

Whether we are reading a newspaper, listening to the radio, or watching the news on television, we are thrown all sorts of information to filter through, some good, some bad, some we just have to decide on our own where to classify it. We see stuff on blogs, Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, blogs and more and it is up to each and everyone of us to decide what we are going to believe as true, and what we think is a "bunch of balogne". This past week the news has been reporting that the Canadian housing market is going to take a down turn. "There is going to be a 10% drop in housing prices over the next few years." "There is going to be a market correction, as prices have doubled in the last 10 years or so." I wonder if everyone caught the fine print in the story that this is the forecast for Toronto and Vancouver. In particular, this is going to reflect their condo market. The question then is, what about the rest of the country? Canada is the second largest country in the world. We have several different time zones, different weather climates, oceans on three sides, with prairies, mountains, rocks, trees, and more in between. It seems to me that it would be a bit of a challenge to paint the real estate market of Canada with just one brush. Here is my two cents. You can take it or leave it. I have no money back guarantee with my predictions. These are just my thoughts on my local real estate market: During the last housing boom, the smaller towns and villages lagged behind the bigger centers such as Calgary and Edmonton. We did get a boom too (on a much smaller scale of course), but it was a year or so after the cities took off. When the cities started to cool down, we cooled down too, but after the cities had already started their cool down. I will compare this to the big brother little brother scenario. Little brother wants to grow up to be like big brother, but he is still little brother and it will take time to catch up to his older sibling. The older sibling already has life experience, and other resources to move him along. The little brother will need some time to build up his resources, get his name out there, for him to catch up. The cities already have a large population base to work with, unlike the smaller towns and villages, with established businesses and room to grow. Meanwhile, small towns and villages have to fight to get businesses to come to town. I could go on and on with that predicament, but I will stop there for now. I hope you got my point. The little guys and just a couple of steps behind the big guys. That's life. That is the challenge that smaller communities face compared to the larger ones. Towns such as Vulcan and surrounding areas need to attract businesses to bring people into town. Not just shoppers, but employers and employees, families, young couples, and more. Another way to get people into town is for the larger centers, such as Calgary, to have their real estate market take off, pricing people out of the city, where they can them move to a small town, buy a decent house for a fraction of the city prices, and enjoy the small town living. It is a challenge. It has always been a challenge, and it will be a challenge in the future. Small town living has it's ups and downs. So does living in the city. And now back to the point of this little rant of mine. When you hear a story on the news, or read it somewhere, do your homework before you decide to turn on the panic button. Get the facts. Make up your own mind...and take it from there.

"Average" house prices don't tell the whole story - cbcnews.ca

I discovered this article on Yahoo.ca and it's a clip from cbcnews.ca. I thought it was a good one to share: When someone asks how house prices are doing in a particular neighbourhood, the question seems easily answered. The big real estate boards all issue monthly price reports that spell out what the average selling price was in the previous month and how that compares to the month, and the year, before. But there's a problem with trying to divine market direction from average price data. It's just too blunt a tool. If real estate — as the saying goes — is really about "location, location, location," then average prices frequently don’t capture the reality of what's going on in a particular city or neighbourhood. Calculating the average house price is as simple as adding up the prices realized for all home sales in a particular month and dividing by the number of sales. The problem with that metric begins to emerge, however, when one or more parts of the housing market don't act in tandem with all the other segments, as they seldom do. For instance, what happens if the percentage of really expensive homes sold drops more than it does for other types of homes? That could lead to a big drop in the average selling price, even though the price of more moderate homes may be little changed. That exact scenario played out with the release of the June sales figures from the Canadian Real Estate Association. Among the ocean of figures CREA released was the fact that the average resale price across the country that month was down 0.8 per cent from the same month a year earlier. It left the impression that prices in the Canadian housing market had dropped compared to the previous year. It turns out that the national average price dropped only because Vancouver's pricey real estate market had 28 per cent fewer sales this June than it did in June 2011. Exclude Vancouver from the national figures and CREA says the average national selling price last month actually rose 3.2 per cent. In fact, CREA reports the average home price in June was higher year-over-year in 70 per cent of the local markets it looked at. Average price data within cities are also vulnerable to a shift in the sales mix. What if a huge batch of low-priced condos are snapped up one month? That would send the average price lower, even though the resale market for other types of housing may not have budged at all. So it comes as no surprise that economists who analyze the real estate market hate averages. "Averages are a horrible place to go," says Tsur Somerville, who heads up the Centre for Urban Economics and Real Estate at the University of British Columbia. Gregory Klump, the chief economist at CREA, agrees. Using average prices is "like looking in a funhouse mirror," he warns. Finding the median price, which involves ranking all sales from top to bottom and finding the sale price that's in the middle, is a bit better, Somerville says, but it's still flawed methodology. Like average prices, the median fails to take into account changes in buying patterns. Economists say there are more sophisticated methods that give a better sense of market trends than either averages or medians. More than 15 years ago, the MLS developed its own home price index to get a clearer picture of price trends. It uses a complex statistical model to measure the rate at which housing prices change over time by tracking price changes in "typical" homes in each market. Each neighbourhood has a typical benchmark home. CREA, in addition to providing average home price data, also releases MLS home price index data for five major markets: Greater Vancouver, the Fraser Valley, Calgary, the Greater Toronto Area and Montreal. Sixteen additional markets are slated to be added in the future. "If you really want an accurate measure of what's going on with home prices, you've got to keep the quality of the homes constant," says CREA's Klump. "That's what the [MLS home price index] does. It compares apples with apples over time. It's not subject to a change in the sales mix the way average and median prices are." What difference do the different approaches make? In Vancouver, for instance, the average selling price in June was $701,141, down 13.3 per cent from last year. But using the MLS home price index methodology, Greater Vancouver prices actually rose year-over-year by 1.7 per cent. This method of tracking home prices looks at how the price of the same house changes over time, so that only properties with at least two sales are entered into the mix. The assumption underlying this process is that each selected property's overall quality remains constant. Given the high rate of renovations, that can be problematic, but the statistical models attempt to account for that. The Teranet-National Bank home price index is the best-known example of the repeat sales method in Canada. "The statistics work out the problem that not every house sells every year," says Somerville, who uses data from both the MLS and the Teranet-National Bank home price indices to track market trends. In the U.S., the widely tracked Case-Shiller home price index uses the repeat sales method, too. Somerville cites a couple of other indicators to track housing price trends. The Royal Lepage house price survey is a quarterly look at seven types of housing in dozens of neighbourhoods across Canada. The values are estimates of fair market value in each of the surveyed locations, based on local home price data and knowledge of local housing market conditions provided by Royal Lepage real estate agents and brokers. "In theory, it should be problematic, because it's a survey," says Somerville. "It's not based on actual data. But it moves very well with the higher quality statistical data." Some market watchers also look at the sales-to-new-listings ratio. Currently, it's at 51.7 per cent nationally and has been trending down. Anything over 60 per cent is considered a sellers' market, with anything below 40 per cent being a buyers' market. Somerville also looks at sales activity. "Changes in sales tend to lead market conditions," he says. "So when sales are declining, that's the best sign of a weakening market, although price declines don't have to follow. You can get prices flat-lining; they don't have to decline." Currently, the number of sales in most markets in Canada is slowing. Overall, CREA reports 4.4 per cent fewer sales in June than a year earlier. At the same time, year-over-year prices aren't retreating in most markets, at least yet. But the recent tightening in mortgage regulations could change that and it could show up as early as August, when sales and price figures for July are released. "We do anticipate that some first-time buyers will be priced out of the market," Klump says. These days, the operative words among Canadian housing market watchers seem to be "slowing" and "cooling." "The cycle of eroding affordability followed by softening home prices has begun in some regions and will be felt in many parts of the country by year-end," Royal Lepage CEO Phil Soper forecasts. "Home prices cannot grow faster than salaries and the underlying economy indefinitely." Somerville says that of all the housing markets in Canada, Toronto is the one that bears watching. "If I was concerned about a market, I'd be more concerned about Toronto, because the level of building activity has been very, very high there," he says, referring to the the boom in condo-building. "You see supply levels being very high by historic standards in terms of construction," he says. "I'm not saying things have to go sour; I'd just be more concerned [about Toronto] than elsewhere."

The importance of a walk through

Purchasing a property can be a very exciting time, especially as the possession date draws near. One important process to complete before money exchanges hands and the keys are turned over from the seller to the new owners is a "walk through". A walk through is a process that takes place when the new owners get a chance to go through the property and make sure that it is in the same, if not better, condition than when they priviously viewed the property. For example, if upgrading the electrical panel, or having the rugs cleaned were part of the terms of the contract, the buyers will want to see for themselves that this was completed. Perhaps when the sellers moved out, the movers did some damage, like putting a hole in the wall. They buyers will want to make sure that this issue is addressed. If there are concerns, the time to deal with them is before money exchanges hands. In my experience, most times everything goes smoothly and there are no issues to worry about. However, it can happen and you want to make sure that you are protected. What happens if there is an issue? There can be a holdback of funds, until the problem is rectified. This is why you do this before the funds are transferred. If the funds have already transferred and then a problem is discovered, well that's something that could get messy and costly as legal issues may come into play. Basically, my point is that a walk through is a must when you are purchasing a property. You are already spending the money. Make sure you get what you paid for.

Large inventory of properties for sale. Good or bad?

Vulcan has a large inventory of properties for sale right now. Actually, it's been like this for quite some time. Is this a good thing, or a bad thing? Well the coffee shop talk will tell you that it's horrible and that the sky is falling. Personally, I do not like the high amount of inventory. There needs to be more of a balance of supply and demand. Some markets are getting closer to a balance, but others, such as Vulcan and other areas of southern Alberta, there balance is not there yet. As a seller, it makes it tough. You really have to have an attractive price and even better looking curb appeal to get people to look closer at your property. There ARE buyers out there, but there is no competition between buyers. The properties that are moving are the bargains. For example, the lower end properties (under $150,000) have been picked over in town. The "good ones" are being picked up, leaving "rougher" type properties sitting idol on the market. Higher end properties do not have as many buyers looking at them, and these buyers do not seem to be much in a rush to buy. Really it's the sellers that are competing, not the buyers. As a result, this advantageous if you are the buyer. A good selection of properties are available and the prices are not as high as they have been. These along with low interest rates certainly favour the buyer. If you have been sitting on the fence about buying real estate, perhaps now would be a good time to take some action. I can see what happened with sellers a few years ago happening to buyers in a year or two - "We should have bought (or sold in the case of the sellers) when the market was favourable to do so. We would have saved (or made as a seller) thousands!"

What renovations give the best return on investment?

Are you thinking about increasing the value of your home, but are not quite sure what you should be doing? What is going to give you the best return on your time and money investment? Here are a couple of ideas that I have found in my years in real estate, and also from doing my homework: 1. Painting - this is one of the renovations that you are going to realize a profit with. Tasteful, neutral colours inside and out will help increase the value of the property with a small amount of investment, especially if you do the painting yourself. However, make sure that the job looks professional. Estimated payback up to 300%. 2. Kitchen remodeling - the kitchen is one of the main rooms in the house. Remodeling can be expense so careful planning and shopping are a must. Estimated payback 60% and up. Careful not to get too carried away as it can be costly and your return on investment could decrease. 3. Bathroom remodeling - the bathroom is another busy place in the house. Check the medicine cabinet. How does it look on the outside? How about the inside? Is there rust? Cracked mirror? Once again, some careful planning and shopping helps out here. Just replacing your medicine cabinet to one that is new and clean can make a big difference. Also, how many bathrooms are in your house? Compare that number to the number of bedrooms. 4 bedrooms and 1 bathroom can make for an unhappy household. If you have roughed in plumbing, it might be worth finishing it off and getting that extra bathroom installed. You do not need to go overboard, but having that extra bathroom could be that extra selling feature that a buyer is looking for.

Fire ban lifted

Just in time for the long weekend, the fire ban has been lifted. So if you are out at Lake McGregor, Little Bow, Badger Lake, or wherever, be careful and enjoy your fresh s'mores and hotdogs with friends and family!

Housing Bubble?

So I hear on the news that Canada may be on the verge of a housing bubble. "Could this mean that Canada's housing market is going to tank like our friends to the south?" Well for one thing, the housing market in Vancouver is different than the housing market in Regina, which is different than Toronto, which is different than Halifax. Let's get that straight. Now, as a whole, the Canadian housing market is inline with the 10 year average for sales. This is based on national statistics and this is one of the messages that the Canadian Real Estate Association representatives took to our Members of Parliament this past week in Ottawa. I am a Political Action Committee representative for my local real estate board. We talked to our MPs about indexing the Home Buyers' Plan and issues about Capital Gains Tax. I must say that we were well received at Parliament Hill. Plus the weather in Ottawa was beautiful, and hanging around our nation's capital helps build up that patriotism!

Town of Vulcan Spring Clean-up

During the week of May 22, 2012 the Town of Vulcan is organizing a spring clean-up. On or before Tuesday, May 2 place all refuse where you usually put your garbage bags and during the course of the week these materials will be picked up at no cost. If you wish to have the garbage picked up directly from your yard, please call 403-485-2417 a day in advance to arrange for a pick up time. please note that the owner or a representative has to be present when the material is picked up from the yard. Metal, wood waster, tree branches, rocks, and cardboard need to be separated as per waster commission requirements. Leaves, grass clippings and other garden waste need to be bagged. So if you need to dispose of large and bulky garbage not ordinarily collected as household waste, here is your chance to get rid of it. Take advantage of the nice weather this weekend and get that yard cleaned!

First Week of May

This past week has not been as brisk for showings and sales. I am at an open house today, but it has been a bit slow. The rain and snow has not helped very much. We have had a few showings at one of my listings for $45,000. It is a foreclosure listing. It's a little two bedroom house in Champion. Older place. Dirt basement. It's been on the market for quite a while but it was priced too high before. Now that it is priced below $50,000, we are getting some interest. Fingers crossed! By the way, it's nice to see out advertisement in the Communicator - the local magazine that was introduced last weekend at the Com-Con in Calgary. It was a sell-out there. Great exposure. We hope that it will bring more people out for Spock Days on June 8, 9, and 10, 2012.

Spring has sprung!

We are off to a busy spring in the residential real estate market here in Vulcan. It is nice to see the market getting busy. Compared to this time last year, we are seeing more residential sales occurring. Personally, I have had people looking in the $100,000 t0 $150,00 range, with multiple offers on properties. I have also had dealings on properties in the high $200,000 to low $300,000 range. The low end of the market is getting picked over with properties that have been the market for a long time finally getting some attention. As for the higher end properties, I saw a property that was listed for several months at $279,000 have a price reduction of $50,000 and was gone within days. Higher end properties are dropping in price in order to attract some attention and make some sales. There was a foreclosure property adjacent to the golf course that sold for $250,000. Someone got a really good deal there. We still have a large inventory of properties on the market and it's going to take quite a while to get that inventory down to a more manageable level.

Realtors want action on grow ops and condos

Realtors want action on grow ops and condos

Choosing a real estate agent to work for you

So you are looking to sell your home, your property, your real estate investment. You have chosen to use a real estate agent (a good choice if I do say so myself!). How do you chose an agent? Shop around! My first suggestion is to see who works in the area. Look online. Talk to the local people. As much as some of us real estate people like to think that we can be experts in all areas of real estate in all areas of the country, we cannot. A local real estate agent knows what is going on locally. They know what prices properties are selling for. They know how long properties are taking to sell. They know the local economic climate - what new developments are coming; what is happening with the local job market; what the tax climate is like. My point is, just because someone is a top notch real estate agent in one area, does not mean that they are an expert in another. For example, I do not know much about the local real estate market in Lethbridge or Calgary. If someone has a property that they want to sell there, (or buy) and they ask me to help them, the best thing that I feel that I can do is to refer them to a real estate agent who knows that area. I am also aware of areas where an agent has listed a property that is out of their region, put up a sign, and the agent is never seen again. How is that beneficial? Not very.

Check for For Sale signs. What is the condition of the sign itself? Does it look like someone takes care in their work, or is the sign falling down?

Check on the internet. Google an area and real estate agent. One warning - there are some bogus real estate sites, the same as in other industries. Make sure you check around and make a few phone calls to make sure that the agent is who he/she says they are. Ask how much activity they have had in the area that you are looking at.

Interview a few agents. If you "click" with one another, great! If not, move on. Remember that the agent works for you. Make sure that you have an employee that you are comfortable with.

Condominium Living

I am hosting an open house at 120 Whispering Way in Vulcan today. This is one half of a side by side bungalow in a 45+ adult community. (ha ha! I am still too young to live here!). It is a nice two bedroom bungalow with single attached garage, walk-in closets, natural gas fireplace in the living room, and full undeveloped basement. This is close to the "back nine" at the Vulcan Golf Course. Only $100 per month for condo fees keeps your yard looking great in the summer and the sidewalks and roads clear in the winter. Listed at just under $190,000, this is a pretty good deal. If this property were in a larger centre, the price would be much higher. Yet in Vulcan, where we have a hospital, police station, 18 hole golf course, swimming pool, and more, you'll see that the town has plenty to offer. And maybe one day when I am old enough, I could live in this part of town, the Adult Community!

Open House

I am hosting an open house today at 215 Allen Crescent in Vulcan. This is a 2008 bungalow, three bedrooms on the main floor and one in the basement. One full bath on main floor and one in the basement. Double attached garage. It is listed just under $200,000. There has been interest in this property lately, in several Vulcan properties actually, which is nice to see.

One thing that is not so nice to see is the foreclosures in town. My listing is a foreclosure property, the one next to it, 211 Allen Crescent just came on the market and is a foreclosure ($389,000 listing), and across the street from that one is another foreclosure.

My listing is the cheapest one on the street. It is not as high quality as the other houses. It needs some street appeal to make it look better. A little bit of soil, some flowers, a little tree here and there and it would sure spice things up! Some paint on the fence (once its repaired), it the value would increase big time! You have heard that it does not pay to be the nicest house on the block, as the surrounding properties bring down your value? Well if you are then"cheapest" house on the block, everyone else is bringing up your value. And if you fix up that house, the value of the whole neighborhood increases! Do you catch my drift?

Increase activity

The local economy has seen positive signs so far in 2012. The mild winter has helped seen an increase in activity since about one week before Christmas. Increased activity meaning buyers out looking at properties. We have had a few sales occur since the beginning of the year, and I think that this is due to properties being priced properly. That is the key. Pricing a house properly. There is still a large amount of inventory on the market so in order to make a sale, sellers have to be competitively priced. I know I have said this several times before, but it still is necessary to make a sale. When one house is listed, and has been listed for close to a year at a certain level, and you try to sell the house next door, don't pull a number out of a hat! Do your homework! That is exactly what we did (the Sellers and I), and we had an offer within 10 days! Now, time to get back to work!