We had some crazy winds go through the County yesterday. Through Southern Alberta. Large grass fires by Lethbridge. Semi-tractor trailers were blown over by Nanton. We saw a grain bin blown over east of Vulcan. The bin was empty and just on skids, but was still quite the sight to see. In Vulcan this morning as I went for my walk, I saw broken tree branches everywhere. Shingles blown here and there were a common sight. What a crazy wind! It has been windy here before. I mean this is Southern Alberta and we get our chinook winds. But this was way worse than what we have seen in a very long time. Perhaps we have never had it this bad before. By Claresholm, there were hurricane force winds! 144 km!
Well, time for the community to clean up now and get things back to "normal".
Welcome to Vulcan
Vulcan's Starship Enterprise
Monday, November 28, 2011
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
November update
The residential real estate market in Vulcan is stagnant. According to the www.realtor.ca website, there are currently 57 residential properties listed for sale in the Town of Vulcan. The inventory of properties for sale is still too high. There is not much selling over the $200,000 mark, according to last months records with Alberta Land Titles.
I have an issue to bring up with this. First of all, the number 57 is not accurate. For some reason, there are properties being shown as FOR SALE within the Town of Vulcan, but are not physically in Vulcan. At least two of them as actually in Champion. That is what the address says "Champion, Alberta". Those properties have been shown as being in Vulcan but with a Champion address for months! Like since this past summer at least! Is no one checking this out? The seller? Their real estate agent? I am by no means perfect. Should someone not be checking up on their own work?
I have an issue to bring up with this. First of all, the number 57 is not accurate. For some reason, there are properties being shown as FOR SALE within the Town of Vulcan, but are not physically in Vulcan. At least two of them as actually in Champion. That is what the address says "Champion, Alberta". Those properties have been shown as being in Vulcan but with a Champion address for months! Like since this past summer at least! Is no one checking this out? The seller? Their real estate agent? I am by no means perfect. Should someone not be checking up on their own work?
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Open house at 404 Meadowlark Way in Vulcan
I am hosting an open house today at "The Cottages" at Whispering Creek in Vulcan today. This is a nice two bedroom, 76o square foot home located in the condo community next the the Vulcan Golf Course. This property was built in 2010, has an open floor plan and vaulted ceilings in the kitchen, dining and living room areas. Two bedrooms on the main floor, as well as main floor laundry. Single attached garage. Undeveloped basement. All this for under $200,000!
Friday, September 30, 2011
Residential sales are slow. Want to sell? Stand out from the crowd!
Looking at the land title changes over the past several months, there is one thing that stands out in my mind. Properties selling over $200,000 are few and far between. Two, sometimes three properties within the Town of Vulcan have sold over the $200,000 mark over the past few months. There is still a large inventory of houses on the market, and not many people looking at those houses. Perhaps after harvest, which is almost done, there will be more people looking.
As I have said before, if you have a house for sale in town, make sure that it is priced competitively and that you have it stand out from the others. Curb appeal is a big thing that people are looking at. When potential buyers drive through town, they want to see properties that are well taken care of, that show pride of ownership. Put yourself in their shoes...would you want to look at a house that has a well groomed lawn, trees are trimmed, fence painted, with no clutter in the yard...or would you prefer a house where the grass has not been cut in months, the fence in falling down and/or needs to be painted, and there are all sorts of bikes and junk in the yard? The answer seems simple to me...
Clean up the yard. Get rid of the junk. Paint your fence, the trim around the windows, through a coat on the deck. Simple little things like these could make the difference between me getting a call on your house, or the one down the street.
One more thing...be ready for showings on short notice, especially on the weekends. I know it can be a pain in the butt, but the inconvenience of a quick showing may end up saving you from the stress of having your house on the market for an extended period of time. Be proactive. Be prepared.
As I have said before, if you have a house for sale in town, make sure that it is priced competitively and that you have it stand out from the others. Curb appeal is a big thing that people are looking at. When potential buyers drive through town, they want to see properties that are well taken care of, that show pride of ownership. Put yourself in their shoes...would you want to look at a house that has a well groomed lawn, trees are trimmed, fence painted, with no clutter in the yard...or would you prefer a house where the grass has not been cut in months, the fence in falling down and/or needs to be painted, and there are all sorts of bikes and junk in the yard? The answer seems simple to me...
Clean up the yard. Get rid of the junk. Paint your fence, the trim around the windows, through a coat on the deck. Simple little things like these could make the difference between me getting a call on your house, or the one down the street.
One more thing...be ready for showings on short notice, especially on the weekends. I know it can be a pain in the butt, but the inconvenience of a quick showing may end up saving you from the stress of having your house on the market for an extended period of time. Be proactive. Be prepared.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Do you like Chocolate?
The Kronos Chocolate Factory, featuring Chocolatier Michael Roloff is in the Vulcan Bakery August 25, 26, and 27th from 9 AM to 5 PM. Come and see what the "Poet of Chocolate" can do!
Saturday, August 20, 2011
What is the market like in Vulcan?
Here are a few tidbits about the Vulcan real estate market:
There are perhaps 1 or two houses per month that sell in Vulcan that are over the $200,000 mark. For those people who are trying to sell above $200,000, they are in for a challenge. The Town of Vulcan needs more industry coming in, more businesses, which will mean more jobs. Right now, it seems like those buying in Vulcan are seniors coming in off the farm, looking for a place to retire, or farmers looking for a place for their hired help. Sure, there are a few buyers in other industries (retail, industrial, service industry), but they seem to be few and far between. Not many of them are in the $200,000 plus range for properties. Of course, some of these properties should definitely be in that price range, if not more, but there just is not the demand for it right now. Even below that price level, this is little action. I say this not to speak of doom and gloom. The market will turn around, and I know that Vulcan is looking to attract more industry. I would even guess that many of us will be kicking ourselves in a few years, wishing that we had bought and extra property or two "when prices were so cheap". However, that is in a couple years down the road. That is not today. Just something to keep in mind...
There are perhaps 1 or two houses per month that sell in Vulcan that are over the $200,000 mark. For those people who are trying to sell above $200,000, they are in for a challenge. The Town of Vulcan needs more industry coming in, more businesses, which will mean more jobs. Right now, it seems like those buying in Vulcan are seniors coming in off the farm, looking for a place to retire, or farmers looking for a place for their hired help. Sure, there are a few buyers in other industries (retail, industrial, service industry), but they seem to be few and far between. Not many of them are in the $200,000 plus range for properties. Of course, some of these properties should definitely be in that price range, if not more, but there just is not the demand for it right now. Even below that price level, this is little action. I say this not to speak of doom and gloom. The market will turn around, and I know that Vulcan is looking to attract more industry. I would even guess that many of us will be kicking ourselves in a few years, wishing that we had bought and extra property or two "when prices were so cheap". However, that is in a couple years down the road. That is not today. Just something to keep in mind...
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