By Kevin Grenier

Now you can search for properties from your IPhone, IPad (internet enabled), Android or any smart phone with one click and not only see all the properties that are listed for sale nearby but view pictures, details, book a showing and more. You can even save properties that interest you for later reference, set up custom searches so that you see only properties that fit your needs all free and without having to download an application. All by clicking an icon on the home screen of your device, it's that easy.

Here's how you do it.

Open Safari on your device and go to www.kevingrenier.com. From here you can click on "Nearby" to see properties in your immediate or "Community" to see all the properties in a community you are interested in or "MLS" if you have an MLS number of the property.

Click on a property of interest and view the pictures and details.

Any properties you like you can "Star" for easy reference later by clicking on the grey star to the right of the property.

In order to book a showing or request further information click on the "Contact" button on any page and you can then choose to call me or email me. Did I mention how simple this is?

Bonus - here us a quick video showing you how to bookmark a page and save it to your home screen so that you can with one click get to www.kevingrenier.com your real estate portal.

After you've opened Safari and have gone to www.kevingrenier.com for IPhones, click on the "+" button at the bottom of your screen for IPad the "Share" icon at the top of the browser window. Then click on " Add to Home Screen" and your done. The above videos will show you how to customize the look of the bookmark too.

The next time you need Real Estate information you just click on the link you just made.

Remember to email or call me if you have any questions at all.

Sincerely,

Kevin Grenier REALTOR®, ABR® SRS® (Accredited Buyer's Realtor, Seller's Representative Specialist)

780-893-0269

P.S. make sure you "like" my Facebook page http://on.fb.me/BuySmartSellSmartwithKevinGrenierRealtor

This e-mail is not intended to solicit anyone who is contractually represented by another REALTOR®

 

 

Quick tool that uses the average monthly sale prices released by the Edmonton Realtor's Association to help update home prices to current market values.

For example, you bought a house in 2007, the peak of the market and are wondering how you might make out in today's market. You'll need the purchase price, month & date. The tool then calculates what that price might be in the present market based on how much the average selling prices went up or down.

Another example is your tax assessment that you receive in January but the assessment was completed by the city in July of the previous year and you'd like an idea of how the market has changed since then.

Or you had a market evaluation done  last Spring but the numbers didn't work for you then and you want to know if the market is more forgiving now.

Or you are looking at buying a place and the seller said the appraisal done 3 months ago was for 375k and you want to know how the market has changed siince then.

This tool doesn't replace a qualified appraisal or a market evaluation but offers a rough quick idea of where you might be sitting now in relation to the average sale prices.

Try it out and let me know what you think.

For a free no obligations seller/buyer consultation along with a competitive market analysis contact Kevin Grenier at 780-893-0269 or Kevin@KevinGrenier.com

All the best,

Kevin Grenier

REALTOR® ABR® SRS®

In order to be notifiied immediately when a property you like comes onto the market you can set up a property search and then save it.

This video shows you how to do this.

This action alone, will decrease the chances of you finding out about a great place for sale only to find out you are too late and some other buyer has scooped it up.

I'm surprised to see the number of people who as their primary technique peruse magazines, print ads and call directly off of for sale signs, days or in most cases weeks after the property has hit the market.

Or those who go to public MLS sites, add their criteria each time and check what is avaiilable when they get a minute. These actions are all good to do but only as a supplement to the searches you have saved that are working for you, finding properties 24 hours a day and notifying you only when something you'd be interested in comes on.

Contact me at 780-893-0269 to book your free buyer consultation including your personalized Buyer Action Plan.

In the meantime you can set up and save your own searches so you'll be notified immediately via email the minute something new comes onto the market that fits your needs.

Remember to email or call me if you have any questions at all.

Sincerely,

Kevin Grenier REALTOR®, SRS® (Seller's Representative Specialist)

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This question came in from one of my clients, I thought you'd find the information helpful so I've posted it here.

"I always think of whether it is better for me to buy a house or an apartment, I mean, money-wise. As you know, the house will cost you maintenance fee, while the apartment will cost the condo fee. What do you think which is cheaper?" Helen

 

Hi Helen, the short answer is a condo is cheaper however the house gives you more options & more control over the expenses with no money going to a management company. Kevin

 

"Although I prefer to buy an apartment, I worry that the condo fee will rise up as they want, then I have no way to control it! What do you think? Will they raise the condo fee as they want? Or is there law that prevents them from doing this?" H

 

That is determined by the condo board who are owners of units in the building so they only raise the condo fees if they have to in order to cover expenses & save enough for future expenses. Future expenses are predicted by an engineer who completes a reserve fund study which analyzes every part of the building. When repairs or replacement will be needed. This report & the accompanying budget are used by the board to determine how much to set aside. This report, budget, monthly minutes of meetings & more are all reviewed to determine the health of a condo corporation before you buy. It isn't a guarantee but can help make a better decision to buy or not. K

 

"Thanks for your information." H

Note: Please verify with your local statutes as some jurisdictions may require a minimum reserve fund amount based on factors not relating to a reserve fund study, for example, $/unit. If you are a concerned condo owner you can apply for admitance onto the board and take a more active role in your building's management.

Best Regards,

Kevin REALTOR®, ABR® (Accredited Buyer’s REALTOR®), SRS® (Seller Representative Specialist)

780-893-0269

P.S. make sure you "like" my Facebook page http://on.fb.me/BuySmartSellSmartwithKevinGrenierRealtor

This e-mail is not intended to solicit anyone who is contractually represented by another REALTOR®

 

Optimism was present during this year's housing forecast hosted by the Edmonton REALTORS® Association.

Doug Singleton, President 2012 REALTORS ® Assocation of Edmonton, spoke cautioning attendees that "Real Estate is Local" emphasizing that the Edmonton market is somewhat insulated from the woes of the U.S. and Europe thanks to the resurgence in the oil sands. Reports from other areas including average Canadian housing statistics are not relevent to the local market. Consulting with a local REALTOR® to get updated on the local conditions just makes sense.

 

Doug's prediction for the year was that single family homes would increase by the end of the year by 2%, condos by 1% and rural including acreages would remain flat with total units sold ranging between 19-20 thousand.

 

He acknowledged the work that his colleagues do with approximately 40,000 clients benefiting from having worked with a REALTOR® this past year within the MLS® alone.

Edmonton's Chief Economist John Rose sang the praises of Edmonton which boasts one of the 

strongest full-time job growths in Canada, 42,000 strong Nov 10 - Nov 11, second only recently to Vancouver. With unemployment down to the 5% mark, immigration numbers up and a booming oil sands sector the future is looking bright here in Alberta.

Whenever we tune into the news we are often informred about what is happening in Easthern Canada, the U.S. and Europe moreso than any news from our bustling North and any news from this sector is often tainted with environmntal bad news.

In short, leaving the forecast I felt vailidated in my feeling that this year is going to be an exciting year in real estate and I for one am looking forward to helping people with their real estate goals and dreams.

Best Regards,

Kevin Grenier

ABR, SRS, REALTOR®

This is not intended to solicit anyone cutrrently under a signed exclusive service agreement with another REALTOR®

The following is the monthly press release from the Realtor's Association of Edmonton in its entirety. If you have any questions on this or would like further detailed statistics, information or analysis, contact me at www.kevingrenier.com

2011 Edmonton real estate market provides stable and healthy base for 2012

Edmonton, January 4, 2012: The REALTORS® Association of Edmonton reported that the all-residential average price for real estate sales through the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in December was up 1.7% ($316,415) from a year ago. The average price of a single family detached home was also up 2.0% to $364,803 from December 2010. Relative to last December housing prices were up overall as well. As typical for December when sales usually fall off, month over month sales were down 27% and prices dipped 1.5% as compared to the November figures.

“With economic uncertainty impacting Europe and depressed housing markets in parts of the United States, it is a relief to report on the stability and health of the local real estate market,” said REALTORS® Association of Edmonton President (2011) Chris Mooney. “With prices and sales varying within a small range there is a solid base going forward into the 2012 market.”

In November the average price of a single family detached home was $364,924 and dipped just 0.3% in December. A year ago the average price was $357,636. That stability was reflected in condo pricing as well. In November the average price of a condo was $228,689 and the December price of $227,679 was down just 0.4%. A year ago the average condo price was $225,641. Duplex and rowhouse properties sold on average for $282,620, a 9.7% drop from a year ago.

The average residential price (including all SFD, condo, duplex, townhouse properties sold in the Greater Edmonton Area) was $316,415: down from November by 1.5%. There were 1,085 properties listed and 827 sold in December. There were 1,088 listings and 829 sales in December 2010. With slower sales the Days-on-market was 65 and the sales-to-listing ratio was a high for the year of 76.2%.

Looking back over the year, Mooney was content. “Last January, I forecast a 3% increase in single family prices and no movement in condo prices when comparing December to December. We ended up with a change of about half that overall and condo prices up. Homeowners generally saw an equity increase in the value of their homes in 2011.”

The all-residential average price for the entire year was $325,457 as compared to $329,019 in 2010. There were 10,962 SFD sales (up 5.5%) in 2011 and 4,638 (down 0.4%) condo sales. Total residential sales were 16,893 units (up 3.8%) on listings of 30,906 units (down 2.0%).
  
Total MLS® sales (including residential, rural, recreational and commercial properties) were valued at $6.29 billion and represented 39,350 listings and 18,986 sales transactions. “REALTORS® were involved in almost 60,000 real estate transactions in 2011 and advised on thousands more that never materialized. There were tens of thousands of business people, families and individuals who met with one of our 3,200 REALTOR® members this year, and I am proud of their service to the community and the local economy,” said Mooney.

REALTORS® also provided funding of $300,000 to 44 community groups this year through the REALTORS® Community Foundation and supported arts, heritage and community events through marketing and individual contributions. The REALTORS® Association of Edmonton printed over 2.5 million copies of the Real Estate Weekly in 51 issues and 1,061 members participated in professional development courses including 225 new members and 20 new broker/managers.

-30-

Highlights of MLS® System activity

December activity	Record for the month*	% change from December 2010
Total MLS® System sales this month	949	2.8%
Value of total MLS® System sales - month	$312 million	3.6%
Value of total MLS® System sales - year	$6.29 billion	2.4%
Residential¹ sales this month	$262 million	1.5%
Residential average price	$316,415	1.7%
SFD² average selling price - month	$364,803	2.0%
SFD median³ selling price	$352,000	3.8%
Condo average selling price	$227,679	0.9%

¹. Residential includes SFD, condos and duplex/row houses.
². Single Family Dwelling
³. The middle figure in a list of all sales prices

* Average prices indicate market trends only. They do not reflect actual changes for a particular property, which may vary from house to house and area to area. Prior period figures have been adjusted to include late reported sales and cancellations and therefore reflect a more accurate view of the period than previously reported at month end.

I am often called upon to do market evaluations for people looking at selling their homes but I'm getting a growing number of requests from past clients wanting to know how much their planned renovation will cost and what the increased value of the property would be too.

There are a number of factors I look at when doing a market evaluation and I haven't found any program that is more accurate than I am in figuring out what your property is worth, in fact some of the programs out there are downright misleading.

That said, I'd like to share with you a tool that I've frequently used to get a rough idea of how much a specific renovation like a bathroom or kitchen renovation might increase the overall value of your home by.

It is called the "Renovation Guide" put out originally by an appraisal company called Henderson and Butt. The latest version is 2009 but it still works as a general reference. I've included it here for your benefit:

Now to answer the above question, the "Renovation Guide" using a 1200 sq' bungalow indicates that a remodeled bathroom will cost you about $10-16k and will increase the value by roughly $6-12.8k. Whereas a kitchen can run you $20-32k for average quality with an immediate increase in value of approximately $14-27.2k.

There are a few things that are important to note when renovating a house or preparing one for sale.

• The first is who are you renovating for, yourself or a prospective buyer? If the answer is a buyer, then try to isolate who that buyer might be, age, lifestyle, etc.

• Secondly, is budget - did you know that the cost equals or out weighs the immediate increase in value on every renovation if you are having it professionally done except for interior painting, which will give you an R.O.I. (return on investment) of 110%.

However, cleaning and decluttering win out by far with as much as a 500% R.O.I.

Before you do any preparation for sale, contact me at kevin@kevingrenier.com to arrange an appointment with myself or one of my associates in your area for a free no obligation consultation.

Best Regards,

Kevin Grenier

REALTOR®, ABR® (Accredited Buyer’s REALTOR®), SRS® (Seller Representative Specialist)

 

P.S. make sure you "like" my Facebook page http://on.fb.me/BuySmartSellSmartwithKevinGrenierRealtor

This e-mail is not intended to solicit anyone who is contractually represented by another REALTOR®

Related articles

• The New MLS is Here Now - Search for Properties Internationally & More (kevingrenier.com)
• Local REALTOR Kevin Grenier is recipient of new Real Estate Designation Seller Representative Specialist (SRS)TM (kevingrenier.com)
• Three Ways to Increase the Value of Your Home (realtyexecutives.com)
• Update from the Realtor's Assocation of Edmonton - August 3, 2011 (kevingrenier.com)

“Amid the heightened economic uncertainty spreading globally in the past several months, Alberta’s steady progress toward full recovery from the recession is
refreshing.”

 

Here are RBC's forecasts for Alberta's economy created by RBC Economics Research:

 

To view the report in its entirety go to:

http://www.rbc.com/economics/market/pdf/provfcst.pdf

 

Related articles

• Alberta economic outlook remains bright: RBC - Calgary Herald (calgaryherald.com)
• Resource-rich provinces lead economic growth: RBC (ctv.ca)

Parkview, Edmonton

I've just added a powerful new property search tool to my arsenal which will allow you to search for properties for sale all across the globe from wherever you are in the world.

This has been in the works for some time and involved cooperation from many different real estate boards. You asked for barrier free access to MLS listings and this is what came of that. Check it out and comment on how you feel about it below, I'd love to hear your feedback as we strive to further improve this valuable tool.

Try it out at http://www.realtyexecutives.com/kevingrenier

 

Kevin Grenier

REALTOR®, ABR® (Accredited Buyer’s REALTOR®), SRS® (Seller Representative Specialist)

 

P.S. make sure you "like" my Facebook page http://on.fb.me/BuySmartSellSmartwithKevinGrenierRealtor

This e-mail is not intended to solicit anyone who is contractually represented by another REALTOR®