Blog Entries

Japan is the place to be for Real Estate Investments

realestock@gmail.com — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 08:00:00 +0100

A combination of low property prices and increased overseas investment from Asian investors seems to be heating up the Japanese investment property market.

Japan was just one of the countries seriously affected by the global economic [...]

Global Investment Hot Picks

realestock@gmail.com — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 23:51:41 +0100

International property investment has increased significantly in 2010, with nations like Brazil and Australia leading the way.

International commercial real estate investment in 2010 is expected to reach up to $290 billion dollars – up almost 40% over 2009 levels. In the US, surging capital markets have seen a significant pickup in activity, with gateway cities on the coast seeing the greatest gains. In the US, transactions are predicted to total between 85 and 90 billio [...]

Canadian Home Prices Rise, Despite Expectations

realestock@gmail.com — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 08:00:00 +0100

The price of a new house in Canada rose slightly, prompting more and more people to worry that Canadian homes may be overvalued. According to Statistics Canada, the housing price rose 0.2% in September, greater than the originally forecast increase of 0.1%. Rapidly increasing prices over the past decade, including the 2009 recession had increased speculation recently that Canadian housing could be caught in a bubble.

Montreal and Calgary lead the price increases, as [...]

Real Estate is Changing - Canada Leads the Way

realestock@gmail.com — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 08:00:00 +0100

Since October 25, homeowners looking to sell in Canada have a lot more options under their belt. The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) has approved a sweeping change to the MLS system that they’ve so tightly controlled since its inception.

Under a new agreement between the CREA and the Federal Competition Bureau, Canadian realtors can now place properties on the MLS for a flat fee – and leave all the other work of act [...]

Canadian Housing Overpriced – WAY overpriced

tyler.nixon@cmaeon.com — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 08:00:00 +0100

If the constant griping by renters wishing they could get into the home ownership game hadn’t tipped you off – in many parts of the country, people think that Canadian real estate is just too expensive. But are they right? Well, the complainers have won this round - venerated magazi [...]

How To: Decorate for Fall

tyler.nixon@cmaeon.com — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 08:00:00 +0100

It’s fall! While most people profess that their favorite season is summer, Fall has a lot of fans. Fall is my favourite season by a big margin (more sunshine than spring, less humidity than summer), and that means I always want to get into the Fall spirit by decorating my house.&nb [...]

Vancouver Housing Affordability Worries Economists

tyler.nixon@cmaeon.com — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 08:00:00 +0100

The Royal Bank of Canada has raised serious concerns that for most people housing is simply too expensive in Vancouver.

On Monday, RBC released its quarterly report on housing and affordability. According to the report, on average, the typical Canadian homeowner spends 48.9 [...]

Chinese Real Estate Shake Up?

tyler.nixon@cmaeon.com — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 08:00:00 +0100

The Chinese real estate sector could be in for a big shakeup soon. Many pundits are predicting that the government is getting ready to introduce a property tax.

While most people in the world regard property taxes as a way of life, in officially Communist China there’s no governme [...]

The Best Online Design Resources

tyler.nixon@cmaeon.com — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 08:00:00 +0100

Maybe you live in a dreary rental that you can’t do much with. Maybe you’re dying to change something about home, but you don’t have much of a budget. Maybe you’ve got the time to embark on a weekend home improvement project, but you’re lacking inspiration. Or maybe you just like to dream?

No matter what the reason, going online can be a huge source of ideas, inspiration, daydreams and super practical advice for anyon [...]

Predictions of a Bursting Housing Bubble

tyler.nixon@cmaeon.com — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 08:00:00 +0100

Will the bubble burst or won’t it? The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives is suggesting Canada’s housing markets could be poised for a big crash akin to the US housing meltdown, but the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation is painting a rosy picture and predicting more starts and modest price increases in 2011.

The [...]

7 Steps for Perfect Home Staging

tyler.nixon@cmaeon.com — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 08:00:00 +0100

So you've painted, repaired, cleaned and gardened to within an inch of your life – yet buyers are still underwhelmed with your castle. What do you have to do to get your home a little love? You might want to try staging your home. A study by Coldwell Banker Realty found that homes that had been staged sold in just under half the time, and for over 5% more than homes that hadn't been.

Home staging can be expensive, but it doesn’t have to be. You can pay a professi [...]

The Definitive Guide: How the HST Really Affects Realtors

tyler.nixon@cmaeon.com — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 08:00:00 +0100

To say the HST has upset realtors and real estate professionals would be a bit of an understatement. They’re mad. According to a recent survey conducted by Royal Lepage, 43.9% of realtors felt that the HST was playing a big part in the cooling housing market.

Who could blame them? Both Vancouver and Toronto, the biggest markets in the provinces where HST has gone into affect have seen big downturns. In Toronto, sal [...]

Canadian Real Estate – is it correcting, or slumping?

tyler.nixon@cmaeon.com — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 08:00:00 +0100

Is it the HST? Creeping interest rates? High prices? Something is killing the Canadian real estate market - Canadian real estate sales have dipped sharply – and expectations should be following suit.

A year ago, Canadians marveled at the strength of the property market here. Prices and sales were up, while we [...]

What to do if you want to sell your home

tyler.nixon@cmaeon.com — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 08:00:00 +0100

Selling real estate can be a big headache. Finding a realtor, showing the house, entertaining offers… then worrying about taxes, fees and other administrative details can make the process seem far more complicated than it needs to be. So, if you want to sell your home, doing your homework before you g [...]

The Best Paint Color Trends for 2010

tyler.nixon@cmaeon.com — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 08:00:00 +0100

Any realtor worth their salt knows that the quickest way to freshen up a property is a simple coat of paint. So how can you catch a buyer’s eyes? Painting everything builder’s beige won’t cut it anymore, but a paint job with an on-trend contemporary colour can elevate a property above its peers.

Does this mean you should paint the walls of a small, dark bedroom grey because it’s a popular colour right now? No. To [...]

A Million Dollars in Global Real Estate

tyler.nixon@cmaeon.com — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 08:00:00 +0100

One of the most popular blog posts Realestock has written was What do you Get for $1,000,000 – a fairly surprising comparison of global real estate prices. The conclusions? Tokyo was surprisingly affordable, New York and Seattle were what one would expect, and Vancouver came away seeming expensive by comparison. So if you really are looking to buy real estate in far flung, exotic locales, here are 5 more properties for sale from all over the world. So what does a million dollars get you? [...]

North American Real Estate Trends for 2010

tyler.nixon@cmaeon.com — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 08:00:00 +0100

Real Estate investment has taken a real beating in the past two years. With sluggish markets just beginning to claw their way back, the question the smartest investors are asking is not, “what properties are for sale” but “where is it worth buying?”

PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PWC) recently released their 2010 [...]

4 Simple Ways to Sell Real Estate in the Summer

tyler.nixon@cmaeon.com — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 08:00:00 +0100

Most people and realtors will tell you that summer is the best time to buy and sell real estate, no matter what kind of property you have – condo, house, investment property… The popular assumption is that with enough sunshine streaming in, and with a well kept garden, the house will practically sell i [...]

How To: Get Great Real Estate Photos

tyler.nixon@cmaeon.com — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 08:00:00 +0100

Whether you’re a realtor, someone trying to sell, or someone looking to buy, great photos are some of the best tools you can have in Real Estate. A Realtors’ association survey found that when it comes to web features that buyers consider “very useful,” 83 percent cited pictures. Great photos are much like having great curb appeal – they draw potential buyers in. Bad photos don’t just leave a bad first impression; they can turn off buyers before they even set foot in the proper [...]

Social Media Success the Realestock Way

tyler.nixon@cmaeon.com — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 08:00:00 +0100

About a month and a half ago, we had an interesting idea in the Realestock offices. Why don’t we do a contest about using social media and give away some prizes? The initial incarnation of the contest was pretty small – Starbucks gift cards, but our CEO suggested we do something much bigger – an iPad. A fabulous enough prize decided on, we launched the contest, thinking if it went well enough, we’d do a few more contests.We really weren’t sure what to expect.

When the entr [...]