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5 Mistakes of First Time Buyers

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Buying your first home can be exciting and amazing, and scary. But knowing the common mistakes of first-time buyers will ensure you don’t make the same ones, and can help make the transition to "New Home Owner!" that much smoother. 1) Spending Too Much It’s important to be realistic about what you can afford. The final sale price isn’t the only cost to take into account when owning a home. Houses come with plenty of bills like heating and property taxes, future renovations and occasional unforeseen costs like burst pipes or city trees needing to be trimmed. What you can do about it:  Take a close look at your finances. Be aware of your current fixed costs and always leave some breathing room. Ask the homeowners what they spend in a year on their bills so there aren’t any surprises.  Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation  has plenty of useful online  budget calculators  to help. As a general rule your monthly housing costs (mortgage, proper...

Developers shifting sights to two-bedroom condos

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Developers are in the process of making condos with two rooms instead of one so that they can fulfil a small family’s needs and wants. The number of shrinking, one-bedroom condos coming on the market has declined dramatically just over the last few months, in favour of more two-bedroom units averaging more than 800 square feet and better suited to first-time buyers and young families, says new-home research firm RealNet Canada Inc. The bad news, however, is that new, low-rise houses continue to climb out of sight and have hit a new price record of close to $700,000.The growth of more family-friendly, condo-style projects as alternatives to pricey low-rise houses should further increase next year. That’s when the Ontario government is expected to approve changes to the building code to allow construction of six-storey, wood-frame construction housing in this province for the first time, said RealNet president George Carras in an interview. Overall, new home sales continue to ...

Big 3 cities drive Canada’s still-hot housing market.

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Canada’s housing market is increasing every month with a significantly higher percentage, but the bulk of gains are accruing in just three places, Vancouver, Calgary, and Toronto. That’s good news for those centers in the near term, but the still-hot pace is raising concerns about a potentially sharp correction the longer those markets boom amid ultra-low borrowing rates. “Price spikes in Canada’s major cities [are] masking otherwise moderate home price appreciation nationally,” The Canadian Real Estate Association, or CREA, said Wednesday home sales rose more than 10 per cent last month compared to September 2013, easily topping expectations for sales to come in about 6 per cent higher.

Moving Up in the Housing Market – Bigger and Better

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After buying house, most people want to live in a bigger and better house in the future. Well, now may be just the right time to make it happen. Changing needs The most important factor in wanting a new house is the change in needs. You want to fit in with your surroundings, social status improves and the housing trends changes as well. It could also be due to the changes in one’s personal life, such as, arrival or a new baby, having fewer parking spaces or the desire to have guests for a sleep over after a while. There are as many reasons as there are different lifestyles. Whatever your reasons, moving up to a new home can intensify the joys of home ownership. There are both practical and emotional results of moving up to a better home. On the practical side, the equity in your home will continue to grow and the value of a bigger and better home will be ultimately greater over time. On the emotional side, the pride of ownership in a bigger house will probably be even grea...

Condo boom continues to take hold in the 905 regions

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Markham has the highest number of condo buyers in the 905 regions, Oakville being the second highest.  The number of Canadian buyers is decreasing and thus, it has dropped from    199,800 in July to  192,400  in August. The vast majority of the new homes on which construction began were high-rise condos (110,800) compared to new low-rise homes (64,800) as intensification continues its march skyward in the country’s major urban  centers . Housing starts in Toronto were down slightly in August to 30,093 on an annualized basis, compared to 32,449 in July, mainly due to a slowdown in high-rise starts, said CMHC. Building starts have slowly been trending lower across the GTA as the record number of condo units sold in 2011 get built out and sales of new projects remain well below those record levels. There was strength in the suburbs such as Markham, however, which recorded 460 units started in August. Oakville was second at 331 units. That...

When to sell your Home!

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The Best Time to Sell As you probably know, spring is most commonly believed to be the best time to sell. It’s the most agreeable weather for showings and most people want to get settled before summer.. Consider professional staging as a way to make your home stand out if forced to sell in this high-competition season. The Worst Time to Sell Yes, the holiday season is not the ideal time to sell. People are busy or stressed out and are prioritizing family and holidays rather than home buying or selling. Mid December to mid January is the highest travel season, and thus there are fewer buyers around to view homes. There’s also the perception that you are desperate or need to sell if you are listing your home during this time. Buyers will try to be more aggressive with you as a result.  Show off Your Home’s Best Assets Sell when the features of your home have the most impact. If you have a pool with beautiful stone work or tiling, be sure to sell your home i...

Help Smooth the Home Buying Process through REALTORS®

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There are a few factors that make it harder to buy a house. A few such factors are, getting a fair price, calculating mortgage rates and figuring out closing costs. However, a REALTOR® can guide you through the home buying process and transform this confusing experience into one of the most exciting times of your life. A REALTOR® is a professional who brings buyers and sellers together for the sale of a property. REALTORS® have access to the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) which is Canada's most powerful real estate marketing system. This service provides REALTORS® with a large number of lists that most likely contain within them your dream house. Selecting a REALTOR® There are a several ways to find a REALTOR®. One of the best ways is to ask your friends, relatives and  neighbors  if they can recommend a REALTOR® with whom they have worked in the past. It’s a good idea to talk to more than one REALTORS® to find out which one fulfills your list of needs and w...

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