Calgary has been considered on of the best cities to live in Canada for some time now.  Recently with the strength of Alberta's and Calgary's oil & gas industry improving this has created a booming economy all around, with jobs and opportunities abound in all industries.  This has also had a positive impact on the Calgary real estate market, with real estate investment being beneficial. This is a a trend analysts expect to continue for years.

Prior to 2007 Calgary real estate home prices rose by an increadible and inprecidented 118%! After the recession in 2008 the local real estate market was sluggish, with both single family and condo properties giving back some of the gains realized in the earlier boom.

2012 was an increadible year for Calgary & area real estate, with the highest number of sales completed since the 2007 boom and marked a new high for average home prices. 

Higher sales volume & prices have continued through to 2013, with volumes up 10% over last year's numbers and both average & median single family sale prices reaching new record levels. November 2013 metro sales for the city of Calgary were up 19% vs 2012 numbers.

Calgary property is in high demand. The proof is in the pudding - the average Calgary real estate listing sells in less than 6 weeks. Many of the most desirable properties for sale on the MLS System will sell in a day or a few days.  The Calgary & area real estate market promises to be strong through 2013. It is a good time to buy a home, and a good time to sell your home! 

If you're searching the Calgary or Okotoks real estate market - get a leg up by working with our experienced and qualified Calgary Real Estate Agent or Okotoks Real Estate Agent. It's a choice that will save you time & money! 
 

CALGARY HOUSING MARKET STATS

Summary of CREB Housing Statistics from November 2013

• Average single family home selling price up 5.8% from November 2012 with the average single family home selling price is $516,446  
• Average condo selling price up 4.6% from the same time last year = $326,912
• Average Days on Market (DOM): 39 Days for Single Family Calgary home listings sold
• Total sales for Calgary or homes + condos = 1,730 properties, up 19% from last November

Search for Calgary Homes     |     Search for Okotoks Homes

Please fill out our contact form, or call 403-650-7332 for assistance anytime you need to know more about Okotoks real estate or Calgary real estate or any property that interests you. When you're ready to take the next step toward purchasing a home, we're here to help!

SantaVision, presented by RE/MAX Agents of Calgary & Area, has become an annual Christmas tradition which takes place at Calgary Zoo’s Zoolights. SantaVision allows kids of all ages to talk to Santa direct from the North Pole via a webcast. 

Since 2007, over a half million visitors to the Calgary Zoo have seen the SantaVision.TV set. Millions more on the internet as visitors who chat with Santa share this wonderful Christmas experience with their family and friends world wide.

After visiting the Calgary Zoo's Zoolights and chatting with Santa, folks can log onto http://www.santavision.ca/santa_video_visits/ to view their viedeo chat anytime. 

CHECK OUT:

• Follow Elf Vicki on Twitter at @SantaVision

• 20 Things to do At The Zoo

• Rebuild the Calgary Zoo

• North Pole Games

Our ReMax Real Estate Team knows that selling a house can be stressful. Making the decision, preparing the house for sale, keeping it clean, waiting for a buyer, dealing with offers, and advancing to the closing table – all of these steps can involve discomfort. This is a huge financial transaction with many emotional aspects. But you can get it done – and it may even be easier than you anticipate; especially if you have the knowledge and guidance of an experienced ReMax Realtor like ones of The Jay Magnussen Real Estate Team, serving clients in Okotoks and Calgary.

One thing to keep in mind is that you're not alone - our Calgary and Okoktoks Realtors work with our clients every step of teh way from staging the home right through to closing! As experienced, professional real estate agents, we can guide you through the process, help resolve any issues that come up, and ensure that your home sells for the optimal price in a timely manner.

We, at The Jay Magnussen Real Estate Team, refer to our straegy as "The 3P's to Home Selling"; with the goal of selling your home for as much money as possible, in the least amount of time possible. 

Prepare - The Preparation of your home for sale should not be taken lightly (ie: repairs, staging, etc.) The first impression is the MOST important. FACT: A potential buyer will determine if they like, or do not like, your home in the first 8 seconds of walking in the door! Savannah Magnussen, Business Manager for our Okotoks & Calgary Real Estate Team is a certified home stager and will come to your home, at no charge, to help prepare it for sale!  

Present - The presentstion of your home refers to showing your home at it's BEST! Have it clean, well kept, de-cluttered, smelling nicely, etc. This, again, leads to a good first impression.  

For some great tips, checklists, videos and advice on how to present your home for sale visit: http://www.remax-western.ca/are-you-fit-sell 

Price - Pricing your home correctly from the point of listing, to avoid price reductions and wasted time, will save yu time & money!  

If you have any questions about home selling, or would like to speak to one of our Remax realtors about selling your home, please contact us - we GUARUNTEE to return your contact form in less than 24 hours! 

SATISFACTION, GUARANTEED ~ The number of Calgarians satisfied with the city they call home is on the rise.

The Calgary Real Estate Board (CREB) has revealed in the 2013 Citizen Satisfaction Survey, 88% of Calgarians are satisfied with the quality of life in the city, an increase of 10 per cent over the last three years.

“It’s no secret that we live in a great city!" said Remax Realtor Jay Magnussen. "The City of Calgary has so much to offer including great people, lovely communities, programs and support systems for family, beautiful natural surroundings, freedoms and privileges experienced in few places around the world, and so much more."

Our ReMax real estate team serves many clients moving to Calgary from other cities, and we are thrilled to hear that people love this city. It gives us great pleasure to be helping people in one of the most important aspects of their lives. 

Ninety-two per cent of citizens said they were “proud” to be Calgarians and reported increased satisfaction with City of Calgary programs and services.

Mayor Mayor Naheed Nenshi said "keeping Calgary at its best is a partnership between citizens and their government; City employees work hard to put citizens first in all that they do, and it’s not surprising that Calgarians value this and are optimistic about the future. Together, we are building an even better Calgary.”

However, not all Calgarians were pleased with life in the city, as 17 per cent of those surveyed said the quality of life had “worsened”, a slight decrease from the 18 per cent of dissatisfied Calgarians seen last year.

Other highlights of the survey, which has been conducted for over 10 years, showed an overwhelming number of Calgarians (95-99 per cent) were pleased with the City’s flood response. The full impact of the June floods was also reflected in the survey’s findings, with 45 per cent of respondents stating they were in some way affected by the flooding and 80 per cent stating they had participated in flood recovery in some way. More than a third of Calgarians (37 per cent) stated they had volunteered with flood efforts.

Responding to how City Hall spends their hard earned dollars, close to two-thirds (65 per cent) of citizens said they were getting “good value” for their property taxes, slightly above last year’s 62 per cent but up significantly from the 51 per cent seen in 2010).

“This research is one of the ways we listen to citizens,” says Mayor Nenshi. “Good data makes for good decisions. The citizen satisfaction survey helps us to create priorities and increase our understanding of what we’re doing well and where we need to improve.”

Calgarians are invited to participate in the HeartYYC contest by posting on The City’s Twitter or Facebook page. By sharing why they love Calgary, they will be entered into a daily draw for prizes from The City and civic partners. Visit calgary.ca for more information.

For more visit: http://www.crebnow.com/satisfaction-guaranteed/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook  

Many clients of The Jay Magnussen Real Estate Team ask - "We are ready to move into a bigger home, but should we buy first or sell first?"  

Once you become a homeowner, chances are you’ll be faced with this tough decision at some point. There is no “right” answer to a dilemma like this; it’s a personal decision that should take into account your current circumstances, finances and your tolerance for risk. Or, more accurately, which kind of risk you prefer. Buying first increases the risk of higher expenses. Selling first increases the risk of having to live “between homes”. Okotoks realtor Jay Magnussen analyzes the 2 scenarios in depth: 

BUYING FIRST

Buying a home before first selling your home can make the house hunting experience more enjoyable. Without a closing date looming on your existing home, you’ll have time to wait until the right home comes up for sale. It can also be less stressful knowing that if your offer is unsuccessful, you have time to wait for the next opportunity to come up. It also makes the moving process much easier if you are able to move from one home right into the other and avoid having to move twice and/or put your belongings in storage.

The downside to buying first is if you are unable to sell your home fast enough, you will find yourself owning two homes at once. The result is you could be paying two mortgages at the same time, not to mention all the other costs of home ownership. Before you make an offer on your new home and potentially find yourself in this situation, carefully weigh whether you’re financially able to pay for two homes at once if you have to.

Speaking of finances, it is HIGHLY recommended that you consult with your mortgage broker to obtain 'bridge financing'. This is a special type of financing to cover this special type of sitaution. 

As a buyer with an existing home to sell, you can protect yourself by adding a condition to any offer you make. In addition to the highly recommended conditions on financing and inspection, you can also make your offer conditional on the sale of your current home. That means if you’re unable to sell within a specified period of time, you’re able to back out of the transaction. However, it’s worth pointing out that this condition will likely make your offer less attractive to the seller because of the uncertainty for them. 

SELLING FIRST

The biggest benefit of selling first, aside from removing the risk of owning two homes at once, is you’ll know how much money the sale brought in, which will help determine how much you can afford to pay for the next place. As helpful as that is to know, the challenge is that you’ll find yourself in a race against the clock, with your closing date looming. If you’re not careful, you may end up rushing the process and settling for a home that isn’t ideal for you, or paying more than you planned because you feel pressured.

HAVE A CONTINGENCY PLAN

Regardless of whether you buy first or sell first, it’s a good idea to have a contingency plan in case your closing dates don’t align, leaving you with two homes, or no home, for a period of time. If the sale of your home closes first, you might consider a short-term rental or moving in with family or friends. If the purchase of your new home closes first, you might need something called “bridge financing” to cover the down payment and other closing costs until the sale of your current home closes.

After all of this real estate advice, the best advice from Remax Realtor Jay Magnussen is to speak with our experienced team of real estate professionals, and based on your personal, individual and unique curcumstances we can help determine the best course for you! Our real estate team has the knowledge and experience to help you decide which decision is better suited to your circumstances, and because we won’t be as emotionally invested in the decision as you, they will be able to provide more balance to your decision-making process.  

If you would like some advice about your home buying or selling conundrum - contact The Jay Magnussen Real Estate Team today! 

Thank you Calgary! The Jay Magnussen Real Estate Team is proud to be a part of the Remax Real Estate Family! Working for Remax gives our Calgary and Okotoks Real Estate Team the opportunity to provide the best service, best client care, best resources and best marketing for our clients. 

For the 20th consecutive year, readers of the Calgary Herald have chosen RE/MAX as their favourite real estate company in Calgary!

Why is Remax the number one choice of Calgary real estate buyers and sellers?

• Two J.D. Power & Associates Awards for highest level of home buyer & home seller satisfaction
• Remax has 10 brokerages and over 10,000 agents in the Calgary area to serve you - including brokerages and real estate agents in Okotoks, Cochrane and Airdrie
• In 2012, a Remax agent was involved in a successful transaction every 30 minutes, 24 hours a day for 365 days 
• Remax agents in Calgary outperformed their closest competitor by a three-to-one margin
• Remax agents outperformed the No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4 real estate companies combined in 2012
• Remax's market share has continued to increase, now at 40 per cent in terms of total transactions in Calgary
• In 2013, Remax in Canada will invest more than $26 million in corporate advertising; not including the multiple millions that Remax agents spend on their individual advertising efforts
• Culture of Giving! Remax Realtors have raised and donated more than $10 million to Children's Miracle Network and other charitable efforts