Calgary Home Price Growth best in Canada!

Instead of complaining about the snow, we welcomed it with open arms... or at least my kids did!

We spent our Sunday afternoon and Monday evening playing in the snow and having snow ball fights.  It was great fun!  The best part for me...the kids went to bed early and they slept through the night!!!

My heart goes to Boston...how sad and awful that was...I know a few marathon runners and was glad that nobody I know was running that day....

As the rest of the country's real estate market slows down, Calgary on the other hand is going strong.
Here's this week's article that talks about it;
http://www.calgaryherald.com/business/Calgary+home+price+growth+best+Canada/8243555/story.html

Have a great weekend everyone and let's hope the sun will be shining soon!

Calgary housing prices bump as inventory thins out

Happy Monday!
Hope you had a good start to the week!
I guess Winter really did not leave us...
Despite the snow, it felt quite refreshing outside this morning!

We had a fun weekend just hanging out.
We had lots of frozen yogurt tasting!

We went for walks and played at the park!

A simple but fun way of enjoying the weekend...

I was on Facebook and one of my friends posted this site and I was so touched by her story...
It was a great reminder to just enjoy the 'regular ordinary days'....
Check it out.. and bring out the tissues...http://www.facebook.com/JustForLaughsGags

The last few weeks have been a busy one.  Lots of real estate activities and competing offers on the market.  Not surprising, as interest rate is record low...unbelievably low...why would you not want to buy your dream home now??
Call for a pre-approval today!

This week's article for you to enjoy!  Here's the reason for all the competing offers...
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/economy/housing/calgary-eyes-housing-price-bump-as-inventory-thins-out/article10677390/

Have a great week!

How to combat tenant fraud?

It's looking like Christmas out there!  I was outside this morning, it sure looks pretty!!

Go Flames Go!! It was a great play on Wednesday night!  I was also lucky enough to take picture with Lanny McDonald...feeling pretty special....

TGIF!!! I am glad it's Friday, it has been a hectic few weeks.  The market is busy with spring market.  Many have purchased their homes and many are still looking!  With this awesome interest rate, how can you resist??

Call me today to get that rate hold for you, before it's gone!!

This week I have attached this article that many landlords will want to want  to read...
http://www.tvslandlordblog.com/tips/tenant-screening/how-to-combat-tenant-fraud/

Have a great weekend!

Happy Chinese New Year!

Happy Chinese New Year!! May you have a Healthy, Prosperous, Lucky year ahead!

Our family celebrated the "Year of the Snake" with food, food and more food!! I am certain that I have gained many pounds from all the eating.....

We had family dinner on New Year's Eve at home to welcome in the New Year!
We had dim sum at T-Pot, one of our favorite restaurants, on New Year's Day. We did not get a chance to go to Chinatown to take in the festive activities, but we were still fortunate enough to see the Lion Dance at T-Pot!  We even got to touch it up close... I am sure good fortune will follow us from here on...

Here's a picture of Anna, my mom and me with the lion!

The market is getting busier and interest rate remains attractive!!
Call me today to get your pre-approval ready to purchase your next dream home!

This week's article:  Momentum Continues in Calgary Luxury Home Market!

http://www.calgaryherald.com/business/Momentum+continues+Calgary+luxury+home+market/7919573/story.html

It's the Flames home game tonight! Go Flames Go!
Have a great Family Day long weekend!

Bank of Canada remains overnight rate target at 1%

Happy Monday!

We had a birthday celebration weekend!

2 Birthday parties, 1 baby shower and my Emma's 6th birthday party!

How did she turn 6 so quickly?  Time sure flies!

Emma had a weekend birthday celebration that started with a Birthday dinner at Olive Gardent on Friday night and ended with 12 little kids birthday party at home and a sushi dinner out....

The weather is nice out, I hope you get a chance to go out and enjoy before the cold weather comes again tomorrow!

Last week flew by quickly for me with many new enquiries with many eager buyers on the market! 

This week's article:
Bank of Canada remains overnight rate target to 1%
http://www.bankofcanada.ca/2013/01/press-releases/fad-press-release-2013-01-23/
The key note on this article: The Bank now expects the economy to reach full capacity in the second half of 2014, later than anticipated in the October MPR.
Core inflation has softened by more than the Bank had expected.

Enjoy and have a great week ahead!
Stay warm tomorrow as the weather is expected to change any moment now!

Calgary Luxury Home Market Sales Growth

It was a busy weekend for our family.

My parents celebrated their 40th Wedding Anniversay and we had a house full people to celebrate with....It was a lot of fun!

I wish them many more years of happiness to come!!

We also had out of town visitors and it was fun to catch up and visit the Calgary Tower...

I attended the Annual CREB Forecast Breakfast and Conference. It was a great day of learning!
Here's what they forecast for 2013!
http://beaconnews.ca/blog/2013/01/creb-forecasts-moderate-sales-price-growth-for-calgary-housing/

However, I am seeing that the real estate market is picking up with strong activities.

Get in the action now while the interest rate is low!

Check out this week's acticle:  Calgary's Luxury Home Market Sales Growth Best in Canada
http://www.calgaryherald.com/business/real-estate/Calgary+luxury+home+market+sales+growth+best+Canada/7806588/story.html

Calgary House Price Forecast to Increase 2.5% this year
http://www.calgaryherald.com/business/Calgary+house+prices+forecast+increase+this+year+Royal+LePage/7788912/story.html

Enjoy this beautiful day outside!
Have a great week!

Happy New Year!

Welcome to 2013!  Can you feel the excitement yet??

I hope you all had a great holiday and are ready to welcome 2013!

Our family took off for 1 week on a Carribean cruise.  Unfortuately, we were all sick and had the worst vacation ever!!! Emma cried and said, 'Mom, everybody is having fun, except for us!' I was sad to hear that!  We managed to let the kids played on the beach when we were in Ft Lauderdale for 1 day.  It was quite a windy day, here's a picture of Anna wearing 6 layers of clothes and a scarf so she could build her 'sand castle'.

We got home just in time to celebrate Christmas and New Years.  Santa Claus was good to us, he really enjoyed the milk and cookie we left for him!  I stayed up late just to take a picture of him....

Here's a positive outlook for 2013....'Canada Job Surge...' Canada's economy created far more jobs than expected.  Read on and find out.....
http://business.financialpost.com/2013/01/04/canada-job-surge-what-the-economists-say/

Calgary's market continue to be strong.
'Number of Million Dollars Home hit record high in Calgary'
http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/calgary/Number+million+dollar+homes+hits+record+high/7777910/story.html

Have a great week and enjoy it while it's warm out!  Snow in the forcast for later in the week!

Calgary Housing market bucks National slowdown!

December is a month full of performances for us!

It began with Emma's Nutcracker performance.  She was the Lead Seraphim and she did a great job!  Here's a picture of her backstage!
The same day we attended Anna's music concert!  We are so proud of her, she was the best little reindeer.  Anna is a shy little girl, she always ensured that I participated in the activities with her; but this time, she did it all by herself on the stage!!!

Last night was Emma's 1st of the two school Christmas concerts.  Here's a cute little elf picture of her!!  We have tickets to watch tonight and we can't wait to see it!

My assistant, family and I are busy sending out this year's Christmas mailout!  I hope you like my 'new gift'!  I will leave it as a surprise....

This winter, real estate markets continue to be strong, as I have been busy with many perspective buyers. Here's an article that reconfirms that message!  Please call if you have any mortgage related questions.
http://business.financialpost.com/2012/12/03/calgary-housing-market-bucks-national-slowdown/?__lsa=718e-3390

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of you!!!  I hope you have enjoyed my blog.  Be sure to follow me on Twitter and Facebook! 

Calgary Ranks 55th most affordable housing in Canada!

It's last day of November and we are ready for Christmas!


 Our Christmas tree went up last weekend and the kids are very excited!
We put our tree in the front window of our home and my daughter, Emma, was very concerned that the chimney is not close enough to the tree and Santa would not be able to drop off the gifts for her!!!
I had to giggle when I heard that...it is such a fun time when they still believe in Santa Claus!

We are so proud of Emma today!  She was the "Student of the Month" for her class at her school!  I could see the excitement in her eyes as she stood up front with her certificate!

The real estate market continues to be hot!  This is my 2nd busiest week on record this year!  Interest rates remains low and many are taking advantage of it.

Call me today so you can get preapproved for your dream home!

This week's article:  Calgary ranks 55th most affordable housing in Canada!
http://www.calgaryherald.com/business/real-estate/Windsor+most+affordable+housing+market+Canada/7621013/story.html\

Enjoy your weekend!

5 reaons Canada's household debt panic is overblown!

Hope that you had a great Halloween!!

We had 66 kids come by our house and the girls came home with a bucket full of candy!!!
I have already eaten a few of them...not a good thing!

We also made cookies for Emma's school - check it out!  they look pretty good for somebody who does not bake often!

I am glad that October is finally over!  It was a very stressful month.  It began with various hosptial visits for different members of the family and last week was the worst!

My 2 year old Anna was in the Children's hosptial for 5 days.  She began with swollen eyes and lack of appetite over the weekend.  Last Monday she had a little bit of fever.  Tuesday we went to visit the doctor and the fever continued. Wednesday she did not want to eat or drink, fever continued and swollen glands.  Our family doctor recommended to take her to the Children's Hospital.  There we stayed overnight in ER and were admitted in the morning.  She was hooked up to an IV during her stay.  It wasn't until Friday afternoon, the doctors determinded that she had the 'EBV'.  It's common for people to catch this virus at some some point in there lives, but less commom for toddlers to catch this virus.  She hardly ate or drank anything until Friday night.  She slowly recovered over the weekend and we were able to come home!  It was a painful experience for all of us.  I am glad that she is slowly getting back to normal.  However, she's now used to having popsicles 3 times a day and watching 'The Wiggles' ALL day long!

Here is this week's article:
http://business.financialpost.com/2012/10/30/five-reasons-canadas-household-debt-panic-is-overblown-david-rosenbergs-5-reasons-canadas-household-debt-panic-is-overblown/

Don't forget time change for this weekend!  Yay!  One more hour of sleep.

Have a great weekend ahead!

Solid Economic Growth forecast for AB in 2013

It's that time of the year again, SNOW is finally here.  We managed to change all our tires just in time for the snow fall.  We were fortunate enough to get in without an appointment....thanks to Kal Tires on 32 Street.

We had a fun and busy weekend!

I am not a mom that bakes, yet this weekend, we made cupcakes for Halloween and decorated them. 

Here's a picture of one of the finished products....

Thanks to our friends, we had tickets to the Honens International Piano Competition. It turned out to be a fun evening.

Our Halloween fun continued with pumpkin carving on Sunday and celebrated a good friend's birthday in the evening.

Winter is usually a slow time of the real estate market, if you are thinking of buying a home, this maybe a good time to get into the market.  Contact me today to get you pre-approved! Interest rate is still low, what are you waiting for?

This week's acticle: 
http://www.calgaryherald.com/business/Solid+economic+growth+forecast+Alberta+into+2013/7426066/story.html

Enjoy this snowy week!

Albertans Retaining Their Rosy Financial Outlook

Happy Monday!  And welcome to the month of October.

We had a fabulous weekend as we celebrated Mid-Autumn Festival on Sunday.

For those of you who don't know, here's the link that talks about the origin of the festival.
http://www.travelchinaguide.com/essential/holidays/mid-autumn.htm

One of our traditions of the festival is to walk around our neighbourhood with our lit up lanterns. That is one of my fond memories of the festival when I was little.
Sunday night was the first time in many years that we did that again.
We lit up our paper lanterns and hung them on the tree in the backyard while we enjoyed our moon cakes and fruits.

The kids had so much fun, especially Emma, as she learnt about the festival at Chinese School.

The market continues to be strong and many buyers are out on the market.  What are you waiting for?
It's time to go shop for your new home!

Here's this week's articles:

http://www.calgaryherald.com/business/Albertans+retaining+their+rosy+financial+outlook/7288960/story.html

http://blogs.calgaryherald.com/2012/09/26/calgary-resale-housing-market-shows-strong-activity/

Drive carefully this week as we expect the '4 letter words' today....can't bring my self to say it!

Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

Calgary Home Prices Edge Upward

It was a beautiful weekend for 1st day of Fall.

Although the balmy weather this past weekend did not remind me of Fall, but I am reminded every day when I look at my backyard....it’s full of leaves, and is 'screaming' for me to find some time to pick them up....here's a picture of Anna helping out over the weekend...

Emma's school had a fundraising event this weekend and it appeared to be quite successful. For only 5 mins of my time, I test drove a 'Ford' vehicle and $20 was donated to the school. What a great way to raise money for the school, way-to-go Marlborough Ford!

As everyone is settling in the Fall school schedule, I have noticed a huge increase in phone calls. It is the perfect time for many to start thinking about Christmas...and buying their dream home now so they can spend Christmas in it.

Call me today so I can get you pre-approved to make your dream come true.

Here's a great article to read on for this week:
http://www.calgaryherald.com/business/real-estate/Calgary+home+prices+edge+upward/7265635/story.html


Have a great week!

Realtors Confident Calgary will Dodge Downturn!

Oh my, where has this summer gone to?
I can't believe that we only have 2 more weeks before school starts.
I feel like I haven't done anything this summer...okay may be we have done a few things...

I was in Saskatoon for the first time for my girlfriend's wedding.  It was a fun time! We danced to country music all night long, except at the end when Emma requested 'Lady Gaga' so the DJ entertained her request and played a song for before we left for the hotel.

This was the time that our car 'engine light' came on, and we ended up in Saskatoon for 4 more days than we planned.  Thanks to our friends, we must have tried ALL the Chinese resturants in Saskatoon.  The kids had fun but we could have spend our 'days off' somewhere else instead....

We then headed to Shuswap for our camping trip in a TENT!  Yes, we did it with the kids in the 'TENT'!  We roughed it, but we did have running water showers.  We had a blast!  The kids had fun and it was HOT everyday.  However, after 3 days of it, we had enough and we headed home.  The drive was long, with a stop for over an hour due to an accident on Hwy 1! A normal 7 hours drive with kids turned to a 10 hour drive home.  My husband was not impressed!  To Anna (see picture), the best part of camping was eating gigantic marshmallows!

I can tell that many are back from summer vacation because activity is definately picking up again!  My phone is ringing off the hook with enquires. It's time to take action to think about what dream home you want to spend your Christmas in!!

This week's article:  'Realtors Confident Calgary will Dodge Downturn!'
http://www.calgaryherald.com/business/Realtors+confident+Calgary+will+dodge+downturn/7060591/story.html

Enjoy and call me for that 'pre-approval' today!

Have a great week!

Prospects for Housing Starts positive for Calgary!

Happy Monday Everyone!

We had a busy weekend cleaning up around the house...and enjoying the beautiful summer days.

It was not until Saturday night that I remembered that I am celebrating my 25th year in Canada ... on July 21st! 

It's hard to believe it was that many years ago!

Emma finished her 1st of a many summer camps!  I enrolled in the 'Mad Science Summer Camp' last week and today she started her 'Zoo Camp'!  I am excited for her as I missed out the opportunites to go to summer camps when I was young.  Here's a picture of her getting ready to go into the zoo.....

Traditionally, the summer months are a quiet months in the Calgary Real Estate Market, but this year it is the total opposite of the norm.  The real estate market continues to be busy and homes are going, going, gone....

http://www.calgaryherald.com/business/Prospects+housing+starts+positive+Calgary+region/6964520/story.html

Interest rate remains to be low....

Call me today and obtain a pre-approval!

Get out there and search for that perfect home before it's gone!

I work with many reputable and experience realtors in Calgary, so call me if you need any assistance at all.

Enjoy this beautiful (and weird) weather!

Yee Haw!! Calgary House Sale activity sparks memories of 2007?

Happy last weekend of Stampede!

Hope you are enjoying our 100th year of celebration.

As usual, we made our way to the Stampede parade on Friday morning. This year, we had great seats, (Thank You Tom). We had our own private balcony with prime a view!

I also had the opportunity to watch the Chuckwagons and the Grandstand show on Sunday night. It was THE BEST! Paul Brandt was awesome and the show was spectacular.

We took the kids to the Stampede ground on Wednesday and we had so much fun! The weather was hot and it was perfect for our outing.

Now with the new change of the mortgage rules, here are a few clarifying points that you need to know:

. Conventional mortgages remains at maximum amortizatoin of 30 years (ie. 20% or more downpayment)

. maximum ratio qualification of GDS 39% and TDS 44% only applies to High Ratio mortgage (ie. <20% downpayment) I have not noticed any changes to the market with the new mortgage rules. I expect interset rate to remain the same as this makes qualification as easy as before. Check out this news article. The Calgary market is as strong as ever! http://www.calgaryherald.com/business/real-estate/Calgary+house+sale+activity+sparks+memories+2007/6875505/story.html

If you have any questions, please send me an email or give me a call.

Enjoy the rest of the Stampede! as we celebrate the 100th year of the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth!

Yee Haw!

Round 4....change in mortgage rules

Welcome to first full day of Summer!

Yeah, does that mean we will now start having less rain??

Our "summer" has already started for us. Emma finished her last day of Kindergarten yesterday. We had a little party at school and said 'fairwell' to her little friends and teacher, as we will be moving on to a different school in the new year.

Her summer schedule is already packed with different classes - thanks to me, she is in various summer camps, doing things that she normally does not get to do during the rest of year.

First day of Summer also brings the announcement of the NEW MORTGAGE RULES that will take place on July 9, 2012.

Here's the summary of the changes:

1. Amortization reduced from 30 years to 25 years

2. Refinancing limited to 80% ( this will have limited affect on customers, as many already do that)

3. Properties purchased at over $1 million no longer eligible for mortgage insurance

4. reduction of the qualification ratios. GDS and TDS set at 39% and 44% respectively

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/economy/housing/ottawa-tightening-mortgage-rules-no-more-30-year-amortizations/article4358876/

http://www.fin.gc.ca/n12/12-070-eng.asp

I don't foresee this affecting many of my clients.
However, if you are looking to buy the TOP DOLLAR amount of home that you qualify for, then please call me ASAP so I can assist you in the next step.

Please call/email me at 403 862 7111 or stella@stellatsang.ca if you have any questions.

Have a great weekend!

Calgary Real Estates sales lead the country!

After a rainy and cool shortened work week, I am excited to be back and energized to work.

I always look forward to the annual Lilac Festival!
This year, we decided to head down to 4th Street early and beat the crowd. It was still pretty busy and was even busier when we left.
It was definitely chilly out, and we bundled the kids up with layers of jackets. There was a lot of "foodie goodies" this year and we got to taste a few of the yummy food offerings.

Here's a picture of the kids enjoying a woodburnng pizza.

The market continues to be hot and here's an article that talks about it.

http://www.calgaryherald.com/business/real-estate/Calgary+real+estate+sales+growth+leads+country/6623311/story.html

Here's 5 tips for 1st time homebuyer:

http://www.moneyville.ca/blog/post/1179095--5-tips-for-first-time-homebuyers

Enjoy your week! I can't believe June is almost here!

40 year amoritzation is now gone!

It looks like it's a beautiful day outside!

I spent the weekend with a lot of enthusiastic Toastmasters, and was inspired by many speakers and learned lots as well, attending the District 42 Toastmaster Spring conference in Calgary. Congratulations to Darlene who won the International Speech Competition and will be competing in Florida against competitors from the rest of the world. I hope I can achieve that level of excellence someday....

The real estate market continues to be hot, and there are also many changes happening in the mortgage market.

It was annouced that Tuesday was the LAST DAY for the 40 year amortization mortgage! It was a good tool to be able to use a 40 year mortgage if you were buying a rental property, because of the reduced payment that would allow for positive cash flow. From here on, the maximum is 35 years.

I have also found this interesting article that I thought you might enjoy. I agree with almost all of this article, except the amortization part. I strongly believe in obtaining the longer amortizatoin and increasing your payment. This way, should you ever want to decrease your payment due to unforseen financial challenges, you can always to do so. Call me and I can help you with the best strategy to make your mortgage work for you.

http://www.moneyville.ca/article/1167756--5-costly-mortgage-mistakes

It's been almost a year now that I noticed mortgage insurers, especially CMHC, are very careful with a 5% downpayment application. Perhaps this is the reason....

http://business.financialpost.com/2012/04/27/cmhc-could-be-pulled-out-of-mortgage-insurance-business-flaherty-says/

Happy Mother's Day! and enjoy the weekend!

Bank of Canada rate unchanged, but hinted that interest rate may rise sooner....

We have done lots these last few weeks!

Little Anna survived her first series of swimming lessons! I think I will hold off on anymore lessons for now, until she is a little older?? (not really sure if it's a good decision or not)

We finally visited the zoo on Easter Friday and we lined up for 45 mins to see the penguins! We loved it! The penguins are soooo cute! We spent the full day at the zoo, with games, face painting and of course - Chocolate eggs!

Thanks to my husband, I finally tried the 'Five Guys Burgers'! It was a BIG meal. We only shared a hamburger and french fries and we were full with left overs to take home. I was afraid to look how many calories it contained, as I am sure my bootcamp instructor, Kate, would not have agreed with my choice of restaurant!

The Bank of Canada kept it's lending rate unchanged, but hinted that interest rate may rise sooner than you think.

http://www.bankofcanada.ca/2012/04/press-releases/fad-press-release-2012-04-17/

So, is it time to lock in?

http://www.moneyville.ca/article/1160077--time-to-lock-in-your-mortgage-experts-say

Call me if you want to discuss what's the right option for you.

Thanks and have a great week.