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!