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221 Miskow Close
Feature Listing
PRESTIGIOUS LOCATION, QUIET LUXURY!
A quality mountain home with ample space, three level layout and great design! The vaulted upper level has open concept kitchen/living room, dining area, master with ensuite and a powder room. There are 2 decks, one front to enjoy the views and one back for barbequing and peaceful enjoyment. The main entry level has a front room office with stunning 3 sisters views, family area with a 3rd deck, garage access/mudroom/laundry area, 2nd bedroom and bathroom. The lower level has additional living or media room space with walkout to a private treed reserve, 2 additional bedrooms and bathroom. This home has been recently landscaped front and back. Upgrades include alder hardwood matched main and upper levels, central vac, shutters in master and lounge, Levelor blinds.
$1,160,000
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| ALBERTA ECONOMIC SNAPSHOT FOR MAY 26, 2012 | |
Alberta's retail trade numbers for March came in slightly better than in February, up 0.3 per cent, fully 9 per cent better than where they stood in 2011. The labour market in the province began to dramatically improve in the first quarter of 2011, dropping from 5.6 to the current 5.1 per cent.
So not only are more people working, but they're making more as well and paying slightly higher prices for goods and services. All of these factors work together to push the headline retail sales numbers, meaning the economy is picking up.
Elsewhere in the country retail sales have also improved. Canadian retail trade is up 0.4 per cent over last month and 4.1 per cent higher than a year ago. Low interest rates are apparently enticing Canadians to buy new homes, along with motor vehicles and parts, as vehicle related sales have been riding higher. Motor vehicle and part dealers (which account for 23 per cent of all retail sales) reported an annual jump of 10.2 per cent.
Loonie blues
What goes up must come down. And this week, the Canadian dollar has decidedly been doing the latter.
The softer Canadian dollar certainly brings a bit of relief to exporters - particularly those manufacturing exporters in central Canada who have been struggling with the loonie near par. But the loonie's recent plunge makes imports more costly for all Canadians, including those same manufacturers who need to import specialized equipment and machinery.
What's behind the recent slide in the Canadian dollar? Europe. Worries about the stability of their financial markets have created ripples of nervousness across the global economy. It may seem counterintuitive, but the Canadian dollar is considered a risky currency. The loonie is driven largely by commodity prices (crude oil, gold and other resources) and if the global economy is at risk of slowing down, prices for these commodities will fall - and they'll take the Canadian dollar with them.
The softer loonie may have other impacts apart from imports and exports. This week the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) recommended Canada start raising interest rates to head off inflation or a real estate bubble.
Economists have largely expected the Bank of Canada to ignore this advice because raising interest rates would push the Canadian dollar even higher, adding further stress on central Canada's economy. But if the Canadian dollar continues to slide lower in the weeks ahead, taking the OECD's recommended course would provide a bit of a cushion for the loonie. This, in turn, could prompt the Bank of Canada to act more quickly in raising rates - possibly as early as autumn.
Is momentum building?
A number of economic variables tend to move ahead of broader GDP numbers: collectively these indicators are called leading indicators. As an example, one leading indicator is the hours worked during the typical work week. Companies tend to get the most out of their existing workforce before adding new hires, so when the work week increases, it's normally a sign that firms will begin hiring shortly to increase output.
According to Statscan, the index of leading indicators, which consists of 10 variables, increased slightly in April 2012, up 0.2 per cent over March. This was mostly thanks to increased housing activity. Helping drive the index higher over the past couple of years, however, has been better U.S. economic activity and higher manufacturing activity.
It's hoped that Canadian exports, especially manufacturing exports, will be pulled higher as economic activity in the U.S. builds.
New home sales rising in U.S.
The United States Commerce Department released data showing the epicenter of the U.S. recession, the housing market, is gaining strength. Sales in April were up 3.3 per cent, hitting $343,000, which was above expectations of $335,000. The improvement over April of 2011 is noteworthy, with sales 14 per cent higher.
In addition to the better sales numbers, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) price index was up 0.6 per cent in March over February and up 2.6 per cent over March of 2011. This price index focuses on how the price changes on a house that has been sold repeatedly, which is a way to control for differences in quality.
Alberta value added by industry
Statistics Canada released GDP data by industry at the provincial level this week. Unsurprisingly, the largest industry in Alberta is related to energy (mining, oil and gas), followed by the financial services industries (finance, insurance and real estate). These two industries account for 35 per cent of our provincial economy.
Manufacturing contributed the most, proportionately, to the economic growth in the province between 2010 and 2011, increasing real output by 11 per cent. Other industries that grew at relatively strong rates were the construction and wholesale industries. All three industries are largely influenced by investment by the oil and gas sector laying the base for further growth down the road.
Industry data is shown using chained dollars, meaning that it's adjusted for relative price changes, using 2002 as a base year. This is why the estimates may appear low at first glance, but stripping away the effects of price changes give a better indication of the actual economic activity that's taking place in the industry.
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| ALBERTA RESALE HOUSING MARKET BOUNCES BACK |
Housing affordability in Alberta is the best in Canada
Calgary has experienced a resurgence in its resale housing market and bucking a national trend by showing improved affordability in the first quarter of this year.
The latest Housing Trends and Affordability Report by RBC Economics, made public Tuesday also said Alberta has the most affordable market in the country as market activity in the province is showing increasing signs of strength as it benefits from attractive affordability and nation-leading economic growth.
RBC's housing affordability measures for Alberta, which capture the province's proportion of pre-tax household income needed to service the costs of owning a home at market value, remained among the lowest, if not the lowest, in the country in the first quarter of this year.
And RBC said the "long-awaited resurgence" of the Calgary-housing market appears to have been launched in recent months as home resales advanced by a "sizable" 7.4 per cent in the first quarter relative to the fourth quarter of last year, and April activity showed even greater strength.
"Homebuyers in the Calgary area are motivated by a booming provincial economy, strong job creation, and attractive housing affordability," said the report. "Despite higher resales lately, home prices so far have remained flat for the most part, with some weakness observed in condominium apartments. This has kept housing affordability in check at some of the better levels among Canada's largest cities."
According to the Calgary Real Estate Board, MLS sales in Calgary so far this month from May 1-28 are up 27.90 per cent from the same period a year ago with 2,104 transactions and the average residential sale price in the city has increased by 3.03 per cent to $445,120.
The following are average prices in the first quarter of this year, affordability measure, and year-over-year change in the affordability measure:
Detached Bungalow
Canada, $360,500, 43.1 per cent, 1.5 per cent.
Alberta, $347,900, 32.2 per cent, 0.1 per cent.
Calgary, $423,000, 36.7 per cent, 0.2 per cent.
Standard Two-Storey
Canada, $403,600, 48.7 per cent, 1.2 per cent.
Alberta, $372,800, 35.3 per cent, 0.2 per cent.
Calgary, $418,200, 37.5 per cent, 0.1 per cent.
Standard Condominium
Canada, $235,800, 28.8 per cent, 0.3 per cent.
Alberta, $212,300, 20.2 per cent, - 0.6 per cent.
Calgary, $248,100, 22.2 per cent, - 0.4 per cent.
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| Making ROOM For What Really Matters |
Before the advent of www., sellers often saw this. A buyer pulls up to a house on the market, takes one look and drives off without ever going inside. The house lost the "drive-by test". Now this happens on the web - and the "drive-by" is even faster. It makes sense. If the house looks a mess from the outside, what buyer would want to set foot inside? Now buyers get the chance to see the inside of the house just by turning on their computer. And how does it look? When anyone remodels, they usually purge big-time, throwing out stuff that should have been thrown out decades ago, stuff that was kept for sentimental reasons (but can no longer remember what that sentiment was), and stuff they forgot was even there. Almost every seller I have worked with also needs to do this. Most have secret stashes of clutter and a few more apparent piles of unused detritus taking up valuable selling and "seeing" space. This gives the impression that there's no room for the buyer's belongings. It also makes it difficult to get around - knees hitting tables, bodies dodging dressers and arms not being able to fully open doors to closets and storage areas. All these things that have previously got in the way of flow need to be edited. Do this, and the house is much lighter with a feeling of spaciousness that wasn't there before, even though no square footage has been added. There will be more light, more delight, more awareness of the beauty that surrounds, more room to breathe and to engage in the dream of what really matters.
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Thanks for reading and I will send you more info next month.
For all your real estate needs I am ready and willing to help you take that next, very important step.
Sincerely,
Louise Fuller
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