Peter Estephan
RE/MAX Elite
#17, 8103 - 127 Ave., Edmonton, Alberta
P: 780-406-4000
F: 780-406-8777
Email

Choosing the Right Agent

How To Pick The Right Real Estate Agent To Help You Buy Your Home

Could you buy your own home? Of course you can, but it’s not as easy as it sounds. Anyone who has ever bought a home knows that working with a qualified real estate professional is the best way to make sure that you get all the right answers when buying a home. However, working with the wrong real estate agent can also be a frustrating experience.

Did you know that there are specialists within the real estate market? Some professionals work with first-time home buyers, other work with empty-nesters looking to move to smaller homes, some are relocation specialists, while others focus strictly of commercial or investment properties. Finding the right real estate professional, who understands your lifestyle needs and choices, is almost as important as finding your dream home. In addition to knowing the community, a real estate professional can connect you to many other resources and professionals needed in the real estate transaction: mortgage lenders, home inspectors, lawyers, movers, contractors, etc…Also if your real estate agent or REALTOR® is a member of the National Association of Realtors® then they subscribe to a strict code of ethics.

The final decision of who you work with is up to you. Don’t let yourself be pressured or swayed by gimmicks and flashy promotions. Do your homework. Interview several real estate agents and choose the professional who will work with you and for you.

Interview Potentials Agents, Tips To Help You Select The Best One

Believe it or not, not all real estate professionals are created equal. In addition to the different personality traits that make everyone unique, there are experts for certain markets within real estate. Taking the time to find the right agent with the right expertise is the best way to ensure that your house hunting will be fun not frustrating. Interviewing potential agents may appear to be a time consuming step in excitement of buying a home, but working with someone who thoroughly understands your needs will save you time and frustration in the long run. To make a fair comparison, speak with several real estate sales representatives before you decide who to choose.

Tell them that you are interviewing perspective agents and ask them a prepared set of questions. Sample questions may include:

How may properties have you helped to purchase in the past year? How long have you been a Realtor?
Do you work with a specific type of client (ie: first time, empty nester, etc…)?
Are you an expert in a specific type of market?
Do you recommend we attend open houses?
Have you ever had a purchase that did not go through? (What did you do?)
How many listings do you currently have in this area?
How long have you been with your current company?
What is your usual commission?
Do you have any references?

By taking the time to interview and compare potential agents, your home buying experience will be a fond memory in the years to come while enjoying your perfect home.

Using A Professional To Increase Your Purchasing Power

Do you truly know how much you can afford to spend your new home, or do you have a general idea of how much you want to spend? It may be more than you think! Do you know what homes are going for in neighbourhood where you want to live, or do you have a general idea from the few ads in your local paper? Well guess what, there is someone out there with all the answers to ensure you make an informed decision and maximize your purchasing power when buying a home. Your local real estate professional has the training, contacts and experience to make sure you buy the right house at the right price.
The right real estate agent who takes the time to understand your needs can help you:

determine how much you can afford
investigate financing options and secure funds
find your dream home that meets your needs
put in the offer and negotiate the best price
determine if a home inspection is required
find a lawyer and ensure that all closing conditions are met
find a mover

You may be closer to your dream home than you realize and a real estate professional can help you find your consumer confidence.

My Edmonton Realtor® Blog

I try to keep on top on local trends and reports for my clients (as much as my real estate business allows). If you’d like to comment on any of these postings, please feel free to either phone me directly on (780) 984-7696 or send me an e-mail using my contact page.

Edmonton Realtor® Peter Estephan

Edmonton Realtor Blog - Wednesday, July 28, 2010 - Edmonton New Home Prices On Par With Those In May of 2008

Buying a new home in Edmonton these days will cost you about what you would have paid in May of 2008. Even with the gains in home values seen in the first half of 2010, the price point has remained flat, showing a 0.1 percent decrease year over year.

Those first of the year gains may be short lived. The real estate market is starting to cool with slower sales and more listings on the market. This is not unexpected. Interest rates during the first part of this year were still low and buyers interested in getting into a home were motivated by this and the fact that these almost record low rates were soon to disappear. Sales slowed once the more stringent mortgage rules went into effect and continue to slow as the interest rates continue to creep up.

Charlottetown and Victoria, at 1.6 percent and 3.9 percent respectively, also showed price decline in residential housing. Looking at the nation on a monthly basis, the Canadian average price for homes rose 0.3 percent between April and May of this year. This is the eleventh month in a row that the nation as a whole has seen positive numbers.

On a positive note, residential housing start permits in Edmonton increased by six percent in May of 2010, showing that consumers still have faith in the economy. The city’s economy has traditionally been tied to the oil industry, which suffered in the recession. As oil production gets back on track, it is expected that Edmonton’s economy will improve, recharging the real estate market.

Edmonton Realtor Blog - Tuesday, July 20, 2010 - Residential Real Estate Market Taking Slight Dip in Edmonton

It’s a buyer’s market for residential Edmonton real estate at the moment. Prices for single family homes are expected to decrease slightly, due in part to the competition for buyers, but also because of the inching up of mortgage rates and the tighter lending rules. By year end, the price of single family homes is still expected to be five percent higher than in 2009. The first half of 2010 saw a 7.5 percent increase over the same time last year, which helped with this figure.

In the beginning of 2010 sales were so hot that it was feared that inventory levels would dip so low that it would cause a seller’s market and the resulting price inflation. Instead, the reverse is happening, with 9,406 homes on the market by June’s end. Realtors are most comfortable with listing numbers somewhere in the 6,000s, reflecting a more evenly balanced playing field. Realtors stress that a certain amount of slow-down in normal in Edmonton’s real estate market in the latter half of the year.

Between May and June of this year the price for an average sized single-family home rose to $391,497 which is a one half percent increase month to month. In June of 2009, that same home would go for an average of $370,317. Condo prices have suffered a 2.4 percent decrease for June 2010, coming in at $242,644. Row houses and duplexes were 4.6 percent lower than they were in May, with an average price of $308,905.

Edmonton Realtor Blog - Monday, June 28, 2010 - Edmonton Appealing To Young Minds To Help Shape A New Downtown

The city of Edmonton wants a facelift and is depending on the younger residents to make sure the operation is a success. A committee of 18 to 40 year olds, named NextGen is working on ideas to create a vibrant, environmentally friendly downtown area with classy buildings, boutiques and plenty of open green space.

Some of their ideas include only minor commercial development that is easy on the eye and protecting the city’s river valley by going as green as possible. Using well known architects to design structures would attract more businesses looking for that elite touch. Creating high density neighbourhoods would provide more people with homes close to their jobs. This means less or no commutes at all, translating into less fossil fuel used and less green house gas emissions. Plus for the city and plus for the environment. That may be almost sacrilegious in a province that depends so heavily on natural gas and oil production, but like it or not, this is the future.

Having a downtown core with homes, shops, malls and open green spaces would appeal to other generations as well, particularly retirees. Many would move downtown if they felt safe walking around, especially if shops, doctors, restaurants, pubs and parks were within easy reach of their downtown apartments or condos.

Edmonton Realtor Blog - Saturday, June 12, 2010 - LRT Expansion on Stony Plain Road Causes Debate Over Lane Reductions

Stony Plain Road in Edmonton is a busy downtown through-fare. Despite this fact, city council has voted to reduce the four lane road to two, one in each direction, to make room for the LRT line scheduled to be operating by 2017. Businesses and residents along the roadway are breathing a tentative sigh of relief since the other option was widening the road and the loss of private property.

Not everyone is pleased. The debate is over whether this will cause too much congestion in downtown Edmonton, or if the new LRT will take up the slack. Since the reasoning behind extending the LRT is to get more people out of their cars, logically the two lane road scenario should work. Council did leave the door open on widening the street if the traffic becomes unmanageable, but this is unlikely.

Other cities have reduced road capacity in favour of a light rail system with success. One such city, San Jose, California has one of the most efficient public transit systems in the state and a downtown that is pedestrian, and car, friendly. There are just not as many people that feel the need to drive within the downtown core, and things have worked out just fine, even in the metropolitan core of Silicon Valley.

Edmonton Realtor Blog - Monday, May 24, 2010 - Competition for City Centre Airport Redevelopment Ready for Takeoff

The City Centre Airport land redevelopment was officially launched May 17, when Edmonton’s city government began its search for a company to generate a master plan. City Council has given its approval for a “green” residential community to accommodate around 30,000 dwellers on the 217-hectare site.

At least 12 international companies will likely participate in the primary stage of the designing competition. According to Edmonton Mayor Stephen Mandel, the firms will show their credentials and suggest ideas for the development. A maximum of five finalists will be selected July 15. Each finalist will get $25,000 to assist in the submission of proposals. The winning proposal will probably be chosen by December 31. Mandel said that the development represents an unprecedented opportunity for an urban residential community. He believes that when the neighbourhood has matured in some 30 years, people will look back at the significance of the achievement.

Mandel said that he would like the development to include elements such as multi-family housing with green roofs, district heating, car sharing, and lots of green space. LRT will serve the community, and should help attract families to live downtown instead of move to the suburbs. Mandel said the participating companies essentially have a clean slate with which to design the community.

The team chosen to develop the neighbourhood will be involved with a number of different groups, said Mandel. He noted that he would like the majority of the work to be completed by local firms.

According to Edmonton’s City Manager Simon Fairbrother, a panel of up to ten experts will analyze all submitted proposals. He said that construction is expected to start in 2012. Currently, one of City Centre’s two runways is scheduled for closure late this year. A date has not yet been assigned for the closing the remainder of the facility.

Edmonton Realtor Blog - Monday, May 10, 2010 - Private Building In Edmonton Sold For Unpaid Taxes, First in a Decade

A privately owned building at 10527 97th Street was auctioned off this past week because of unpaid property taxes. The original asking price was $195,000 but the bidding soon drove the cost of ownership to $301,000.

Jamil Harb won the bidding war and hopes to fix up the building, once owned by Humans on Welfare of Edmonton and then sell it to make a profit. He admittedly spent more than he had hoped on the sale. There is much work to be done on the building which may have water damage, mould and have other items that need fixed after sitting neglected for several years.

This was the first time since 2002 that a property was sold at auction for back taxes. It usually takes years for the process of tax collecting to reach this point, with some owners finding the money to cover the fees at the last moment.

Other properties were on offer including one tiny bit of land worth $650 and a bit of land worth $29,000 near 99th Avenue and 114th Street. Neither property had any interest parties or any takers. The city has the option of buying the land or letting the province claim it.

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Edmonton Realtor Blog - Thursday, April 22, 2010 - Edmonton Bike Commuters Ecstatic At News of Designated Bike Lanes

You are environmentally minded, healthy and active. You find the cost of gasoline and parking in Edmonton making driving to work an expensive option. Sure, in the winter, driving or bussing it might be the only answers. But it’s mid spring. Why not dust off that two wheeler that’s been taking up space in the corner of the garage and bicycle to work?

Brilliant you say. And yes it is a marvellous idea; that is if you live in a city that actually recognizes bicycles as legitimate means of transport. Edmonton so far has not been so enlightened. Rather than have a bike lane of your own, you must compete with the cars and the busses and the delivery vans that ply the motorways in their attempts to get from point A to point B. And should you wander up on the sidewalk you risk at best gnarly stares from pedestrians and at worst being mowed over by a car or truck turning into a driveway or parking lot.

Recognizing that it may be missing something, Edmonton has recently allocated funds to begin marking bike lanes so those who choose this manual two wheeled method of commuting will be safe. The first street to be getting the marked bike lanes will be Millwoods Road, with other roads to be announced during the summer of 2010.

The marking of the lanes begins in June. For those wanting to combine a bit of exercise with their commute, the change can’t come quick enough.

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Edmonton Realtor Blog - Tuesday, April 13, 2010 - Edmonton A Smart Real Estate investment

Author and President of Real Estate Investment Network Don Campbell says now is still a good time to invest in real estate. Campbell explains that real estate claims a measure of control that stock and mutual funds don’t.

Real estate, he says, increases in value. It can be rented out, flipped or lived in, and this adds to the value. Renting even gives income back and helps to pay off a mortgage.

Even the recession created a good opportunity to invest; many buyers who were unfamiliar with the market were scared away, and this created less competition for purchasing.

Despite rising interest rates and mortgages, Campbell still recommends buying a property if owners have a five-year window as it will generate revenue and make buyers future competitors in the market.

And what is a better place to invest in than a city with one of the fastest-growing populations and economies in Canada? Many of Campbell’s own properties are located in Edmonton as he recognizes it as a promising investment city. The steady growth, he says, is a positive. Booms can create inflation and strong competition.

For investors, Campbell and recommends looking for properties near the Anthony Henday road expansion, neighbourhood revitalization, LRT expansion and close to the new downtown arena. And in this fast-growing city, Edmonton investors should get in before the secret gets out.

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Edmonton Realtor Blog - Friday, March 27, 2010 - Colin McAllister and Justin Ryan Want To Know if Edmonton is Ready to be Heisted

Colin McAllister and Justin Ryan of Colin & Justin’s Home Heist and How Not to Decorate fame are looking for new decorating disasters in Edmonton. It seems the Toronto based show is having a positive effect on that region’s home décor. Not that it is a bad thing; the show is obviously doing some good and making people more fashion savvy about their home and environment. The downside is that there are not as many local homes in need of heisting.

The solution? Well, Canada is a big country. Why not look elsewhere for homes to heist? Why not Edmonton? That is exactly what the pair is doing. Colin and Justin are headlining the 2010 Home and Garden Show March 25th through the 28th at the Edmonton Expo Centre and they want to see your decorating disasters…the more off kilter the better. They want as many pictures as possible so they can convince the producers that there are plenty of heistable homes in the west of Canada. If the new series takes root, it could be aired as early as this coming fall.

Though shooting for Heist has wrapped for the time being, Colin and Justin have not been idle. The pair has launched a new line of bedding that makes it easy to be fashionable. All you need to create an eye popping bedroom can be found in just one bag. The product is being marketed through Zellers. The emphasis is on colour, and the more colour the better.

But still Colin and Justin are hopeful that Edmontonians will bring them lots of ammunition photos of badly designed kitchens, bedrooms, bathrooms, dens and/or whatever so they can show the powers at be in Toronto that the west is in need of their heisting talents. After all, what can be more fun that trying to make that cross eyed moose head on the wall into a fashion statement?

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