Canadian existing home sales recorded their smallest gain in five months in July as real estate markets in Montreal and Ottawa weakened.

Unit home sales rose 0.2 percent during the month, the Canadian Real Estate Association said in a statement today, down from a 3.3 percent pace in June and 3.6 percent in May.

“The numbers for July suggest that national activity is leveling off at what might best be described as average levels,” Gregory Klump, the group’s chief economist, said in the statement.

Canada’s housing market has defied expectations of a hard landing after some analysts and policy makers warned of a bubble in some areas. Today’s data show the country’s two largest real estate markets -- Toronto and Vancouver -- remain buoyant, recording gains of 4 percent and 11 percent, respectively.

From a year earlier, sales in Canada rose 9.4 percent, the realtor association said. Average sales prices increased 1.9 percent from June and 8.4 percent from a year earlier.

There are some signs of weakness. The value of building permits issued by municipalities fell 10.3 percent to C$6.65 billion ($6.43 billion), the lowest since March, Statistics Canada said in an Aug. 7 report.

Unit sales fell 2.4 percent in Montreal and 4.2 percent in Ottawa, CREA said today. Both markets recorded declines from a year earlier.

To contact the reporter on this story: Theophilos Argitis in Ottawa at targitis@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Chris Wellisz at cwellisz@bloomberg.net

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2013-08-15/canada-existing-home-sales-in-july-were-slowest-in-5-months-1

Want your home to catch potential buyers’ eyes? You can certainly do that with a bit of curb appeal!  

If you're selling your home, curb appeal can quickly draw prospective buyers in for the first time.  Without it, buyers may pass up on the chance to see inside and will miss what might have been the perfect home for them. It has everything to do with first impressions.

Here are a few ideas:

Replace old and broken hardware. Replacing your house numbers and a new mailbox with new ones helps make your home more stylish and add interest.  They work better together when they are cohesive, rather than as mix-and-match pieces.

Keep your lawn neatly trimmed and edged. Add a splash of color with flowers and bushes and remember to pull out weeds in your flower bed. Add bird feeders and a bird bath. All these elements create a cozy countryside curb appeal.

Decluttering the exterior of your home makes a tremendous difference. Your home looks more appealing to potential buyers and makes them want to see more of the home. So if you have children that leave their toys out in the yard or if you tend to leave gardening tools around the house, you would benefit greatly by putting them away and out of eye site for buyers. This will give a clean and tidy image to potential buyers and they will get the perception that the inside looks just as great as the outside. (which of course already does!)

These are just a few examples of ways to add curb appeal. Your REALTOR® can give you numerous tips and suggestions to help you make that first impression really count.

Courtesy of VREB.com

Making the decision to sell your home? Debating whether or not to in list the help of a REALTOR®? Here are some helpful insights on why a REALTOR® can help sell your home more quickly and effectively than doing it yourself.

- A REALTOR® creates great exposure for your property;

- They are known experts when it comes to marketing homes and an advantage to using a REALTOR®’s service is that your home will be entered in the Multiple Listing Service (MLS®) to give your home maximum exposure. MLS® is a computer-based system that relays valuable information about your home to hundreds of REALTORS® and potential homebuyers.

- A marketing plan is crucial to the success of selling your home. The more qualified potential buyers know about your home, the more likely your home will sell. These plans include entering your home in the MLS system, having open houses, creating feature sheets, etc…

- Deciding on a selling price for your home is a critical and difficult process. A REALTOR® can help tremendously in this area. With their experience, a REALTOR® will help you understand how the market works and what the current market trends are. They will work with you to decide upon a realistic price that meets your goals. 

- A REALTOR® also pre-screens potential buyers who are serious and financially qualified. 

- A REALTOR® also arranges all showings of your property to make your busy schedule less hectic. 

- Understanding all the legal documents can be quite confusing; this is why a REALTOR®’s services prove invaluable. They help make sure that the proper paperwork is completed.

Selling a home is a difficult and stressful process that requires patience, knowledge and great expertise in many disciplines. Trained under the provincial Real Estate Services Act, you can have peace of mind knowing you placed your home in the hands of a qualified REALTOR®.

Courtesy of VREB.org 

We have all grown to know Mr. Bill Gates. He is America’s richest man for 16 years in a row! His estimated worth is 50 Billion dollars! Now try counting all of those bills. But in all seriousness, since 2008, the economy has affected the whole human race. It has forced thousands of companies into bankruptcy and millions of families to sell their homes. But has it really affected Forbes top 400 richest men in America?

Studies show that hundreds of nations have lost a substantial amount of net value since 2008. With the European crisis, a few countries filed for bankruptcy.

Here’s some food for thought, Bill Gates is worth more than 140 nations! Now that’s something impressive! Knowing that one single human being can be richer than more than half of the world’s countries is intriguing. Next time you wake up in the morning, you now know that Bill Gates is worth more than 140 nations around the world!

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

For more information regarding Bill Gates, please feel free to click the link below!

http://bit.ly/186hxtx

Knowing what you're going to be getting for your money is important to make the proper investments.  You've decided to sell your home, and you've decided to work with a Realtor.  The question now becomes, which agent would you like to work with, and how can you separate the excellent from the ordinary.

The Martels have a great free report that can help you start to answer that question, and one of the questions suggested by the report is:

"What are your marketing plans for my home?"

You're trying to discover how much money the agent spends advertising homes and in what media (newspaper, magazine, TV, etc.) does he/she advertise? How does this compare to other agents you're interviewing? What is his or her knowledge of the effectiveness of different mediums?

If you found this question useful, and you would like to know what the other 9 suggested questions are the let us know and we'll be happy to send you a copy of this free, no obligation report.

All the best!

Video news update about Real Estate in Ottawa presented by Ottawa real estate company Martels Real Estate Inc. Maison de Courtage.

This week: Check out our Free VIP Buyer report for Ottawa properties for sale!

Free VIP Buyer Report: http://www.ottawapropertiesforsale.com

For more Ottawa Real Estate News, check out the Martels Real Estate Blog: http://bit.ly/T7rkFj

Follow us on Twitter: @The_Martels

Like us on Facebook: http://on.fb.me/RYgNkm

Check out our website: http://bit.ly/RrwQnX

Video news update about Real Estate in Ottawa presented by Ottawa real estate company Martels Real Estate Inc. Maison de Courtage.

This week: If you're worried about whether you'll enjoy the home you've been eyeing, the Martels have a solution that might be able to help you! 

For the free VIP Buyer report: http://www.ottawapropertiesforsale.com

For more Ottawa Real Estate News, check out the Martels Real Estate Blog: http://bit.ly/T7rkFj

Follow us on Twitter: @The_Martels

Like us on Facebook: http://on.fb.me/RYgNkm

Check out our website: http://bit.ly/RrwQnX

Here's our newest testimonial video from a couple who just bought a home in Ottawa through Martels Real Estate.  They were from out of town and purchased a home!

All the best!

Video news update about Real Estate in Ottawa presented by Ottawa real estate company Martels Real Estate Inc. Maison de Courtage.

This week: Buying a home can be a stressful and expensive process. Make sure it's not more expensive than necessary by checking out our FREE report!

9 Buyer Traps to Avoid report: http://bit.ly/W6mIBU

Free VIP Buyer Report: http://www.ottawapropertiesforsale.com

For more Ottawa Real Estate News, check out the Martels Real Estate Blog: http://bit.ly/T7rkFj

Follow us on Twitter: @The_Martels

Like us on Facebook: http://on.fb.me/RYgNkm

Check out our website: http://bit.ly/RrwQnX

The housing market in the Ottawa Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) will moderate in 2013 with home prices staying in positive territory, according to Sandra Pérez Torres, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation's (CMHC) Senior Market Analyst for Ottawa. CMHC presented its latest forecast for the Ottawa CMA today at the annual CMHC Housing Outlook Conference.

"Despite public sector reductions, Ottawa's economy will remain stable. However, uncertainty will keep some potential homebuyers on the sidelines in 2013," said Sandra Pérez Torres. "As global and local uncertainty starts subsiding and improving labour conditions spill over in the Ottawa region, both the new and resale home market will resume a stronger rate of growth."

Original article: http://dcnonl.com/nw/32493/re