Category Archives: industry

Are you in the market for a $13 million home? Well, probably not. But if you were, there are some neighbourhoods in Canada where you would find just that. And they're very competitive! For the wealthiest home owners, communities like Bridle Path, Toronto and Westmount, Montreal are where the most sought-after luxury properties are found. They...

The airwaves of the internet have graced us with yet another inspiring concept that has compelled us to write this little piece for you.It seems as though the theme for any/every real estate-centric blog, newsfeed, twitter account, and beyond, are hell-bent on pushing apps on agents as though they're the next 'make or break' factor...

Kelowna found itself in elite company Tuesday, when in the space of one hour, top realtors from nine of the world’s most luxurious neighbourhoods gathered to share their market insights.The top-grossing realtors from Coldwell Banker offices in Paris, Miami Beach, Beverly Hills, Aspen and others connected via teleconference for a luxury market roundtable; each giving...

During our recent sessions of crawling the internet, we seem to encounter more and more ‘lifechanging’ pieces of advice being thrown around to try and help agents and real estate stay on top of their game and innovate the industry…but what happened to just keeping it simple?It seems that anybody spending too much time in...

Everybody right now is complaining that there’s too many houses on the market; which is true. There is certainly a bit of a general market flood occurring in most areas of the country. However we might be too quick to complain because the future or real estate might take a different turn than expected once...

Though the United States are reporting their Q4 as having the strongest quarterly growth in over seven years, it seems that we aren’t so lucky.Canadian home sales are in fact taking a slight dive, as we predicted in our blog post, Here We Go Again.Despite our neighbours to the south prospering, our real estate market...

An article released by the National Post is bringing a particular amount of attention to the world of real estate marketing.A Calgary, AB, based real estate agent recently released a billboard advertisement that’s been drawing a lot of attention; whether that attention’s a good or bad thing we’re still unsure. The billboard...

Speculations around market recovery are many. The desolate state in which the property market resides is remaining stagnant, with fragments of measurable recovery being made. Therein lies the question of how to inject some life into the current market; enough to drive a full recovery.A recent Vancouver Sun article highlighted a very interesting and probable theory...

Diane Keaton, actress and house flipper extraordinaire, has finally chosen a home to settle down in. Breaking her normal habit of buying homes that need major rejuvenation and adding her own flavour of decor and and renovation, she has bought a home that’s all ready to move into. Although this change seems to be just...

NAR now officially owns every building on the block on which they operate off Michigan Avenue in Chicago, Illinois, after purchasing the last remaining non-NAR building - a two-story building previously occupied by the Wrigley Company. Though, we're not sure which is more surprising: their ownership of an entire commercial block,...

The National Association of Realtors have released results of a survey revealing interesting details. The survey’s results concluded that in 2011 there was a 2.3% increase in average salary amongst Realtors; the first increase seen in nine years. Yes, that’s right. 9 years. Now, this seems rather strange since real estate has been doing nothing...

Palo Alto, California, is seeing some very substantial activity in their real estate market as a result of Facebook's impending IPO (Initial Public Offering). Huge price influxes have started occurring since the beginning of the year, up to 10%, as a result of Facebook's operating headquarters being located in Palo Alto.Part of this influx...

There has been speculation, talks, meetings, discussions (whatever they may call them) about changes occurring in Canadian real estate as of late. Notably, two major blips on the radar have revealed themselves as being potently newsworthy; the first being numerous changes that the CREA have given a "thumbs up" to, and the second, a the...

Earlier this year, the coastal city of Vancouver, BC, was donned the title of the 2nd most expensive city in the world, just under Hong Kong. Presumably, in light of this event, Vancouver has taken measures to address the population of their city classified within the low to medium income range...

In British Columbia, we have a harmonized provincial and federal taxation system also known as the HST. However, this taxation system, after being implemented without public consultation or vote, was put to a vote last year, which has overruled the current system, forcing the government to return to a taxation system of separate GST and...

Calling all aspiring/current real estate professionals! As of today, there is officially an education center offering a Master of Real Estate Degree Program!Yes, you heard that right. This morning the National Association of Realtors announced that they were granted approval to offer a Master of Real Estate Degree program at the REALTOR® University in Illinois....

Yesterday the Council on Tall Buildings and urban Habitat released A Year in Review: Trends of 2011, a report that shows skyscraper completion has increased for the fifth year in a row. What does this mean? 2011 is the year of tall buildings it looks like, with the most skyscrapers reaching completion last...

In the realm of real-estate, there are always going to be properties that will be difficult to sell. This being said, amazing homes are also at potential risk to be a failed sale depending on various elements. Obviously the one of the most important details is to have a real-estate agent who can draw clientele,...

In the daily browse for updates in the real estate biz, we came upon an article in the Toronto Star about new real estate companies. These start-ups are not just new brokerages, but they introduce a new type of real estate option to the public that may change the face of the industry. We did...

Happy Friday! Since it’s everyone’s favourite weekday, we figure we’ll keep it light and fun for the blog. Just a little something you can use as a discussion topic at the barbecue you’re throwing Saturday afternoon. So here’s our interesting read for your weekend:Celebrity homes are the tips of everyone’s tongues. Once you consider all...

We would like to extend a big congratulations to all of those brokerages who made it to the ‘200 largest brokers in Canada’ list. We noticed some valued clients on there, and we are very excited to see brokers on the list that are close to home. This list was composed by Real Trends and...

Canada’s first home to be evaluated for energy and water conservation is getting the full assessment on its effectiveness in promoting sustainable living.Heathwood Homes revealed the home in The Reserve, a luxury home development in Richmond Hill, Ontario and features a long list of ‘green’ additions. Construction Canada cites the main ecological features of the...

Canadian Real Estate magazine cites the ten ways to make a home more sellable. To extend the helpful read to our clients and followers we overview them here, while adding our own twist (as always).1. Give it a little wash: A pressure wash of the home’s façade and a good scrub of the windows will...

An article in the Globe and Mail reviews the different types of homes that can be bought with a $600,000 housing budget. The range of sizes and amenities available for this price reaffirms that location is and always will be one of the most influential factors on the price of a home. But of course...

While doing the daily browse for real estate news, we came upon an update on the biggest house Canada. What about it? No one really wants it. Well we shouldn’t say that… no one wants it ENOUGH to shell out the...