These are interesting times we live in.  Record low interest rates continue with much discussion as to when or even if they will go up.  Many even speculate that we could go the way of Japan - 20 years with basically no rate changes.  Read more.......Interest Rates - will they or won't they?

Would you be willing to sell your home during the holidays?

Amplify’d from realestate.aol.com

Should You List Your Home During the Holidays?

Should we keep our property on the real estate market or take it off?

Do we list now, wait until after the first of the year, or hold off until spring?

Buyers are always looking for properties online. Read more at realestate.aol.com

 

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Creative new home construction!

Amplify’d from www.edmontonjournal.com

Couple retires in Rimbey home built from 30 steel shipping containers

The Glennon family's retirement home might just look like a stack of shipping containers of all different colours from the outside.

But once it's complete, it will be a sprawling, 5,000-square-foot, four-storey building - two levels above ground, a walkout basement and another level below - with four bedrooms, five bathrooms, a games and media room, garage and workshop, and two enclosed decks. Read more at www.edmontonjournal.com

 

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What does your future look like?

Looking to retire at 55,65 75? If you love what you're doing do you even want to retire.

Amplify’d from business.financialpost.com

The rise of the Boomer entrepreneur

Almost half (47.2%) of older Boomers aged 56 to 62 are at risk of outliving their savings, says the EBRI Retirement Rating. As Reuters reported this week, 31.4% of Americans 65 to 69 were still working in 2010, versus just 21% in 1990. Many are still in harness in their 70s: 18% of those aged 70 to 74 were still working in 2010, up from 11% in 1990.

Some view working till you die as the ultimate horror, but there are worse things than working past the arbitrary retirement age of 65. When Otto von Bismarck first set the pension age in 1880 at 65 in Germany, few lived that long, or if they did, they would draw a pension for only a few short years. Back then, it was perfectly normal to keep working till you dropped. If you couldn’t, then the first line of defence was the family: Most saw many children as an asset rather than a liability since it would increase the odds of one taking you in in old age, should you live that long. Read more at business.financialpost.com

 

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Creative new home construction!

Amplify’d from www.edmontonjournal.com

Couple retires in Rimbey home built from 30 steel shipping containers

The Glennon family's retirement home might just look like a stack of shipping containers of all different colours from the outside.

But once it's complete, it will be a sprawling, 5,000-square-foot, four-storey building - two levels above ground, a walkout basement and another level below - with four bedrooms, five bathrooms, a games and media room, garage and workshop, and two enclosed decks. Read more at www.edmontonjournal.com

 

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Making every investment dollar count.

Even though it is a Buyer's market, due diligence will pay off.

Amplify’d from www.theglobeandmail.com

Ten tips for getting a fair price on a home

Amy Fontinelle

Whether it's a buyer's market or a seller's market, all homebuyers have one thing in common: they don't want to get ripped off. But how do you know if you're getting a fair deal on the home you're prepared to place an offer on? Read on to find out how to evaluate the price of any home so you can make a sound investment decision.

See more at www.theglobeandmail.com

 

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Is now the time to buy your piece of paradise?

Amplify’d from www.canadianrealestatemagazine.ca

Okanagan Valley: British Columbia's bubble-free real estate zone

A number of national studies have come out lately predicting drops of as high as 15% over two years or 25% over three years in national

A number of national studies have come out lately predicting drops of as high as 15% over two years or 25% over three years in national homes prices. But in the Okanagan Valley, the price correction occurred a few years ago and there's no bubble to burst. Average single-family home prices in the Okanagan region are back to where they were nearly five years ago.

There are now an increasing number of people who are discovering the area as Kelowna International Airport has extended a runway and is one of North America's fastest growing airports, serving 1.4 million passengers in 2010 from cities in Canada, the U.S., and Mexico.

Kelowna is also building a $4-million new senior centre, replacing the existing senior centre in downtown to make way for expansion of the Yacht Club.

"Like all the communities in the Okanagan, it's aware of the demographic that attracts people to the area - always strong for lifestyle and retirement," says Ash.

As the Chinese buyers have been buying luxury Vancouver homes, that's left a large number of former owners of those homes who are looking to buy as well. They either look to downsize and then include a vacation or investment home in the B.C. interior, or they look for a similar price point in the Okanagan Valley, such as a lakefront house. Read more at www.canadianrealestatemagazine.ca

 

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