Central Alberta, a beautiful region in the heart of the province, has a wealth of activities and events happening throughout the year. From festivals to sporting events and everything in between, there's always something to see and do. Here are some of the top things happening in Central Alberta:

  1. Westerner Days: Westerner Days is a popular annual festival held in Red Deer that draws visitors from all over the province. The festival includes a variety of entertainment options, including live music, carnival rides, agricultural exhibits, and more. Westerner Days typically takes place in late July, and it's a great way to enjoy the beautiful Alberta summer weather.

  2. Sylvan Lake Winterfest: Winterfest is a family-friendly event held in Sylvan…

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Often as real estate professionals we are often asked for insight into what the overall real estate market is doing and going to do in the future especially when things slow down slightly in the overall market. While this can vary drastically from region to region and town to town with current statistic's we can help shed some light on what "might happen" Let's take a closer look at some of the stats in Alberta

-According to Statistics Canada's October 2022 Labour Force Survey, Alberta had an unemployment rate of 5.2 per cent last month, down 0.3 percentage points from September and better than last year's 7.8 per cent.

-Alberta Housing Market as of October 2022. The average price of a home in Alberta was $430,964 in October 2022, a 2% increase…

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Every winter, homeowners in Alberta face the dilemma of how to rid their driveways and walkways of snow and ice build-up without doing any damage in the process. Rock salt and other de-icers are typically used to melt down snow and ice, while shoveling may still be needed to remove loosened but slow-melting "tough spots." Yet, most concrete drives, walkways and stairs can suffer harm from the use of de-icing salts.

 

Salt Damage to Concrete Driveways

Concrete is a highly durable driveway and walkway material that withstands the pressure of even extremely weighty vehicles rolling over it. However, something as seemingly weak as salt can do significant damage to concrete.

 

When salt crystals make their way into the…

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When listing your house for sale it is important to trust your realtor’s guidance on how to get that

coveted ‘Sold’ sign up on your lot quickly. Over the years we have compiled some of the most tried and true home improvements and upgrades that can help your home stand out to potential buyers and most importantly, not break the bank. Neutralize Bold Designs This is an important pre-listing project that is not to be missed. Although you may love your moody dark feature wall, a potential buyer may not, and you surely do not want that to be the deciding factor of why someone doesn’t choose to purchase your home. Getting any bold colours painted to a neutral shade is a great idea to appeal to more people. If you hire a professional,…

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Interior decorators have many rules for creating a home that’s pleasing to the eye. But these rules are simple guidelines and you shouldn’t take them too seriously. Display what you love, use colour freely, and don’t be afraid to break the rules.

   

Your home should be a beautiful reflection of you! Display the story of you and where you have been. What items do you treasure? What do you collect? Find a spot where you can display

 

your collections with pride. What and who is important to you? Show us.

 

What items in your home are unique or one of a kind? What makes you different or sets you apart? Colour, colour, colour! It’s probably the most feared element in decorating. But we’ll make it easy for you - all colours go together!…

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It's time for spring cleaning, finally! Everyone is dusting off the shelves, and waiting to get back

to work! It’s awesome, but please, OH please, do NOT forget the carpet.

 

Even the Government of Alberta forgot to mention that carpets are, well, just yucky! Yes, they

should be part of the guidelines to safely get our livelihoods back!

 

Here is the jist of it:

 

The carpet is bacteria's favorite playground!

 

We don't want to over-dramatize the situation, people, we have heard all about it. But the fact is

your carpet is a hotbed of bacteria, pollen, dead skin, dust, and even insects!

 

No matter how much we try to prevent dirt and bacteria from coming into our homes, we can

still unknowingly introduce…

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As agents we are often asked "Why should we choose you to represent us?" Great question! Often agents will try  to over-sell them selves or guarantee things, but in truth nothing(especially now a days) is guaranteed. Whenever I get asked this, I recommend people do their research. Ask family, friends and colleagues if they have heard of a certain agent, check online, and take a drive around town to see what agents signs are out there. Have a look at their online profile on things like Instagram and Facebook to see what they are posting and if their values line up with your own. Just because you invite a realtor into your home don't feel as if you are obligated to give he/she the job, interview a couple different realtor's to see who best fits and aligns…

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Effective April 6, 2020, Canadians expect to see changes in the "Stress test" 

These changes will impact anyone getting an insured mortgage, those putting down less than 20 per cent on a new purchase.

What is changing?

Right now people getting insured mortgages must prove they can afford a payment based on the benchmark five year posted rate. The Bank of Canada calculates this rate from typical big bank rates and it’s currently sitting at 5.19 per cent.

As of April 6 2020, a new benchmark rate will be used. It’ll be based on the country’s median five-year fixed insured mortgage rate, plus two per cent. If it were in existence today, it would be about 4.89 per cent, says the Department of Finance. That’s 30 basis points less than the…

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In today's ever challenging market we are often asked "how do the housing prices stack up to year's past?" We pulled some recent stat's from the Central Alberta Real Estate Board which has sales number's on roughly 45,000 home sales over the past 10 year's and this is what we came up with. A recent slowdown in Alberta's economy has pushed the median sale price of a single family home to those of 2010 with a median sale price of about $280,000. We notice on the graph listed below that we have trended downwards in price from the peak of 2015. What does this mean?...………..

IT'S NOT ALL BAD-Yes we see homes prices trending down, but let's look at the upside. If you have been a diligent saver and your looking to enter the housing market, your buying…

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With the rainy days of spring behind us (hopefully) and summer finally here, friends and families in our area have some pretty wonderful opportunities to take part in. As many of us in central Alberta already know, the Big Valley Jamboree is a hot spot for the latest and greatest country singer's. With over 100,000 people turning the wickets daily, there truly is something for everyone at this fantastic event. The Jamboree starts on Thursday August 1st with a kickoff party featuring Brother's Osbourne and Charlie Major. The concert lasts all weekend and wont disappoint.

For the golfer in the area, there are many courses to challenge every type of player. Some of our favourites are Silver Creek Golf Course https://silvercreekgolfcourse.com/ located in…

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