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Staging a house before selling can be tiring, but it can help you sell properties much faster. The effort you’ll put into this process will help you become a successful real estate agent who consistently gets the asking price and impresses potential buyers with every property.

Great staging should show off the home’s best assets, making it appealing for a wide range of prospective buyers. Creating a visually pleasing space where every single buyer can imagine their future should be your goal. Here are five ideas that will make a big difference.

1. Depersonalize it:
Potential buyers need to enter a house that will boost their creativity and one they can imagine as their own. The property shouldn’t feature personal items, and your job is to depersonalize it. Once the buyers come inside, they will have a vision about how they want to decorate the space and create new memories there. Items from the owners can be too overwhelming and sway them away from the idea. If there are any objections from the owners, you have to explain why this is a smart move.

Removing all personal items is a professional tip that you have to do right from the start. This includes personal hygiene products, framed photos, decorations, toys, travel souvenirs and even clothes, if possible. Try to put away religious items if the client agrees.

2. Work on the windows:
Guests should be impressed with the house you’re selling right away, and one of the factors that most real estate professionals forget about is the windows. Everyone knows that floors and walls should be clean, but did you remember the windows? They should be squeaky clean and sparkling because it’s one of the first things clients will notice when they arrive at the property.

Next, don’t forget about quality window treatments. Everyone wants a room filled with light during the day and privacy at night. Also, a bright room will appear more spacious. Keep in mind that window treatments for condominiums will be different than for houses and townhouses, and often can make or break the deal. Many condos have lots of windows, often floor to ceiling. A great investment is blackout window coverings. This can be a great selling feature as it provides privacy and adds a beautiful esthetic.

Another smart idea is to make the ceilings appear taller with curtains and drapes that start from the ceiling and reach the floor.

3. Remove the clutter and clean the gutter:
Decluttering should be your next step. When a prospective buyer sees a home that is too cluttered, they simply can’t imagine living in a space like that. They also won’t be able to paint a picture of a potential home because they will be overwhelmed with everything that’s going on around them. Clutter makes the entire space appear smaller, and that’s the last thing you want. Advise the owners to remove all the items they don’t need and to store them in boxes.

Taking care of the gutter means preventing roof, foundation, wood damage, pest infestation, basement flooding and interior damage. Gutter cleaning and ensuring that the gutter system works properly will also enhance the appearance of the home. Who knows, maybe this will lead the clients having a “love at first sight” moment. Remember, the outer appearance is just as important as the inside of the property you’re selling.

4. Opt for neutral:
Not everyone is a fan of bold, striking colours. That’s why it’s recommended that the space you’re selling features neutral tones. This is the most appealing palette for potential buyers because it makes the rooms appear larger, gives a fresh look and helps the space look sophisticated.

Neutral shouldn’t mean boring. Although the home shouldn’t be personalized and feature bold colours, it should still have cool accessories that make it stand out. You and the owners can implement bold hues via flowers, vases, pillows, throw blankets, towels and other decorations.

5. Furniture placement:
The way furniture is placed in the rooms is quite important. Each room should have a purpose. The space shouldn’t be too cramped with furniture, and it shouldn’t be too empty. Remove all pieces that are too big and limit the moving space around the home.

If the furniture in the house won’t do the job, rent some furniture. Talk with the owners and let them know why you are recommending this. Educating the owners on what’s best and what will sell their house faster should be your priority.

Once you’re on the same page, you can declutter the home, work on the windows and window treatments, implement neutral colours as the basic palette, choose the best furniture placement and depersonalize the space. These five tips might sound simple, but you’ll soon see how beneficial they are.

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St. Albert says the 55-acre, 15-megawatt solar array could power 25,000 homes and generate $2.4 million for the city each year

St. Albert, Alberta, will be host to a 15-megawatt solar farm in just two years, city council has decided — one that will power 25,000 homes and generate some $2.42 million a year.

St. Albert council voted 6-1 June 21 to approve the project charter for the $26.1-million solar farm that would be built on 55 acres of city-owned land, known as the Badger Lands.

Council also voted 6-1 on first reading of a bylaw to borrow up to $33.7 million to fund the project (the estimated cost plus 25-per-cent contingency).

Sheena Hughes was the only council member opposed to both motions.

City administration hired the energy firm ATCO to craft plans for the farm. ATCO’s design would see approximately 34,350 rack-mounted, double-sided solar modules, and recommended the city build it all in one go.

“You want to install the biggest solar farm you can afford to achieve economies of scale,” explained ATCO engineer Rachel Si.

Si told council the Badger Lands were a good site for a solar farm as they are flat, accessible, city-owned, salt-contaminated (meaning they would require expensive cleanup for most other uses), and close to an electrical substation.

ATCO officials told council the farm would produce about 21,800 megawatt-hours of electricity a year — enough to power some 25,000 homes, or 96 per cent of the homes in St. Albert, which is located close to Edmonton in north central Alberta.

Studies suggest this would prevent some 15,449 tonnes of greenhouse-gas emissions a year — equivalent to not burning 205 tanker trucks’ worth of gasoline.

Council heard the farm would cost about $110,000 a year to run. Power sales, carbon credits, and other revenue sources would result in net annual revenues of about $2.42 million a year, or $41 million over the 30-year life of the farm. The array would pay for itself in 12.8 years, provide stable electricity costs, and reduce the city’s carbon emissions. These predictions did not account for potential grants.

City environmental manager Christian Benson said solar has been a proven technology since the 1970s and is easy to use and maintain. Alberta has about 35 large solar farms in operation and in production, including projects in Innisfail and Fort Chipewyan.

“The economics are solid,” Benson said, with solar farms drawing considerable foreign investment to Canada.

Hughes criticized ATCO’s projections as overly optimistic, as they assumed Canada’s carbon tax and energy prices would ramp up considerably in the coming decades.

“I’m not going to assume [Prime Minister] Trudeau is going to raise the carbon tax to $170 a tonne over time as a business model,” she said. (The federal government has said the tax would reach that level in 2030.)

Hughes said this project would merely break even if carbon taxes and energy prices stayed flat, which she argued was not worth a potential $33-million investment.

The borrowing bylaw was scheduled to return to council August 30. If approved, the farm would start construction in July 2022 and be operational by April 2023.

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Rents are low, wages are high and investors are buying apartment buildings for around $120,000 per door

Edmonton, Alberta’s capital where the average annual income is almost $10,00 higher than Vancouver, has become a paradise for renters, with some of the lowest rents in the country.

A national survey, released June 16, found that while rents across Canada had increased 2 per cent in May from a month earlier to an average of $1,708 per month, tenants were still paying less than $1,000 for a one-bedroom in Edmonton.

Edmonton finished 30th on the list of 35 cities for average monthly rent in May for a one-bedroom home at $992 and for a two-bedroom at $1,215, according to the National Rent Report from Rentals.ca and Bullpen Research & Consulting.

“Average rents in Edmonton for a one- and two-bedroom home in May saw little change monthly or annually, “ the report found.

In comparison, Vancouver leads Canadian cities for average monthly rent, with a one-bedroom rent in May at $1,981 and for a two-bedroom at $2,760, the National Rent Report found.

Calgary finished 27th on the list of 35 cities for average monthly rent in May for a one-bedroom home at $1,216 and for a two-bedroom at $1,530.

Edmonton also has plenty of rentals to choose from, with an 8 per cent vacancy rate, and more than 6,808 new rental units built or nearing completion in the city, according to commercial real estate agency CBRE.

The big supply and low rental prices are reflected in prices and demand for existing apartment buildings.

The second half of 2020 saw $121 million in multi-family investment in Edmonton, down significantly from the $367 million in the first half of the year, with just 21 buildings sold.

The largest multi-family transaction in the second half of 2020 was Westlawn Village transacting 144 units at an average price of $155,903 per unit.

This June 15, a two-building rental complex in Edmonton with a total of 58 units sold for $6.8 million, or less than $118,000 per door, based on the transaction brokered by the Marcus & Millichap team in Edmonton.

Capitalization rates for the 12 low-rise Edmonton apartment buildings sold so far in 2021 averaged 4.92 per cent, according to a survey by the Network and released to Western Investor by Avison Young. The median per-door price for the buildings was $113,440. Mid-rise concrete apartment buildings in Edmonton generally sell at lower cap rates, in the sub-4 per cent range, Avison Young noted.

Edmonton, as in all of Alberta, has no rent controls. This compares with B.C., which has among the most rigid rent legislation in Canada.

Higher average incomes in Edmonton are also substantially higher than the national average, and well ahead of Vancouver.

In March 2021, average weekly earnings in Alberta remained the highest in Canada at $1,226, an increase of 3.1 per cent from March 2020. Nationally, average weekly earnings were $1,132 in March 2021, according to Statistics Canada.

The average salary in Edmonton in the first quarter of 2021 was $97,220, compared to a national average of $89,596 and an average of $88,223 in Vancouver, based on a study from the Average Salary Survey, an international research study based in the U.K, released this June.

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The locally built, 72-square-foot Yocto comes with full appliances and doesn’t require a building permit

In Greater Vancouver, where the average detached house sold for $1.8 million in May and a typical condo apartment for $737,000, a small-house builder is offering perhaps the least expensive—and smallest—house in Canada.

“Our core business is for granny flats and homes for First Nations,” said Chase Lefneski, a spokesman for Dwelltech, based in Maple Ridge, B.C., where the May benchmark house price was up 34 per cent from a year ago to $1.1 million.

Dwelltech makes three different small houses.

Its latest offering, the Yocto, is the tiniest—72 square feet.

“We think it is the smallest complete house in Canada,” Lefneski said.

Despite its compact space, the Yocto comes with full-sized appliances, a closet and a built-in bed and mattress.

“The bathroom works perfectly. It’s a residential toilet and shower, not a small RV-type fixtures,” Lefneski said. “It’s a little hard to believe all that fits in 72 square feet.”

The houses come with a 20-year warranty on roof, walls, doors and windows.

“It is built like a tank. They are made for rough use and to be easily moved as many times as you want,” according to Lefneski.

The small houses sell for $24,900, he noted, and do not require a building permit.

The tiny homes do need water and power access and hookup to a septic or municipal sewer system.

The Yocto may provide another option for municipalities and community groups trying to house the most vulnerable residents.

In Victoria, a tiny-house village, which converted standard 20-foot shipping containers into 160-square foot homes, opened May 12 as temporary homes for Victoria’s homeless population.

The 30-unit project, by Aryze Developments, was partly financed by $550,000 raised during a three-month crowdfunding campaign.

The little houses come equipped a bed, side table, a small fridge and armoire, but village residents share communal bathrooms.

In Alberta, the Homes for Heroes Foundation has opened a small-home project meant to house homeless veterans who served in Canada’s armed services.

Some of the 300-square-foot homes, designed with the help of trailer manufacturer Atco Structures, were set up in a 2020 Calgary project.

A second village is being finished in Edmonton. Scheduled to open this fall, the Edmonton village consists of 18 small homes, two accessible homes, an office and an amenity building.

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Make sure your A/C can handle any heat wave this summer with these tips and how to know when to call in the pros.

Soaking in the summer sun is part of the fun of the season. But if you don’t have a cool home to retreat to, that heat can start to feel overbearing. Make sure your A/C (or swamp cooler!) can handle any heat wave this summer with these 12 tips, plus guidance on how to know when to call in the pros.

Before beginning preparation steps for either an air conditioner or swamp cooler, make sure the unit is turned off and disconnected from power.

Prepping Your Air Conditioner
1. Clean the filters
Remove the filter from the unit and vacuum away dust and buildup. If there’s more buildup than your vacuum can handle, you can wash the filter in the sink or with a hose. If the filters are very dirty, or it’s been longer than three months, you’ll need to replace them.

2. Clean condensate lines
The condensate lines draw water from the evaporator coils and run it into the drain pan. You can make sure these lines are clog-free using a vacuum to suck out any debris and then pour a mixture of vinegar and water through the lines.

3. Check coolant lines
Examine the lines that carry the refrigerant to ensure there aren’t any signs of leaks. If you do see signs of leaking, you may want to call an HVAC professional to repair the unit.

4. Remove debris from around condenser unit
Sweep away any leaves and debris from around the condenser unit and vacuum or hose debris from the walls of the unit itself. This allows your A/C to efficiently release the heat that it draws out of your home.

5. Check the ductwork
Ducts don’t often need cleaning, but it’s important to take care of the situation quickly when they do. If you see pet hair emerging from your ducts or notice a foul smell coming from any of them, it’s time to call in an HVAC professional.

6. Clean supply and return vents
Ensure your A/C can efficiently pump cold air into your home and pull hot air out by cleaning the supply and return vents inside the house.

7. Test the unit
Do a test run of the unit on a warm day to determine if air is blowing from all of the vents and the house is cooling adequately.

If after that first-day test run, your A/C is not adequately cooling your home, or it’s turning off when it shouldn’t or making loud noises, it’s time to call in the pros. Keep in mind that an A/C unit lifespan is only around ten years. After this age, you may want to consider replacing the unit. You’ll almost certainly see some savings on your electricity bill with a more efficient model, and you’ll stay cooler through the hot days of summer.

Prepping Your Swamp Cooler (Evaporative Cooler)
Preparing your swamp cooler for summer involves similar steps to preparing an air conditioner.

1. Clean the exterior
Remove the cover or clear any debris from the swamp cooler and wipe down the outside of the unit to remove any dust.

2. Clean the interior
Open the sides of the cooler and vacuum out any debris. Wipe down the sides and base of the interior.

3. Replace pads
Especially if they’ve hardened, it’s essential to change the pads that absorb water within the cooler. It’s advisable to replace these at least every year.

4. Connect the water line
Reconnect the water line to the unit and check the pipes to ensure they’re in good condition.

5. Test the unit
Turn on your swamp cooler and verify that the pump and blower are working and that you don’t see any leaks.

If your swamp cooler isn’t blowing cold air, isn’t wetting the pads, or is making strange noises, it’s time to call in the pros. The lifespan of a swamp cooler is also around ten years, so if yours is older than that, it might be time to consider a replacement.

A broken or under-functioning air conditioner or swamp cooler can make summer miserable. Make sure yours is ready to help you beat the heat of the season!

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Homeowners would be able to make energy-efficiency upgrades to their homes for no money down, with the cost of those upgrades repaid over decades through property taxes.

St. Albert residents will be able to put up solar panels and new insulation next year for no money down under a new $5-million program approved by city council.

St. Albert council voted unanimously May 17 to approve third reading of the Clean Energy Improvement Tax bylaw.

The law lets the city borrow up to $5 million over four years to fund a Clean Energy Improvement Program (CEIP). Under it, St. Albert homeowners will be able to have certified contractors install certain energy-efficiency upgrades to their homes for no money down, with the cost of those upgrades repaid over decades through property taxes.

St. Albert environment manager Christian Benson said in an interview this program would help residents save energy and add value to their homes while also reducing the city’s contributions to global heating.

“I’m really excited as a resident for CEIP,” Benson said.

Green potential
CEIP is known as Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) outside of Alberta, and is seen by many economists as a way to encourage energy-efficiency upgrades to buildings that otherwise would not happen due to their high up-front cost. It also hooks the bill for those upgrades to the building, not the building’s owner, so the owner can sell the place before paying off the upgrade without fear of “losing” their investment.

The U.S. has done some $6.4 billion in upgrades through PACE in the last five years, Leigh Bond of the advocacy group PACE Alberta told council.

A January 2021 market study by the Municipal Climate Change Action Centre found a St. Albert PACE program would likely draw about 254 applicants over four years who would make some $5 million in home improvements. This would save the city $4.1 million, add $17 million to its economy and prevent about 30,700 tonnes of greenhouse-gas emissions over the life of the improvements – equivalent to taking about 6,700 cars off the road for a year, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reports.

Steven Ottoni, who oversees Alberta’s CEIP/PACE programs through the Alberta Municipal Services Corporation, told council St. Albert’s program would let homeowners make up to $50,000 in approved improvements (which typically include solar panels, heating systems, and insulation) to their homes for no money down. Owners would do a home-energy evaluation to figure out which upgrades have the best paybacks, then have an approved contractor do them. The city would pay the contractor and place a special tax on the property to recover that cash over about 25 years.

Benson told council the city plans to borrow the $5 million from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities to fund PACE, and to apply for a $2.45-million grant to offset the program’s administrative costs. Council could also enhance PACE with the proposed Home Energy Retrofit Accelerator program, which is now under development.

Bond said St. Albert should start with a commercial PACE program instead of a residential one. Commercial owners require less administrative support, as they have their own engineers, and commercial buildings tend to be energy hogs with more opportunities for cheap savings.

“(Commercial) PACE programs cost way, way less to administer and have a bigger impact,” he said.

City utilities and environment director Kate Polkovsky said the city wanted to practice with a smaller-scale residential PACE program before rolling out a bigger commercial one.

Bond also said the city had vastly underestimated demand for PACE – he estimated there is demand for about $154 million in upgrades in town between now and 2030 – and should up the size of its program to $50 million.

Ottoni said demand for PACE in Alberta is unclear, as it is a new idea here, and said his group had settled on $5 million based on the experience of other communities.

“We do think there is pent-up demand,” he said of energy efficiency, and $5 million could be an under-estimate.

In an interview, Benson said staff would work out the details of St. Albert’s CEIP/PACE program and hope to launch it next year.

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Canadians opt for more affordability and new lifestyle, flocking to recreational property market
57 per cent of markets offer properties below $500K, according to RE/MAX brokers and agents

-Average sale price anticipated to rise up to 30% in some recreational property markets, according to RE/MAX brokers and agents.
-44 per cent of recreational property buyers are budgeting $200,000-$500,000 in the next 12 months.
-57 per cent of Canadian recreational markets include at least one property type within the $200K-$500K price range.

Kelowna, BC and Toronto, ON, May 18, 2021 – The red-hot demand seen in Canada’s urban centres has migrated into recreational markets, as interest and activity in suburban and rural properties continues to grow. Despite rising demand, 57 per cent of Canadian recreational markets still have at least one property type with an average price below $500,000, according to the 2021 RE/MAX Recreational Property Report. Furthermore, 57 per cent of RE/MAX brokers and agents in recreational markets anticipate single-digit price growth over the remainder of 2021.

According to a Leger survey conducted on behalf of RE/MAX, more than half of those who plan to purchase a recreational property in the next year (59 per cent) are first-time recreational property buyers. Twenty-one per cent of Canadians are looking to recreational markets after being priced out of an urban centre. Low borrowing rates are working in their favour, with 22 per cent saying the lower rates have increased their ability to buy.

The survey also found that 11 per cent of Canadians were searching for a recreational property prior to the start of the pandemic and are still searching, and 15 per cent of Canadians who were not searching for a recreational property prior to the pandemic are now looking.

Shifting home-buying trends, as prompted by the pandemic, are exacerbating inventory challenges in a majority of recreational markets across Canada. The growing demand in these regions is also putting upward pressure on prices which is impacting affordability in many recreational markets, which RE/MAX brokers anticipate will be a long-term trend. Tofino, Ucluelet and Niagara regions, to name but a few, are experiencing low inventory levels, bidding wars and sky-high prices.

“There’s intense competition among buyers in Canada’s recreational property markets and inventory is stretched thin,” says Christopher Alexander, Chief Strategy Officer and Executive Vice President, RE/MAX of Ontario-Atlantic Canada. “But Canadians recognize that recreational properties remain an affordable option in such a turbulent market. There are still many recreational markets across Canada that are deemed affordable, despite the growing demand and rising prices.”

Affordability Outlook
According to RE/MAX brokers and agents, sellers’ market-like conditions are anticipated to persist for the remainder of the year in 97 per cent of regions examined in the report. These conditions are typically accompanied by rising prices, which has been a trend in 2020 that is expected to continue through 2021. RE/MAX brokers report that 57 per cent of Canada’s recreational markets include at least one property type priced in the $200,000 – <$500,000 range. This is down from 87 per cent in 2019.

The most affordable recreational regions for waterfront properties across Canada include Thunder Bay ($425,805), Charlottetown ($334,447) and the Interlake Region of Manitoba ($363,833), while Okanagan ($2,430,434), Barrie-Innisfil ($1,841,217) and Niagara region ($1,546,561) are the most expensive recreational property markets for waterfront properties.

Regional Market Highlights
Western Canada
A majority of Western Canada’s recreational markets are sellers’ markets, including Whistler, Shuswap, Canmore, Tofino, Ucluelet, Central Okanagan and Interlake Region of Manitoba. Most regions are seeing multiple offer scenarios, driving prices up for most property types. Out-of-province buyers – typically from Ontario – are looking to Canmore in pursuit of recreation and achieve greater work-life balance. With work-from-home conditions, demand has spiked and prices of non-waterfront properties in Canmore have increased by 26 per cent since 2019. Out-of-province buyers from the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island are eyeing Tofino and Ucluelet, as well as out-of-country buyers from California. Both are looking to the region for the desire to relocate from urban centres and for a secondary residence.

With low inventory in Manitoba’s Interlake Region, prices of waterfront properties have increased by 43 per cent since 2019. Most activity is driven by buyers from within the province, typically families, millennial couples or investors looking for an affordable option outside of urban centres. With most buyers working from home in the region, good Wi-Fi access has become a top priority.

About the 2021 RE/MAX Recreational Property Report
The 2021 RE/MAX Recreational Property Report includes data and insights from RE/MAX brokerages. RE/MAX brokers and agents are surveyed on market activity and local developments. Average sale price prediction range is reflective of all property types in a region and varies depending on the region. Regional summaries with additional broker insights can be found at RE/MAX.ca.

READ THE WHOLE REPORT HERE   

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Some may try to buy a home before the deadline.

As of June 1, 2021, homebuyers applying for an uninsured mortgage—those with more than a 20 per cent down payment—will need to qualify as if their mortgage rate was 5.25 per cent, or two per cent higher than their actual contract rate, whichever is higher.

In reality, Canadians can access five-year variable rate mortgages as low as 1.24 per cent at HSBC Bank Canada and 1.4 per cent at the Royal Bank of Canada, the largest mortgage insurer in the country, according to April 30 data from RateSpy.

Currently, Canada’s mortgage stress test has a minimum qualifying rate of 4.79 per cent—nearly 50 basis points lower than it will be affective June 1.

The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) superintendent Jeremy Rudin has said that the change was necessary to ready the market for the end of the pandemic.

“The main thing we have to be ready for is an increase in mortgage rates to the pre-pandemic range,” Rudin told reporters on April 8. “We have interest rates that are extraordinarily low, even by recent standards.”

He warned lenders “OSFI will be looking for heightened vigilance in applying to income verification and debt servicing, combined mortgage-HELOC loan plans and risk governance.”

The OFSI rules apply to federally-regulated lenders.

In other words, mortgage qualifications could get much harder for those with high home equity loans, disruptive income and related debt. Due to COVID-19, many Canadians may fail to meet the tougher standards.

“Increasing the qualifying rate by another almost 50 basis points will only serve to disqualify more aspiring middle-class Canadians and would-be first-time buyers,” Paul Taylor, president and CEO of Mortgage Professionals Canada told Canadian Mortgage Trends.

It’s estimated that this change would reduce purchasing power for uninsured borrowers by between 4 per cent and 4.5 per cent. This is enough, according to real estate agents, for some buyers to close deals before the June 1 deadline.