The real estate brokerage examined sales data from 18 major Canadian markets and found that the annually compounded rate of return was 6.82 per cent. ReMax said the market has been skewed toward sellers for most of the last decade, except during 2008 and early 2009 when prices sagged through the recession.

Real estate prices cycle through highs and lows. Tracking the following market indicators will help you decide if it’s a good time to invest in real estate in your area.

Job Growth

People go where the jobs are, and home prices follow jobs. A strong local job market is a sure sign of a healthy real estate market. While the Wall Street Journal gives you insight into the nation’s overall economy, check your local newspapers for statistics in your area.

Housing Inventory

The housing inventory is the number of houses for sale at one time in the area. If there are more houses than buyers, prices tend to fall and if there are more buyers than houses, the opposite happens. Also look at the number of months or days it is taking to sell a home. If it’s less than 60 days the market is considered hot.

Number of Repos on the Market

A repo is a house that has been taken over by the bank because the owner failed to meet the loan payment—in other words, it’s a foreclosure. The more foreclosures in your area, the weaker the real estate market.

Number of Multiple Offers on Homes

Multiple offers are when two or more buyers “bid” at the same time for the same house. It’s a sure sign of a hot market, usually resulting from a limited inventory creating the need for buyers to compete on price for the same property.

According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR) second-home sales (for vacation homes and investment homes) accounted for four out of 10 homes sold in 2009. While vacation-home buyers purchase primarily for enjoyment, investment-home buyers are looking to generate income in the following five ways.

#1: Appreciation

Returns of 10 percent and more are not uncommon if you select good real estate properties.  It’s a return rate you won’t find on bank products or with most stocks.

#2: Cash Flow

More than half of all investment-home buyers rent out their properties. Month in and month out these properties create income from renters AND gain long-term appreciation.

#3: Less volatility

While real estate cycles through periods of highs and lows, it doesn’t change dramatically day-to-day like stocks. Investing in real estate is viewed as being less speculative than stocks.

#4 Tax Advantages

Your real estate investments offer you two tax advantages: you can deduct property expenses and depreciation. Plus doing a 1031 exchange lets you avoid paying tax on profits from the sale of rental property if you roll it into another real estate investment property (talk to your tax advisor).

#5 Value-Added Improvements

The saying “buy it low and sell it high” applies to stocks and real estate. The advantage with real estate is you can buy inexpensive property, fix it up, then raise the rent or sell it for more money.

If real estate investing is a path you are interested in pursuing, please feel free to call or email with any questions you have.

A bright and well-lit home can dramatically change the mood of your home and help you feel relaxed and comfortable all year long. Here are some tips to lighten up your home and make the rooms look big and inviting:

• Choose different types of lighting to avoid the expense of installing windows or skylights. Lamps or other accent lighting can make a dull room appear elegant or small rooms seem larger.

• If you have a room with a dark wall or a narrow, dark hallway, hang a group of pictures and light them with adjustable halogen track lighting to create the effect of a photo gallery.

• Paint ceilings a light color to avoid making them seem lower than they are and give the room a cramped feel.

• Use color to add cheer to a room. Pink and green tones have a calming effect while darker colors, such as red, tend to cause agitation. Neutral wall tones create a harmonious environment. Bright colors should be used as accents in pillows, artwork or flowers.

• When selecting paint, tape large color chips together on a wall to get a better idea of the shades you like. When you’ve narrowed your choices down, buy a quart of 2 or 3 colors and paint 1 or 2 foot squares next to each other on both shaded and brightly lit walls. Choose the color that looks best in both kinds of light.

When you’re thinking of buying a home, you may wonder what your mortgage payment will look like. When you have a mortgage, you’ll have several different portions of your payment each month.

Your mortgage payment consists of principal, interest, taxes and insurance (often abbreviated as “PITI”), and sometimes additional fees, such as homeowners association dues.

Principal is the money you borrowed to purchase the home.

Interest is the cost of borrowing money.

Taxes are paid by homeowners to local governments, and are usually a percentage of the assessed property value.

Insurance helps protect against financial loss from fire, natural disasters or other hazards. Most lenders require you to have a homeowner’s insurance policy on your home because it will help protect their investment as well as yours.

Remember, many loan quotes will only include your principal and interest. You’ll also need to factor in the taxes and insurance to calculate your total monthly mortgage payment.

An important aspect of getting a home loan is saving money for your down payment. You have many choices to make your home more affordable to you.

Lenders used to require a down payment of at least 20 percent of the home’s price. These days, however, many lenders offer flexible home loan programs allowing you to put very little down -- three percent or less of the home price. For some buyers it’s possible to buy a home with no down payment at all, or to receive help from local down payment assistance programs.

If you decide to pay make a down payment less than 20 percent, your lender may require Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI), which protects the lender in case you cannot repay the mortgage. Talk with your mortgage professional to find out the smartest deal for you.

You’ll also need to pay for closing costs, which are costs associated with initiating a loan. These can include loan origination fees, discount points, attorney fees, recording fees and pre-paids. They often will total from three to five percent of the price of the home.

Once you have you down payment and loan pre-approval, it’s simply a matter of finding the right house. Please call or email when you’re ready to take this next step towards owning your own home.

Buying a home is an investment in the neighborhood as well as the house. In fact, the character and amenities of the neighborhood may be as important to the property value as the house itself. No matter what kind of neighborhood you’re looking for, it's important to know its history and future when you decide to buy. Here’s what to research:

1. Recent sales - Find out if the market is slow and what homes have been selling for.

2. Homes now for sale - What homes are listed in the area, and are they listed above past sales? This will give you a good idea of the area's overall market value.

3. Home appreciation - Historical data on sales gives the best indicator of a neighborhood's potential. Are homes appreciating at 3%, 5%, 10% or higher every year?

4. Schools - School scores and district boundaries are very important to research before moving into a neighborhood. The closest school is not always in your district, and school scores reveal if a neighborhood is invested in the schools' success.

5. Crime - Get the hard facts about any problems in the neighborhood -- don't depend on anecdotal information.

6. Demographics and growth - Find out how the area is growing and changing.

7. Community -- Learn about neighborhood features, such as public schools, shopping areas, parks, commuting options and more.

First-time buyers are often unsure about the financial aspects of buying a home, and you may have many questions swirling in your head. How much can I afford? Do I need a large down payment?

Your home price range will be determined by your income, credit history, the cash you have for a down payment and closing costs, and your debt. How much you earn compared to how much you owe will likely determine how much the bank allows you to borrow.

The financial rule of thumb is: your total monthly debt service, which will include your monthly mortgage, shouldn’t be more than about 36 percent of your gross monthly income. Most experts say that your monthly housing expense, including taxes and insurance, should not exceed about 28 percent of your gross monthly income.

Naturally, every situation is different, and each lender has different rules about working with buyers. A number of choices within your control can affect your monthly payment as well. For example, you might choose an adjustable rate loan, which has a lower initial payment than a fixed rate program. Similarly, a larger down payment may lower your monthly payment.

When you’re thinking about buying your first home, it’s essential for you to be confident in your decision to buy instead of rent. However, you may not know about the many great reasons to buy a home! Here are just a few of them:

Smart investment
When you invest in a home, it offers the possibility for appreciation in value. The equity becomes yours when you’re still paying off your mortgage. You even get to live in it while your investment matures.
 

Tax advantages
Since both mortgage interest and property taxes are tax deductible, homeownership can save you significant amounts of money every year.

Planned housing costs
You decide how much you spend on your home, including repairs and improvements. Unlike renters, homeowners with a fixed-rate loan can lock in their monthly housing costs.
 

Improvements to your taste
You can choose which improvements to make your own property, such as a deck, kitchen remodel, or new paint, instead of needing permission from your landlord.

When you’re thinking about making a move, the first steps in the home buying process are:

1.     Deciding when you want to make your move

2.     Considering how much money you would like to spend

3.     Thinking about what type of home you would like

4.     Deciding where you would like to live

The next step is usually finding out how much loan you can qualify for and deciding the type of financing will work best for you.

If you’re in the “thinking about it” stage, you will want to speak with a lender about receiving pre-qualification. If you choose to become pre-qualified, the lender will determine how much you can borrow based on financial information you provide to the lender. Pre-qualification is useful for making preliminary decisions about how much home you can afford, but does not assess your creditworthiness.

You will need to fill out a loan application and go through the lender's loan approval process at a later date. When you decide to buy a home, you will want to become pre-approved for a loan prior to beginning your home search.

Please don’t hesitate to call or email me for additional information about the buying process. My goal is to provide you with practical information as you consider your next move. And, when you’re ready to make your move, I’ll help you find your dream home and handle all the details of the transaction, so all you need to do is pack!