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Saskatoon, SK Real Estate News

By John Pearce
(Royal Lepage Saskatoon Real Estate)
Saskatoon Region Association of REALTORS® Inc   Residential Resale Market Maintains Momentum Saskatoon's real estate market maintained its momentum throughout the first quarter. Unit sales were up 28% from March 2009 with 361 homes being sold as compared to March 2009 when 282 units were sold. Year to date 775 properties have exchanged hands that number up 10% from 2009 when 704 properties exchanged hands. The average days on market has dropped to 30 days with some areas having as low as 22 days to sell on average. The average residential selling price in March was $282,615.00 up 6% from March 2009 when the average selling price was $266,620.00. The average selling price year to date is $282,270.00 up 3% from 2009 when the average price was $274,555.00. The highest number of sales year...
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By Shah Ahmed
(REMAX Saskatoon)
Renting vs. Buying a House Am I better off renting or buying a house? - This is a very old question. Before you decide, you need to answer the following:   1.  How often do you expect to move in the future? More than once a year Once every two years Not for at least 5 years If you expect to be moving a lot (every couple of years or more) then you probably shouldn't buy your own home. Every time you buy or sell a home you incur significant costs (selling commissions alone average 6 %). Unless you get lucky and the value of the home you purchased goes up by at least 10 %, you'll be losing money.   2.  How stable is you employment situation? Very stable Probably stable  Not stable at al If your employment is not stable, you probably shouldn't be considering buying your own home. Home owner...
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How to Use Your Credit Card Wisely Whether you shop online, by telephone or by mail, a credit card can make buying much easier; but when you use a credit card, it's important to control your spending. Use a credit card wisely and you can reap benefits like cash back, bonus points and airline miles, not to mention a better credit score. Use it unwisely and you could end up under a mountain of debt. Here are some useful tips on using credit cards. 1. Avoid paying debt at 18% Credit cards can be very useful if you are able to pay off the balance each month. However, when you start paying interest at 18% or more, the advantages are easily outweighed by the very high interest payments. Therefore, always seek to pay off the balance and avoid these rates of interest. Negotiate with your credi...
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How to Help Your Child Cope with Moving Anxiety Moving can be stressful for every member of the family-children included. Depending on the age of children, their fears about a move vary from child to child, but most children approach the idea of moving with some hesitation.One out of five Canadian families move into a new home each year. Some families experience a stressful time two weeks before and two weeks after a move. For many families, the actual move is a time when everyone pitches in and works together. Reality starts to sink in about a month later. People then begin to realize how much they miss friends and places they left behind. Confusion, frustration, and anger are common emotions at this time. Even if you are upgrading to a bigger house in a nicer neighbourhood, adjusting...
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By John Pearce
(Royal Lepage Saskatoon Real Estate)
By CBC News, cbc.ca, Updated: February 16, 2010 9:25 AM Flaherty moves to toughen mortgage rules Finance Minister Jim Flaherty announced new rules Tuesday aimed at preventing homebuyers from getting into financial difficulty when mortgage rates rise. After consulting with major Canadian lenders, Flaherty outlined the latest weapons at Ottawa's disposal aimed at removing some of the speculative froth in the housing market. "There is no evidence of a housing bubble, but we're taking prudent steps today to prevent one," he said at a news conference in Ottawa. Broadly speaking, the plan unveiled has three components. First, Ottawa will require that all borrowers meet the standards for a five-year fixed-rate mortgage, even if they choose a variable mortgage with a lower rate or a shorter ter...
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By Shah Ahmed
(REMAX Saskatoon)
Saskatchewan is expected to lead the country with an economic growth rate of 2.9 per cent in 2010, according to the average of nine leading economic forecasters.     After ending 2009 with a new record population and the lowest unemployment rate in Canada, Saskatchewan is forecast to start the next decade with the strongest economic growth record in the country in 2010.   Saskatchewan Enterprise Minister Ken Cheveldayoff says while Saskatchewan was not immune from the economic downturn in 2009, it came through the recession very well compared to other provinces.   Cheveldayoff noted that Saskatchewan had positive job creation in 2009 while most other provinces were losing jobs. Saskatoon and Regina had the two lowest unemployment rates among Canadian cities. Saskatchewan's population h...
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  Water is our most precious resource on earth; every living organism is dependent on it for survival. Less than 30% of people around the world have access to safe drinking water. As the climate changes, we will likely see that access to clean and safe water will become more important than ever. While access to clean water is not an issue for most Canadians, it makes sense to be more water conscious for the following reasons: Lower water and energy bills by reducing your metered usage. Enhanced drinking water quality by maintaining higher levels in our lakes. Less environmental impact by deferring the need to supply water from new sources and by reducing the energy and materials required to treat and deliver water. We all can take immediate steps starting in our own households to more ...
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Mortgage rates are at their lowest in years.  Here are a few issues to consider, whether you are taking a new mortgage on a home purchase, or re-newing your mortgage term.   You want to make sure you get the best interest rate.  If you go to the financial institution you are currently dealing with, you will most likely be quoted the "posted rate". This rate is generally up to 1% higher than you should have to pay. Doing some competitive market research before hand can be helpful to negotiate a better rate.   Open vs Closed Mortgages When selecting a mortgage, you can choose to pre-pay it in part of full at any time without any penalty.  This is called an "open" mortgage. You pay a slightly higher rate for an open mortgage, as the lender has no certainty if you will pay it off before the...
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By Georgie Hunter R(S) 58089, Maui Real Estate sales and lifestyle info
(Hawai'i Life Real Estate Brokers)
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada I remember the '60's I just want to drop by and say what a great place Saskatoon is.  This is where I grew up and went to school, in the '60's and '70's.  It was a safe place where you could live and not lock your doors back then.  In the summer we would ride our bicycles all over the place with no cares in the world, and be gone all day.  Oh I miss those long summer nights... fireworks on the riverbank, camping in the back yard, getting into trouble at night (oh wait, that was later on).  There was the Exhibition where you could eat cotton candy and candy apples, and then go on the rides until you threw up!  Pike Lake was one of the nearby swimming holes - I wonder if that's still any fun?  In winter we would toboggan down the riverbank and freeze our n...
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