With lots of great Real Estate Blog’s on the internet it’s hard to read them all. I have compiled a list of interesting topics from a few of the blogs I read daily.

Toronto Real Estate (Real Estate Intelligence) has an interesting article on how long should it take to sell your home?

Norm Fisher’s Saskatoon Real Estate Blog discusses CREA’s report on a slowdown of MLS sale’s nationally. It’s a little contradictory to our local real estate market, but remember the report is from all major cities across Canada. They peaked in home sales earlier then Newfoundland.

A common situation occurs during a real estate transaction when a fireplace, which was “thought” to be attached, was actually a removable, often times an electric fireplace. Edmonton’s Real Estate Blogger’s Sara MacLennan and Sheldon Johnston write about how not to get burned with removable fireplaces.

Did you sell your home and move in 2007? Can you claim all or a portion of your move on your income tax return? Well Mark Argentino from Mississauga fills in the blanks about the possibility of your moving expenses being tax deductible.

A common question we as Realtors are asked, is when is the best time of year to buy or sell real estate? Collingwood Blue Mountain Real Estate will give you the inside track for consideration.

It pays going green…..even on your mortgage. Canadian Mortgage Trends writes about how being environmentally friendly can save you money on your mortgage

A daily dose from Montreal includes a compiled list of headlines discussing a Canadian Credit Crunch

Have a super weekend!

There’s hot demand for people wanting to buy homes in the St. John’s, Mount Pearl region, and a lot of the interest is coming from outside the province. There is very little listing inventory (inventory in the region is down 50 per cent) A lot of the buyers are from outside the province, especially the province of Alberta. They see this region as a great place to invest as it has a healthy, prosperous economy. Statistics are showing that it will remain a seller’s market for a long time yet. Royal Bank of Canada reports show that housing prices in St. John’s are up 15 per cent.

Fraser and Stephen Winters March Real Estate Newsletter

The new bypass, to be completed in 2009, includes an 8.1-kilometre stretch of undivided highway that will wrap around Torbay, connecting with a five-lane highway by St. John’s International Airport, which itself will be extended.

Commuters from Torbay, Flatrock and Pouch Cove must wind through Torbay’s narrow roads, which become clogged during the morning and afternoons.

The existing Route 20 through Torbay is the primary access route for the northeast Avalon region. The level of traffic that comes through Torbay several times a day is incredible, so the bypass road is desperately needed. The new bypass will complete an integrated transportation network that will link in communities north of St. John’s. Situated west of the Town of Torbay, the Torbay Bypass project will consist of upgrading the existing two-lane Route 20 through the Town of Torbay, and providing an alternate route around the town. Residents of Torbay, the City of St. John’s and the surrounding communities – Pouch Cove, Flatrock, Logy Bay-Middle Cove-Outer Cove, and Bauline – are expected to benefit from the resulting economic development.

The bypass will help to support continued growth of tourism, business investment, and economic development in the region and will likely mean speedier development of new home construction subdivisions.

Here is the map for planned Torbay Bypass Road

Canadians who have recently purchased real estate plan on paying off the mortgage as quickly as possible according to an annual mortgage consumer survey released Wednesday by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.

Seventy-eight per cent of respondents said they wanted to pay their mortgages off as fast as possible and one-third said they had made a lump-sum payment toward that end.

Eighty-four per cent of homeowners who are making weekly or biweekly payments on their mortgages are doing so at an accelerated rate in order help to shorten their amortization period, according to the mortgage insurer.

The fact that new homeowners are working to pay down principal early and are accelerating payments is a good indication that this responsible behavior will continue throughout the life of their mortgage.

More Canadians are becoming aware that, since mortgage interest is not tax-deductible in Canada, (as it is in the US), you are making mortgage payments of both principal and interest with money that you’ve already paid tax on “after tax dollars”. This makes it even more important to pay down your mortgage as soon as possible!

Venmar Ventilation has received several reports of major home fires where the suspected cause is a heat recovery system. Therefore, Venmar Ventilation released this press release which affects heat recovery systems as these systems can fail and pose a potential fire hazard to homeowners.

I looked into mine and it was determined that I had one of the HRV’s in question. (Model: 43720) You can fill out the Request Form Product Recall - Safety Upgrade Program and find out if your model is listed as well.

The recall is for models manufactured between 1991 and 2001 as well as between October 2006 and August 2007.
Owners of air exchange systems that are covered by this Safety Upgrade Program must immediately turn their unit off and unplug it, and contact Venmar as soon as possible. (1 866-441-4645) or by visiting their website at www.venmar.ca

It has come to Venmar’s attention that an unlikely series of circumstances could lead to a motor overheating in certain models of air exchangers that may result in a potential fire hazard. For models manufactured between 1991 and 2001 Venmar will provide a safety upgrade device, called Power Plug Adaptor free of charge. For models manufactured between October 2006 and August 2007 Venmar will send a field technician who will inspect and fix the affected units, free of charge.
The Safety Upgrade Program affects certain units distributed under the names: Venmar, Venmar AVS,Flair, vänEE, Sears, Guardian by Broan, NuTone, Conformax, Payne, Day & Night, Carrier, Bryant, Heil, York, Rheem, Ruud, Protech and Weatherking Heat Recovery Ventilators sold in North-America. This program covers units with the following model numbers only. This model number is located on a silver or a black label positioned on the outside panel of the unit.

Anyone who has ever been to North America’s Oldest City can attest to the fact that it’s a great city. St. John’s has become a great place to relocate for a variety of recent economic reasons. Here are my reasons why St. John’s Newfoundland is a good choice for relocation.

7. Scenery - View Newfoundland’s spectacular coastlines, panoramic views, icebergs, whales and provincial parks.

6. Affordable Housing - Average real estate price for in St. John’s is lower then most cities in Canada. We are seeing more and more emails from people in Vancouver, Calgary and Toronto looking to relocate back to Newfoundland or looking to invest in Newfoundland.

5. Quality of living - Enjoy a high standard of living, low population, great schools, little traffic, fresh clean air and genuine Newfoundland hospitality.

4. Proximity - Your commute to and from work, schools and amenities is VERY short. You can drive from East End St. John’s to West End in about 15mins. With the Outer Ring Road, commute time from Paradise and CBS has been reduced significantly.

3. Nightlife - There is always something to do in the evenings. Plays, theater, beautiful restaurants and live music at most George Street bars.

2. Outdoor Activities - There are lots of winter sports (skiing, ice fishing, skating, snowboarding, ice hockey, snowmobiling, etc.) and endless summer activities (golfing, baseball, soccer, swimming, jogging, sea kayaking, rowing etc.). Hike or camp the trails in provincial parks or the East Coast Trail. Hunt moose, rabbit, caribou or pick blueberries. There is something here for everyone.

1. The next few years are looking very promising for Newfoundland. There is a lot of hype on our oil and gas industry. Hebron, White Rose, Hibernia, and the Terra Nova Project, all major contributors to the Newfoundland Economy. This combined with the low cost of living makes St. John’s an attractive city to relocate.

Allow Fraser and Stephen Winters to assist you when relocating to St. John’s or surrounding areas. Email us for a relocation package.

(NC)—The cost of moving into a new home can be quite steep. New homeowners are often focused on buying new home furnishings, appliances and accessories. But one other important thing to consider is how your home can help you save money in the long run.
Insulating your basement is one way to help put money back into your pocket. An insulated basement can help reduce energy costs and increase your living space, as well as help increase the resale value of your home.
A substantial amount of heat can be lost through uninsulated basement walls. Installing full-height R-20 PINK Fiberglas batts is a simple solution to achieve energy savings in your basement. Using PINK Fiberglas batt insulation will form a solid thermal barrier between studs and conserve energy to help reduce heating and air conditioning costs. Lastly, don’t forget to install a continuous vapour retarder on the warm side of the wall surface and drywall.
Here are a few other helpful tips that can help reduce your energy costs:

• Help prevent cold air escaping from your home by checking for drafts. You can reduce drafts by caulking, sealing and weather-stripping around windows and door frames.

• Replace old windows and doors to help reduce the transfer of air into the home and help decrease energy costs for homeowners.
• Consider installing energy efficient appliances.

To find out how much insulation you’ll need for your basement renovation and how you can help reduce energy costs in your home visit, www.owenscorning.ca.

To achieve the best insulating system in your basement you will need:

• R-14 PINK Fiberglas batts between wall studs

• 2″ CodeBord rigid foam insulation to apply on the exterior of wood stud walls
Combined, this insulating system will provide you with the best performance solution achieving a total R-value of 24 to increase your insulating power.