HOT OR NOT?

Your home: hot or not?
Financial Post Published: Saturday, November 22, 2008

Can your home weather the financial storm? Don R. Campbell, a real estate analyst and author of Real Estate Investing in Canada, gives a dozen ways to analyze your property's exposure to a downturn.
First, it's vital to remember that property markets are not national; they are regional, local and even vary widely from neighbourhood to neighbourhood in the same city.
That being said, there will always be hot real estate markets and others that are cold, but national and provincial figures are too generalized to be used by Canadian homeowners and investors to make sound decisions on their most important asset.
The 12 questions below will help you decide if your area and personal property are poised to go up, stay flat or collapse.
The more "yes" answers you get, the better the market will perform.
But overall, to dramatically reduce your risk, the most important thing to remember is: Don't fall in love with your property.
12 ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS
1 Is your area's average income increasing faster than the provincial average? 2 Is your area's population growing faster than the provincial average?
3 Is your area creating jobs faster than the provincial average?
4 Does your area have more than one major employer? 5 Is real estate booming in the surrounding region more than where you're looking?
6 Will the property values benefit from a major new development nearby?
7 Has the local and provincial political leadership created a growth atmosphere?
8 Is the region's economic development office helpful and proactive?
9 Is the neighbourhood located in an area of renewal or gentrification?
10 Is there a major transportation improvement occurring nearby?
11 Is the area attractive to Baby Boomers?
12 Is there a short-term perceived problem (negative stories, short-term layoffs) that will disappear?
In fact, there are 13 major influences on the long-term value of property. Underlying the local analysis of your property market you need to consider the outlook for Canada generally.
The Canadian economy and real estate are relatively well-positioned to withstand the economic storms that are buffeting property values in many other countries.

TRICK OR TREAT

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

I hope you are as prepared as these two enthusiasts!

I wonder who will get more treats and who will do more tricking.

Bets are on for Dorothy in the wig for more treats.

EVOLUTION, TIMING, IMPACT

Economy to rebound by 2010: Bank of Canada

Thu Oct 23, 10:41 AMThe Canadian Press

By The Canadian Press

OTTAWA - The economy is in good shape to weather a global recession, although growth will be anemic for the next six months, the Bank of Canada said Thursday.
In its fall Monetary Policy Report, the bank said Canada's economic growth will be sluggish through the first quarter of next year, but will then start to pick up and will hit 3.4 per cent in 2010. It predicted real economic growth of 0.6 per cent this year and next.
It said lower world demand, lower commodity prices and tight credit will all contribute to sluggish growth.
The weaker Canadian dollar, however, will help, by lowering the cost of the country's exports and making them more attractive to foreign customers.
The report said inflation will stay below two per cent through 2010.
The central bank, which cut its key interest rate by three-quarters of a percentage point this month, says another cut is likely.
The report said the world is entering a "mild recession" and the United States, wracked by the sub-prime mortgage situation, is already in recession.
Canada is not immune, the bank said, but it is bolstered by a strong financial system.
"The weaker outlook for global demand will increase the drag on the Canadian economy coming from exports," the report said. "Lower commodity prices will also dampen the outlook, working though a deterioration in Canada's terms of trade to moderate domestic demand growth.
"The marked tightening in Canadian credit conditions in recent weeks will restrain business and housing investment."
The report predicts a modest decline in housing prices and in household net worth, due to declines in housing equity. Consumer spending will also be lower than earlier predicted, as people adjust to harder times.
Consumers are also going to borrow less, the bank said.
The bank warned, though, that its forecasts are subject to greater uncertainty than usual, as the world grapples with what it called "the deepest, broadest and most persistent financial crisis in decades."
"The bank judges that the risks are roughly balanced around its revised base-case project for inflation in Canada - a base case that now incorporates the recent intensification of the global financial crisis, a mild global recession and the measures that have been taken to resolve the crisis.
"The evolution of the financial crisis, its impact on the global economy and the timing of the effect of the various extraordinary measures being taken to address it post significant risks to the inflation prediction on both the upside and the downside."

CUT COST & SAVE THE EARTH

With energy prices rising yearly and the critical NEED to lessen our carbon footprints becoming more vital, new products are surfacing all the time to help us change how much we pay out and how little impact we leave behind.

One product that caught my attention because I hate sacrificing style for our mother earth, sorry to say but true, is THE VISION by ECOSMART fire. It is a modern fireplace that "burns clean and is virtually maintenance free".

CHECK IT OUT AT:

http://www.ecosmartfire.com/canada/home.php

AS FEATURED ON:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAT8z_IoWhs

LIFE ON CANVAS

“Memories play an important part in my art, as for me, light and color have always been tactile experiences; something to do with the senses and inevitably with memories…"



Be sure to check out www.artbymario.ca for more information.


WHERE TO INQUIRE:
MARIO
Tel: 403.618.1235

AS SEEN AT THE FOLLOWING LISTING:


36 ROSEVIEW DRIVE N.W.
MLS# C3344302

Wallpaper...The Revival!

If you still think paper is best utilized in the office...
THINK AGAIN!

Paper is proving that it does have a place on our walls again with the introduction of sophisticated patterns, innovative textures and contemporary designs.

CHOICES:

Cole & Son
http://www.cole-and-son.com/home.asp

Graham & Brown

http://www.grahambrown.com/us/store/wallcoverings.html

HOW TO:

http://www.wallpaperstogo.com/howto_hang.htm

This pool might be bigger/Than you or I know! ~ MCELLIGOT'S POOL

I was very excited to see that the work of Dr. Seuss was to be on display and I hope you are too. My favorite book is McElligot's Pool, what's yours?

DR. SEUSS
LIFETIME RETROSPECTIVE
ART TOUR & SALE


OCTOBER 2 - 14, 2008

Artevo and the Calgary Herald Presents Dr. Seuss Lifetime Retrospective Art Tour. The Show includes the Secret Art of Dr. Seuss, exclusive to Artevo Galleries for the first time in Canada. Running from October 2nd through the 14th at Artists of the World.

WHERE TO GO:
ARTISTS OF THE WORLD
514 -11th AVE SW

http://www.artevo.com/art-dr-seuss.asp