| Recent Blog Posts by Carol Jefferies | ||
Spending to Make Money - Is a Finished Basement a Good Option? If you have ever wondered what they mean by spending money to make money. Well here is a great example.
Basement renovations are on the "most wanted" list of home improvements for many families as they look to expand quality living space in their homes. An unfinished basement is just an opportunity waiting to be exploited and a great way to increase the finished square footage of your home!
Keep ...
Posted by Carol Jefferies
on May 22, 2012
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Ottawa Market Up! Strong Sales in March 2012The Budget doom and gloom has not had a damper on the volume of sales in the national Capital Region; nor the prices. Here is what the President of the Ottawa Real Estate Board wrote in his monthly letter:
Members of the Ottawa Real Estate Board sold 1,396 residential properties in March through the Board's Multiple Listing Service® system, compared with 1,240 in March 2011, an increase ...
Posted by Carol Jefferies
on April 11, 2012
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Update for February in OttawaThe lastest figures are in from the Ottawa real estate market. Take a look at what the OREB President had to say about how the market is doing for 2012 so far.
Members of the Ottawa Real Estate Board sold 1,009 residential properties in February through the Board's Multiple Listing Service® system compared with 940 in February 2011, an increase of 7.3 per cent. The five-year average for February ...
Posted by Carol Jefferies
on March 14, 2012
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January Numbers in ....they say balanced market ... steady 1% growthThe following is a reprint of the monthly update from the Presient of the Ottawa Real Estate Board.
January News Release - Resale Housing Off to a Typical Start Members of the Ottawa Real Estate Board sold 684 residential properties in January through the Board's Multiple Listing Service#&174 system compared with 677 in January 2011, an increase of one per cent. The five-year average ...
Posted by Carol Jefferies
on February 11, 2012
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Outlook for 2012 Appears Different - Modest Growth PredictedWell we haven't seen this type of normal for a long time. The actual Volume may not be down but the sea of red ink on so many price adjusted listings probably means we are not doing our home work to reflect a changing market but as sales are still happening it is just a small softening. There was a shift and I admit that I could feel the change in September 2011 as the ...
Posted by Carol Jefferies
on January 10, 2012
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January; Kick Starting 2012The President of the Ottawa Real Estate Board comments in their monthly statement of the Ottawa Real Estate Market as, "this is what normal looks like". They go on to say, " Members of the Ottawa Real Estate Board sold 699 residential properties in December through the Board's Multiple Listing Service® system compared with 618 in December 2010, an increase of 13.1 per cent. The ...
Posted by Carol Jefferies
on January 9, 2012
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RCI Certificates - What a fantastic Promotional Tool.Maybe one of the best ways for us as Century 21 Agents to learn just how wonderful a tool these RCI Certificates are is to use them. This is not my first time trying them and I know it won't be the last.
We booked into the Pocono Mountain area of Pennsylvania, on the border of Pennsylvania and New Jersey and only 90 - 120 minutes out of downtown New York City .
It was a 7 hour drive from Ottawa ...
Posted by Carol Jefferies
on December 7, 2011
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Are you wondering about the New Bridge? Kanata West/StittsvilleKanta West / Stittsville, Ontario Are you wondering what is happening about the new bridge on Hazeldean between Kanata West and Stittsville. It was due to be open months ago and it looked as if it was about to when something went wrong. www.emckanata.ca/.../Completion+of+Carp+River+Bridge+on+Hazel... Testing it the mid section dropped. Built on clay the engineers had driven piles of steel down to bedrock ...
Posted by Carol Jefferies
on September 2, 2011
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Gearing Up For Fall MarketThe Ottawa Real Estate Board has suffered from a lack of affordable listings so far in 2011. That appears to have started to change. This week alone there has been an increase in the number of new listings with almost 500 in the past 2 days but fewer and fewer under $300,000. only 117 in the month of August. Thats condominimums and freehold combined!!!
The revisions are also up and not all of them ...
Posted by Carol Jefferies
on August 25, 2011
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Spring Market Moves into SummerThe volume of sales continues to pace pre-HST levels for June in Ottawa but is it bound to slowdown? right?
Interest rates down slightly may just promote hesitation but with a lack of lower priced, starter product how can you wait if something good comes up. If you don't want to spend more than a quarter of a million dollars there are 75 listings to pick from of which 44 are not mobile ...
Posted by Carol Jefferies
on June 15, 2011
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Our Hearts and Thoughts Go Out to Our Japanese NeighboursAs all our eyes turn to the disaster unfolding in one of our neighbours just off our western coast, Japan, a place used to earthquakes. Usually very well equipt to deal with such regular happenings. Who along with everyone thanks to CNN and U tube watching closely how aging Nuclear Electric Producing Plants react to a 9.0 earthquake and pre-shocks at 7.2 and many many aftershocks above the 6.0 ...
Posted by Carol Jefferies
on March 15, 2011
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Stittsville Winerfest CancelledDeclining attendance and interest in the last few Stittsville Winterfest celebrations has the local association deferring the planning of the next snow festival for 2012.
Usually the last weekend of February has been reserved to celebrate winter in Stittsville and normally held at the community park of Ralph Park Road. Normally hayrides, bed races, skating, hot chocolate and fun were the fare ...
Posted by Carol Jefferies
on January 29, 2011
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2011 Looks RosyThe real estate crystal ball has been brought out and shined up once from where it was stored since the beginning of 2010 and has sent out good news to the overall real estate market that this will be a Good Year.
Low Interest Rates, stable inventory, stable employment, and stable government give confidence to sellers and buyers both. The Ottawa Sun writers quoting leaders from Royal Lepage, give ...
Posted by Carol Jefferies
on January 12, 2011
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Its That Majic Time of Year Again.The cards and calanders are written and sent, the gifts are all bought, let's hope, or maybe just one more before the stores all close for just one day on December 25th. Just one day but is a very special day for most. Not just for the symbolic birthday, a day chosen many years ago, as a celebration of the birth of a very special child.
There really is nothing more special than the birth of a child ...
Posted by Carol Jefferies
on December 21, 2010
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FREE HALLOWEEN PHOTO FOR THE KIDSFREE HALLOWEEN PHOTO FOR THE KIDS - OCTOBER 31!
Yes that is right i think this is a marvalous idea to commemorate the cute bunnies and scary tots in our lives. Some of you know our son Josh Jefferies and use him for your professional pictures for your listings and business cards, sign, postcards etc. I thought I would spread the word for him sooooo
Bring the kiddies to ...
Posted by Carol Jefferies
on October 25, 2010
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Goulbourn Museum Seek Antique Christmas DecorationsThe Goulbourn Museum is looking for Antique Christmas Ornaments.
Do you live in Stittsville, Richmond, Munster or rural Goulbourn Township area? Well if you do and if they have any antique Christmas decorations that you would be willing to loan for a display at the Museum over the next few months they would appreciate hearing from you. They would also like a little background ...
Posted by Carol Jefferies
on October 19, 2010
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Finally - Normal Market- In National Capital RegionThe word from the Ottawa Real Estate Board based on the ratio of Listing to Sales from the month of August is that Ottawa has finally achieved a balance market. Here is what they had to say:Better supply of properties for sale brings balance to housing market; prices rise steadily After an HST- influenced dip in sales in July, August saw a return to a more normal number of sales. Members of the Ottawa ...
Posted by Carol Jefferies
on September 7, 2010
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Heart and Stroke Fund Raiser Orleans June 17th, 2010It being just a few days before Fathers Day I thought it appropriate to celebrate my Father Don Mercer's (1928 - 2005) Life. Born in rural Ontario in September of 1928 he was a small and not so healthy child. He had what was know then as an enlarged heart. He couldn't run or over exert himself as others and living on the farm this was hard. There were no tests or MRI machines to look at what was ...
Posted by Carol Jefferies
on June 20, 2010
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Stittsville Road Upgrade will be Nice when finishedKanata West - Stittsville will look very different by the end of 2010 when the major roads Hazeldean Road including the upgrades of the intesections for Stittsville Main Street, Huntmar, Johnwoods and Carp Roads have all been upgraded to 4 lanes but in the meantime the Mess is chaotic!
Yesterday and today (June 12th and 13th) the closing of Hazeldean Road from Terry Fox to Huntmar ...
Posted by Carol Jefferies
on June 13, 2010
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The Law of Supply and DemandThe Lack of Supply and the Strength of Market Demand here in Ottawa has the market hopping.
Each Morning when I open my MLS program I take a look at the number of houses listed yesterday along with those back on the market and compare it to the the number of conditional sales and firmed sales. For the past few weeks the number has been just about exactly the same. Now usually at this time ...
Posted by Carol Jefferies
on March 25, 2010
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Off to a Flying Start for 2010The numbers published by the Ottawa Real Estate Board this week for the first month of 2010 are out and they confirm what most already knew that The Real Estate selling year came out flying for January. The president of the Ottawa Boards monthly newsletter highlighted the fact that there was 713 units changed hands with 156 in the condominim/co-op or life lease category and 557 in the residential freehold ...
Posted by Carol Jefferies
on February 5, 2010
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Warning to Sellers GET THE PAYOUT BEFORE YOU SELL: PENALTIESThe Canadian Banking Industry changed somewhere along the last few years, quietly, and in the case of our sellers deals, Deadly!
In the past year I have personally been involved in four sales that had existing first mortgages with one of the five Canadian Banks:TD Canada Trust, Scotiabank, CIBC, Bank of Montreal and Royal Bank where the penalties have been totally out of line with what the sellers ...
Posted by Carol Jefferies
on January 21, 2010
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The Thrill of A Lifetime! 2010 Olympic Torchbearer Relay to Vancouver.I was honoured, I was excited and maybe just a bit nervous as the time neared for me to take that Olympic Torch down Raglan Street which is the main street of Renfrew, Horton Township, Renfrew County, Ontario. Yesterday December 13, 2009 at 12:40.
It started early yesterday morning as we drove an hour to Renfrew to our assigned meeting place at the Renfrew Town Hall, It was snowing lightly and that ...
Posted by Carol Jefferies
on December 14, 2009
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2010 Olympic Torch Relay!I am so honoured to be given the opportunity to be one among many named to carry the Olympic Torch in one of the largest relays ever planned. Over 45,000 kilometers in all. Starting on October 30, 2009 and culminating with the opening ceremonies of the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver on February 12, 2010.
Imagine the number of people visiting over 1000 communities and points of interest across ...
Posted by Carol Jefferies
on October 21, 2009
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Four Straight Months of Increased SalesThe result of a lack of affordable listings has resulted in long line ups at the doors of newly published listings and the deliberate creation of bidding wars on new affordable listings in Ottawa.
The amount in my neighbourhood of Stittsville which is in the west most suburb of Ottawa has had less of the normal listing stock, in comparison to the past few year. Thank goodness for new home ...
Posted by Carol Jefferies
on October 8, 2009
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