Archive for November, 2008

Great Investment Opportunity In Oxbow Saskatchewan

Friday, November 28th, 2008

Kari Calder with Century 21 Saskatoon would like to mention that she is also helping to promote a small, but very nice, development in Oxbow, Saskatchewan. Why Oxbow you may ask? This small town approximately 30 minutes away from Estevan and close to the US and Manitoba border has seen many people moving in and nearby with the Bakken Oil find in that region, but they don’t have many houses for sale there and especially not many new houses.

The houses that we are building start at over 1300 square feet and go up over 1500 square feet for bungalows on 100×150 foot lots. These lots come with restrictions, so when purchasing a house in Oxbow, Saskatchewan you have the guarantee that there will not be a trailer plopped down next to you. Not all developments come with restrictions, so with this you know your property value will not go down due to poor planning. There are very few lots available and this development has been sold out. The developer will be building 5 houses here for buyers to choose from with 2 ready to move in to right now and a third expected very shortly.

To visit additional information on this development please visit: www.oxbowrealestate.com

Real estate in Saskatchewan is still quite strong in general with many people moving into the province as we still have jobs to fill. There are a lot of houses listed in Saskatchewan currently and buyers seem to be holding off for prices to drop further, however there are still people moving here that need good solid houses in Saskatchewan, so we are offering a good solid investment in South East Saskatchewan in the heart of the Bakken Oil find.

We expect that in the next 2-3 years Oxbow will be booming once the price of oil goes back up, so this is a great chance to get in for a good price. Recently a trailer just sold for over $200,000 here and these houses are starting at only $250,000 for a good solid home and a huge lot where you can store all of your toys and build a shop or your dream garage.

So for all of your Saskatoon real estate needs and any of your Saskatchewan real estate needs, call or email me and I will be happy to help.

Kari Calder
Saskatoon Real Estate Agent
Century 21 Conexus Realty Ltd.

Saskatchewan’s Doom and Gloom Mentality

Friday, November 28th, 2008

One of the things I have heard a lot of since moving back to Saskatchewan is that we are not a ‘have’ province and that other provinces are better than us. Even in Saskatchewan Real Estate, before the absolute house pricing peak we had in the spring of 2008, I heard of people ‘waiting for the market to crash’ and ‘waiting for the prices to drop by 50%’ and come back to the pre-boom Saskatchewan house prices. I tried to educate people about our market and our province and our economy, but the fact of the matter is some people just like the doom and gloom and it makes them feel better if they waited to buy a home in Saskatoon and have now found that they cannot get started in the market. Many people have convinced themselves that, if they wait long enough to buy a house in Saskatoon, they will get a 50% discount. They tend to forget that our province has come leaps and bounds and is recognized world wide for our strength in commodities.

I have a hard time understanding how an entire province can be brainwashed to believe that we are not as good as other provinces in our country when the facts are there and the proof is evident. As John Gormley told his audience on October 21, 2008, maybe this is because “when things were good, it was always ‘keep your expectations low’ under the NDP”. As he says, the prevailing psychology is that this is all going to end soon. We true Saskatchewanians, even though most of us haven’t lived through a depression or the dirty thirties, still have heard of gopher stew. This mentality has bred a deep cautiousness in our bones, which may not be a bad thing.

The Premier knows it, so his tax cuts and expenditures come with an insurance plan: nearly $2 Billion for the Growth and Financial Security Fund, promising to keep the government in the black should commodities go further down.

The tax cuts that are going to be in place are calculated to target lower income earners.

Having earned the ‘have’ status in 2006, Saskatchewan has done some things right such as overturning the 16 year NDP reign for a more business friendly Saskatchewan Party. Workers are finally moving in from other provinces and countries instead of moving out. We still have a ways to go to matching Alberta’s lower flat tax, property tax, and lack of provincial sales tax, but we are gaining quickly.

Kari Calder
Saskatoon Real Estate Agent
Century 21 Conexus Realty Ltd.

Province Reintroduces Mineral Exploration Tax Credit

Friday, November 28th, 2008

Thanks to the reintroduction of the Saskatchewan Mineral Exploration Tax Credit program we are more attractive than ever! A news release from November 13, 2008 has announced that the program is estimated to cost $2 Million annually but the expectation for mineral exploration spending in Saskatchewan should top $360 Million in 2008. This is a great way to keep that momentum going in the global economic crisis.

What is it? The provincial program offers a non-refundable 10% tax credit to Saskatchewan taxpayers who invest in eligible flow-through shares issued by mining or exploration companies after April 1, 2008. This was a election promise of our government and this tax credit reflects our commitment to encouraging investment in exploration, and in long-term, sustainable development of our rich mineral resources.

Kari Calder
Saskatoon Real Estate Agent
Century 21 Conexus Realty Ltd.

Canadian Recession

Friday, November 28th, 2008

The newest announcement that approximately 100,000 people in Canada will lose their jobs due to the global economic condition is frightening to say the least. The good news for Saskatchewan? In most recent reviews of economic information showed that Saskatchewan workers enjoyed income increases that exceeded the provincial rate of inflation by 4.4%, but despite this growth, our average earnings are still approximately 5% below the national average which makes the province very attractive to do business. Finance Minister Rod Gantefour states that “Economic momentum shows no sign of slowing in Saskatchewan and our government is working to ensure all Saskatchewan people benefit from our growing economy”. With being hailed as the ‘sold province whose economic growth rate in 2008 will exceed that of last year’ the Saskatchewan economy is a bit of a beacon of hope to worried Canadians looking for an economic haven, and maybe a job. This means that in Saskatchewan real estate, despite the over abundance of listings, there may be many people starting to snap them up as they come here looking for work.

According to a National Post article published in late October, even with commodity prices looking dire, TD’s senior economist Derek Burleton figured Saskatchewan has sufficiently diverse resources-from oil and gas to potash and uranium-that will weather the slumpage better than its more narrowly focused Western neighbours. Our more pressing concern may be the tens of thousands of vacant jobs, just waiting to be filled by a wave of economic refugees from Canada’s increasingly depressed regions.

Kari Calder
Saskatoon Real Estate Agent
Century 21 Conexus Ltd.

The Economy in Saskatchewan

Friday, November 28th, 2008

Despite the global market conditions and the lack of economic stability in much of Canada, Saskatchewan seems to be a strong leader and has shown this through the mid year financial report that shows a surplus of $2.3 billion and debt has been reduced this year by 40% to over $4 billion.

With the threat of recession everywhere, Finance Minister, Rod Gantefour, remains cautiously optimistic as oil has weakened and our economy is commodity driven.

While our economy used to be associated primarily with agriculture, we are now associated with potash, gold, uranium, nuclear energy, diamonds, oil, and the list goes on. We are finally a ‘have’ province and Saskatchewan continues to outpace other provinces on key economic indicators. What does this mean? More people are still being drawn to our province. The Saskatoon real estate market has appeared to slow down and also appears to have gone down in price, however there are still many people buying houses in Saskatoon.

For more information on this please feel free to contact me anytime.

Kari Calder
Saskatoon Real Estate Agent
Century 21 Conexus Realty Ltd.