9. March 2010 by Kari Calder.

Just a heads up that I will be listing a few new properties for sale in Saskatoon that are worth a mention. I have 2 condos for sale in Saskatoon coming up in the next week and 1 house for sale in Saskatoon coming up in about 2 weeks. If you are looking to buy a house in Saskatoon or a condo in Saskatoon give me a call!

Details to follow but as a preview:

2 bedroom apartment style condo for sale in Saskatoon in Lakewood (built in 2006) with 2 parking stalls coming up this week at $224,900.

3 bedroom 3 bathroom townhouse for sale in Arbor Creek (developed basement) with 2 parking stalls around $260,000

House built in 2008 in Stonebridge Saskatoon, 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom, fully developed yard,deck,fence,driveway, walkway etc for under $400,000.

Stay tuned! Real estate in Saskatoon is moving so if you are looking to list your house for sale in Saskatoon call me! It is all about getting the best price in the least amount of time to prevent market damage and I am a very active Saskatoon realtor (r) so I am happy to work for you! Don’t leave money on the table or deal with tire kickers, Saskatoon real estate agents bring qualified buyers to your property for sale in Saskatoon so that we aren’t wasting your time.

Kari Calder
Century 21 Conexus Realty Ltd Saskatoon
www.karicalder.com

Posted in Saskatchewan Real Estate, Saskatoon News, Saskatchewan, Saskatchewan News, Listings, Sellers, Saskatoon, Current Market, Buyers, Saskatoon Real Estate | No Comments »

18. February 2010 by Kari Calder.

Century 21 Conexus shines again in 2009. We have sold more houses in Canada than any other Century 21 firm since 1995 and since 2006 we have had the highest production in all of Canada. What does this mean? Century 21 Saskatoon realtors(r) are selling more houses than anywhere else in Canada and this hasn’t only been since the Saskatchewan real estate boom as we have been selling more houses in Saskatoon since 1995.

This year our awards gala will be held in Regina on April 6th and Century 21 Conexus Realty from Saskatoon, Regina, Prince Albert and Moose Jaw are the proud recipients of this award.

“It is with great dedication, knowledge and commitment to quality service that CENTURY 21 Conexus Realty Ltd. has so duly earned this recognition. Rod Spence and the CENTURY 21 Conexus Realty Ltd. team are innovators in the real estate industry and this has led this company’s success in the Saskatchewan community,” said Don Lawby, President of Century 21 Canada Limited Partnership. 

“I sincerely congratulate Rod Spence and the entire staff of CENTURY 21 Conexus Realty Ltd. for this well deserved achievement,” adds Lawby.

“CENTURY 21 Conexus Realty Ltd. along with its offices and sales people have received many awards but to achieve the TOP RANKED FIRM in Canada for the 4th consecutive year is an amazing accomplishment and certainly shows the strength of our organization”, says Rod Spence

If you are interested in learning more about Century 21 in Saskatoon or about Saskatoon real estate contact me.

Kari Calder
Century 21 Conexus Realty Ltd Saskatoon
653-8222 (offic)

Posted in Canada Real Estate, Canda Real Estate News, Saskatchewan Events, Saskatoon Events, Saskatoon, Saskatoon Real Estate | No Comments »

4. February 2010 by Kari Calder.

Every Tuesday morning Century 21 real estate agents in Saskatoon get together for our weekly sales meeting to go over recent sales data, recent trends in Saskatoon real estate and just get caught up to date in general on the happenings in the world of fellow realtors(r) in Saskatoon.

Amongst the data last week were the announcements of the awards for production in 2009. I am proud of my fellow Century 21 Real Estate Agents in Saskatoon as 70% of us have been recognized for sales achievements in 2009.

With the slowing of the global markets, 2009 was slower than 2007 and 2008 so it is great to see so many real estate agents with Century 21 in Saskatoon doing so well.

Awards are broken down into 7 categories; Masters Silver, Masters Ruby, Masters Emerald, Masters Diamond, Centurion, Double Centurion and Grand Centurion. I am excited to say that I was awarded the Century 21 Centurion award for the second year in a row. There are 9 of us from our company who achieved Centurion status. Only 1 agent in the company was awarded the Double Centurion and this year we didn’t have any Grand Centurions, but I am sure 2010 may see someone achieve this.

Century 21 agents are also recognized for their donations to charities such as Easter Seals Canada and our Saskatoon real estate agents in Century 21 have been the most generous in the country with fundraising efforts and personal donations. It is a great company with wonderful values and I am a proud Saskatoon Century 21 Realtor(r). We have a great family of agents, managers and support staff.

If you are looking to buy a house in Saskatoon or to sell your house or condo in Saskatoon contact me!

Kari Calder
Residential Real Estate Specialist
Saskatoon Century 21 Conexus
www.karicalder.com

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

Posted in Saskatoon News, Saskatchewan News, Canda Real Estate News, Sellers, Buyers, Saskatoon, News, Personal, Saskatoon Real Estate | No Comments »

4. February 2010 by Kari Calder.

I work with a lot of people who move to Canada and buy a house in Saskatoon or anywhere else and some of these Saskatoon home buyers are enamoured with our “free health care” as where they come from nothing is for free. I think the idea of it is wonderful, but in reality we have a lot of problems with it.

There was just an article in the Star Phoenix commented on finding efficiences in the Saskatchewan Health Region. They are scared that the level of service will go further down and that frightens me. Another Star Phoenix article today was all about safe patient care in Saskatchewan based on the fact that a doctor in my home town of Estevan is getting called into EMERGENCY to fill prescriptions because people can’t get into the doctors offices during the day. How ridiculous is that? These doctors are running low on sleep and energy and well being in general and then our lives are in their hands and it is dangerous and it is OUR fault for visiting the doctors for silly reasons because it is free. Even though Saskatoon has a lot more doctors I am sure it is still difficult for many of them.

The cost of free healthcare often costs people their lives in this province. As much as I appreciate and value our free healthcare policies, I do think something needs to change. Trimming the fat at the top does make some sense, but with the abuse of the system each doctor and emergency care worker sees I think there should be a ‘user fee’. Why not implement a small fee for each visit to the doctor (even $15 for non emergency visits, emergency visits would depend on the severity as people would then start to abuse the $15 policy, but obviously if someone is coming in with a broken arm or after a car accident no fee would apply as that IS an emergency-a cough is not!) I suggested this to an employee of the Commission on the Future of Health Care in Canada but do you think it was considered? No, because there are too many ‘administrative concerns’. I don’t know, how hard is it to take $15 at the doctors office upon checking in? We do it at every other health practioner, I am pretty confident the general public could be retrained.
If someone is in such bad financial woes then reimbursement should be a possibility, provided they aren’t spending that $15 on cigarettes and alcohol.
Buck up Saskatchewan and Canada in general! I’d rather pay $15 each time than have to wait a month for a crucial exam and possibly dying while I wait! I’m a self employed real estate agent in Saskatoon so I don’t have a health plan through Century 21 in Saskatoon (I could but I have a separate one) per se, but I wouldn’t mind paying.

What are your thoughts? Am I unreasonable?

Kari Calder
Century 21 Conexus Realty Ltd
Saskatoon, Sk
karicalder@sasktel.net

Posted in Saskatchewan News, Saskatchewan, Saskatoon News, News, Saskatoon | No Comments »

28. January 2010 by Kari Calder.

According to the Frontier Centre for Public Policy Saskatoon’s housing market has been deemed seriously unaffordable. We are at a rate of 4.6 (same as 2008) and that rate is on par with Calgary, Edmonton, Hamilton and Montreal.

How they figure this out is by taking the median house price in Saskatoon (the exact mid point between the highest and the lowest priced homes that sold in Saskatoon in the third quarter) and dividing it by the median annual gross income.  The rate means that, to pay of your home purchase in Saskatoon, it would take 4.6 years of your entire salary to pay off a typical Saskatoon home.

This had definitely changed since the Saskatoon real estate boom of 2007, but it has changed across the country. The rate for paying off your house in Saskatoon was 2.0 in 2006, then in 2007 it went up to 2.6, then 3.5 in 2008 and now 4.6 in 2009.

Buying a house in Regina and Winnipeg are the most affordable markets out of the major markets across Canada. Vancouver is the most expensive market out of the 28 measured in Canada but it is also topping the charts out of 272 metropolitan areas in Ireland, the U.K., New Zealand,  Australia, the U.S. and Canada. Victoria was also severely unaffordable at 7.4 but Ottawa is still moderately affordable with a reading of 3.8 up from 3.4 the previous year. I can help put you in touch with a realtor in Regina or any city if you are in need.

Affordability in Alberta homes has improved slightly; Calgary fell from 4.8 to 4.6 this year and Edmonton just slightly from 4.2 to 4.1. On the other side of the country Toronto went from 4.8 to 5.2. So ask yourself, would you rather live in Vancouver, Toronto or Saskatoon as the prices of homes for sale in Saskatoon is still more manageable, as is the commute time and the quality of life. If you are looking to buy a house or condo in Saskatoon contact me. I can set you up with a great Saskatoon mortgage broker or two to get you on your way.

These reports should be taken with a grain of salt however as any statistic should considering they aren’t looking at the entire picture of real estate in Saskatoon or anywhere else. They use limited data with small numbers which can easily be skewed.

Our market is trending towards being more of a sellers market so if you are looking to sell your house in Saskatoon contact me.

Kari Calder
Century 21 Conexus Realty Ltd
306-653-8222
karicalder@sasktel.net

Posted in Saskatchewan Real Estate, Saskatchewan, Canada Real Estate, Canda Real Estate News, Sellers, Buyers, Saskatoon, News, Current Market, Saskatoon Real Estate | No Comments »

27. January 2010 by Kari Calder.

If a house for sale in Saskatoon is priced right and within a certain price range, you may have to deal with multiple offers and you may have to offer above list price to get the house you want.

The Saskatoon real estate market has picked up and inventory is low in certain price ranges and areas. I have been told of a recent listing that received several offers within the first day. One of the offers that was $5000 above list price was the lowest of at least 4 offers that he knew of on a Saskatoon house for sale on the east side. If you are thinking of buying a house or condo for sale in Saskatoon you need to have a Saskatoon realtor (R) dedicated to helping you buy a house in Saskatoon and one who can react quickly.

That doesn’t mean we can go back to overpricing homes and hoping for the best…today’s home buyer in Saskatoon is more savvy than even 2 years ago and a lot more cautious, so when selling your house in Saskatoon you still need to be on the mark with your prices and remember that most serious buyers will be using the professional services of a Saskatoon Realtor(r). If you are looking to sell your house in Saskatoon then contact me for more information.

I genuinely hope that we don’t go back to every listing receiving multiple offers, but I believe a lot of that was driven by investors whereas now if a good solid home hits the Saskatoon MLS and it is priced right, there will be enough interest to generate several offers.

Kari Calder
Residential Real Estate Specialist
Century 21 Conexus Realty Ltd Saskatoon
http://www.karicalder.com/AboutMe/testimonials.html

Posted in Listings, Saskatchewan, Buyers, Current Market, Saskatoon, Saskatoon Real Estate | No Comments »

26. January 2010 by Kari Calder.

Abandoned cars, low visibility, out of hand snow piles…reminds us us of the infamous blizzard in Saskatoon in January of 2007.  From Friday afternoon until Monday morning there was 25 cms of snow dumped on the city.

Living in Stonebridgein Saskatoon has been a challenge as in my particular phase of Stonebridge it is so new and there is a lot of open space that the snow tends to drift right up to my front door! The city of Saskatoon has admitted in an article in the Star Phoenixthat some of the worst hit areas in the city are Stonebridge, Willowgrove and Hampton Village as we don’t have anything to stop the blowing of the snow into huge drifts.

The snow crews are apparently cleaning around the clock, yet it is still nearly impossible to show houses for sale in the residential areas of Saskatoon. Even downtown Saskatoon, which was supposed to be a priority Monday night, looked pretty messy today.

And move your car if youa re parked in a “Snow Route” as your car will be ticketed and then impounded as crews are trying to remove the snow this week. Around residential homes in Saskatoon parking is a challenge.

I have a few first time home buyers in Saskatoon who are anxious to get out and look at houses and condos for sale in Saskatoon but with the road issues right now we have had to wait, even with driving an SUV it is just too questionable if we are going to make it back out! There have been 53 accidents/collisions on the streets in 3 days so we need to slow down.

Posted in Saskatchewan News, Environment, Saskatoon News, Buyers, Saskatoon, Saskatoon Real Estate | No Comments »

18. December 2009 by Kari Calder.

I just read a heartbreaking story about a young man whose rental house in Saskatoon burned down last week. He was renting a house in Saskatoon’s west side and had rented that home for approximately 6 years.

As a real estate agent in Saskatoon who often helps people buy investment property in Saskatoon I always advise people who are renting that they need to get tenant insurance. This poor guy not only lost all of his belongings, which he wasn’t terribly worried about as that has been overshadowed by the loss of his 2 cats that were adopted from the SCAT Program of Saskatoon, but he didn’t have tenant insurance to replace what he lost. While you cannot replace a pet and the pain of losing one does fade, he will have 6 years of clothing, furniture, tvs, games, etc that will need to be replaced and he will be starting from scratch.

As Saskatoon often does, the community comes together and holds ‘Steak Nights’ and one will be held at Beileys night club on Tuesday night.

If you are buying investment houses in Saskatoon I highly recommend you obtain a copy of your tenants insurance and set yourself up on a reminder schedule to ensure that they keep up with the tenant insurance. It isn’t very costly but it will save your tenants a lot of heart ache and loss if something ever were to happen.

If you are a current landlord in Saskatoon or you are looking to purchase investment properties in Saskatoon you should set up a system for ensuring your tenants are properly insured.

If you are interested in finding investments in Saskatoon contact me and I will be happy to help!

Kari Calder
Residential Real Estate Specialist
Century 21 Conexus Realty Ltd
Saskatoon
www.karicalder.com
karicalder@sasktel.net

Posted in Saskatchewan News, Saskatoon News, Saskatoon, Saskatoon Real Estate | No Comments »

14. December 2009 by Kari Calder.

With the big chill set in winter has officially arrived in Saskatoon. Temperatures here today will climb to -26 with a windchill that makes it feel more like -43. Edmonton smashed cold records over the weekend with a low of -46.1 C.

That didn’t stop Saskatoon home buyers from looking to buy houses for sale Saskatoon. I was showing townhouses for sale in Saskatoon to 3 different first time home buyers in Sasktaoon, including 2 individuals who recently moved to Saskatoon from China.

Saskatoon is said to be the fastest growing city in Canada in 2010 and I can see why! All 3 buyers I showed townhouses for sale in Saskatoon with this weekend were relatively new to the city. I will be showing houses for sale in Warman and Martensville to another couple from Vancouver this week.

So if you are looking to buy a house for sale in Saskatoon or surrounding area, contact Kari for more information on the current market and to help make the process an easy one. I work in the warm and the cold!

Kari Calder
Residential Real Estate Specialist
Century 21 Conexus Realty Ltd. Saskatoon
www.karicalder.com

Posted in Saskatchewan News, Environment, Saskatchewan Real Estate, Buyers, News, Current Market, Saskatoon | No Comments »

18. November 2009 by Kari Calder.

The media is bringing up the possibility that Saskatchewan may be in a recession (the textbook variety) by the end of the year, so I figured I better address this as I know how the media grabs hold of negativity and so many doom and gloomers out there will be worried that the sky will fall in here after all of our positive media for the past couple of years. We have all known for months that the Potash in Saskatchewan hasn’t been as lucrative as years past. This is related to the world wide economic crisis which has effectively passed. Our potash industry will still feel a bump from that and our financials will take a hit, but does this mean the end for Saskatchewan? No.

The media has also said that the Saskatoon real estate market is amongst some of the slowest markets in Canada. I think every real estate agent in Saskatoon would beg to differ.

Remember to take the media with a grain of salt. That is all I will say!

The Saskatoon real estate market is starting to experience a turn from a balanced market to more of a sellers market as our listing numbers dip below 900 (approximately half of what we had on the market in 2008).

The current interest rates are still at 3.84% for a 5 year fixed term so it is still a great time for first time home buyers in Saskatoon to get out there and purchase!

Kari Calder
Residential Real Estate Specialist
Century 21 Conexus Realty Ltd.

Posted in Saskatchewan News, Saskatoon News, Current Market, Saskatoon Real Estate | No Comments »