Archive for the ‘Saskatoon’ Category

Got Paint?

Friday, March 21st, 2008

I visit a lot of homes in the Saskatoon and surrounding area and one thing that I notice very regularly is that a lot of home owners have paint cans sitting in their basement, garage or some other corner of their home.  We as home owners collect paint on regular basis whether it’s doing renovations or just creating a new project.  Painting definitely is part of owning a home.  Paint is one of those things that people just don’t know what to do with.  You know you can’t toss it away in the garbage or dump it in the sewer so usually paint cans tend to pile up.  I know for myself I have probably 5 or 6 half full paint cans that I will never use again and until recently didn’t know what to do with them.  Sarcan in conjunction with the Product Care Association now provide a way for you to recycle your paint.  Household paint can now be dropped off at over 70 recycling locations across Saskatchewan without charge.  The collected paint is then reused, recycled into other products or used for its energy value.  Every Sarcan depot also maintains a supply of leftover paint for reuse, which is available to the public without charge.  Below is a list of the types of paint they will accept:

  • Interior & Exterior – latex, acrylic, water-based, alkyd, enamel and oil-based paints.
  • Varnishes & urethanes
  • Stains
  • Barn, fence & porch paints
  • Concrete paints
  • Deck & floor paints (including Elastomeric)
  • Drywall paints
  • Primers
  • Undercoats
  • Driveway (non-tar based) paints & sealers
  • Block fillers
  • Stain blocking paints
  • Shellac
  • Wood finishing oils & stains
  • Rust paint
  • Stucco paint
  • Paints for metal
  • Wood & masonry water repellants
  • Marine paint (containing no pesticides)
  • Non-catalyzed & non-nitrocellulose laquers.
  • Aerosol paint cans up to 600g

Be sure to visit the Sarcan and Product Care websites to find out restrictions on what they will not accept and for further information on their recycling programs.

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

New Fire Station For Saskatoon East Side

Tuesday, March 18th, 2008

For those people who currently own real estate or are looking to purchase real estate on Saskatoon’s east side you will be happy to know that the city of Saskatoon have approved a new fire station to be built on the cornerof Herold and Slimmon Roads in Lakewood.  The total cost of the project is estimated to be $5.4 million.  The construction of the new fire hall is planned to start in 2009 with a completion of that year.  The new fire station is intended to provide fire response within four minutes to East College Park, Briarwood, Lakeridge and Rosewood which is a new area the city of Saskatoon is currently planning.  For more information on this story visit the Star Phoenix.

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

Saskatoon 2008 HomeStyles Homeshow Review

Sunday, March 16th, 2008

I am happy to say that this years Saskatoon & Region Home Builders’ Association 2008 HomeStyles Homeshow was a great follow up to last years.  I attended the show on Saturday in the mid-afternoon and at that time the parking lot was near capacity and the home show itself was bustling with activity.  I was happy to see a good mixture of returning exhibitors and new ones.  I was able to listen to Jim Caruk who was a guest speaker and is the host of the television show, Real Renos on HGTV.  For myself I am always interested in seeing some of the new building materials including flooring, fixtures, bathrooms, cabinets, countertops, etc.  You can get some great renovation ideas for your Saskatoon home by attending these booths and asking questions.  I found everyone to be extremely friendly and helpful.  I am very interested in hearing your thoughts of this years home show and anyways that you think they could have improved it. 

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

2008 Saskatoon HomeStyles HomeShow

Wednesday, March 5th, 2008

On Thursday March 13th, 2008 until Sunday Mach 16th, 2008 the Saskatoon & Region Home Builders’ Association will be presenting the 2008 Saskatoon HomeStyles Homeshow.  Personally I attended the 2007 Home Show and can say that for anyone that has an interest in homes, Saskatoon real estate, construction or even the latest products to maintain your home this show is a must attend event.  In 2007 there were approximately 35,000 people that attended the show.  This year there is a great line of up of guest speakers along with a good combination of new exhibitors and repeat ones from 2007.  The show should be a great success so I encourage you to go out and visit it.  If you are thinking about buying or selling a home in Saskatoon or the surrounding area this show may give you some great ideas on how to spruce up your current or future home!

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

Saskatoon Parking Rates To Increase

Sunday, March 2nd, 2008

The city of Saskatoon is currently evaluating at increasing parking an additional .50 cents an hour.  This would double the current rate and generate an estimated additional $1.3 million dollars of revenue for the city.  The city of Saskatoon is going through a major change.  Our city is experiencing a huge growth phase which can be seen in many different areas.  The Saskatoon real estate market is the hottest market in Canada.  The Saskatoon unemployment rate is at the lowest it has ever been.  All of this means that our city is growing and as a result the cost of living will go up.  Parking is one of the many things us as residents of Saskatoon will start seeing.  Even though Saskatoon is one of the fastest growing cities in Canada we are still pretty fortunate as our real estate market is still affordable compared to cities like Calgary and Vancouver.  To give you an idea parking in Vancouver is $2.00 an hour in most places but can be as much as $2.00 for 30 minutes in some places.  When you look at other large cities we are still doing okay!

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

Saskatoon Condo Conversion Update

Sunday, March 2nd, 2008

With the increase demand for real estate many owners of apartment buildings and rental property are currently looking to cash in and convert their properties into condos.  The topic of Saskatoon condo conversions has been a controversial topic in Saskatoon over the past year.  In August 2007 this issue was presented to the City of Saskatoon who rejected the ban on condo conversions.  According to the people who brought forward the proposal to ban condo conversions in Saskatoon, the people most affected are students, elderly and low income families.  The city indicated they would keep a close eye on this issue and deal with it as it moved forward.  A city councilor named Charlie Clark indicated when speaking to a crowd on February 28, 2008 that the owners of eight per cent of rental properties in Saskatoon are looking to convert them into condos.  Many people that normally wouldn’t have thought about purchasing a property are now looking into it.  In many cases purchasing a condo in Saskatoon can in fact be cheaper than your monthly rent.  There are a lot of additional benefits of purchasing real estate in Saskatoon than just saving money on your rent.  If you are interested in looking to get into the Saskatoon real estate market feel free to contact me for additional information.

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

Students React To Lack Of Saskatoon Cheap Housing

Friday, February 29th, 2008

Unless you have been living under a rock you are well aware of the booming Saskatoon real estate market.  On Thursday, March 28 a group of students from the University of Saskatchewan took a creative approach to bring awareness to the lack of cheap housing available for students in the city.  The students built an igloo on the University of Saskatchewan campus indicating that if the Saskatoon real estate market continues on its current path, that this will be what students will have to resort to.  One student volunteered to spend the night in the igloo but referred to the experience as “Yeah, last night was absolute crap.”  This is the second time a group of students have done something similar.  In the fall a group of students spent the weekend in tents trying to bring awareness to the issue.  The community of Saskatoon responded with offering over 300 rooms to students.  With the current real estate market continuing to increase this will continue to be an issue for students. 

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

Saskatchewan Population Growth!

Tuesday, January 22nd, 2008

It is no surprise that our Saskatoon Real Estate market has seen a 50% jump from 2006 when you look at the statistics of population in our province.

Average house prices have risen from $165,000 to over $250,000 which is a 51% increase.

The Saskatoon real estate market was directly impacted by the influx of over 15,000 people in the past year. This finally puts our province above the 1 million mark. You can check out more stats about Saskatchewan at http://www.stats.gov.sk.ca/.

Saskatchewan’s real estate market took a big jump across the province this year and almost every city and town felt the market go up. People who wanted to buy a nice house in Saskatoon for a good price decided to go to Warman, Martensville and other surrounding towns as they simply could get more bang for their buck in these communities. Due to the demand and the small town feeling next to a big city (big by OUR standards of course!) the prices also started jumping in the surrounding communities.

Saskatoon real estate has finally caught up to some of our neighbouring provinces and the demand for buying houses in Saskatoon has not stopped. One of the reasons there are not a lot of homes for sale in Saskatoon right now is because of the lull over the holidays. The buyer’s market did not slow down as there were plenty of people buying homes in Saskatoon over the holiday season, but the inventory of homes for sale in Saskatoon didn’t keep up.

We do not have enough good labourers in this province to keep up with the demand of new homes to be built.

Houses for sale in Saskatoon seem to be dwindling after the Christmas market as people were here buying but not many people were putting their homes in Saskatoon for sale.

Whether you are looking at buying or selling a house in Saskatoon or the surrounding area feel free to contact me at anytime for further information.

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

Remember The Snow Storm?

Thursday, January 10th, 2008

If you have been living in Saskatoon for more than a year I am sure you know the snow storm I am referring to.  On January 10, 2007 the city of Saskatoon was shut down by a massive snow storm.  For those of us who live in Saskatoon and are from Saskatchewan, we tend to pride ourselves in our ability to work through any sort of winter especially when we see cities like Vancouver being shut down with 1cm of snow.  The snow storm we experienced was unlike anything I have ever seen since living in Saskatoon.  I have found it very interesting that people still discuss that storm and what they were doing.  Luckily that day I was working from home.  Many of my friends, however, had to battle through the weather to try and get home.  In some cases people were stuck in traffic for 4 hours and others never made it home from work and stayed until late in the night until the weather broke.  Driving throughout the city the next day was like a scene out of the movie “Day After Tomorrow”.  Many Saskatoon houses were completely buried.  Cars were deserted on the side of the road and in some cases were completely buried in snow.  So where were you and what were you doing during the Saskatoon snow storm of 2007?

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

Saskatoon Vacancy Rates at an All Time Recorded Low

Tuesday, December 18th, 2007

I think we all have heard about the condo conversions taking hold of our city, but the annual survey by the CMHC (Canada Housing and Mortgage Corp) has proven that our Saskatoon vacancy rate has fallen to an all time low with a 1.2% apartment vacancy rate. But, despite all that you hear about the rental increases, the average monthly rent for a 2 bedroom apartment in Saskatoon is just under $700; up only $85 per month since last year. The north end of Saskatoon as well as Nutana are both almost at 0% vacancy.

One of the reasons behind this is the booming housing market in Saskatoon we have been experiencing. Unfortunately it is harder for first time home buyers to get started in the Saskatoon Real Estate market now that prices have gone up, but there are still many options to get people started in the market. Just talk to a Saskatoon Realtor ® about how you can get started (and feel free to contact me!). Real estate in Saskatoon is still attainable for many people if you talk to the right professionals about how.

One of the ways of combating this low vacancy rate and increased housing costs in Saskatoon has been to build suites in homes to help pay the mortgage. This benefits both the home owners as well as the thousands affected by the rental shortage.

We hope that the new government will address the issue as if they do not, we will see a huge problem in Saskatchewan very quickly.

Any opinions out there? Please give me your points of view on this topic and how it can be addressed. As a real estate agent in Saskatoon I see every side of the topic and it is nice to get opinions from real people out there. Thanks!

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