When you think of the Real Estate Market - its not always bright.  The economy, what the dollar is worth and interest rates all factor in. LOTS in Airdrie, Alberta really do range in price.  Starting at $147,900 to over $220,00.00 for a residential lot for a single family home. I haven't seen the land value go down significantly - I'm still amazed at what some developers are charging.  We have some high end homes under construction in Airdrie - where prices start at $600,000.00 and go up. Some areas start at $700,000.00 before you even add all the bells and whistles to the home. Finding good value now and for the future - will have a big impact on your wallet.  As a local Realtor, I'm always working with two hats on.  One hat looks for value today in our current market and the other hat... 01/10/2011

Thinking of giving back this Holiday Season - I wondered what could I possibly do? I've been blessed with so much, and with wonderful clients - I listened to my heart. Recently I sponsored a puppy with the Alberta Guide Dog Servies - the thought of helping someone in need of a guide dog, and knowing the puppy will have its needs taken care. http://www.bcguidedog.com/index.html                (both Alberta & BC are linked - click on the Alberta side) In reflection of the last few days leading up to Christmas, parcels are sent, food preparations are underway - I think about how grateful I am.  To the Calgary Drop-In Centre - making a wish for someone come true. Barb # Eo070858 will get a gift from me. To the Airdrie & District Victim Serives - I hope we made a bit of a difference. And The... 12/20/2010

If you're like many of my clients, you have a wish list of things you'd like to accomplish in the next year.  That's what makes January exciting.  You know you have the whole year ahead of you, more than 5,500 waking hours, to accomplish your goals! If  I can help with any of these goals or plans in the remainder of this year or in 2011, give me a call.  In the meantime, I'll be rooting for you!  Bill Jones - Century 21, Castlewood Agencies - 403-701-1739 12/16/2010

Ever wonder what REALTORs do when they actually have spare time?  First of all spare time is time that we are not working with clients which often can be 12 hours a day during the busy times.  However, most take time out to help make a difference in the community providing assistance to the needy or donating time to community groups or activities. Then there is the planning of civic events and being involved with the various charitable causes not to mention parades, rodeos and the like.     Yes, Realtors contribute to the community far more than most realize, they are often involved in the community in the behind the scenes functions, fund raising, committee work etc.  Never forget your Realtors provide far more than the day to day service of Real Estate.     when you get the Christmas... 12/14/2010

Have you been elfed?  Changed into a prancing Reindeer - with all the applications out there you can pretty much do anything to your photo or anyone elses for that matter. Okay, so I have to admit I do tend to have some fun with these applications.  Just look at my photo.  I think the earrings are a bit too much but they match the hat. Happy Holidays - and may 2011 be full of Sugarplums and many "SOLD" listings cool Free site to add hats etc.  www.picnik.com   12/14/2010

Considering the new wave of online "OPEN HOUSES" I made the purchase of a new MINOHD Flip Video Camera.  Easy to use - my 13 year old is my camera man.  Upload the video to Youtube or Facebook and voila.  YOU HAVE your "OPEN HOUSE" for potential buyers to see. You can link it to Twitter, and go beyond just the Youtube base exposure.  You don't have to be in front of the camera, just narrate - I like the idea of introducing people to the home and walking in.  Makes it more personal.  Give it a shot. What a great CHRISTMAS gift, and NEW innovated idea for your listings. Keep it short and simple - and have fun. 12/10/2010

A client of mine who is a teacher, was telling me the other day about a FREE Web App that can be used by Children or Adults to create Word Art.   Hmmm, Word Art is that something embedded into MS-Word?  Nope, its a fun way to create a bunch of words about you or your Family or the Classroom or Business or pretty much anything and it's kinda fun even though I'm a bit past school age. You may have seen this sort of Art before but ever thought of using it yourself well here;s an example of what I created in just a few minutes.    Here's what they have to say about Wordle on their site: "Wordle is a toy for generating “word clouds” from text that you provide. The clouds give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text. You can tweak your clouds with different ... 11/25/2010

Do you tell your sellers what you spend per month on your advertising? I recently did a comparison on this cost per month.  DID YOU KNOW, that the average per month in print ad costs are around $700.00 per month for the average REAL ESTATE AGENT. Mind you this is in a smaller population based city (40,000)  But that's still a fair chunk of change per month for a single agent with NO assistant or partners.   Now I'm basing this on a $95K per year gross income. I had a conversation with a marketing/advertising person the other day.  She mentioned that alternating weeks - goes unnoticed by the public.  They don't even miss you not being there - interesting? I've seen big companies do alternating weeks in recent television ads, and on radio spots.  Spreading their advertising dollars furthe... 11/24/2010

Having just received the ipad, its still something new to play with.  A bit addicting - but I have managed to put it down and do other things. Now, since our MLS system here in Canada and our Realtor Site is all Microsoft based, I wondered how can I access it on my ipad? So with a little research and checking out You Tube, plus a few Starbuck coffee's.    I DID IT. Some apps you will need to download for Microsoft and PDF documents. LogMeIn - which allows you to remotely access your PC desktop at home.  (basically you can see your computer desktop as if you were sitting in front of it)  Noterize - which allows you to download PDF documents (ie:  Listing & Purchase contracts)  You can also edit them :)  (I will get the ipad pen so folks can sign them too) Dropbox - which allows you to sa... 11/23/2010

You don't have to FREAK out when it comes to video cameras.  The latest trend seems to be everyone is video journalling or video taping themselves while driving offering snippets of Real Estate tips. It doesn't have to be that hard, or heck don't follow what everyone else is doing.  I like to be a trend setter not a follower if I can help it. Look at all the Music Artist's trying to ride Lady Gaga's coat tails.  There is only ONE Lady Gaga.  BUT if you want to think outside the box and have a bit of fun while doing it?  Go buy a inexpensive FLIP VIDEO CAMERA. Easy to use, and download to your YOU TUBE account or Facebook. Do a Video OPEN HOUSE on your listings, maybe do a small 2 minute or less introduction of yourself, or if that freaks you out.  Do a video on the city or community yo... 11/22/2010

Well, winter has hit now in the North Country Fair, but before it hit the October sales stats show a decrease in the price of homes that are selling.  The seasonal sales curve indicates that we should see an increase in the number of home sales in October, however, this has not proven to be fact.  This year we seem to be approaching our slow sales period of Nov 15th to Jan 15th a little earlier than usual. September offered up 47 sales, 12 more than achieved by Octobers ( 39 sales). While sales numbers units are down, the time on market has changed positively from Septembers 77 Days to Octobers 66 days, this likely attributable to the decrease in home pricing during October down by an average $32,000 dollars from September. You may notice from the numbers below,  Airdrie homes sellers a... 11/18/2010

  Exposing yourself out there in the world of the Internet, I believe is key for today's Real Estate Business. Keeping it business is also a huge element that cannot be overlooked.  Don't put it on the Internet if its not appropriate.  Can you just imagine the kids today applying for a job in the future and what they put on the internet today will effect them tomorrow.  Believe me they will get searched - any if anything isn't to par, bye bye job. I have exposed myself on the Internet for years for my Real Estate Business.  I blog, I have several websites, and social media outlets.  I enjoy this, and spend time working at this - however I don't spend endless hours at it either.  I'm in the middle.  Most Realtors don't even start.  If I can offer a word of advice.  Start slow, ACTIVE RA... 11/18/2010

I don't know about you but over the last several years - on a daily basis I get emails from supposed Real Estate Guru's offering their help: -In a down market - In an up market - Attract more buyers or Sellers - FSBO or Expired Listings Help The last one I received was "don't chase sellers" have them come to you.  100% of my business comes from clients calling me.  I don't beg for business or cut my commissions for business. (so this guys says) Interesting - another stream of business - selling your GURU information to Real Estate Agents.  Makes sense as long as they give you something even if its common sense material.  BUT DID you know that most of this information can be found for FREE, plus 9 times out of 10 offered by your Brokerage.  JUST ask.  I like the idea of a passive stream ... 11/15/2010

Well its officially open for Business - Our BRAND NEW AIRDRIE COSTCO After the Grand Opening Weekend - I finally ventured over to see what the NEW store was all about. Greeted by friendly staff, getting my membership card and photo in no time flat.  I breezed on into a shoppers paradise. Large screen televisions all playing a current fun movie, made me want to grab a chair - grab some popcorn and settle in - of course I think they may have NOT wanted me to. From batteries to the latest gadget - what more could a person want.  The store was dare I say it, not that busy - perfect timing around 11am.  Filling up my shopping cart was easy to do, and I think I have enough toilet paper to last 6 months.  Of course the multi-pack fresh cookies won't last more than a day or two with my crew at ... 10/27/2010

I was just reading a Blog from an agent on Activerain.  Where she bent over backwards to help find a first time home buyer a home.  She negotiated a great price, had the seller cover closing costs, plus gave some of her commission back to them.  ( they even had some furniture thrown in the deal from the seller) OMG, then at the end of the transaction - they had the NERVE to ask for a Closing Gift?!@# (she already gave them $1162.00 plus !!!) Time and Time again - we cough up our hard earn commission, or more for the sake of making it work for the buyer or seller. Where is the APPRECIATION for all that a REALTOR® does? DID YOU KNOW - that an average 60 day listing COSTS OUT OF POCKET $1000 to $1500 DID YOU KNOW - to put that sign in your yard COSTS $30 to $50 DID YOU KNOW - to advertise... 10/27/2010

Keep this Halloween a Happy Halloween!   Halloween safety is easily overlooked with all the activity, fun and merriment, lets look at a few things you can do to keep this Halloween safe for your family, friends and neighbors. 1. There will be lots of Ghosts and Goblins coming up your path and maybe cutting across the lawn, so start by picking up garden rubble suck as branches , leaves etc, (leaves can actually get slippery if they Re moist), hoses and extent ion cords may be a hazard either pick them up or run them very close to walls, so they don't form a trip hazard. let's not forget garden tools like rakes and shovels. 2. Light you pathways, make it easier to navigate the way to your door for those little rascals already tripping over costumes. 3. Put away your Garden gnomes and repl... 10/25/2010

As a local REALTOR I've had the pleasure to work with many local home builders over the past years. Basically, that's how I got my start in the REAL ESTATE business.  I worked as an assistant in a show home and then to an Area Manager. Having my REAL ESTATE license benefitted my clients (one stop shopping) and myself. It kept me on my toes and in the loop on both sides of home selling.  (*clients love the fact that you're  the full meal deal - you've built trust and reliabiltiy) Currently I have 2 listings on BRAND NEW townhouses in Airdrie.  In the community of Williamstown in Airdrie.  * I got these by selling other VESTA Properties to my clients over the last few years.  The Builder called me to list their properties.  The benefits are great, they get more advertising and marketing f... 10/15/2010

Well I found another way to show off my listings. Easy to use and impressed the heck out of me.  NO I'm not a computer geek AT all.  Check it out - Let me know what you think.  TRY IT   http://animoto.com/play/kfQ1dnRAcNzuevTsL6rOaw   I'm not a computer geek - but its easy to use 10/14/2010

During this transition, your current Facebook Marketplace listings in Houses will remain on Facebook Marketplace until they expire. As of October 20, you can continue to post multiple listings at the following rates: · Unlimited listings for $500/month; • Tiered Packages for independent agents available  FACEBOOK MARKETPLACE wants to start charging REALTORS to use MARKETPLACE for their listings. Although only a fraction of marketing I do, BUT Seriously....what NEXT.  Feeling sort of like a "CASH COW" for BUSINESS TO Rape and Plunder...my hard earned money.... LATELY all "SALES GURU'S" are saying to be "CUSTOMER CENTRIC" - what CAN YOU Do for me the customer? RIGHT NOW AS A REAL ESTATE AGENT WE ARE CHARGED FOR EVERYTHING WE DO - WE  ARE  THE  ONLY BUSINESS THAT I CAN THINK OF THAT PAYS U... 10/14/2010

Here we are in the Fall Market, Sales during the month of September have shown their typical rebound from July and August indicating a resurgents in the seasonal sales market.  While sales are up from the summer which is expected, sales are also up from the 2009 statistics.  This improvement seems to signify that we are on the road to recovery in Airdrie, which is also true of the overall Alberta real estate market.  You may notice from the numbers below, Airdrie Sellers have been getting on average 97% of list price for most of the year which indicates that even though Buyers are coming in with low ball offers, between $20k and $30K below  list that sellers are not losing to Low-Ballers and the sellers Realtors are doing a great job for their Clients.   Average Asking Price Average Sol... 10/12/2010