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Ultimate Waterfront Open House - Saturday, May 26th 1-3pm

Join us for an exclusive open house at 422 Hillcrest in the 1000 Islands just west of Brockville. This one of kind property boasts 2.77acres of St. Lawrence waterfront in a sheltred bay. Watch the big ships go by and enjoy swim-able, boat-able waterfront. 1000' of secure dockage with power, boat ramp, marine railway, floating dock, 3+1 bedroom home with spectatular views, and more.

Open house Saturday, May 26th 1-3pm.  401 west, exit Hwy 2 east, follow to right on Hillcrest.

See yout there!

Open House in Queenswood Heights on Sunday

April 2012
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Queenswood Heights, Orléans  -  We invite everyone to visit our open house at 1495 Bourcier Drive on April 29 from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM.

Property information

Open House in Pakenham on Sunday

April 2012
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Pakenham, Mississippi Mills  -  We invite everyone to visit our open house at 130 Davison Crescent on April 29 from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM.

Property information

Summers coming, explore the waterfront options now!

Warm spring weather turns our thoughts to the cottage and waterfront property.  We have 2 new waterfront listings!

1579 Flower Station Rd on the shores or Flower Lake in the lovely Lanark Highlands:  www.1579flowerstation.com

422 Hillcrest in the Thousand Island less than 1-hour from Ottawa. This stunning, one of a kind waterfront features over 1000' of waterfront, 350' of secure, sheltered dockage and more: www.422hillcrest.com

Check out the options, we'd be happy arrange for a close look.

Visit Century 21 Explorer at the Ottawa Big Backyard and Cottage Show

Join us April 13, 14, 15 at the new CE Centre for Ottawa’s Big Backyard and Cottage show.  This event is packed full of great exhibitors, sessions, and vendors.  Stop by booth #519 to see us and enter our unique ‘this event only’ draw.  Our team will be on hand to discuss you cottage, recreational, waterfront, and land needs. Plus, we’ll make it one stop shopping with a residential team on hand too. Show hours are Friday 12-9, Saturday 10-6, and Sunday 10-5.  We have a small selection of entry passes available on a first come, first served basis. 

Don’t forget to mark your calendar and see us at the Show!

5 Steps to Preparing Your Home for Sale

The warming weather starts a traditional cycle of the spring real estate market. If you are thinking of selling here are few steps to getting your property in tip top shape...

Stage 1 – Cleaning:
Get out your rubber gloves, bucket and brooms! Now’s the time to give your home a complete cleaning from top to bottom. Dust and vacuum all rooms, scrub the floors, walls and windows. Don’t forget to wipe the baseboards, and clean the kitchen cupboards. Bathrooms need scrubbing too, with special attention paid to grout and caulking. Done inside? Move to the outside, and garage. A clean home is more inviting to potential buyers.

Stage 2 – De-Cluttering and De-Personalizing:
It’s time to put everything away. For most home owners that means putting away at least ½ of the items on display. This includes bookcases, shelves, tops of cabinets, desks, counters, tables and more. Don’t forget about the pictures on the wall, less is usually more. Closets will need thinning out as well.

Stage 3 – Minor Repairs: Still need to fix the door trim? Now’s the time. Complete any minor repairs of fix-ups that need finishing. This could include touch up paint on the baseboards, fixing a broken tile in the bathroom, or replacing the washer on that leaky faucet. Broken or unfinished items will detract from your home’s beauty and appeal.

Stage 4 – Rooms in Real Time: Using the dining room as an office or the family room as a bedroom? Buyers have difficulty visualizing rooms in alternate uses. It’s time to put the table and chairs back in the dining room!

Stage 5 – Staging: Just like in the theatre we need to set the stage. Clean functional rooms, with proper furniture placement are more pleasing. Fresh flowers or a table set for an elegant dinner make buyers feel at home. Long, clean kitchen counters mean lots of room to create wonderful dinners. Fresh towels and pretty soaps in the bath create a relaxing environment to escape everyday stress.

Updating and Upgrades: On occasion larger updating or upgrading projects may be suggested or undertaken. These include painting, replacing worn flooring, changing lighting, etc. Upgrades of this nature are designed to maximize the value of the property, and to make the home more competitive on the housing market.

Copyright 2012 Margaret Burniston, Broker, Century 21 Explorer Realty Inc. All rights reserved.

Open House in Stittsville South on Sunday

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Stittsville South, Stittsville  -  We invite everyone to visit our open house at 328 Liard on February 19 from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM.

Property information

Open House in Stittsville South on Saturday

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Stittsville South, Stittsville  -  We invite everyone to visit our open house at 328 Liard on February 11 from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM.

Property information

New Business Added

Many of my clients recommend businesses and suppliers that have done a great job.  This is recent recommendation from a long time client who needed repair work on a refrigerator. Mike, the technician, did a great job, quickly for a great rate.

Stittsville Appliance Repair
Mike Wilson
613-229-4297

Note: Although I believe that these businesses will meet or exceed your expectations, please qualify each provider before using their service.

For more suppliers, businesses and resources see my complete Business Directory:
http://www.mybusinessdirectoryonline.com/Home.aspx/MargaretBurniston14144

Canadian Real Estate Edges Higher in December

Take a peak inside the national real estate market with the latest from the Canadian Real Estate Associates:

http://creastats.crea.ca/natl/?emc=lm&m=68821&l=2&v=1367696

Bank of Canada holds the rate...again
Check out the details from Property Wire: http://bit.ly/wwoNUQ
2 Story For Sale in Stittsville South

328 Liard Front
Overlooking Woodlands

• 3 bath, 3 bdrm 2 story "Spacious and Bright" - MLS® $374,900 CAD - New Price!

 -  Wonderful three bedroom family home backing on to woodlands. Great floor plan with main floor family room, eat-in kitchen with granite counter tops and tile flooring. Master suite has walk-in closet and renovated ensuite. Finished lower level features oversized playroom plus den and lots of storage area. Amazing backyard featuring large two-level deck and shed. Many upgrades including new windows, 4-piece master ensuite and powder room. Close to schools, shopping and recreation. 328liardottawa.com

Property information

2011 remains steady in Ottawa.

The Ottawa housing market remains steady.  See the latest report from the Ottawa Real Estate Board:

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 five-year average for December sales is 611. The total number of homes sold through the Board's MLS® system in 2011 was 14,412, an increase of 1.7 per cent over 2010. The average price for 2011 was $343,701, an increase of 5.2 per cent over 2010.

Of December's sales, 177 were in the condominium property class, while 522 were in the residential property class. The condominium property class includes any property, regardless of style (i.e. detached, semi-detached, apartment, stacked etc.), which is registered as a condominium, as well as properties, which are co-operatives, life leases and timeshares. The residential property class includes all other residential properties.

"Resale home sales in 2011 were slightly above the five-year average of 14,326, and that's really the story for the year. The market started off the year quietly, but gained momentum as we headed into spring and summer, losing very little steam during the fall and posting the best November on record, which leaves us with a very solid balance sheet for 2011," said Past President Joanne Tibbles. "In many ways, it epitomized Ottawa's real estate market: no dizzying highs, no dramatic lows, just slow and steady growth over the long term," she added.

The average sale price of residential properties, including condominiums, sold in December in the Ottawa area was $332,527, an increase of 2.6 per cent over December 2010. The average sale price for a condominium-class property was $262,514, an increase of 3 per cent over December 2010. The average sale price of a residential-class property was $356,267, an increase of 0.2 per cent over December 2010. The Board cautions that average sale price information can be useful in establishing trends over time but should not be used as an indicator that specific properties have increased or decreased in value. The average sale price is calculated based on the total dollar volume of all properties sold.

Internet and Real Estate

Ever wonder if the internet is a tool for finding your next home?  Some statistics report that over 90% home searches start online. And Realtor.ca is the number 1 site for consumers in Canada when looking for a home.  For the Ottawa Real Estate board look at the year over year changes in searches and page views from November 2010 to November 2011: (these number represent the traffic only for one month)

# of searches:
Nov.'11 - 518,411
Nov.'10 - 284,232

Property details viewed:
Nov.'11 - 1,818,505
Nov.'10 - 1,463,170

It's critical that REALTORS reach the Buyers, and the internet is now the vehicle.

Ottawa Real Estate Market Remains Strong

Postive  news about the Ottawa real estate market, record numbers recorded for November 2011.  See the details from the Ottawa Real Estate Board:

http://onlineoffice.century21.ca/PublicStorage.c?ID=28e0460c-5987-4e83-9496-d7e888334533

 

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