All Blog Entries by Yoofi Gerard Hagan 
There are currently 95 blog entries published by Yoofi Gerard Hagan.
Rental Housing Scarce in Edmonton
Friday, May 18th, 2012 at 5:05pm. 32 Views, 0 Comments.
A recent survey from Money Sense, called the Best Places to Live in Canada Poll – 2012, placed Edmonton in eighth place out of 198 cities surveyed, the same ranking it got in 2011. But, in the affordable housing category, Alberta’s capital city scored 124th. The province had six cities placing within the top 25 on the overall housing picture. Red Deer was 9th, Strathcona County 11th, St Albert 12th, Calgary took 14th and Lethbridge ended up 25th.
It is hard to find affordable housing in Edmonton,…
BMO Report Surveys Canadians on Bidding War Tendencies
Thursday, April 26th, 2012 at 1:56pm. 110 Views, 0 Comments.
Altogether, 22 percent of those surveyed were willing to enter a bidding war. Half of those would pay up to ten percent above asking price. Those living in Saskatchewan and Manitoba were most likely to enter a bidding war, at 32 percent. Ontario came in at 28 percent, Alberta at 25 percent, British Columbia with 23 percent, Atlantic Canada at 13…
Wildrose Party Danielle Smith Charms Edmonton, Opponents Question Motive
Tuesday, April 17th, 2012 at 1:16pm. 130 Views, 0 Comments.
Yet the charming and seemingly personable politician declares a strong love for Edmonton, citing relatives that live in town and a fondness for the Fringe Festival and other Edmonton celebrations. She also made note…
Mortgage Rates are Pleasantly Low, For the Moment
Thursday, April 12th, 2012 at 3:44pm. 136 Views, 0 Comments.
The Bank of Canada so far hasn’t decided to up interest rates but that doesn’t stop them from issuing warnings about going too deep into debt because they, at one point, will. They also warn to make sure you can handle your mortgage at a higher rate, just in case.
Work on Epcor Tower Underway, First Tenant Signed
Friday, April 6th, 2012 at 2:37pm. 104 Views, 0 Comments.
The renovation of the old Epcor Tower at 101st & Jasper is well underway and its first tenant is eager to move in. The Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta, or APEGA for short, will be taking almost three of the tower’s floors to house 75 of its employees, but not until the summer of 2013. That is when the group’s current lease expires.
Currently they are at Scotia Place, and have been at that location since 1986. Those offices are in need of renovation, so the decision was made to move, noted Al Schuld, an interim CEO and registrar with the firm. That move will mean getting an environmentally friendly building, hopefully with a LEED Gold certification (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design).
Epcor Tower will…
Mortgage Rates Upped by RBC and TD
Thursday, March 29th, 2012 at 1:47pm. 136 Views, 0 Comments.
Bank of Montreal’s 2.99 percent was giving both firms stiff competition. Rival banks noted that the mortgages sold were hardly profitable. RBC and TD also upped the five year fixed rate by one-fifth of a point, bringing that rate to 5.44 percent. Five year variable rates were upped by one-tenth of a point; bring them to prime plus 0.2 percent.
Now…
New Solar Home in Edmonton Helps Environment, But On The Pricey Side
Thursday, March 22nd, 2012 at 3:31pm. 149 Views, 0 Comments.
Solar power is becoming a more accepted form of power generation, but back in the 1970s it was a novelty. Tanya Kushneryk, who grew up in that era, remembers her inventive father creating a system that heated the swimming pool using the power of the sun. He was, at the time, considered a bit of an eccentric.
Fast forward to 2012, when Tanya and her family, including the enterprising father, helped Enmax Energy Corporation of Calgary launch its state of the art rooftop solar panel program. The Kushneryk’s system provides some of the power needed for their home. There are two photovoltaic systems, each one producing between 100 to 140 kilowatt hours each month. That is not all that much since that home consumes roughly 2,700 kilowatt hours each month…
2012 Home Fashions Are All About Colour
Saturday, March 10th, 2012 at 5:01pm. 174 Views, 0 Comments.
In 2012 colour is in. No matter if you are outfitting your summer patio or redoing your living room, expect home decorating firms and retailers to be awash in bold reds, blues, greens and yellows. Retailers and home décor firms met at the Edmonton Expo Center for the Alberta Gift Show to catch a glimpse of the newest trends. Not open to the public, this venue gives them a heads up on the season.
Indaba Trading’s owner Irene Gillespie travelled from British Columbia and noted that retailers are showing an interest not only in colour, but in various textures. This makes both indoor and outdoor décor much more exciting, and does wonders to chase away the doldrums of winter.
Inside, accent chairs in bold teals and bright purple add fashion sense…
Market Stabilizing In The Housing Sector
Thursday, February 16th, 2012 at 6:17pm. 239 Views, 0 Comments.
Canadian Real Estate Association, or CREA for short, has figures showing that sales in January decreased by 4.5 percent from December of 2011. It is the first decline, per month, since August of 2011 and the largest percentage decrease since July of 2010. Home prices are starting to slow their upward motion as well. January 2012 showed a 1.2 percent increase in price over January one year ago.
CREA president Gary Morse notes that the market, nationally, is balanced. But depending on where you live in Canada, your area’s forecast will…
Renovation Grants for Green Home Improvements Discontinued
Wednesday, February 8th, 2012 at 1:46pm. 215 Views, 0 Comments.
The ecoEnergy Retrofit Homes program is finished. The government sponsored financial aid to homeowners that chose to renovate their homes to cut down on energy usage had a cap of 250,000 homes, and that was reached on January 29th. Any homeowner not registered by that date is out of luck, according to Joe Oliver, Natural Resources Minister.
Those who have registered must have their renovations done by March 31 and finished grant applications in by June 30th.
In March of 2011 the program was extended by the government adding another $400 million into the program. Homeowners doing eco-friendly renovations were allowed to apply for grants to cover such items as insulation and energy efficient appliances. The maximum grant was $5,000.
Budgetary concerns…