Edmonton Real Estate Blog

Who doesn’t need more storage space in their home? From closets and attics to kitchens and laundry rooms, we’ll show you some innovative storage ideas that can help eliminate the clutter around your home. So what are you waiting for? It’s time to get busy cleaning up that mess!

Closets

Closets are the first place to look when improving storage in your home. Replacing old hanging rods and shelves with adjustable metal shelving and wire baskets should be high on your priority list. It’s not that hard to do, and can make a great DIY project.

Here’s how to go about it:

• Start by cleaning everything out of the closet.
• Remove the old shelf and rod.
• Locate the wall studs and mark their position.
• Secure the horizontal track to the studs on the back wall near the top of the closet.
• Hang the vertical supports on the track and secure them to the wall.
• Cut the wire shelves to length with a hacksaw or reciprocating saw.
• Attach shelf supports to the vertical supports.
• Install hanging rods, shelves, and baskets.

Under Bed

A lot of good storage space can be found under your bed. To access the stored items, build one or more large open boxes that fit under your bed from plywood or medium density fiberboard (MDF).

 Install casters to the bottom of the box and a handle on the front to allow it to easily roll in and out.

Laundry Room

Your laundry room is another area of the house that can usually benefit from some serious organization. Some ideas for laundry room storage include:

• Add a store bought or built-in storage unit that has been sized to hold an individual laundry basket for each member of the family.
• Install shelving on your laundry room walls above the washer/dryer as well as along the area near the ceiling to store cleaning supplies and detergent, as well as tools and other items.
• A great DIY project that can make your laundry room more functional is to install a built-in ironing board, complete with an electrical outlet and storage for your iron, into the laundry room wall.

Attic

Attics are a great place to store items that aren’t damaged by extreme temperatures. To increase the storage space in your attic, consider building hanging shelves that are attached to the rafters.

Here’s how to go about it:

• Determine the pitch of your roof and the width you want your shelves.
• Using these measurements, build “L” shaped brackets cut from 2″x 4″ lumber to support the shelves.
• Use a chalk line to mark the position of the brackets on the rafters.
• Attach the brackets to the rafters with screws, making sure the shelf support is level.
• Slide 1″ thick shelving onto the brackets.

Kitchen

There are a number of ways, from lazy susans to sliding bins, to increase storage space in your kitchen. One simple way to free up a drawer and make the lids to your pots more accessible is to mount a bathroom towel rack to the inside of a cabinet door. Here’s how to go about it:

• Start by attaching one of the towel rack brackets to the cabinet door stile at the proper height.
• Next, hold the other bracket in place and measure the length of the towel rod.
• Cut the towel rod to length with a hacksaw.
• Insert the towel rod in the two brackets and screw the second bracket to door.
• Place lids on the towel rack with the handles facing out.

Bookcase

A DIY built-in bookcase in your living room or den makes the perfect place to store books or display memorabilia and photographs. Store bought models are also available.

To build a bookcase:

• Start by making a cutting list and cutting the stock (plywood, MDF, or solid wood) to size for the bookcase and shelves.
• Assemble the bookcase.
• Construct a separate recessed base below the bookcase.
• Assemble the bookcase and base.
• Attach a frame to the front of the bookcase.
• Prime and paint or stain and finish the bookcase and base.
• Install bookcase in room.

Bathroom

Bathrooms can always use some added storage space. There are a number of options available, including:

• Build or buy a shallow hanging cabinet to attach to the wall above the toilet for storing towels, soap, and toilet paper.
• Add a built-in window seat or a freestanding chest in your bathroom to serve as a place for clothes and to sit when dressing, as well as for storage space inside.
• Install a built-in, recessed medicine cabinet, such as Nutone’s locking bath cabinet on the wall above the sink in the space between two studs.

Charging Station

A recessed wall cabinet with an electrical outlet mounted inside is the perfect place to keep cell phones, iPods, and MP3 players while they’re charging. It also doubles as a convenient place to hang your keys.

 by Danny Lipford

OTTAWA – Canadian home sales jumped 73 per cent in November from a year earlier as the real estate market continued to recover from the economic downturn.

The Canadian Real Estate Association said Tuesday that 36,383 residential properties were sold last month, with Ontario and Quebec setting sales records for November.

“The current strength of housing demand stands in sharp contrast to weak activity recorded one year ago,” CREA said in its report, adding that activity was just 4/10 of a per cent below the highest level for the month recorded in November 2007.

“National home sales activity last month shows how strongly the housing market has rebounded since the beginning of the year,” said CREA president Dale Ripplinger. “As we predicted last April, the rebound in resale housing activity led the overall Canadian economy out of recession.”

The national residential average price was $337,231 in November, up 19 per cent from a year earlier.

Financial Post

 People walk past new homes that are for sale in Oakville, Ont. New house prices went up for the fourth straight month in October but are still down from last year, Statistics Canada said Friday.

New house prices higher in October

Statistics Canada says housing prices were on the rise in October.

The agency’s New Housing Price Index rose 0.3 per cent in October, its fourth straight monthly increase. The index rose by 0.5 per cent in September.

Prices increased the most in Quebec City, where they were up 1.1 per cent, followed by Vancouver, at 0.7 per cent. Hamilton, Sudbury and Thunder Bay, Ont., all registered 0.5 per cent increases.

Prices went up in Quebec City in part due to a scarcity of land and increased building costs, the agency noted.

Two cities recorded monthly decreases in new housing prices – Charlottetown, with a 0.7 per cent drop, and Edmonton, at 0.3. In both cities, prices were lower because builders slashed prices to remain competitive, the agency said.

Year over year, the index was down 2.1 per cent in October following a 2.7 per cent decline in September. The largest decreases continue to be in the west, Statistics Canada said.

CBC News

Time to Put Your Home on an Energy Diet: Eight New Year’s Resolutions for Your Home

Bill Cunningham, an energy efficiency expert with Lennox – a leading provider of customized home heating and cooling systems – says homeowners can significantly curb their energy usage and reduce their energy bills in the coming year by making the following quick and easy home-related New Year’s resolutions:

1. Make a Light Switch. Replace your five most frequently used incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs, and save $65 each year. These bulbs use less energy and can last up to 10 times longer.

2. Get With the Program. Install an ENERGY STAR qualified programmable thermostat, and take the time to program it (the majority of consumers don’t). When used properly, these thermostats can save as much as $150 per year in energy costs.

3. Go with the (Low) Flow. Replace your existing shower head with a new 2.5-gallon-per-minute (low-flow) shower head. The new water efficient shower head coupled with a 10-minute shower will save five gallons of water over a typical bath and up to $145 each year on electricity used to heat the water.

4. Let the Laundry Chill. To save hot water – and the $24 to $40 in fuel that it takes to heat that water each year – wash your clothes in cold water. Be sure to choose a laundry detergent that is formulated for use in cold temperatures.

5. Make a Dent in the Lint. Clean the lint trap in your clothes dryer before every load of laundry, which will help increase the drying efficiency of the machine and save another $34 each year.

6. Dial it Back. Lower the temperature on your hot water heater from 145 degrees to 120 degrees – the only place you’ll notice the difference is on your utility bill. In fact, this slight reduction in temperature can save the average homeowner between $36 and $61 each year.

7. To Repair or Replace: That is the Question. Consider replacing an older furnace that is 60 percent efficient with one that is 95 percent efficient, and save approximately 57 percent on energy bills and up to a whopping $5,513 over a five-year period.

8. Stop the Standby Energy Use. Unplug digital devices when not in use, as “standby” energy consumption can add up. In fact, you can save about $165 per year just by unplugging a plasma TV.

This article is provided by Lennox. For more tips and advice on maintaining or purchasing a home comfort system, visit Lennox.com or ItPaysToLiveSmart.com.

Weekly rate minder provided by: Souchita Rattanarasy Dominion Lending Centres Optimum 780-932-2225. Explore Mortgage Scenarios with Helpful Calculators on http://www.souchita.com/

Edmonton, December 2, 2009: Total sales through the Edmonton and area Multiple Listing Service® system to the end of November have surpassed total year end sales in 2008. The total value of all types of property sold to the end of November is $6.64 billion. The same figure at the end of December 2008 was $6.42 billion. There have been 20,355 property sales so far as compared to 19,448 at year-end 2008.

“Both sales and the value of sales have exceeded our expectations this year,” said Charlie Ponde, president of the REALTORS® Association of Edmonton. “We anticipated sales levels would be the same as last year but REALTORS® have already sold more property than last year with a month to go. This is a good indicator of the strength of our local market.”

In November, the average price of a single family dwelling went up 1.2% to $368,018, reversing a 2% drop in the previous month. Single family dwelling prices are 1.5% higher than the same month last year.

Although condominium prices are down 2.5% from last month they are just $50 higher than condo prices a year ago. The average price for a condo in November 2009 was $231,684. At $284,849, the duplex and rowhouse prices were down 4.7% from last month and down 9.5% from a year ago. Overall, the all-residential average price is down marginally from October and the previous November. It sits at $318,482.

There were 1,894 homes listed on the MLS® System in November with 1,261 sales for a sales-to-listing ratio of 67%. The total value of residential sales in November was $402 million and total available inventory was 5,226 homes which is a typical four month supply. Homes sold on average in 48 days which is up one from last month but much brighter than the 63 days it took to sell a home in November 2008.

“The market remains rock steady,” said Ponde. “Prices vary from month to month within a small range and with a slow gradual upward trend. Buyers have confidence in this market and REALTORS® are prepared to match their needs with the perfect housing option.”

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Highlights of MLS® System activity

¹. Residential includes SFD, condos and duplex/row houses.
². Single Family Dwelling
³. The middle figure in a list of all sales prices

* Average prices indicate market trends only. They do not reflect actual prices, which may vary.

Weekly rate minder provided by: Souchita Rattanarasy Dominion Lending Centres Optimum 780-932-2225. Explore Mortgage Scenarios with Helpful Calculators on http://www.souchita.com/

Weekly rate minder provided by: Souchita Rattanarasy Dominion Lending Centres Optimum 780-932-2225. Explore Mortgage Scenarios with Helpful Calculators on http://www.souchita.com/

Weekly rate minder provided by: Souchita Rattanarasy Dominion Lending Centres Optimum 780-932-2225. Explore Mortgage Scenarios with Helpful Calculators on http://www.souchita.com/

Bright and open large 2 bed + den in newer building with underground heated parking and lots of storage. This condo has full A/C and has an open concept floor plan with 9′ California stipple ceilings, crown mouldings, and is painted with neutral tones. Hardwood flooring makes this unit feel elegant and sophisticated. There is a corner gas fireplace with mantle in bright many-windowed living room as well as glass doors that lead out to the balcony with gas BBQ hook-up. The kitchen is brightly lit with track lighting and offers lots of storage space with natural maple cabinetry, as well as matching appliances. Master bedroom has upgraded broadloom carpeting and features a large walk-through closet with shelving and 3 piece ensuite. The 2nd bedroom is located across from the main bathroom. There is a large storage room with in-suite laundry.  Located steps away from Bonnie Doon Mall. The building features a car wash, storage locker, social and guest rooms, roof top patio & more.  List Price: @294,900  To view more information and pictures click on the following link: http://www.edmontonhomesforsale.biz/view_listing/Bonnie_Doon/mls/E3205174