Atlantic Canada Still Affordable/New housing starts down With all the trouble surrounding the economy these days it is very nice to see a positive story for once.  After reading this article, the next article I read was how housing starts are down over last year.  It is hard sometimes to decipher what to think.  As I have said before Halifax prices have had only modest increases over the last 10 years not like some of the other Canadian markets.  I look for Halifax to continue this trend next year although probably not at the same pace.  Check out the articles below. Atlantic market Canada's newest housing hotspot: RBCEDITED BY STAFF, TRANSCONTINENTAL MEDIAThe Nova Scotia Business Journal TORONTO - According to the latest housing report by RBC Economics, rapid price increases in the pas... 12/09/2008

Perhaps many of you already do this but I thought I'd share......when I was at a local restaurant recently, I enjoyed the good service and told the server so. I asked if I could give her my business card and she was pleased to accept it....in fact she asked for two! So... why not start giving two cards at a time! I explain to new acquaintenances that I would really appreciate their help in growing my business....so one card is their's to keep and one is to give away. I mentioned this to my broker.....now he is doing it too! Cheers! 12/05/2008

I got a call today from an advertising rep... he is offering me a bundle [a phone book yellow pages ad in color+online site] for 'only' $177 per month, locked in for 12 months but no bill till April. He's got some good stats to back up his presentation but here's the conundrum.....I know I need advertising to kick-start my new career....but I'm seeing the money go in only one direction so far and I'm starting to feel a bit overwhelmed. [you remember that newbie feeling] So my question is.....what's the best way to go in terms of advertising? I've put newsletters and business cards in the corner pizza place....I've sent out newsletters to my farm area and I've done some cold calling. I'm new to this city and my sphere of influence is small but I give out business cards every chance I get... 12/04/2008

Halifax Real Estate Market update, December 3, 2008 How has the real estate market in Halifax performed in the last two months?  With all the doom and gloom in the financial sector of the news lately I figured it would be a good time to look at the HRM real estate market as a whole compared to the previous year. Halifax Real Estate market update for all areas of HRM  for October, November 2008.  Based on MLS stats for single family homes, condominiums and new construction. Halifax Real Estate Blog Market Update 2008            MonthAverage List Price Average Sale Price Sale to List Price Average List DurationNumber Of Sales NOV-2008 248024 238845 96% 104 days 239 OCT-2008 240011 233161 97% 89 days 383 Averages: 243090 235345 97 % 95 days 622      Halifax Real Estate market update for al... 12/03/2008

New blog.....new career....new vision.....I am so pumped up that I need to take a breath and reflect on where I've come from and where I'm going! I taught in the public school system in NS and in Georgia, USA.....can it really be 37 years!? But I had to make the decision that 'it was time'....to retire, that is! It's was so difficult to end a career I have loved [and was very good at, if I may say so ;-) ]....and it's even more daunting wondering if my new career will be able to hold a candle to my former one! I don't know the answer to my question as yet....but if the generosity, support and professionalism I've already experienced is any indication, the journey will be well worth the price of a 'ticket'. Stay tuned! Melva 11/26/2008

Green Condos in Halifax I was browsing through The Coast  weekly Halifax newspaper and noticed this project that Greater Homes is constructing on the Northwest Arm Drive.  Looks like a great investment and place to live.  Located in a desirable area of Halifax, The Waterton is Halifax's first condominium project to use geothermal.  The Waterton condo project uses the breakout geothermal heating system that extracts stored heat energy from the crust of the earth.  Geothermal takes the guess work out of your energy costs by using renewable energy. It is great to see projects like this in Halifax.  I think in the coming years we will be seeing more and more green projects come to fruition.  The green shift is starting to happen and I feel in the coming years it is going to accelerate at cr... 11/26/2008

Halifax Home Buyers Take Notice!!!! Thinking about buying a home and not sure how the financial crisis will affect your purchase.  The Government of Canada is injecting 75 billion dollars to purchase Insured Mortgages.  This is great news for home buyers.  This should also help interest rates go down and make the purchase of your next home that much more affordable.  Below is a press release from the government.  Federal Government's $75-Billion Purchase of Insured Mortgages Should Benefit Home Buyers As part of its efforts to address the current financial crisis, the federal government announced that it will inject $75 billion of new money* into the financial system, by buying insured mortgage pools from Canadian financial institutions. The purpose of this measure is to add liquidity t... 11/24/2008

Get Down Halifax With African Dance! Book For Your Year End Office, Group or Corporate Parties Tired of the same old droll year-end parties? Why not really 'get down.... Halifax!' and celebrate your achievements and the coming year richly ???!!  African Dance with Mufaro Chakabuda of the 'Maritime Center for African Dance' will take you there! Liven up your year end gatherings, Christmas parties, Kwansa, etc. Try an African Dance Performance with live drummers and livelier dancing, you'll have an UNFORGETTABLE experience. Performance includes the party goers learning a few dance moves, (which is sure to be fun). Book now! For more details email afrikandance2005@yahoo.ca or call 902.225.9267. 30% discounts are available if you book before DECEMBER 1st.     African Heritage Month performa... 11/18/2008

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation Fall 2008 Economic Overview for Halifax Halifax has had sound economic fundamentals in the past few years but the economy is starting to show signs of change.  Overall Employment in Halifax remains strong, rising 2 percent in 2007 and reached near record levels midway through 2008, however growth has moderated to 0.7 percent and is expected to remain near 1 percent in the next two years. Metro Halifax is experiencing a high level of economic activity.  Commercial and residential construction projects have boosted the demand for labour.  Developments such as Dartmouth Crossing, Russell Lake West, the parking facility at the airport and hotel construction spurr on economic growth Both residential construction and home sales are fore casted to ease, ... 11/14/2008

The Just Us! Fair Trade Cafe Barrington St. Halifax NS easily became my favorite cafe the summer of /08. Once discovering it, I went out of my way for coffee. For reason of Fair Trade, yes - these folks really take it seriously and go all the way with organic FT chocolate, tea and sugar as well as coffee.  The staff here were terrific young people, always friendly and personable, with great service, making me feel right at home. It was a delight to come in mornings to cheerful welcoming attitudes. Believe me - this doesn't happen everywhere!  In case you are unaware, the coffee industry started with slave labour, and continues in very similar circumstances. Coffee is also the second largest (legal) commodity in the world, next to crude. Some cafe owners take seriously the understanding ... 11/11/2008

Stamos Sotiropolous  of George & Lito's on the corner of Windsor and Duncan, in Halifax NS, 'proposes an invite'. When you are in need of a spot for meetings or just a quick "break", a VIP status and appreciation discount is available for your visit. Call Stamos to arrange details for the entire team. Ask him about his offer - tell him that you saw it here! Decked out here for Halloween, you are certain to find the charming bistro cafe' trimmed for Christmas soon, as part of the  initiative to constantly remain 'fresh' with decor, menu changes and offerings. An eclectic menu with a Greek & Italian slant,  is delightfully prepared to please the senses - and with apparent upmost care. When you are served your fare, regardless of what it is, along with it comes the unmistakable  intended p... 11/10/2008

The Danceoff - Free Style, Atlantic Canada Hip Hop Competition Saturday November 15 2008 at St. Pat's Alexander School on 2277 Maitland St. Halifax NS Ages, 4-11, 12-18 and 19 and over. Showcasing Atlantic Canada's Talent - no experience required! There are still positions open to compete. For informaiton - www.thedanceoff.ca or email info@thedanceoff.ca Registration only $5  - Spectators $10   Find The Danceoff on Facebook - search Altantic Canada's first Free style, Hip Hop Competition. Ages 4-12 - Cash Prizes and Gifts of $300 and an opportunity to do openings for various shows/artists in Canada. Or if you are an individual 4 classes free.Ages 13-18 - Cash Prizes and Gifts of $500 and a chance to work with a well renowned choreographer from Toronto. Two free classes per person for th... 11/06/2008

In light of all of the talk I am hearing about the market being "down" n Halifax, I thought I would look at what the CMHC reports are telling us.  Here's what I found: NEW CONSTRUCTION: The overall pace of residential construction activity across Halifax is eased slightly this year, and is expected to finish with a total decline of 1.6% from last year.  It is expected that new construction sales will climb 4% in 2009, reaching its highest level since 2004, supported by multi-residential construction .  While the demand for single-detached homes is slowing, a trend which is expected to continue, the demand for multi-unit construction will continue to be strong for the next 1-1/2 to 2 years. The decline in demand for new single-detached homes can be attributed to [mainly] three things: Ch... 11/06/2008

                                                                         ROYAL BANK OF CANADA                                            958 20th Place                                            Vero Beach, Florida 32963   The ROYAL BANK OF CANADA in Vero Beach Florida is open to assist with bankingand purchases of homes for the CANADIAN citizen. The ROYAL BANK OF CANADA is celebrating 5 years of Cross Border Banking andthey have some wonderful programs and people in place to assist the Canadianhome buyer with their purchases in Indian River County.If you have been considering purchasing a home in INDIAN RIVER COUNTY, VeroBeach, Ft. Pierce and Sebastian, please contact me, I can make this process aseasy as possible. Please visit me on my website for information on VERO BEACH REAL ESTATE... 11/02/2008

Sitting pretty on the corner of Windsor Avenue and Duncan Street, which just happened to be my neighborhood for the summer of /08, is 'George and Lito's'. Recently opened as I arrived in Halifax July 1/08, I watched Stamos (the owner) evolve his unique corner of the neighborhood into an increasingly popular spot. From the tiled floor,  the black, white and red decor of 'George and Litto's flows pleasantly, hinting at 1950's diner style with upscale post modern and deco elements. The street corner came absolutely alive with the patio addition over the summer /08, raising the ambient score a few notches over its already charming ambience.  This versatile little cafe with a significant seating capacity, inside and out, runs from breakfast through to dinner. Believe it! For about $5 you can... 11/01/2008

Today I am going to look at the average price in the Halifax Real Estate Market for the last 8 years dating back to 2000.  This should give you an idea of how the Halifax Real Estate market has fared over the years and where is it headed in the future. Halifax Real Estate Average Price Number of  Sales %  Price Change         2000 $120,161 5843   2001 $127,337 6484 +5.6% 2002 $142,034 6943 +10.3% 2003 $156,539 6424 +9.2% 2004 $167,720 6777 +6.7% 2005 $181,560 6925 +7.6% 2006 $194,150 6679 +6.5% 2007 $207,198 7493 +6.3% 2008 $221,737 6039 +6.6% Totals   59,607 +7.3 Source: MLS data   The Halifax Real Estate market has had a very steady rise in price since the turn of the century.  The number of sales has remained relatively the same over that period.  This year we are on pace to be sligh... 10/29/2008

$2.6M on the table for green projects HALIFAX - Residential windmills and carbon-capturing concrete are two of 21 environmental projects to win government grant money.Mark Parent, provincial environment minister, made the announcement at the Power of Green conference in Halifax yesterday. "In terms of greenhouse gases, (these projects are) equivalent to taking over 10,000 cars off the road permanently, forever," Parent explained to reporters after his speech at the Cunard Centre.These were the winners picked by EcoNova Scotia for clean air and climate change. Applications were placed under two grant-giving programs for environmental technologies and municipal projects.This group of winners -the third announcement so far for EcoNova Scotia - cost $2.6 million. Parent said that money will... 10/27/2008

How did the Halifax Real Estate Market perform in the 3rd Quarter? Sales for the third quarter down 5% year over year and trail 2007 by 7.3% up to and including the third quarter. Number of sales 2008 = 5325   Number of sales 2007 = 5746 Active Listings are up 16 percent The only area that had a slight increase in sales was Dartmouth up 2.8% year over year. Fall River, Bedford, Sackville,  Hammonds Plains all recorded double digit declines in the number of sales year over year. Despite the declines, sales in the third quarter remain at the second highest on record and average price growth remained steady at 6.7% Areas of Note Sackville - average price rose by 13% Halifax North End - 10.5% average price increase Halifax South End - 19.7% average price increase Fall River - 9.4% average p... 10/20/2008

On a recent trip downtown I brought my camera along. Let me see if I can jog your memories from years gone by - Maybe some of you were here recently ,but it pretty much remanes timeless. People Wandering from the Historic Properties to the Pier 21 where the cruise ships tie up. If its a nice day you might catch me at the my local fav. for a keiths or two.  The Lower Deck - Part of a three level complex housing a restaurant and two great pubs. Part of the Historic Properties. Feels like your in a different era. Then theres  the Nova Scotian Crystal building where you can watch them hand  craft  magnificent works in  crystal. The Millennium building where Halifax made the news by hosting the G8 conference. And of course! Our famous tug boat. No wonder people seem to want to come here. -Th... 10/03/2008

I came across this great forum today and I wanted to pass along the info that I found.   It is very useful and gives you a look into what is going on in Halifax, Dartmouth and surrounding areas with regards to development.  PROPOSED:HALIFAX - DOWNTOWN | Roy Building | ~70m | 16 floors | N/A | 01172HALIFAX - DOWNTOWN | Hollis & Morris | ? | 10 floors | N/A | 01162HALIFAX - DOWNTOWN | 1860 Upper Water St. | ? | 9 floors | PH - September 16, 2008 | 01114HALIFAX - DOWNTOWN | Water Street Power Plant | ? | ? | January 2009 | Not IssuedHALIFAX - DOWNTOWN | Queen's Landing | ? | ? | N/A | ?HALIFAX - NORTH | 5552 Kaye St | 22m | 7 floors | N/A | 01113HALIFAX - WEST | 6955 Bayers Road | ? | 16 floors | N/A | 00930HALIFAX - MAINLAND | Rockcliffe Village | ? | 3X10 floors | N/A | 01179DARTMOUTH - ... 09/15/2008