Airdrie feature
A13 – A15 FREE may 18 to may 24 2012 issue 02-19 @crebnow www.creb.com
A smarter state
of green
CREB® HomeSmarts program highlights energy efficiencies
cody stuart, Managing Editor
cody stuart
managing editor
F
or many homeowners, helping out the environment shouldn’t come at the expense of your wallet. The smartest choices are the ones that save money now and potentially make money down the road. That’s why many people dubiously look at big-ticket additions – like solar panels and geothermal heating – that require large capital outlays and take
many years to pay back. Surely, there are smarter ways to achieve those goals. Luckily for those wanting to save a few dollars and have a healthy home, there’s a new program that enables homeowners to seek out, implement and highlight those economical and environmentally friendly aspects. Recently launched by CREB® as a follow up to their Go Green Challenge, HomeSmarts works with REALTORS®, buyers and sellers to bring sustainability to the real estate transaction and reduce the impact of Calgary homes, while at
SINGLE FAMILY
the same time making it easier to highlight the eco-friendly features already available in many homes in the city. “Regarding homebuyers for example, they are people out there who look for specific features and in the past they were very difficult to find unless they went into the house and really looked for them,” said REALTOR® Dorothea Sautter, a certified GreenAgent and a member of the task force behind the HomeSmarts initiative. Amongst the features available with HomeSmarts, the ability for buyers
$472,465
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$453,629
$455,399
$453,969
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$466,167
$470,655
$479,580
$483,519
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APR10 MAY10 JUN10 JUL10 AUG10 SEP10 OCT10 NOV10 DEC10 JAN11 FEB11 MAR11 APR11 MAY11 JUN11 JUL11 AUG11 SEP11 OCT11 NOV11 DEC11 JAN12 FEB12 MAR12 APR12
$445,617
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$483,240
MLS® AVERAGE PRICE* APR ‘10 – APR ‘12
and sellers to easily identify the green features in a home is paramount, given the results of a recent BMO Bank of Montreal survey. Conducted last year, the survey showed that the majority (51%) of Canadian homeowners cited utility costs as the biggest financial shock when it came to owning a home. “People have become more conscious regarding energy efficiency,” said Sautter. “Electricity prices have come up quite significantly, and while natural gas prices are low – they won’t always be like that.”
HomeSmarts works with REALTORS®, buyers and sellers to bring sustainability to the real estate transaction and reduce the impact of Calgary homes, at the same time making it easier to highlight the eco-friendly features already available in many homes in the city.
homesmarts A3
contents
Calgary housing market leads the nation in April
news briefs
A3
industry
A6
CREB® STAFF
municipal
A
ccording to the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) Calgary lead the nation in housing sales for the month of April with a 29.6 per cent year-over-year increase compared to April 2011. Activity was up or stayed the same in half of all local markets for the month of April across Canada. There were 2,450 sales in Calgary in the month of April compared to 2,450 in March, a 6.7 per cent increase.
*All statistics based on monthly data compiled by CREB® via MLS® activity.
market A3
Investment properties
A7
Bowness Park redevelopment
mortgage rates
A10
business directory A10 commercial
A12
Cochrane Quarry site
map
B1
open houses
B23