I was happily surprised when I checked our analytics yesterday. Our Edmonton MLS® Search web site - edmontonrealestate.pro - reached a new milestone and got over 1 million page views in the month of January! Thanks to everyone who uses the site to find real estate in Edmonton! We will continue to improve the site and add new features as long as people keep using it. With the average time on site over ten minutes, people clearly like it. Our clients enjoy extra traffic to their listings, since our listings are featured at the top of the results whenever they are included in a user's search. That's the beauty of the Internet - a small company that focuses on quality and details can kick the big guy's butts.

Other than that the year was uneventful until we found out we were pregnant. I say "we" metephorically for those of you who will point out that men can't get pregnant. In short order we found out we were having not one, but two. Ironically this news was delivered the same day my daughter entered her first day of high school. Needless to say it took me a few weeks to wrap my head around it all and just as we moved from acceptance to excitement we got some really bad news.

Sara's dad passed away suddenly at the beginning of December. John Maclennan was a former high school teacher, farmer, coach, hall of fame quarter back at McMaster University, conservationist and volunteer extraordinaire. At 74 John was in excellent shape, ate very well, and biked regularly. The week before John passed away my dad was taken to the Grey Nuns Cardiac care unit (to whom I must give koodoos to for excellent service and the care they gave my dad). He was in four 4 days while they deliberated the issues and the potential remedies.

So when news came about Sara's dad we were both in shock. The rest of the month was a whirlwind of travel back and forth to Ontario. The passing of John reminded me once again that life is so very precious, and it taught me a whole lot more than that. While I interceded the many phone calls that came to Sara's mom expressing their condolences, a message stuck with me because it was a recurring one: "You don't know me, and John probably wouldn't remember me, but he taught me at Nelson High School and I just wanted to say he had a profound impact on my life."
It just reaffirmed to me that we can make a positive impact on young people and strangers by the way we conduct ourselves and live our lives.

John's funeral was attended by politicians and business people from around Hamilton, farmers, teachers, neighbours and family. His friend who conducted the service told me there were over 500 people in attendance at the church service which was standing room only. There was an open mic session where former students and co-workers, neighbours, friends and family shared their favourite memories of John. Many of the students he used to have out to his farm to do "conditioning work" found that time they spent at the farm, and the time he gave to them was life altering, and many followed in his footsteps citing him as their inspiration.  Many people proudly displayed the official "license to hug" John had issued them and I myself am a converted "hugger" thanks to John. I found I had never laughed and cried so much in one day. On the night of the funeral I flew back to Edmonton and those on the plane around me must of thought I was nuts as I would recall something someone had said about John and either laugh, or well up with tears.

I share this because we realize we haven't been as attentive to the blog for the last while as we normally are, but we have tried our best and we appreciate the support and willingness of people to share their thoughts and views. We are into the new year now and are about 3 months away from welcoming two new additions to our family. So if I can leave you with one thought its this: you can make a difference in someone's life with a smile, a hug, your support, or your time, and most of all by just listening. I can't help but think if I and others were more like John the world would be a better place.

John Alexander MacLennan
December 18, 1937- December 3, 2011

John MacLennan paddling the North Saskatchewan last summer,
and 50 years earlier in the same McMaster Football Jersey.

p.s. John received many awards including being inducted into McMaster University's sports hall of fame, and coaching Nelson high school to numerous provincial basketball championships. John loved teaching and he loved McMaster University where this summer he toured my daughter and I hoping that she might one day consider going there. He loved teaching so much he dedicated his body to McMaster's medial research program to help train tomorrow's doctors. As a farmer and a teacher John was "outstanding in his field."

Then we saw the plans for the new Royal Alberta museum unveiled, with discussion about the airport lands. Gary Klassen the GM of sustainable development Edmonton pointed out that Downtown encompasses 1% of the land in the city but is responsible for 10% of the tax revenue.

Several projects have been discussed so far.

• Jasper Avenue revitalization
• Central Park in the warehouse district
• River promenade works
• Improved Dowtown LRT connectivty
• More bike accessability
• Infrastructure upgrades
• Capital blvd upgrade
• Arena and entertainment district.
• Grant Macewan university growth
• The federal building upgrade
• Centennial plaza
• University of Alberta Downtown campus And more.

I’ll add more detail as I can for each of these projects and their impact on the real estate market in Edmonton when I have a chance.

Most of the time my answers have been very general with the acknowledgement that I don’t have intimate knowledge of what is going on downtown. I do believe that the people who have good solid information can take advantage of the opportunities that might arise. So, if you are interested in the answers then this is where you want to be on December 15th, 2011 from 7:30am to 3:30pm: www.Edmonton.com/downtown.
This information session on downtown hosted by Economic development Edmonton is where we will be to get the answers to our questions. See you there.
 

 "It's like the heart of Terwillegar-Riverbend finally came alive." Edmonton Journal.

Terwillegar Towne

The Terwillegar Riverbend Farmer's Market opened in May and has run every Wednesday night since from 5:30-8pm. It's the culmination of years of effort from many volunteers, and brings a real community feeling to a sub-urban part of our city. According to their web site:

The Southwest Edmonton Farmers’ Market is a not-for-profit, volunteer run organization committed to creating a community gathering place for the residents of southwest Edmonton. We connect local farmers, producers and artisans who provide fresh, locally grown and made food and hand-made goods with our citizens, fostering relationships that create a greater sense of community and a stronger local economy.

Together with the new Recreation Centre, shops, schools, a transit centre and more, Terwillegar Riverbend is becoming a town onto itself. Riverbend offers a variety of housing options in a large price range and has some of Edmonton's most popular neighbourhoods. View Riverbend homes for sale. 

Farmer's Markets around the city:

• South West Edmonton Farmer's Market, Wednesdays 5:30-8pm
• 104st Downtown Market, Saturdays, Saturdays 9am-3pm
• Alberta Avenue Farmer's Market, Thursdays 5-8pm
• Beverly Towne Farmers' Market, Tuesdays 4-8pm
• Callingwood Farmer's Market, Sundays 10am-3pm
• Castledowns Farmers' Market, Wednesdays 4-8pm
• Leduc Farmers' Market, Thursdays 10am-1:30pm and Saturdays 10am-1pm
• Old Strathcona Farmers' Market, Saturdays 8am-3pm
• Salisbury Farmer's Market (Sherwood Park), Thursday 4:30-8pm
• St. Albert Farmer's Market, Saturdays, 10am-3pm

If you visit any of our farmers markets remember to leave your pets at home.

So why is video so important to today’s consumer:

1. 1. Video doesn’t lie. Pictures can and should show the home from the best perspective possible. Video shows you what it’s like to actually walk through a home and is trusted by home buyers more than photos that can be edited and enhanced.
2. 2. Layout: Video shows the layout of the home, and how rooms are connected where photos can only show a room or two in one frame.
   3. Demonstrating benefits: There is no better way to exhibit small areas like walk through pantries, walk in closets and ensuites than video. A photo may show a pantry – but what’s in it, can you walk through it, what’s on the other side?
   4. Search – Video is searchable. Google is increasingly promoting video in their search results, many of our videos come up when buyers are searching for information on a community that interests them. For example, Google “Lewis Estates edmonton homes.” The number 1 natural result is www.EdmontonRealEstate.pro (one of our websites) and the next result are a few of our videos for Lewis Estates.
3.  

Not all videos are alike:

A recent survey showed that 73% of home owners would prefer to list their home with an agent who uses video, but only 11% of agents provide the service. This is a new area, and I’ve had over two years of practice to create the best videos possible. When you check out videos of homes for sale in Edmonton on YouTube you will see that most videos get about 10-30 views, while ours typically get 100-300 views (some have gotten thousands!). So, it’s not just about having a video done of your home, it’s about having a video that buyers can find, and will actually watch. A 10 minute slide show is certainly not a video most buyers want to watch.

A long time ago we were one of the first companies in the Edmonton area to start using professional photography for all our listings. Many home owners have caught on and are demanding this service from their agents. Instead of waiting for consumers to demand something we are always interested in leading the pack. So check out over 100 of our videos on our You Tube channel. Will others catch on? Eventually I’m sure they will, but even our biggest imitators haven’t figured out how to do the video yet. So, if you want it done right you know who to call. Not ghost busters.
 

If you listen closely you can hear it in the ads of some of the newer property developments. The first question I had about sustainability was: isn't that just another way of saying it's “green” without having a green designation? Short answer is: “not even close.” You can have a green project that is not sustainable.

The first time I asked that question the builder gave me a 91 page manual on the area structure plan which discusses sustainable principles in detail. I think Tyler Dixon, an architect at Ziola newstudio architects, sums it up best in the video below.

One of the things Tyler's counterpart and partner on the project, Tai Ziola mentioned to us, was that it is really exciting to work on a building where the builder isn’t going for the cheapest materials, for the lowest possible price. She believes that when you factor in the design and materials of the building that they envision, it will cost the owners less in the long and uphold its value better because of its sustainability and superior design.

Tyler Dixon says “sustainability goes way beyond green.” To give you a snippet of what he means here are some of the principles of sustainability that I learned from the condo project I’m working on:

• Maximize public green space in the neighbourhood by designating 20% of site and all public spaces.
• Create services that are close to home and within walking distance by ensuring that 100% of residents are within 450m of basic services.
• Provide jobs close to home by having commercial, retail and office space as well as a business park.
• Ensure that 50% of green space has habitat value
• Protect wetland areas
• Use landscaping that incorporates native vegetation
• Naturalize storm water areas
• Incorporate trees into parking lots and streets
• Encourage the natural flow of water and retention of wetland feature areas
• Reduce generation of wastewater and potable water demand
• Ensure 50% of buildings will have good solar orientation
• Create energy efficiency through green building standards
• Use trees and other landscaping to provide shading from the sun and buffering against cold and wind
• Use of on site bike racks
• Reduce heat absorbtion of buildings by requiring high standards for emissivity and reflectivity of the roof.
• Include low energy bulbs and follow a dark sky policy for areas such as wetlands
• Make it a walkable community by providing 40 – 50% of public streets for pedestrian traffic
• Provide trails and pathways that connect every parcel
• Increase demand for use of recycled material (check out optima’s gorgeous recycled wood cabinets)
• Provide public places for people to interact
• Minimize the amount of hard concrete surfaces.

These are but a tip of the sustainable ice berg. for more information please visit www.sunliving.ca (Natural Resources Canada). It will be interesting to see if the buying public embraces sustainability or still wants the same old, same old, cheap crap.

Learn more about new condos in Sherwood Park in a sustainable urban neighbourhood that will be under development soon - OptimaSherwoodPark.com.

I just finished at The Bounce morning show with Ian and Liann. They had me on for an “ask the expert” segment on real estate. It was great. I got to dance while talking real estate - two of my favourite things (I’m much better at one then I am the other).

I really enjoyed watching radio magic happen - talk about multitasking! Editing sound bites, picking songs, updating Facebook, answering calls, sorting through dozens of texts and prepping me all at the same time.

On and off the air Liann asked a question that has been formulating in our heads lately: "How will the new arena deal affect Downtown real estate?" We have done a lot of research on this topic, more than any we have written about to date but we've been too busy to put it all together to blog about. The answer I gave on air was: “of course it will have a positive impact on values but it will take some time to see it." Until the financial stuff is formalized and the exact plans are submitted it's purely speculative at this point to say what will happen, but we will post some more on this as soon as we can.

]]> http://edmontonrealestateblog.com/2011/04/ice-flow-in-edmontons-river-valley.html/feed 1