Karen Hayes: (250) 927-9798 | Susie Mattner: (250) 228-1960 | sold@teamw.ca
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Vancouver Island Real Estate News from Rudi Widdershoven-TeamW-December 2013

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Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

From our home to yours we wish you a Joyous Holiday Season and hope that you have the opportunity to spend time with family and loved ones.  Take time to reflect on all the events that happened in 2013, every event is like a cloud with a silver lining - you can eventually find the positive in there somewhere, sometime it is a little more difficult.

We are fortunate enough this year to be able to spend Christmas with all of our children and grandchildren on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day!  With 4 RCMP schedules to co9ordinate around it is not usually possible.  Jessica is hosting and we are especially excited to see how the two youngest grandsons enjoy Christmas (they are 14 months & 2.5 years) :).  There will no doubt be lots of energy and good times and at the end Opa & Oma will need to come home for a rest.

We have not made plans for New year Eve so we will have to see how we wlecome 2014!  It is going to be a great year!.

Thanks so much for checking out this month's newsletter.  Please get in touch if you have any questions or comments regarding the articles, real estate in general, or just for a chat -- it'd be great to hear from you!

Merry Christmas & All the Best for 2014,
Rudi & Trish
In this issue...
Update on Local RE/MAX Offices - BIG NEWS !!
Waist Not, Want Not
TeamW Optimum Property Search Tool
Moderate Growth Characterizes Vancouver Island November Market
Enjoy an Eco-Friendly Holiday Season
Update on Local RE/MAX Offices - BIG NEWS !! 
RE/MAX First Realty and RE/MAX Anchor Realty are now owned by the same Broker, Larry Stuart of Saskatoon.  Our identities will remain the same however we will be taking advantage of joint advertising and promotion of the brand, our services and listings.  This will translate not only into efficiencies but into a larger more dominant presence in the community which will overall benefit our clients.

Trish & I truly thank Ian Lindsay and Frank Fairley for a great 9 years and understand that now they will concentrate on their own real estate business.  Ownership and management are now with somone who brings different experiences and skills to the table as Larry now owns 8 different RE/MAX franchise offices in western Canada.

We are looking forward to an exciting 2014 and bringing more exposure to our clients and working more closely with our RE/MAX associates in the Qualicum Beach office.

Waist Not, Want Not 
Holiday parties make it easy to overindulge.  Here are a few simple tips that'll help you enjoy the festivities without having to worry about packing on the pounds:

  1. Don't Go Hungry - You're much more likely to overindulge if you face a buffet of delicious food on an empty stomach so have a healthy snack before you make your grand entrance.

  2. Hold the Drink - Limit your alcohol consumption as alcoholic drinks are full of empty calories.  Try to substitute alcohol for sparkling mineral water.

  3. Get Active - Don't give up your usual exercise routine just because it's the holidays.  If you do, the weight will pile on and it'll be more difficult to get back into the routine once the holidays are over.

Enjoying festive holiday parties doesn't have to equal weight gain.  If you watch your intake and keep your physical activity up, you'll be able to start the year off in style – and in the same size clothes!
TeamW Optimum Property Search Tool 
Are you interested in buying or selling, or possibly just interested in knowing what the local real estate market is doing, check out our new property search tool.  With the TeamW Optimum Property Search tool on our web site you have several advantages over other available systems and the information is in real time.  You can track new listings, price changes as well as sales.

You can find the link to this tool on our web site at http://www.teamw.ca .  It is free and you can unsubscribe at any time.  Also if you know of anyone thinking of buying or selling locally, or someone that is considering relocating here, please share the link with them as well.

Moderate Growth Characterizes Vancouver Island November Market 
Sales activity across the Vancouver Island housing market area was relatively stable for the month of November, dipping only slightly from this time last year.

According to BCREA’s chief economist, Cameron Muir, the dip in sales activity this month is nothing to be concerned about.  “Every market in BC has shown a retrenchment in demand this November, which could be attributed to flat employment levels and slow economic growth,” he stated.

In the greater Parksville Qualicum Beach region sales volumes continued to be stronger than 2012 as number of sales of single family homes was up 13% for the month and up 17% year to date.  Current inventory of single family homes is down 13% and therefore all indications are that prices have stabilized and the average sale price is within 1% of last year's.

2014 continues to look like the activities levels will be maintained, maybe a slight increase, and the invenotry is expected to increase in the spring as it historically has.  Interest rates contine to remain steady and there is no expected change in the bank rate in the near future (maybe not until 2015).

If you sould like to discuss market activity and opportunities, whether buying or selling, please do connect with us as we would be pleased to discuss your situation and assist you in making the right decision for you.  Currently there is a lack of inventory and there are serious buyers out there, if thinking of selling give us a call.

Enjoy an Eco-Friendly Holiday Season 
The holiday season is a great time of year but it's also a time of great waste.  Here are a few things you can do to enjoy an eco-friendly holiday season:

  1. Decorate Naturally - Bring the scent of nature into your home with holly, evergreens, fir cones and cranberries.

  2. Think Outside the Box - All those gift bags, ribbons and bows account for an incredible amount of waste so try and reuse old wrapping paper.

  3. Light Up Mindfully - Everyone loves the twinkle of holiday lights but for the sake of the environment, use LED lights and remember to turn them off before going to bed.

  4. One, Two, Tree - Real trees take in carbon dioxide and release oxygen as well as help sustain the rural economy whereas artificial trees can't be recycled, aren't biodegradable and may contain toxins.

The holiday season is a great opportunity to start eco-friendly family traditions that can be passed down from generation to generation.  Better still, these methods can be as easy on your wallet as they are on the environment!

PS Oh by the way, I am never too busy for any of your introductions.  If you know of anyone that may benefit from my help please contact me with their name and number and let them know that I will be in touch . I would be privileged to assist them!

If you would like to keep up on the market and would like automatic email notifications of new listings, sales, etc. Click here or drop us an email or give us a call:  250-248-1071 / team@teamw.ca


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TeamW - Susie Mattner & Karen Hayes
Susie:250-228-1960
Karen:250-927-9798
Office:250-752-6926
TeamW at Royal LePage Parksville - Qualicum Beach Realty
679 Memorial Avenue
Qualicum Beach, BC
V9K 1T4 CA

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MLS® property information is provided under copyright© by the Vancouver Island Real Estate Board and Victoria Real Estate Board. The information is from sources deemed reliable, but should not be relied upon without independent verification.