Real Estate Blog - homeowners

2021 RE/MAX Market Share Reports

The 2021 Market Share Reports are here and prove, yet again, that RE/MAX is #1! The #REMAXHustle never stops!

The RE/MAX Market Share Reports are great resources to show that RE/MAX Agents can get your home sold!

Market Share Reports show:

• RE/MAX agents sell more real estate than any other Canadian brand.
• RE/MAX is the most recognized name in real estate and #1 in brand awareness.
• Over 95 per cent of homebuyers and sellers know of RE/MAX.
• Each year, RE/MAX agents’ help hundreds of thousands of families buy or sell a home.

Connect with your own RE/MAX Agent today! #BrandPower

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Can Housing Upgrades Affect Your Insurance?

There’s a lot to consider when you decide to renovate. Aside from choosing the right tile for your new backsplash or the perfect shade of paint, you have to think about insurance. Though home insurance isn’t mandatory in Canada, most mortgage lenders require it before financing, and it can help protect your property and home contents against damages.

Canada’s home renovation sector is now an $80-billion market with a recent survey indicating that 27% of Canadian homeowners have renovated during the pandemic, and another 20% plan on tackling renovations in the near future. 

While some renovations can be costly, they can help increase the value of a home. Regardless of the size of your renovation, it’s always important to consider how any improvement…

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8 Best Ways to Finance Major Home Renovations

Upon deciding to upgrade your home, whether you’re planning to stay there or sell, the topic of money arises quickly. It’s well known that home renovations can be costly. Sure, some small upgrades such as new light fixtures, faucets and paint don’t typically cost a whole lot of money, but remodels are known to snowball and the costs can add up quickly. Thankfully, you have options! Here are 8 of the best ways to finance major home renovations to help you forge ahead, with confidence that you’ll have the financial means to make your vision a reality!

1. Home Equity Line of Credit

When buying a home, most people apply for a mortgage. Your home equity is the portion of your home that you have already paid off.

Home…

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What to Know About Roofs

Is the roof of your home in good condition? Don’t feel bad if you don’t know the answer—many homeowners are often unaware of the state of their roof. Out of sight, out of mind, right? Unless there are obvious damages, such as cracks or leaks, it’s easy to forget about this exterior part of your home.

Whether you’re buying, selling, or you’re a homeowner who simply wants to know how to keep your roof in good shape, you’ve come to the right place. Here are three of the most asked questions about roofs.

What are the different types of roofs?

Roof materials come in different forms­: metal/tin, asphalt, wood, cedar, slate, and clay are the most common types. With a plethora of options, it gets tricky when trying to choose the best option for…

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5 Fresh Living Rooms With Built-In Storage

A fireplace is a natural focal point in a living room. But sometimes it can command too much attention. A smart way to balance a fireplace wall is to add built-in cabinetry. These units can create symmetry while adding storage and display space for decorative items. And their built-in nature gives the overall design a more intentional look than standalone units might. Here, design and remodeling pros share details about incorporating built-ins in recent living room projects.


Younger Homes

1. Black-and-White Boldness

Builder: Danielle Younger of Younger Homes
Architect: Danze & Davis Architects
Designer: Haley Manning
Location: Jonestown, Texas

Homeowners’ request. A family lakeside vacation home with high-end architectural design. “They wanted a…

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Top 10 Winter Plants for Your Garden

Keeping your garden looking stunning during the cold season can be a challenge. But, with the right winter plants, you can enjoy gorgeous blooms even as the snow falls. Here are our picks for ten cold-hardy perennials and one annual plant, guaranteed to make your garden pop with color in winter.

Snowdrops

Snowdrops are usually associated with springtime, but did you know they can bloom as early as December? Start by planting some bulbs in the fall in any part of your garden that gets light shade. These plants don’t take long to grow, and before you know it, they will add a touch of springtime to your winter garden.

Japanese Camellia

Image: sei.N / Shutterstock.com

This is a fantastic…

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How to Prioritize Home Renovations

Whether you’ve bought a fixer-upper, or your property simply needs an update, homeowners may find themselves confronted with multiple renovations at a time. Upgrading your home can also be  contagious—once you update one room, it can feel tempting to do them all. If you’re looking at several home renovations on your to-do list, where do you even start? How do you decide what projects come first and what tasks can sit on the back burner? 

Rebecca Hay, president and principal designer of Rebecca Hay Designs, gives us some pointers on how to prioritize home renovations.

How to decide where to start

You have several areas of your home that need a renovation—the kitchen is dated, the entryway isn’t functional, and the bathroom…

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How High Will The Bank Of Canada Hike Rates?

Canadians have never had so many monetary policy questions, especially homebuyers. Our crystal ball is in the shop, so we can’t tell you what interest rates will be. However, we can do the next best thing — present you with the Canadian Overnight Rate Sentiment Index. We polled the country’s top economics and finance experts for their Bank of Canada (BoC) forecast. We then de-biased it by disassociating the expert’s name, and plotted the forecasts. While we can’t tell you the future (yet!), we can help you understand where the best of the best see things heading. 

A Quick Note On Forecasting

It might seem obvious what a forecast is, but it’s worth repeating for those who don’t work with them regularly. A forecast estimates a future…

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Hidden Costs of Home Ownership

Buying a home is one of the biggest purchases you will make in your lifetime. While the initial purchase of a home is a big cost, it is important to keep in mind the expected – and unexpected – costs of owning a home. From maintenance fixes and utilities, to insurance and emergency costs, it is important to be aware of the hidden costs of home ownership that might not always be obvious.

Take a look at these hidden costs of owning a home that you might not be aware of.

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Kitchen of the Week!

This homeowner had regretted the kitchen she’d selected for her home when it was being built and had spoken with her friend and neighbor, kitchen and bath designer Sarah Robertson, about renovating it for years. Because the busy family of four entertained often, the layout just wasn’t working — it lacked pantry space, had a lot of blank space on one wall and included a kitchen desk that seemed like a good idea at the time but wound up never being used. Robertson planned a new layout that made cooking, prepping, cleaning, storing and entertaining a breeze. She also took the style from so-so to sophisticated, pulling together walnut, wood, white, blue, glass, brass and zinc to personalize the space.

Before Photo Becky Harris Photos by…

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