Royal LePage is proud to announce the My Great Neighbourhood Contest where consumers can enter to win one of seven monthly prizes of $500 and/or the Grand Prize of $25,000 in cash! Participants are invited to submit videos, photos, and stories to tell Canada why their neighbourhood is the greatest. They’ll have to share their entries with their friends and family to get votes online. A $5 000 donation will be made to a nearby women’s shelter in the Grand Prize winner’s name.

Go to the contest website:
http://www.royallepage.ca/mygreatneighbourhood

Encourage people in your community to participate – it’s a fun and innovative way to get in touch and promote your neighbourhood.

Members of the Ottawa Real Estate Board sold 1,659 residential properties in May through the Board’s Multiple Listing Service® system compared with 1,686 in May 2010, a decrease of 1.6 per cent.

Of those sales, 369 were in the condominium property class, while 1,290 were in the residential property class. The condominium property class includes any property, regardless of style (i.e. detached, semi-detached, apartment, stacked etc.), which is registered as a condominium, as well as properties, which are co-operatives, life leases and timeshares. The residential property class includes all other residential properties.

According to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) in their Spring 2011 Ottawa Housing Market Outlook, the Ottawa Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) transitioned from a seller’s market to a balanced market in 2010 and will remain in that territory in 2011. CMHC analysts define Ottawa’s resale housing market as balanced when between 35 and 55 per cent of the number of homes listed for sale (new listings) in a given month are sold.

“Sales numbers for May were virtually unchanged from 2010, but prices continued to rise at about the same rate as we have seen for the past few months, demonstrating solid demand for resale housing in our area,” said Board President Joanne Tibbles. “A balanced market offers no distinct advantage to either buyers or sellers, so I’d advise anyone thinking of buying or selling to work with a local REALTOR® to help them achieve their goals. There are different strategies for marketing a home or making an offer to purchase in a balanced market versus a buyer’s or seller’s market. An Ottawa REALTOR® can help make the process easier for consumers,” Tibbles added.

The average sale price of residential properties, including condominiums, sold in May in the Ottawa area was $352,347, an increase of 5.6 per cent over May 2010. The average sale price for a condominium-class property was $261,871, an increase of 6.4 per cent over May 2010. The average sale price of a residential-class property was $378,228, an increase of 6 per cent over May 2010. The Board cautions that average sale price information can be useful in establishing trends over time but should not be used as an indicator that specific properties have increased or decreased in value. The average sale price is calculated based on the total dollar volume of all properties sold.

951 Cummings Avenue – Condominium – $264,900 – OPEN HOUSE SUN JUNE 5th, 2-4PM

1078 Redtail Private – Condominium – $279,900

1940 Bromley Road - Semi-detached – Bungalow - $334,900 – OPEN HOUSE SUN JUNE 5th, 2-4PM

Canada’s government has stepped in to try to broker a deal between Canada Post and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers.

With prospects growing that a postal strike will take place from midnight on Thursday night, Canadian government minister Lisa Raitt is now attempting to force compromise between the two sides.

The Federal Minister of Labour has proposed a meeting today (June 1) for the union and Canada Post president Deepak Chopra to attend.

The union handed in its legally-required 72-hour notice of an intention to strike on Monday, a notice that stated the strike would be held from 11.59pm on Thursday (June 2).

After receiving the notice, the government minister said she was “concerned” a strike was being considered and was “taking this situation very seriously”.

“Any work stoppage would impact Canada’s economic well-being. We are currently going through an economic recovery, which remains fragile,” Raitt said.

“The Government of Canada is committed to supporting unions and employers, while advancing stable labour relations. I remind the parties that the best solution in any dispute is one that the parties reach themselves. I therefore urge and encourage the parties to reach a negotiated agreement as soon as possible.”

To read complete article please click here.

Royal LePage and its public relations partner Fleishman-Hillard were honoured last night with an award from the Canadian Public Relations Society’s Toronto Chapter.  The award was in recognition of the HST Advisor Survey that Royal LePage issued on August 5, 2010, which was named ‘Campaign of the Year’ for Investor/Financial Relations.

The HST <http://x.jmxded135.net/y.z?l=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.royallepage.ca%2Fen%2Fmedia%2F100805-hst-confusion-royal-lepage-advisor-survey.aspx%3Fbottomcontent%3D874%26toolstips%3D1052%26relatedcontent%3D1074&e=7346&j=261039986&t=h>  Advisor Survey was recognized for uncovering misconceptions around the Harmonized Sales Tax that took effect July 1, 2010 in Ontario and BC and its effect on real estate transactions.

“Buying a home is often the largest investment Canadians will make in their lifetime,” said Phil Soper, president and chief executive.  “Royal LePage is committed to educating Canadians in order to help them make informed real estate decisions and the HST Advisor Survey was a great example of that commitment.”

For the 4th year in a row Royal LePage Performance Realty,has ranked in the top 14 best workplaces in Canada.

For more information, please visit the Listing Agent’s website, under Current Inventory.