chronic issue Province and cities team up to tackle grow ops
See Our Ad On Pg A3
crime A6
luxury homes feature a10 – A13
Real Estate (Central)
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FREE mar 1 to mar mar 7 2013 issue 03-08 www.crebnow.com facebook.com/crebnow twitter.com/crebnow
real estate news from industry experts
Paul Lafrance brings uniquely philosophical backyard savvy to Calgary Home + Garden Show Cody Stuart
managing editor
A
s one of the showcase presenter’s at this year’s Calgary Home + Garden Show, Paul Lafrance provides a pretty good indicator of just how important the art of transforming your living space has become. Host of HGTV’s new television show Decked Out as well as the mini-series Deck Wars, and creator, owner and CEO of his own design company, Lafrance has spent the last 15 years generating state-of-the-art custom deck designs across North America. In that time, the popularity of shows like Lafrance’s — placing a priority on making the most of your house and home — has grown with stunning speed. The allure of maximizing the home’s potential, particularly in the backyard, is something Lafrance says owes much to the increasing pace of our everyday lives. “We are on the verge of rebelling against the speed of culture,” he said. “We have all these wonderful technological advances, we have all this stuff that’s supposed to make our lives more simple and make our lives more peaceful, and we have never been more stressed out because we have never moved this fast before. And the need for people to actually find a place of rest to be able to breathe in and out has never been more paramount.” In order to foster such a feeling, Canadians spent nearly $21 billion on renovations in 2011, with the average facelift coming in at a cost of $12,504. With so much money devoted to makeovers, it’s no surprise some of that attention eventually turns towards those areas outside of the home – an area Lafrance believes holds an inherent connection for Canadians, even if they aren’t quite sure what to do with it. “There’s something about being out in nature that is very peaceful,” he said. “So many of us have this little patch of land that is directly out the back door of our house but we look out there and say ‘What could we possibly do out there?’”
lafrance A3
SINGLE FAMILY
MLS® AVERAGE DAYS ON MARKET* JAN ‘11 – JAN ‘13
58
56
60
52 52 49 49 48 45
48
43 40
CREB® STAFF
47
43 42 43 41 38 37
36
JAN11 FEB11 MAR11 APR11 MAY11 JUN11 JUL11 AUG11 SEP11 OCT11 NOV11 DEC11 JAN12 FEB12 MAR12 APR12 MAY12 JUN12 JUL12 AUG12 SEP12 OCT12 NOV12 DEC12 JAN13
39
41 41
49
51
Council unanimous on making Central Library a reality
C
MOVING?
news briefs mortgage rates market
municipaL A3
A3 A4 A7
Boomers want more room
pop the question
algary city council voted unanimously Feb. 25 to approve elements bringing a new Central Library one step closer to reality. “I am very pleased with the decision made by council (Feb. 25),” said Mayor Naheed Nenshi. “This will be a critical community space that inspires thought, collaboration and conversation. I can’t wait to see it take shape.”
*All statistics based on monthly data compiled by CREB® via MLS® activity.
contents
A14
Joanne Dafoe
green living
A15
Eco-friendly moving
commercial
A16
Market sees 80 per cent increase
map open houses
B1 B19
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