Your September Market Snapshot is here! Residential sales totaled 2,162 in September, nearing the record high for the month recorded in 2005. The market is still in favor of the seller but conditions are not as tight as they were at the beginning of the year. #thecalgaryrealestateteam #bullsellinvest #askthecret #ycc #alberta

Are you getting ready to put your house on the market? Or maybe you are looking for a little refresh to your home. Whatever the reason, here are our top 7 tips for de-cluttering your home!

1. Create a de-clutter checklist. Breaking down your decluttering sessions into smaller chunks will feel less overwhelming and make the goal of having a clean house more attainable.

2. Clear off flat surfaces. Don’t hold onto that paper clutter! If you have receipts you need to keep, take pictures and upload them to your cloud. All old bills or papers can be shredded and request online billing going forward.

3. Re-sell and donate! Use the 80/20 rule. 80% of the time, we only wear 20% of our clothes. Same can probably be said for video games, electronics, books, etc. Now the next step is to get rid of the things you don’t use 80% of the time. You may choose to donate these items or sell them on Marketplace.

4. Invest in practical storage solutions. Go to Ikea or your favorite retailer and look for storage solutions that work for you. It can be a simple basket for your shelf to installing some permanent shelves or investing in a closet organization system.

5. Set an expiry date on items. Sometimes we hold onto items to be able to squeeze one more use out of them, or you think ‘what if I am going to need this all of a sudden?’. Chances are, you probably won’t. If you have not used something or thought about it in 6-12 months, you can probably get rid of it.

6. Schedule a junk pick-up. By booking this, it will hold you accountable to get through your stuff. You may be surprised with how many things you have been holding onto ‘just-in-case’. A bin makes it easy to get rid of small to large items at one time.

7. Keep ‘like’ things together. Store each category of item close to where you will actually use them, this way you know where they are quickly when they need to be used. Categorizing items as you go through them will ensure you are the most efficient.

Here's the Real Estate Stats for the month of August! We're in a balanced market with good homes selling fast and in many cases, for over list price. The best ROI is simply made by taking good care of your property.

Policymakers, who make a decision tomorrow, are in a trickier spot after economy's surprise contraction

The Bank of Canada is still on course to raise interest rates to 0.50 per cent towards the end of next year, according to economists polled by Reuters, despite a surprise contraction in economic growth last quarter.

Respondents surveyed Aug. 30-Sept. 3 were almost evenly split on the risk that first interest rate hike in the post-pandemic cycle came earlier or later than they expected, with nine saying earlier and eight saying later. 

Canadian policymakers were forecast to keep interest rates unchanged at the Sept. 8 meeting, according to all 34 economists in the wider poll.

The BoC is set to taper its relatively small $2 billion per week asset purchases program again – most likely in October by $1 billion – said 16 of 19 economists. That is when the central bank provides its next quarterly update on its growth and inflation forecasts.

But policymakers are now in a trickier spot, at least in the near-term, with a surprise economic contraction of 1.1 per cent reported for the second quarter, well below their expectation for 2.0 per cent growth.

Still, the median view for a rate hike in Q4 2022 have held, with 16 of 19 common contributors expecting at least one hike by end-2022 in the latest poll, compared to 14 in a July survey.

An expected 0.4 per cent economic contraction in July despite the economy reopening from pandemic lockdowns gives support for a cautious stance, and stands in contrast to a still very robust economic expansion south of the border.

“Inflation has firmed significantly and, despite the possibility of a brief period of soft growth, the overall economic recovery remains on track,” said Nick Bennenbroek, international economist at Wells Fargo.

“Against this backdrop the Bank of Canada is on course to shift to less accommodative monetary policy. Indeed, if growth or inflation were to surprise to the upside, an initial rate hike could come earlier than we currently expect.”

Canada has ramped up its coronavirus vaccination drive in recent months, with about 75 per cent of its population having received at least one dose, reducing the chances of large-scale lockdowns due to new variants.

The country is headed for an early federal election on Sept. 20. But 90 per cent of economists, 15 of 18, said the outcome would not have a material impact on their views on the Canadian economy and monetary policy in the medium-term.

Only three respondents said otherwise.

“You’re likely looking at a minority government, so they will not get everything they want, no matter who wins,” said Benjamin Reitzes, rates and macro strategist at BMO.

“It does look like there will be more spending almost no matter who wins, but again, we don’t really know what will go through, so won’t really be changing any forecasts, it’s just too close to call at this point.”

Source: Financial Post