While the purchase of smaller homes is becoming more popular, large-scale master bedrooms continue to remain the-trend, as they offer a retreat from the real world. With these tips, you will be dreaming in your bedroom both day
and night.

Atmosphere- Leave the world and the items that remind you of it outside. The master bedroom should be clutter-free; offering a place to de-stress and find solace. Replace cell phones and computers, better suited to a home office, with candles and photos of loved ones.

Furniture- Keeping with the streamlined look, furnish the room with essentials only. An oversized bed with lots of pillows offers a comfortable escape and focal point. Additional furnishings such as “his and hers” bedside tables provide a place for personal items and an armoire can host 
a television, decorative books and photographs.

Window Treatments- The right window treatments can soften harsh light and provide privacy for a restful environment and maybe even a touch of romance. Silhouette window shades diffuse light through two fabric layers for a warm glow and calming effect.

Decorative Accents-Brighter, airy colors such as yellows and warm blues invoke a sense of warmth and happiness. Using a fresh coat of paint in these colors can dramatically alter the look of a room. Add an inspirational element using paintings from places around the world where you have travelled or hope to travel.

En-suite Bathroom- Luxury still resonates with the en-suite bath. “His and Hers” vanities remain popular as well as relaxing soaking tubs. Aromatherapy candles and oversized, fluffy towels add both a functional and decorative element.

Information provided by Craig Hostland of Pillar To Post - 250-765-4134

Defining the limits of your property is important for a variety of reasons, including privacy, security and safety.

“Ultimately, the fence has to fit with how you use your yard,” says Margie Spence, a broker with Royal LePage Niagara Real Estate, in St. Catharines, Ontario. “The challenge comes in finding something that is both functional and aesthetically pleasing,” she adds. Spence recommends reviewing these three scenarios to determine where your fencing needs may fit:

1. Privacy. If you are looking to create more privacy for your home, solid wood fences are a good option. Most fences built for privacy stand about six feet high. They are available in varieties of wood types, with cedar and spruce being the most popular. Lattice-tops can add aesthetic appeal, and a myriad of building designs are available. Ask your local building centre for wood fence and gate design ideas or do some research online.

2. Safety. For backyards with pools, a fence with limited horizontal rails is recommended. This will ward off trespassers from using the fence as a ladder to get into the pool area. Also, a gate with a spring latch is a bylaw requirement in most municipalities. Black aluminum fencing is typically produced with vertical spindles, often emulating wrought iron design, and provides good sight lines for pool areas.

3. Security. Keeping children or pets safe in the yard is paramount for any family. Chain-link fencing is strong, reliable, and affordable. Whether you have a dog that jumps or one that digs, chain-link fences can be built to suit the needs of your pet. Although it is one of the less aesthetically appealing options, chain-link fencing lends to safety and won't break your budget.

Whether you are looking to create your own private oasis or add more security and safety to your home, there is a fence for you.

More information, including homeowner tips, is available online at www.royallepage.ca or www.kelownahomefinders.ca

www.newscanada.com

Canadian CPI inflation registered 2.0 per cent (year-over-year) in April, a 0.1 point increase from March inflation of 1.9 per cent. The rise in consumer prices was led by transportation costs, including a 3.3 per cent rise in gasoline prices. In fact, Statistics Canada's gasoline Index reached a 4 year high in April. The Bank of Canada's core inflation measure, which excludes food and energy prices, rose 2.1 per cent in April, up from 1.9 per cent in March. Consumer prices in BC were 1.6 per cent higher in April (year-over-year), matching the increase in March.

Today's CPI report, in combination with very strong Canadian employment growth in March and April, lends further support to the Bank of Canada's case for raising interest rates this fall. We anticipate at least one 25 basis point increase in the Bank of Canada's overnight rate between October and December this year. The one factor potentially delaying a rise in rates could be an increasingly likely Greek exit from the European Monetary Union. Such an event may roil financial markets enough to put BoC rate hikes off the table.

Information provided by www.bcrea.bc.ca 

Property Type:
31.0% of purchases were by Move-Up Buyers
17.6% by First Time Buyers
16.6% moving from Single Family Home to Strata Unit
10.7% buying Revenue/Investment Property
4.8% purchasing Recreation Property
4.3% moving into Retirement Home/Seniors Community
3.2% moving from Strata property to Single Family Home

Buyer Type (Family Dynamic):
30.4% Two parent family/children
27.7% Couple without children 
16.8% Empty Nesters/Retired
11.5% Single Female
9.4% Single Male
3.7% Single Parent with children

Moving From: 
58.6% from Within OMREB Board Area
19.4% from Alberta
7.9% from Lower Mainland/Vancouver Island
6.8% from Other Areas in BC
4.2% from Eastern Canada/Maritimes
2.1% from Outside Canada
1.0% from Saskatchewan/Manitoba
0% from NWT/Yukon (8th month reported)

Information provided by www.omreb.com

Make your home more appealing for yourself and for potential buyers with these quick and easy tips:

1. Trim bushes so they don't block windows and cut down on light.

2. Buy a new doormat.

3. Put a pot of bright flowers (or a small evergreen in winter) on your porch.

4. Put new doorknobs on your front door.

5. Put a fresh coating on your driveway.

6. Edge the grass around walks and trees.

7. Keep your garden tools out of site.

8. Be sure kids put away their toys.

9. Buy a new mailbox.

10. Upgrade your outside lighting.

11. Use warm, incandescent light bulbs for a homey feel.

12. Polish or replace your house numbers.

13. Clean your gutters.

14. Put out potpourri or burn scented candles.

15. Buy new pillows for the sofa.

16. Buy a flowering plant and put in a window you pass by frequently.

17. Make a centerpiece for your table with fruit or artificial flowers.

18. Replace heavy curtains with sheer ones

      that let in more light.

19. Buy new towels.

20. Put a seasonal wreath on your door.

Want more tips?? Call the Dion-Ivans Real Estate Group today!!

Townhouses straddle the gap between family homes and condos. 

While townhouses have always been a third category of residential real estate, their scarcity has meant few opportunities for buyers to compare them to condos.

The main difference between a single-family detached house and a townhouse are the shared walls between units. The attached units are necessary because, as the name implies, most townhouses are found closer to town, where land values are typically higher than in the suburbs.

But what they give up in property size, they make up by being close to amenities.

"We chose our townhouse because of its proximity to downtown and the Cook Street Village," says Larry Sims, a real estate agent with Royal LePage Coast Capital - Oak Bay. "We had always talked about downsizing and this [property] is just a half-hour walk to downtown."

He and his wife, Sharen Warde, who is also a real estate agent, found out about the townhouse by chance while looking for a property for a client. "We went to get brochures and ended up buying one."

Townhouses are scarce because most developers can build more condos on a given piece of property, maximizing their profitability. In the case of Sims' development, the developer went for a "less is more" philosophy.

"When we looked at the property, we immediately saw that a low-rise, twostorey project would be ideal," says Mike Miller, president of Abstract Developments. "It had a more human scale from the street."

The low-rise scale also benefited the project's neighbours, since elimination of an extra storey meant their properties would receive more sunlight. "The design was sensitive to their concerns," said Miller.

"When the site was rezoned, we received overwhelming support from the community."

The property, named Terra Verde (Green Earth), has also won praise from the building community. It recently won a SAM award from the Canadian Home Builders Association and was a finalist in last year's CHBA Vancouver Island CARE Awards. The project is similar to Terra Rose, another townhouse project by Miller, which received a Gold Georgie Award for Best Townhouse Development in 2006.

The project is classified as executive West Coast Contemporary. The 16 units are each approximately 1,555 square feet, with three bedrooms and three baths.

Sims and Warde's townhouse features an open-concept living area on the main floor with two patios. The front patio is entertainment-sized and the rear is large enough for a bistro set and a small garden with space to grow herbs.

The master, second bedroom and laundry are on the upper floor, while a third bedroom or den is below. A skylight in the stairwell provides ideal lighting for paintings, creating an unexpected mini-gallery of the couple's art collection. Glass panels instead of balusters on the stairs allow occupants in the dining room a clear line of sight into the living room.

According to Sims, the only feature that might concern a potential buyer when they decide to sell would be the two flights of stairs. The property has a secured underground double garage, which is unusual. While desirable, it requires occupants to make a trek up and down to get to their vehicles.

But there are few properties offering parking for two vehicles downtown.

"There are plenty of condos in town, but none with parking for more than one vehicle," says Tony Joe, a real estate agent with Re/Max Camosun. "If that is an important factor for somebody considering downsizing with two vehicles, there are few options."

He estimates townhouses account for only 20 per cent of his business. One of the reasons may be because of cost.

A townhouse is more expensive to build because land is more expensive to procure downtown. An executive townhouse, with its higher-end features, even more so. For $800,000 - about the selling price of Warde and Sims' townhouse - a buyer can get a much larger house on the West Shore.

Joe says that $800,00 is at "the high end of the price range." But the former president of the Victoria Real Estate Board adds, "That's not to say it is overpriced. If this property was a single-family house in the same area, I estimate it would sell for about $1.2 million."

Due to the success of Terra Verde, Miller is planning another project in the area.

"Townhouses fill the need of the downsizer," says Miller. "They may be smaller than what they have been used to, but people seem to react positively to doing more with less - as long as it is in the heart of downtown."

Article provided by : The Victoria Times Colonist
Read more: http://www.timescolonist.com/business/Houses+city+living/6611503/story.html#ixzz1us9aBi4V