Selling a home can be a complicated process and if you've never worked with a real estate expert before, you may wonder about benefits of doing so. Andrew Peck, president of the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) shares his thoughts on five benefits a REALTOR® provides to home sellers. Their number one goal is to make real estate transactions as simple and easy as possible for their clients.

Tips heading into patio season

Spring has sprung, meaning the handyman in your family is likely itching to tackle that outdoor project that's been nagging at him or her for months.

With patio season in sight, here are five tips from the City of Calgary's Planning and Development department before tackling your spring reno project:

Backyard decks
Before you start, the City suggests determining whether you're building a pergola or roof structure that is attached to your house. If it's an extension to the house, it's considered an addition, in which case you will need to apply for a building permit. For uncovered decks that are not located on the same facade as a basement walkout entry, the maximum height is 1.5 metres in a developed area. In both the developed and developing areas, the height of a deck cannot exceed 0.3 metres above the main floor level of a house.

Understanding the lingo

CREB® released its regional housing market statistics earlier this week for January, showing the residential housing market is continued to be challenged by energy sector uncertainty. But what does it mean for homeowners?

CREB®Now breaks down the lingo in this week's "Five Things" feature.

Sales
CREB® reported that sales of all housing types in Calgary are down 13 per cent from last January to 763 units. By segment, however, a slightly different story begins to unfold. While sales in the detached market decreased by an identical 13 per cent, the attached sector dropped by just over 10 per cent, while the apartment sector fell by a precipitous 16 per cent. For sellers, this shows which segments are more active than others – keeping in mind that the detached sector still represents nearly two-thirds of all sales activity.

What's on the horizon for Calgary's skyline?

Despite much of the news coming out of Calgary's downtown being of the negative variety as of late, there are still developments moving forward. With construction cranes still littering the downtown skyline, CREB®Now takes a look at five developments coming to downtown Calgary in the near future.

The Hat
A 28-storey residential rental complex being built by Calgary-based Cidex Developments Ltd, The Hat will bring the first new rental accommodations to East Village. The family-friendly three-bedroom apartments will offer everything that a family needs, including on-site child care, all within easy walking distance.

City council has approved what it's calling a 2016 Resilience Budget. Presented as part of adjustments to its operating budget for 2016-18, the resilience budget which will change what Calgarians will be paying for many City services.

CREB®Now takes a look at some of those changes:

1. $4.90
With a property tax hike originally pegged at 4.7 per cent when the City released its 2015-2018 Action Plan, the subsequent cut to 3.5 per cent will mean the average Calgarian will be shelling out $4.90 more per month rather than $6.75.