Lovely three bedroom four bathroom home for sale on Rush Meadow Street, Kitchener (Strasburg & Huron). Open house this Sunday.

Finished top to bottom and loaded with extras. Hardwood, ceramics, whirlpool, central air, water softener, fenced yard, master bedroom ensuite, laminate in basement. Private rear yard, fenced.

Where: 101 Rush Meadow St, Kitchener. (Strasburg & Huron)

When: Sunday March 27, 2011

Time: 2:00pm – 4:00pm

Click here for feature sheet.

Keith Marshall is a real estate agent with Prudential Grand Valley Realty, serving Kitchener, Waterloo and Cambridge. If you’re thinking of buying or selling your home, please give me a call. I aim to take the stress and mystery out of the home buying and selling process.

If you have real estate questions, you can chat with me live on my homepage or contact me by phone or email. Sign up for my newsletter.

Filed under: Buying Real Estate, Huron Park, open house by Keith Marshall
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According to the 18th Annual RBC Homeownership Study, Canadians believe in the long-term benefits of owning a home, including the value it can provide, both personally and as a long term investment. While last year’s (2010) survey showed that people were looking to buy ahead of rising costs, this year marks a return to more normal levels of purchase intentions. Recent housing data reflects this move to a more balanced market.

Interest in purchasing a home over the next two years has declined slightly but remains high overall, as 29% say it’s likely they will buy. This is down two points from 2010 yet higher than any other year since 2006.

Also in RBC Homeownership Study:

90% of homeowners are confident about real estate in Canada as an investment

85% feel that they are doing a good or excellent job of paying down their mortgage

73% believe that they or their family are well positioned to weather a housing drop

40% of Canadians feel the current housing market is balanced equally between buyers and sellers, a rise of five points over 2010.

26% of homebuyers list rising home prices as their number one concern about purchasing a home followed by rising mortgage rates (22%).

If you have real estate questions, you can chat with me live on my homepage or contact me by phone or email. Sign up for my newsletter.

Filed under: Buying Real Estate, canada, home owners, mortgage, real estate trends by Keith Marshall
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Twelve miles from Kitchener, a landmark that is part of Waterloo Region’s history is celebrating an anniversary. The Schneider’s sign is fifty.

Think back. Fifty years ago today, beside the then only just opened 401, on the right hand side (heading west from Toronto) a symbol of Kitchener’s industrial power and a statement of our reputation for good quality, the “wiener beacon” was newly erected.

Although Schneider Foods was gobbled up in 2003 by Maple Leaf Foods, the Kitchener plant continues to operate, producing a wide range of products, “everything from premium meats, slow roasted the old fashioned way, to ultra-convenient lunch kits…”. I sometimes, on summer days go out of my way just to pass the “wiener factory”, so I can enjoy that great wiener smell.

Filed under: Around Kitchener Waterloo, general news, Uncategorized by Keith Marshall
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The Perimeter Institute is an unusual looking building. To me, it’s never looked finished. I think it looks best at night when the windows are lit up against the black building and the night sky. Maybe that’s the idea.

And now the addition makes the Perimeter Institute look like it crash-landed. Maybe that’s the idea. I don’t know.

But around the world, there are buildings that are way more unusual. My buddy Dave sent me an email that had these unusual buildings from around the world (some are in Canada).

Filed under: Around Kitchener Waterloo, canada, just for fun, real estate trends, uptown waterloo by Keith Marshall
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At open houses and other times when real estate is a topic of conversation, people always ask me, “how’s the market?”

There’s so much going on. “It’s complicated,” I say.

Unfortunately, most people are unsatisfied with an answer so vague. They want to hear:

It’s great.

It’s a good time to sell.

It’s a good time to buy.

…And those answers are almost always true, statistically. Real estate is a great investment, you have to live somewhere and it almost always goes up in value.

As a real estate agent, I watch the market statistics, read the real estate news and do my best to figure out where we are headed. The past is a good indication of the future.

The Canadian Real Estate Association has a wealth of information, if you like statistics.

Filed under: Buying Real Estate, investing in real estate, real estate trends, Selling Real Estate by Keith Marshall
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