Welcome to Ask A Stager, your regular staging advice column designed exclusively for real estate professionals. Whether you’re grappling with how to enhance the visual appeal of your listings or seeking innovative strategies to captivate your target audience, you’ve come to the right place. Ask A Stager offers you the opportunity to pose any and all staging-related questions and receive expert advice, for free. No query is too big or small — if it’s about elevating the look of your real estate, we want to hear it and we want to help! Email your questions to ninadoiron@isodesign.ca   In ..read more

On April 12, the federal government announced its new housing plan. The plan will be supported by investments from Budget 2024, announced Tuesday. “Canada can and will solve the housing crisis, and we’re going to do it by getting every home builder, not-for-profit, mayor, city councillor and premier pulling in the same direction to build the homes Canadians need,” The Honourable Sean Fraser, minister of housing, infrastructure and communities, says. The housing plan outlines a strategy to obtain 3.87 million new homes by 2031, including at least 2 million net new homes in addition to the Can ..read more

During its 2024 Annual General Meeting this week, the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) announced James Mabey as its chair. Mabey is a realtor and broker-manager from Edmonton with more than 20 years of experience, including in positions like chair of the Realtors Association of Edmonton and chairing numerous CREA committees. He volunteers within and outside of the real estate industry. Mabey is joined by officers Valérie Paquin, chair-elect, Garry Bhaura, vice-chair and Larry Cerqua, immediate past chair, along with the following board of director members: Anthony Bastiaanssen, regio ..read more

Stay ahead of the curve and tune into our speaker series lineup featuring innovators, changemakers and industry experts. Run, don’t walk, to TRREB REALTOR® QUEST on Wednesday, May 15 and Thursday, May 16 at the Toronto Congress Centre and explore your pathway to success. Announcing the first lineup in the speaker series: Mark Weisleder, senior partner at Real Estate Lawyers.ca LLP, author and industry expert, is a sought-after speaker on legal real estate topics. His session, FAQs About TRESA, is a must-attend. Bita Di Lisi, licensed paralegal, is an advocate for real estate professionals a ..read more

Re/Max Quebec president and founder, Pierre Titley, died last Sunday, as announced by the company on Monday. Titley is known for introducing the company to Quebec in 1981 and growing it. The company has a large presence there today, with a 44 per cent market share, it says. Re/Max in Quebec and Canada would not be where it is today without Titley. Under Titley’s leadership, Re/Max Quebec launched exclusive programs like Tranquilli-T, which offers sellers protection, and legal assistance post-deed of sale signing. As well, the company became Opération Enfant Soleil’s key partner since its fir ..read more

Today, Kelly Byers, realtor and salesperson from Woodstock, Ontario, was nationally recognized and celebrated for her charitable contributions by the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), through its Canadian Realtors Care Award. Byers was announced as recipient of the award at CREA’s Open Forum & AGM, and a $5,000 donation was made in her honour to her charity of choice, the London Health Sciences Foundation’s Stem Cell Transplant Patient Assistance Fund.   Launched initiative that collected over 250,000 pounds of food for those in need   Her contributions include 14 years ..read more

On Thursday, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland announced several housing affordability measures intended to help Canadians buy their first homes and help current homeowners afford what they have.   Affording a down payment   Effective April 16, the homebuyer’s plan withdrawal limit will increase from $35,000 to $60,000. This can be combined with a tax-free savings account. Freeland says this will give young Canadians more tools to save what’s actually required for a down payment on a home. The government is also giving Canadians an extra three years to re ..read more

Finding success as a real estate agent is all about building relationships with clients and consistently growing your network. This is why effectively marketing yourself is essential.  Of all the things you can do to market yourself online, email marketing is one of the most impactful ways to a) reach your audience and b) convert leads into clients.  And the statistics prove it.   A survey conducted by SaleCycle.com found a whopping 59 per cent of consumers say marketing emails influence their purchase decisions, and over half say they purchase from an email at least once ..read more

Today, the Ottawa Real Estate Board’s (OREB) board of directors announced that Nicole Christy will assume the permanent position of CEO on June 1, 2024. Christy came from the London and St. Thomas Association of Realtors (LSTAR) as vice-president, corporate governance and leadership development. She joined LSTAR in 2021. “Nicole’s experience with organized real estate and her connections to the Ottawa community make her the premier choice for CEO of the only local association dedicated to empowering Ottawa realtors to be community builders,” says OREB president Curtis Fillier. “She’ll have t ..read more

The Canadian housing market showed little change in March 2024, with home sales and prices remaining mostly flat. Sales activity recorded through Canadian MLS systems edged up by 0.5 per cent month-over-month but remained below the average of the last 10 years.  The national composite MLS Home Price Index (HPI) also remained mostly unchanged, dipping by 0.3 per cent month-over-month. The report suggests that while there are expectations of a market pick-up this year, the current situation could be influenced by high interest rates and the anticipation of rate cuts.   Canadian consu ..read more