5 Big Design Trends to Try Right Now

Every year home design trends come and go but it’s never too late to try something new. Update your décor and impress your friends (and yourself) at the same time, by including some of this year’s hottest design trends. Pantone Colour of the Year Year after year the iconic people at Pantone come up with their colour of the year, inspiring not only home décor trends but fashion and other design areas across the board as well. For 2014, the colour du jour is: Radiant Orchid, a gorgeous pinky purple-hue. An infusion of this beauty would be a welcome breath of colour anywhere—from kitchen to bedroom and every room in between. Florals Florals are holding strong and continuing to be on-trend this year, but they’re definitely growing in size. Now, pretty blooms, the bigger the better are a force to be reckoned with. What lovelier way to add some vibrant colour and bold patterns to your home than throw pillows, sheets or duvet covers with big bright florals. (Try to find some with radiant orchid for a double-dose of style.) Blue & Blue Black’s younger, lighter cousin grey has certainly had its heyday, but this is the year for something far more dramatic. Black walls are en vogue—think entire living and dining rooms--but if you’re not ready to go all in, try one accent wall or the always-in-style coupling with white. And when it comes to blue, think every shade--from lovely sky blue dishes displayed in your kitchen, to darker navy and white striped towels in your bathroom. Vintage Everything old is new again but the good news is mixing and matching is totally ok. A distressed old-trunk serving as a coffee table or impressive antique maps framed and hung on the walls, not only serve as beautiful, on-trend décor pieces, but add a lot of intrigue (and conversation starters) to the room. Warm Metals Especially in the kitchen. Seems grey isn’t only taking a backseat in the living room, but in the kitchen this year as well. Warmer bronzes, golds and black are replacing sleek chrome and stainless steel when it comes to lighting and cabinetry accents. And if you’re really looking to make a big splash, try some bronze sconces in the kitchen.

Housing market continues surge ahead

Nationally, sales for all property types rose 10.6 per cent to 42,151 units, led by significant gains in British Columbia, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. New listings rose eight per cent, thanks to growth in the Maritime provinces, while the average price increased almost six per cent, to $408,795.
Calgary realized the greatest rise in sales, up 31.2 per cent to 488 units sold in September, while the average price rose 8.8 per cent to $318,913. In Toronto, sales rose 20.2 per cent to 1,976 units with average price hiking 7.1 per cent to $366,588.
That increase in activity is being felt on the ground.
“A lot of people start looking for homes, or take up their search again, so I’m not surprised that sales are up,” says David Fleming, an agent with Bosley Real Estate in Toronto. “[September] is one of the busiest months of the real estate calendar.”
In terms of prices, Vancouver experienced the greatest rise, up 11.3 per cent to $476,498. During the month of September, 1,191 condos were sold in the West Coast city.
September’s performance is largely in line with industry expectations.
In August, CREA’s chief economist Gregory Klump accurately predicted no slowdown to Toronto’s housing market. “That’s because there’s a shortage and there will be a shortage because the city is trying to densify,” he said.

Source: http://www.canadianrealestatemagazine.ca/news/item/2249-housing-market-continues-surge-ahead

Four signs it is a good time to sell

Are you thinking about selling? Best to consider these factors and avoid the following traps.
1. Profit has been maximised: When a property has reached maximum value, there is little value in holding onto it for longer. Therefore this is generally considered the optimum time to sell.
2. Property has not performed: Having cash or equity tied up in an investment that has not performed (over a reasonable time period) can prevent an investor from reaching their financial goals.
3. Better opportunity elsewhere: Investors should know how each of their properties are performing relative to a) others in their portfolio and b) those in the market place. If another opportunity presents itself with greater investment prospects then it should be considered.
4. Depreciation has been maximised: Depreciation on a property lasts for up to 40 years from the time of construction. Over time the value of depreciation recedes. This could weaken a property's cash-flow position to the degree that it becomes better to sell.
While a forced exit can cause investors to panic and make easily avoidable mistakes, there are a number of traps that any investor wanting to exit a property needs to be aware of, according to experts.
These include:
-Selling too soon - before the market has started moving. This can impact on capital gains and, thus, the profit made.
-Holding for too long until demand has dropped off and the market is going down. This can prolong the sales process and result in a lower price.
-Selling to buy in a rising market, but then sitting on the sidelines. If an investor sells in this scenario, they shouldn't then neglect to buy a property as intended.
-Forgetting to factor in selling costs (eg: agent commissions, legal costs and the like).
-Cross-collateral implications with lenders: Selling might trigger the need for valuations on other properties in a portfolio. This, in turn, could impact on the value of the portfolio.

Source: http://www.canadianrealestatemagazine.ca/expert-advice/item/2212-four-signs-it-is-a-good-time-to-sell

Investor anger at rental licence issue

As another region flirts with the idea of introducing a license system for rental units, investors argue that this is not the solution to a housing crisis.
While more City officials recognize the need to clamp down on slum landlords, some investors are arguing that licensing is not the answer.
Last week, a number of candidates vying for seats for the west Hamilton ward said they would put this controversial plan back on the table to help solve the housing crisis in the area.
This plan could see the city issue licenses to rental units in buildings with six or fewer apartments. This clampdown is aimed at focusing on poorly maintained rental units around McMaster University and Mohawk College.
Kayla Andrade from Ontario Landlords Watch says that licensing is not the answer to this housing issue and will not have the desired effect of creating more units to alleviate supply problems.
Jay Parlar, president of the Ainslee Wood- Westdale Community Association, says there has been a deterioration of housing stock in many areas of this vicinity with students living in unsafe conditions.
Candidate Brian Lewis says there is a need to develop more student housing downtown and to boost enforcement of existing codes.
Ottawa city officials are currently studying the merits of licensing and other enforcement programs near university campuses. This follows a number of complaints from across the province about the number of unkept and illegal student properties, such as those near Algonquin College.
Waterloo currently has a licensed system where landlords of non-high rise properties must pay for licenses and submit maintenance plans. The properties are also inspected.



source: http://www.canadianrealestatemagazine.ca/news/item/2237-investor-anger-at-rental-licence-issue