Staging a home to sell is a conscious effort to prepare your home a step above the competing listings on the market. You want a potential buyer to walk into your home and feel like they have to have it! Staging is not easy to do but with some effort the results could truly pay off. Here’s a checklist on how to impress from curb to closet:

• Cut and water the lawn, and trim and prune all trees and shrubs
• Remove pet waste, leaves, and weeds from the yard along with tools, toys and other visible items
• Clean all exterior doors and windows on house and garage
• Paint the exterior trim and stain the deck and fence
• Stage an outdoor sitting area with flowerpots, pillows, outdoor carpets, and fire pit or fountain
• Install outdoor solar lighting along all driveways and walkways in front and back yard
• Replace your mailbox, house numbers and paint your front door for a quick curb appeal facelift
• Paint the interior – including walls, doors, ceilings, closets and trim – in a neutral beige or grey
• Remove all shoes, jackets, keys, mail, umbrellas and bags from entrances
• Lubricate doors, furniture and windows to eliminate squeaks
• Remove ALL but the essential items from countertops in the kitchen and bathrooms
• Clean INSIDE and ON TOP of all appliances including refrigerator, microwave, dishwasher and oven
• Dust entire home including ceiling fans, light fixtures, air vents, lampshades, TV’s and electronics
• Clean door frames, doors, windows and window sills, walls, light switches, trim and baseboards
• Place a large bowl full of one fruit such as lemons or apples on the kitchen countertop or table
• Change cat litter and keep it out of sight along with pet food bowls, pet beds and pet toys
• Use fresh plants and flowers to compliment a focal point of the home
• Use an odor neutralizer with a fresh scent even if you don’t think you need one
• Replace all light bulbs with maximum watts and have all lights on and all blinds and draperies open
• Depersonalize the space by removing family photos, trophies, mementos and magnets on the fridge
• Coordinate décor accessories, pillows, and artwork with no more than two accent colors per room
• Float furniture away from walls, into conversational groups, and place so the traffic flow is obvious
• Arrange décor accessories in groups of three – a small, medium and a large item clustered together
• Vary the pattern and grouping of wall hangings and have one or two large focal pieces in living area
• Pack unnecessary items and furniture – at least 1/3 of your home and store them OFF the property
• Don’t neglect storage areas – place items in plastic containers and neatly stack on shelving
• Leave commercial-free easy listening music playing at a low but audible volume on in the house

• Western Canada Fashion Week – Thursday, September 17 – Saturday, September 26 

• U.N. International Day of Peace Celebration – Monday, September 21 

• Edmonton Comic & Entertainment Expo – Friday, September 25 – Sunday, September 27 

Edmonton, September 2, 2015: The average residential price in August for the Edmonton Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) is up 1% year-over-year (YoY) and down slightly by 0.2% relative to last month. A single family home in the Edmonton Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) sold for an average of $439,829; up 0.7% from July and up 1.0% YoY. The average for all residential properties sat at $372,256; down 0.2% from July and up 1.0% over last August.

“Edmonton continues to experience a relatively stable market with respect to year-over-year prices. A slower pace of sales, combined with growing inventories, are creating favourable conditions for entering the Edmonton market,” explains Geneva Tetreault, Chair of the REALTORS® Association of Edmonton. “We have a great selection of inventory this year, a luxury we did not have last year. Sellers may have to wait a little longer to sell their houses but they should still being getting a good price for their house. Buyers can take more time to select their home and have more choice than they would have last year.”

“While there is no doubt that oil prices and the resulting economic slowdown have impacted the housing market, Edmonton has been able to weather these changes better than other Alberta markets.” Tetreault continues, “New developments and projects both in the city and outlying areas have kept the housing market moving.”

Sales continue to lag behind last year in all areas except duplex/rowhouse. An increase in availability of duplex/rowhouse options has helped this category grow over last year in sales (up 1.7%) and price (up 1.53%). Condos continue to be the hardest hit, with sales down 7.7% and average prices down 2.8% from last year.

Sales of all residential properties reported last month are down 5.6% from those reported in August of 2014. Single family home sales of 884 were down 4.3% YoY compared to 1,111 reported last month. Inventory remains strong at 7,227 for the Edmonton CMA at the end of August 2015, up 35% from last August. All residential listings were up YoY by 26.9% but down by 6.3% from last month. There is currently just under five months’ supply of inventory in the Edmonton CMA.

Average days on market for all residential properties was up again this month at 54. Single family average days on market was up to 52 from 48 in July. Condominiums were averaging 56 days compared to 54 in July, and duplex/rowhouses took an average of 52 days to sell in August.

If you are moving or have ever moved, you know there are several calls to make in order to coordinate your change of address and services. We’ve
put together a list you can use as a quick reference for moving, or for any other reason:

UTILITIES:
ATCO GAS 780-424-5222 www.atcogas.com 
DIRECT ENERGY 1- 866-374-6299 www.directenergy.com 
EPCOR 780-310-4300 www.epcor.ca 

PHONE AND CABLE:
TELUS 1-888-811-2323 www.telus.net 
SHAW CABLE & INTERNET 780-490-3555 www.shaw.ca 
BELL 1-866-310-BELL (2355) www.bell.ca 
ROGERS 1-877-343-5745 www.rogers.com 

MUNICIPAL:
EDMONTON TIPS (Property Tax) 311 or 780-442-5311 www.edmonton.ca 
PUBLIC SCHOOL BOARD 780-429-8000 www.epsb.ca 
CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD 780-441-6000 www.ecsd.net 

PROVINCIAL AND FEDERAL:
CANADA POST 1-800-267-1177 www.canadapost.ca 
CANADA REVENUE AGENCY 1-800-959-8281 www.cra-arc.gc.ca 
ALBERTA HEALTH CARE 403-310-000 then dial 780-427-1432 www.health.alberta.ca 

OTHER CALLS TO MAKE:
• Contact your lawyer to schedule an appointment for signing the closing documents.
• Contact your bank to ensure your mortgage documents are in order for closing day.
• Contact your insurance company to ensure your house insurance documents are in order for closing day

• The 23rd annual Edmonton Marathon – Wednesday, August 22nd and Thursday, August 23rd
• Edmonton Blues Festival Music – Tuesday, August 21st to Thursday, August 23rd
• Wanderlust 108 – Saturday, August 29th
• Sonic Boom Festival – Saturday, September 5th and Sunday, September 6th

Edmonton, August 4, 2015: Prices for all residential properties in the Edmonton Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) for July were down from the previous month according to the REALTORS® Association of Edmonton. The average all residential price was $372,910 (down 1.4% from June) due mostly to the drop in price of single family homes to $436,948 (down 1.8%). The drop was not felt across all categories with condo prices up 0.4% at an average of $256,708 and duplex/rowhouse prices up 1.4% from June at an average of $356,237. While all residential average prices were down month over month, they still remained 3.3% higher than July of last year.

“This small dip in prices is expected due to our higher inventory and lower sales numbers. We continue to be surprised by how strong prices have been this year compared to last when we had higher sales and very tight inventory. The wait and see attitude of buyers seems to be diminishing, but people continue to be cautious, explains Geneva Tetreault, Chair of the REALTORS Association of Edmonton.

With reported all residential sales in July down 9.8% from June and down 2.8% from last year, average days on market is up to 50. This is up from 46 average days on market in July 2014. Single family dwellings spent an average of 48 days on market in July of 2015, duplex/rowhouses were at 43 days, and condos at 54 days.

We have seen the biggest drop in condominium sales year to date at 14%. That drop coupled with an increase of condo listings of 17% explains why condos are taking longer on average to sell. Some of these buyers may be moving over to duplex/townhouse options which is the only residential category showing an increase of sales of 6% year to date. Tetreault continues, We are seeing the effects of many condominium projects that broke ground when inventory was coming onto the market recently. Condominiums continue to offer the best price point for those entering the housing market and the ease of care and smaller size that appeal to an older demographic.

Higher priced properties continue to keep pace with sales of last year, likely contributing to the strong average prices in 2015 so far. There were 73 properties over a million dollars sold by this time last year, the exact same number as this year.

Inventory is still strong at 7,226 for the Edmonton CMA at the end of July 2015, up slightly from 7,177 in June and much higher than the 5,609 available in July of 2014. All residential listings were up year over year by 14.9% but down month over month from June by 2.2%.