Everyone has different reasons for wanting to sell their home, but I think we can all agree that you'd like to get most bang for your buck when you sell. With that said, here are three things you should do once you decide to sell, that will add value to your home before you list.

Renovate: this doesn't have to be a huge upgrade, but something as simple as a fresh coat of paint and updating old flooring can make a world of a difference to a prospective buyer. Before you do anything to renovate, it's probably a good idea to consult a REALTOR or other professional on what upgrades would do the most for your Northwest Calgary homes for sale.

Curb appeal: the first thing people see when they come to your home is the exterior, so you should definitely…

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We're lucky in Calgary, that most communities in our city have community associations. Knowing about your community association and where it is located, can offer you a ton of opportunity to get involved in the neighbourhood you live.

What is a community association?

Community associations are neighbourhood-based volunteer organizations providing support, and opportunities in recreation, education and social life. In Calgary, nearly 100 community associations even operate facilities and/or halls.

The Federation of Calgary Communities is a great resource on community associations in our city. According to their website:

Collectively, the community association network is the largest collective volunteer movement in Calgary with more than 20,000…

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The weather is the big story in Calgary this week, with heavy rainfall warnings causing flood risks to be on a lot of Calgarians' minds. An estimated 100mm of rain is expected by the end of the weekend.

City officials are urging everyone to take precautions and flood-proof their homes as best as possible to prevent water damage at home. Here are some tips:

• Ensure your eavestroughs are clear, and downspouts are facing away from your home.
• Ensure sump pumps are in proper working order.
• Remove any valuable items from your basement.
• Check drains on your street to ensure they are working properly, if not, call 3-1-1 to report.

The City is also advising Calgarians to be safe around our waterways:

• Stay off the Bow and Elbow Rivers, and stay away…

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Well prepare for our city's suburbs to keep on growing. According to a new City of Calgary report, population growth is expected to grow almost 120,000 people over the next five years, 94% of that in the suburbs. The 2013-2017 Suburban Residential Growth report says of the 50,600 additional Northwest Calgary Homes for sale to be built in the next five years, 77% will be in suburb developments.

Some trends associated with this report, are that as of the 2012 census, our population is sitting at over 1.2 million, and housing sales are up 10.4% currently.

An article on the report in the Huffington Post reads:

"Calgary has approximately 10-12 years of planned land supply, which will accommodate 310,834 people in mixed single, semi and…

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Okay we won't say these are top secret tips, but these are definitely some easy industry tricks that will make a huge difference when selling your home.

1. Keep the closets half-empty: every buyer is looking for storage, and the more storage the better. Making your rooms and closets look emptier and decluttered will give the illusion of more space and storage.

2. Hide your pets: not everyone is a lover of pets, so having evidence of your pets around (or having them there at all) can sway some buyers to look elsewhere. And in a lot of cases, buyers assume that with pets comes home and yard damage.

3. Remove the 'home' from your house: the buyer wants to be able to imagine themselves living in your house, so make it as much of a blank canvas as…

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Calgarians found out yesterday that nine schools would be built, which puts a lot of ease on certain strained communities. The following communities will have new schools by 2016:

Martindale
High school (CBE)
Elementary school (Francophone)

Royal Oak
Middle school (CBE)

Saddle Ridge
Middle school (CBE)

Evanston
Kindergarten - 4 (CBE)
Kindergarten - 9 (Calgary Catholic)

Auburn Bay
Kindergarten - 9 (Calgary Catholic)

New Brighton
Kindergarten - 4 (CBE)

Copperfield
Kindergarten - 4 (CBE)

This is great news for families living in these communities, or those who plan to move there. New schools will certainly help with transportation concerns and will help with property value.

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Calgary's luxury home market is making headlines again, as a recent report has named our city one of the most 'robust markets for luxury homes'.

Sotheby's International Realty released a report this week that states the baseline entry point for a single-family luxury home in Calgary has reached the $2 million point. Year-to-date, there have been 204 luxury home sales in our city of properties over $1 million (according to statistics from CREB).

A story in the Calgary Herald today stated:

“According to agents surveyed, top-tier single-family homes start at $2 million dollars with a minimum of 3,500 square feet and are typically in the Traditional, Craftsman/Arts and Crafts, Westcoast Modern or Character architectural styles,” said the report.…

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We've already heard the recent reports about the price growth of resale Northwest Calgary real estate, but now we're getting word that new home prices in Calgary are showing price growth—4.3% growth to be exact.

Statistics Canada is reporting that our city is showing the second highest rate of year-over-year growth in the new home market since February. If you're wondering where the highest market is, that would be Winnipeg (5.5%). Because of the rise here and other Western markets, growth nationally is sitting at 2.1%.

According to a Calgary Herald article:

“Calgary was the top contributor to the advance in February, up 1.0 per cent from January. This was the largest month-over-month increase in that region since May 2007. Builders indicated…

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While some reports in the media are claiming that Canadians have lower intentions of buying homes this year, that certainly doesn't seem to be the case here in Calgary. In fact, before March had even come to a close, we set a new record for luxury home sales in Calgary.

By March 27th, 63 homes sold more over $1 million in Calgary, the highest level ever for the month of March. The last time this record was set, was during the real estate boom of 2007 when 60 million-dollar homes sold in March.

In case you were wondering, the all-time record for luxury home sales was made in May of last year when 80 homes valued at over $1 million sold in Calgary in a single month.

With resale home values rising and record numbers of luxury homes selling in our…

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In an annual survey by MoneySense Magazine, Calgary was named the best city to live in Canada. Great news for our city, and most Calgarians would agree with the top ranking. But why is it the best city to live in?

"In releasing its results of 200 Canadian cities on Wednesday, the magazine said “high incomes and an abundance of jobs fuelled by the boom in the energy sector are among the reasons it jumped from No. 14 last year to No. 1 this year.” - from the Calgary Herald. Read full story here.

Here's how Calgary did in all the categories of the survey:

• Bike to work % = 1.18
• Days with rain/year = 67.5
• Days above 0 degrees = 169.3
• Population growth '11 - '12 = 6.56%
• Jobless % = 4.02
• Average house price = $394,550
• Average household income =…

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