This is really exciting for Quest Realty! Plans now call for our parent company, Cresco, to build numerous single-family and multi-family dwellings adjacent to this school. Of course, our agents will be able to offer you these listings the minute they're available. And, trust us, they'll go quickly! (pdf of Article)

Hi there! Welcome to Quest Realty’s venture into the marriage of online technology and real estate.

Always game to ride the wave of change, when we started planning our new Web Site, we had one absolute: We would embrace the most advanced forms of communication as a means of interacting with our clients new and old. Moreover, we would also make the latest industry information readily available for rapid consumption.

So, without further delay we proudly unveil our Blog, a place you can roam, get up-to-speed on the latest construction trends and tips, industry news, or, if your heart desires, the perfect spot to receive the latest answers from questions most frequently asked of our agents.

Hope you enjoy. Talk to you soon…

The Bank of Canada lowered its benchmark overnight lending rate by one quarter of a percentage point to 0.25 per cent at its setting on April 21st, 2009. The trend-setting Bank rate, which is set 0.25 percentage points above the overnight lending rate, declined to 0.5 per cent.

The Bank acknowledged the global economic recession had intensified since publishing its previous economic forecast in January. "In an environment of continued high uncertainty, the global recession has intensified and become more synchronous since the Bank's January Monetary Policy Report Update, with weaker-than-expected activity in all major economies," said the Bank when it again lowered interest rates on April 21st.

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OTTAWA - The number of existing homes sold last month was down from a year ago, but continued an upward trend that began in February, the Canadian Real Estate Association said Wednesday.

The association, which represents real-estate brokerage firms, also reported that the national average price for homes fell again in March compared with the same month last year.

"Housing markets are starting to show signs of buyer interest because of lower prices and interest rates," CREA president Dale Ripplinger said in a statement.
Sales of existing homes listed with the industry's MLS service totalled 35,225 units across Canada in March. That's 13.5 per cent below actual sales in March 2008, but CREA said it's the smallest year-over-year decline in six months.

The association also noted that, on a seasonally adjusted basis, March sales were seven per cent higher than in February, which was 10.3 per cent above January.
The association said the number of transactions in March was 18 per cent higher than in January, when activity was the lowest in a decade.

The average house price in Canada fell to just under $289,000 - down 7.7 per cent from March 2008 - also the smallest year-to-year decline in six months.
Robert Kavcic, of BMO Capital Markets, wrote in a separate analysis saying that "the improvement in recent months is an encouraging sign that the Canadian housing market has crossed the halfway point for this downturn."
He noted that the number properties put up for sale fell in March, but the ratio of listings-to-sales remained slightly elevated at 2.2.
"Despite two months of improved sales activity, buyers are still in control of the Canadian real estate market," Kavcic wrote.

"Further price declines and low mortgage rates will ultimately help trigger a recovery, but a reversal in the wave of job losses is one major pre-requisite still outstanding."

It’s worth a bundle, and it can save you a bundle too.

The IWK lottery home now open for viewing in the Ravines of Bedford South is holding quite the distinction as the Canadian Home Builders’ Association named it the first EnviroHome in Canada for 2009. It’s also just one of 10 for the country so far this year.


To receive this tag the house had to meet a broad range of technical and environmental criteria, and be certified to the R-2000 standard, a Canada-wide program that promotes better built, energy-efficient, healthy houses.


The home, located at 26 Worthington Place, is valued at about $1.1 million, but has many environmental innovations that, if all used properly, will result in an average monthly energy cost of $200 per month for regular consumption. Not bad for a house with 5,000 square-feet of living space.

“If you compare this house with others its size, you’d probably expect to pay between $400 and $600 a month in energy costs,” said Cresco’s Martin Livingston, the lead designer for the house. “I’m in a 1,800-square foot townhouse and I’m paying over $200 a month in energy costs. And this is over twice the size of that.”

The house was constructed using state-of-the-art green features, including a solar pre-heating system and “grey water” recycling system. It also sports natural light tubes that provide lighting throughout the home.


“I think it’s the way housing is going to be going, because energy is not going to get any cheaper,” Livingston said. “Everybody realizes it’s getting more and more expensive to maintain a home, and builders have to start to address some of these issues.”