Low interest rates are already a deal

 Last week was a busy one for Mortgage360. The long weekend and positive housing reports from several  sources, including CMHC, seems to have thrust buyers back into the real estate market, with many of our  clients writing offers.

While some buyers are sensing the market is calmer than many of the over-hyped media reports would have you believe, there are still a large number of Calgarians sitting on the sidelines waiting to see how the recent blip in our economy plays out.

What many of these fence-sitters fail to realize, however, is that waiting and seeing could end up costing them more money in the long run, even if prices were to drop 10 to 15 per cent.

Running Feb. 26 to March 1, the Calgary Home + Garden Show celebrates 34 years of home improvement and design in the city.

More than 650 exhibitors are expected to be on hand for the four-day event, joining industry experts such as HGTV's Carson Arthur and Janette Ewen and Jef Hancock of Parker Barrow.

Here's five things you won't want to miss at the show:

Calgary Home + Garden Show garden features prepping visitors for spring

They say you can't judge a book by its cover. Yet when it comes to purchasing a home, first impressions can be everything.

"What's really exciting for me right now, especially when it comes to home value, is that landscaping has replaced the top five best return-on-investments according to Remodeling Magazine 2015," said Carson Arthur, co-star of HGTV's Critical Listing and founder of Carson Arthur Design, who will be among a dozen celebrity presenters and more than 650 vendors at the 34th annual Calgary Home + Garden Show, running from Feb. 26 to March 1.

Arthur, who grew up on a farm two hours outside Toronto, said there are a couple simple tips for home sellers when it comes to grabbing the eye of potential buyers.

On Feb. 25, the City of Calgary is reporting back to residents on changes to the proposed Currie Barracks redevelopment following public engagement sessions held last year.

"We heard what citizens had to say about the proposal, now we want to let the public know how its feedback was used, what has changed in the application and what will be included in the recommendation to Calgary Planning Commission," said Craig Sklenar, senior planner with the City's Planning Department.

City council voted 9-5 against a motion by Coun. Peter Demong that would've frozen Calgary's public art budget.

Demong made the motion stating among other things, the economy has been impacted by low oil prices and considering the Public Art Policy allocates up to $4 million from any single capital project that all funds, that those funds "not expended by public art during this time frame be tabulated and that administration return to council with recommendations for projects that could be funded with this revenue."

Savvy buyers seeing increased opportunities
With oil prices still low compared to several months ago, real estate investors might be  inclined to wait on the sidelines to see what happens. Yet that hasn't happened.

Instead, investors are salivating at the increased selection of revenue-producing properties coming to market and selecting the best ones to add to their portfolios.

Take, for example, a set of clients who were dipping their toes into the world of real estate investment when they attended Mortgage360's first Cash Flow Club meeting earlier this year.

Acreages provide room for growth, rural sense of community

For more than two decades, Ray Howell has lived "free" on an acreage west of Calgary.

It's a freedom that Howell doesn't take lightly.

"I enjoy the opportunity to do what I want, within reason," he said, noting the added benefits of raising children around animals, plus the smaller student-to-teacher ratio at school.

"We have a large garden and have had many animals throughout the years. Overall, you have more freedom to do what you want."

Composting pilot project sees early success

In 2012, Calgarians threw out more than 214,000 tonnes of garbage into local landfills.

More than half that garbage was in the form of food and yard waste that could have otherwise ended up as compost, said the City of Calgary, which is now entering the third-year of a Green Cart pilot project in four Calgary communities testing the impact of a food and yard waste diversion program.

Since its inception, the City's Green Cart project has collected and composted more than five million kilograms of material from the 7,500 participating homes, reducing the total amount of garbage collected in the four communities by 40 per cent.