Winnipeg Real Estate Podcast

April 2nd Real Estate Flash

Hello…this is Bo Kauffmann of Remax in Winnipeg, with your real estate news for…  Celebrity Sunday, April 2nd, 2023…   Today is World Autism Day, National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day, and National Reconcilliation Day.   Whenever a huge event, like a Super Bowl comes to a city, rental rates go thru the roof for that week or month.  But this is ridiculous   Turns out the owner of a 6,000 sq ft home in Paradise Valley  , an affluent area in Phoenix, had no intention of renting his home out, let alone rent it during super bowl. But then the agent for Rhianna came calling with a sweetheart offer.  As you recall, Rhianna performed at the Super Bowl this year and needed a pad to crash between rehearsals.  The offer:  $500,000 for ONE WEEK.    Singer Avril Lavigne has put her 3500 sq ft Malibu Home on the market for a cool 12 million.  The home was built in 1968 and sits on just over half an acre.   Over the past 2 decades, actor Brad Pitt had purchased several adjoining properties amounting to just under 2 acres.  This week he sold the whole thing to an unidentified buyer for 40 million dollars.   Closer to home, a 3500 sq ft Tuxedo home sold for just shy of 2 Million dollars.  Noteworthy:  The wine cooler in the basement was specifically excluded..

Tax Free First Home saving Account

Hello…this is Bo Kauffmann of Remax in Winnipeg, with your real estate news for…  Saturday, April 1st, 2023…   Today is April Fools Day, National Sourdough Bread Day  (No foolin)   As of today, Canadians are supposed to be able to start contributing to a Tax-Free First Home Savings Account.  Here is how that works:   Canadian Citizens who are at least 18 yrs old, and no older than 71, open up an FHSA and start contributing money into it.   The yearly limit is $8,000 with a lifetime limit of $40,000.   Just like an RRSP, contributions are deductible from your income tax, so this makes a great tax-avoidance option.   Unlike RRSP’s, when you pull the money out to buy your first home, you do NOT have to replace that money into the account later.   Definition of first time home buyers are those who have not owned a home, in which they live, for the past 5 years.   Started this briefing by saying that Canadians are ‘supposed to be able to start using this vehicle’  but it would appear that financial institutions are not yet ready for this.  Check with your investment professional or financial institution now.   Interested in more indepth real estate information?  Download our free podcast app, available for IOS and Android devices, by going to boknows.homes/apps….  You can also receive daily briefings on Alexa by going to boknows.homes/alexa

March 31st Flash Briefing

lo…this is Bo Kauffmann of Remax in Winnipeg, with your flash briefing on Feel Good Friday, March 31st 2023   Today is National Crayon Day, National Prom Day and National Tater Day   Ready for some ‘feel good stories?”  I’ve got two of them   A friend of mine owns a house painting company and had been searching for workers, unsuccessfully,  for the past couple of years.  He finally found some,  in the form of a Ukrainian father-son team who had just landed in Winnipeg a few days earlier. My friend reports that they are eager to work and, best of all, experienced painters.   Different setting, similar story:  Another friend runs a exterior home renovation company and has also had problems finding workers.  Problem solved when he found 3 ukraininan males who are not only eager to work but have decades of experience in aluminum siding installation. That same company is also offering a 10% discount on booking any exterior reno project this spring.  Contact me for details… 204-333-2202   Im planning to make ‘Feel Good Friday” a regular thing.  Let me know how you ‘feel’ about that?   Interested in more indepth real estate information?  Download our free podcast app, available for IOS and Android devices, by going to boknows.homes/apps….  You can also receive daily briefings on Alexa by going to boknows.homes/alexa

March 30th Flash Briefing

Hello…this is Bo Kauffmann of Remax in Winnipeg, with your real estate news for…  Thursday, March 30th, 2023…   Today is National Doctors Day, National Take a walk in the park day and national turkey neck soup day.  Where do they get this stuff?  National walk in the park day….phaw.   True North Real Estate Development has filed a request with city council to be given 1 yr to investigate the possibility of purchasing Portage Place Mall.  What was once a jewel in downtown, Portage Place has been “a large, cumbersome and mostly vacant asset in a state of continuing decline in Winnipeg’s downtown for many years”, the filing claims. In national real estate news, The Canadian real estate association reports that on average, house prices have fallen 19% from their HIGH in Feb. 2022. As BMO chief economist predicted they would fall a total of 20-25%, realtors are now seeing buyers coming back into the market.   While new listings are down 26% nationally, here in Winnipeg we are again bucking the trend.  The 867 houses available on March 1st was more than double the number available the same day a year ago. With the Bank of Canada apparently signalling no further rate hikes, now is a good time for buyers to check out their options.    Interested in more indepth real estate information?  Download our free podcast app, available for IOS and Android devices, by going to boknows.homes/apps….  You can also receive daily briefings on Alexa by going to boknows.homes/alexa

March 29th Real Estate Flash Briefing

Hello…this is Bo Kauffmann of Remax in Winnipeg, with your real estate news for…  Wednesday, March 29th, 2023…   Today is National Lemon Chiffon Cake Day, and Manatee appreciation day.   The sharp drop in headline inflation in February suggests that rates have reached their highest point and that the next move will be a cut.   In February, the annual rate of change in the consumer price index slowed to 5.2%. This was the biggest drop since February 2020. Most economists think that the drop in inflation makes it almost certain that the Bank of Canada will not change interest rates at its April 12 meeting.   Some people want at least one 25-basis-point rate cut before the end of the year. This would drop the Bank's overnight target rate from 4.50% to 4.25%.   Canada is especially vulnerable to the risk of a housing market correction when interest rates are going up because people there have more debt.   If inflation rates go down, the Bank of Canada will be able to respond by loosening monetary policy. This is especially true since Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland has said that her next budget will "exercise fiscal restraint" to help fight inflation.   Interested in more indepth real estate information?  Download our free podcast app, available for IOS and Android devices, by going to boknows.homes/apps….  You can also receive daily briefings on Alexa by going to boknows.homes/alexa

March 28 Briefing ; Luxury Home Survey in Canada

Hello…this is Bo Kauffmann of Remax in Winnipeg, with your real estate news for…  Tuesday, March 28th, 2023…   Today is National Weed Appreciation Day and suitably, National Black Forest Cake Day…..dude!   Real Estate brokerage Royal LePage did a study recently to see how much home you could buy for a million dollars.   On average, Canada wide, a million will buy your nearly 1800 sq feet, with 3.2 bedroom and 2.6 baths.   As you can probably guess, that’s not happening in Vancouver, where a cool mil gets you less than 1,000 sq feet, and not even 2 bathrooms.  If you want more house, You’ll have to live on Kraft Dinners.   Toronto is next, where you’ll get 1230 sq feet, nearly 3 bedrooms and still less than 2 bathrooms on average.   Best bang for your buck?  You guess it:  Winnipeg comes in as one of the most affordable cities.  Last month, a 2300 sq ft home with 4 BR and 3 baths sold for 1.15 million And a newer 2300 ft home in E St Paul sold for 975K….enough money left over to buy a nice chesterfield….or an ottoman.   Incidentally, right now there are 44 homes on Winnipeg’s market priced at 1 Million plus.  The 4 most expensive ones are all located in Tuxedo.   The Luxury Home Marketing Institute defines a luxury home as one which is worth 1 million or more.   Add us to your daily routine by going to boknows.homes/alexa

March 27th Briefing ; Underused Housing Tax in Canada

Hello…this is Bo Kauffmann of Remax in Winnipeg, with your real estate news for…  Monday, March 27th, 2023…   Today is National Spanish Paella Day and, I cant read this……..oh yeah, National Scribble day.   If you own investment property in Canada, listen up:  New rules enacted by CRA may require you to file special forms by April 30th.   Its called the Underused Housing Tax and has a nasty surprise built in.  You see there are two parts to this:  One is the question of whether you owe any new tax on your properties.  If you’re a Canadian citizen or resident, you may be excempt from the tax, however that’s not the nasty part:  The surprise is that you may likely be required to at least FILE a special form by April 30th this year.  And failure to simply file this form can result in up to $10,000 fine PER PROPERTY.   So my advice:  If you own rental property, check with your accountant or tax professional about the Underused Housing Tax….  My accountant tells me that a LOT of people are unaware of this new rule.   I want to thank Garret Wong of Upper Edge Property Management for bringing this to my attention.     Interested in more indepth real estate information?  Download our free podcast app, available for IOS and Android devices, by going to boknows.homes/apps….  You can also receive daily briefings on Alexa by going to boknows.homes/alexa

(EP: 180) March 26th Flash Briefing

Hello…this is Bo Kauffmann of Remax in Winnipeg, with your real estate news for… Sunday, March 26th, 2023…   Today is Epilepsy awareness day, and National Spinach Day and National Nougat day. Spinach doesn’t deserve a day…….but I digest Spring time Sundays mean Open Houses. If you’re planning on attending an open house in your city, remember that the agent there, works for the Seller. Try to keep your oohhs and aaaahs to a minimum, as they may weaken your negotiating position if you do want to make an offer. Also remember that you do have the right to be represented by your own agent, even after visiting the open house. Here are 6 questions you should ask the open house agent.   1)   How long have the sellers lived here? You want to determine whether this is a flip house, or a loved family home.   2)   How long has the home been on the market? If it’s been up for a long time, have they had price adjustments?   3)   How much are the heating costs? Especially important in older homes, which had originally been insulated with newspaper clippings.   4)   Has the seller done any renovations or additions? If so, have they pulled the necessary permits, and obtained the follow up inspections   5)   Is the seller making any disclosures? Sellers must make disclosures of ‘hidden defects which could affect structure or health issues”.   6)   Has the seller had any offers? Good to know if they’ve turned down offers or how much action there has been on the home.   Don’t let heavy foot traffic intimidate you into thinking that the house will sell today. Spring time open houses see a lot of action, and much of it is by tire-kickers. If you’re interested in the home, thank the agent, and call your own realtor asap to book your private showing for a 2nd, more indepth look.   https://blog.winnipeghomefinder.com/open-house-questions-to-ask/   Interested in more indepth real estate information? Download our free podcast app, available for IOS and Android devices, by going to boknows.homes/apps…. 

(EP: 179) March 24th Flash update

Hello…this is Bo Kauffmann of Remax in Winnipeg, with your real estate news for…  Friday, March 24th, 2023… Today is National Cheese-steak day, and National Cocktail day.  Spoiler alert;;;  I’ll be celebrating BOTH. Good news for home-owners:  The provincial budget for 2023 has been announced, and the cost of education is being increasingly funded from general revenues, and less from homeowner property taxes. This is something our real estate board has been advocating for a long time.  In this years budget, homeowners will see a 50% refund of the education tax portion of their property tax bill.  An estimated average saving of $775 per home. Tomorrow is the day of Earth Hour.  In addition to turning off our lights for 1 hour in the evening, here are a couple of tips to help us all be a little more eco-friendly. Replace any remaining incandescent light bulbs with long lasting, power friendly LED bulbs Buy reusable shopping bags and don’t forget them in the car, like I always do Stop using single-use plastics.  If you have plastic cups, wash them and reuse them. Install low-flow shower heads and take shorter showers. Instead of buying drinking water in plastic bottles, invest in a good quality filter, and fill reusable bottles. Don’t throw out old clothes and household goods:  Donate them to a local charity such as Annie’s Attic Thrift shop at 1560 Main St.  They will resell these items and use the money to support their animal shelter. Interested in more indepth real estate information?  Download our free podcast app, available for IOS and Android devices, by going to boknows.homes/apps…. 

(EP: 178) March 22nd Flash Briefing -

What is a Special Assessment? Hi, Bo Kauffmann of REMAX in Winnipeg here to explain this term. A special assessment relates to the condominium reserve fund. When a condominium requires repairs, maintenance or upgrades and there is not enough money in the reserve fund, additional money has to be raised from all condo-owners. The act of raising this additional money is called a ‘Special Assessment’. If it is a relatively small sum of money, for example a few hundred dollars, this special assessment is usually collected as a one-time payment. However larger sums may require an ongoing monthly installment plan, which is added to the owners monthly Condo Fees.   For a deeper discussion on this and other real estate topics, check out my blog at boknows.homes/blog or scan this code.