A Bashaw real estate agent has developed a clever way to promote his hometown.
Ty Wilson returned to his hometown after playing football for the Edmonton Wildcats and now works as a real estate agent. He recently started creating clever, humorous and innovative social media and YouTube videos on real estate.
Referring to selling real estate, Wilson says, “I wanted to come in and do a little twist on it.”
He says a little bit of the industry was stuck in the past and that most real estate agents just do what has been done in the past.
“I think we’re in a real transition on how we a sell homes thanks to the internet. If you can inject a little personality and use social media there is real opportunity there,” said Ty Wilson, real estate agent at Ramstad realty.
He says that his marketing videos have been getting a lot of attention lately and he hasn’t been a real estate agent all that long.
He also says that real estate market in rural Alberta is hot right now.
“I was born and raised on the farm that I still live at. I did leave to the city for a couple of years to play football,” said Wilson.
He says that he came back to his hometown because he loves his hometown, people and the landscape.
Growing up he always disliked that the folks he grew up around couldn’t wait to leave. He aims to change that narrative and promote the love of country life and small town living.
“It’s a case of you kinda don’t know what you got until,” said Wilson.
He says what would help this area is someone telling the story about the town and local area.
Wilson says that Bashaw is its central location: right in between Ponoka, Camrose, Stettler and Red Deer.
When he got into real estate he wanted to approach it a new, innovative and clever way.
“I just didn’t want to sell the homes but I wanted to (sell) the area,” said Wilson.
But then COVID-19 came along and changed everything on how we communicate with each other and conduct business.
“It might have been best thing that happened to rural real estate. It changed the world as we know it because now people realized they can do there jobs from a computer,” said Wilson.
He says that if you can do your job from anywhere, as long as you got a computer and internet, “why wouldn’t you want to come out where it’s beautiful? low cost if living and people are nice,” said Wilson.
He said his aunt Laurie King’s husband is Robin King, who is the pastor at the United Church in Ponoka and Bashaw.
“The United Church (for example) painted their steps in rainbows to promote inclusive and welcoming communities,” said Wilson.
He say that Bashaw is building something.
“I don’t know what it is or how it happened but in the last five years has been nothing short of phenomenal,” said Wilson
On the Bashaw municipal website highlights the town art community, culture, recent expansions and new vista developments.
“New residential development include: Schultz subdivision and Vistas subdivision.
The town is well known for it famed Majestic theatre. “Bashaw’s Majestic Theatre was not the first of its kind to be built in Alberta but is now believed to be the last remaining theatre of its kind in Western Canada.
“Not a “grand theatre” by any means, the Majestic is nonetheless of historical and architectural significance as part of the overall history of theatre development in Alberta.
“There are great nature trails and ponds across the town.
“The town has two golf courses called Bashaw Golf & Country Club and Country 9 Golf & RV Resort.”
OTTAWA – The Canadian Real Estate Association says the number of homes sold in August fell compared with a year ago as the market remained largely stuck in a holding pattern despite borrowing costs beginning to come down.
The association says the number of homes sold in August fell 2.1 per cent compared with the same month last year.
On a seasonally adjusted month-over-month basis, national home sales edged up 1.3 per cent from July.
CREA senior economist Shaun Cathcart says that with forecasts of lower interest rates throughout the rest of this year and into 2025, “it makes sense that prospective buyers might continue to hold off for improved affordability, especially since prices are still well behaved in most of the country.”
The national average sale price for August amounted to $649,100, a 0.1 per cent increase compared with a year earlier.
The number of newly listed properties was up 1.1 per cent month-over-month.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
MONTREAL – Two Quebec real estate brokers are facing fines and years-long suspensions for submitting bogus offers on homes to drive up prices during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Christine Girouard has been suspended for 14 years and her business partner, Jonathan Dauphinais-Fortin, has been suspended for nine years after Quebec’s authority of real estate brokerage found they used fake bids to get buyers to raise their offers.
Girouard is a well-known broker who previously starred on a Quebec reality show that follows top real estate agents in the province.
She is facing a fine of $50,000, while Dauphinais-Fortin has been fined $10,000.
The two brokers were suspended in May 2023 after La Presse published an article about their practices.
One buyer ended up paying $40,000 more than his initial offer in 2022 after Girouard and Dauphinais-Fortin concocted a second bid on the house he wanted to buy.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
MONTREAL – The Quebec Professional Association of Real Estate Brokers says Montreal-area home sales rose 9.3 per cent in August compared with the same month last year, with levels slightly higher than the historical average for this time of year.
The association says home sales in the region totalled 2,991 for the month, up from 2,737 in August 2023.
The median price for all housing types was up year-over-year, led by a six per cent increase for the price of a plex at $763,000 last month.
The median price for a single-family home rose 5.2 per cent to $590,000 and the median price for a condominium rose 4.4 per cent to $407,100.
QPAREB market analysis director Charles Brant says the strength of the Montreal resale market contrasts with declines in many other Canadian cities struggling with higher levels of household debt, lower savings and diminishing purchasing power.
Active listings for August jumped 18 per cent compared with a year earlier to 17,200, while new listings rose 1.7 per cent to 4,840.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 6, 2024.
