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Greetings!
 We are very excited to let you know about our complete revamp of both our website, geoffreyandshirine.com, and our real estate commission structure.
First, our website has been restyled and reconfigured in order to make the user experience easier and more intuitive. We have added a number of quick links to every page and a new menu structure so you travels through our listings, features and resources will be easier to navigate. We have also added an updated Property Brothers show time schedule page as well as more information about our award-winning inner-city builder, Creative Innovations & Designs. So please, visit our new site and let us know what you think, we are always open to recommendations and suggestions.
And for the even bigger news, we have completely restructured our real estate commission system to help you save more of your hard-earned money, whether you are planning to sell or buy.
We have been operating on a discount basis since we started in real estate in 2006, where we offered reductions on our half of our previous rate, which was a commonly found 7% on the first $100,000 and 3% on the balance of the sale price. Our new pricing structure, which utilizes the same criteria but reduces the percentages to an intelligent 6% and 2% respectively, allows us to apply the discount to both sides of the commission, saving you thousands more. The other half of our intelligent discount is designed to save you even more money when you purchase a new home as we now offer 20% cash back on commissions earned for all MLS purchases. Again, we have always offered cash back on our purchases but our new rate increases the minimum refund amount and puts more money into your pocket, which is always welcome after a big move.
We trust our recent website and commission changes will enhance our already comprehensive service package and most importantly assist you with your future real estate needs and transactions.  |
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As you know we offer one of the most comprehensive property marketing strategies available and are always looking for new ways to grow and improve our reach. Over the past year we have concentrated primarily on increasing our online presence as that is where the overwhelming majority of buyers are looking for homes. We touched on our Kijiji and craigslist utilization last month and this month we focus on Facebook; yes, THE social network. There is no denying the impact that Facebook has had on society, with almost one in every two Canadians signed up and over 500 million active users worldwide.
Facebook is a different vehicle however, it is not an all-out knock you over the head marketing medium, it is a social medium first, that allows users and companies to target market and promote their goods and services second. An annoying and constant stream of ads or advertising messages will be ignored by users. Providing useful and relevant information and resources is the best way to gain additional traffic and exposure for whatever you are promoting, in our case, real estate listings.
We have embraced this methodology and in addition to our own personal pages that we help promote our listings with we have also created our Geoffrey & Shirine - Calgary Real Estate page with all the latest real estate news and local information and our unique Best of Calgary NW page that provides information on all the latest events, attractions and happenings in Calgary's NW quadrant.
Our results have been impressive as we have more than doubled our website traffic this year averaging over 500 unique users visiting our site each month and we also receive hundreds of additional impressions of our new listings directly on Facebook. Both outcomes translate into extremely valuable additional exposure for our listings, which is the end goal, to put your home in front of as many people as possible.
If you are on Facebook and haven't visited our business pages, click on the links below and "LIKE' us to receive all the latest news and information.  
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According to figures released by the Calgary Real Estate Board, year-to-date residential sales in the inner city grew nearly 4 per cent, outperforming the city wide average. City residential sales totalled 1,816 in May 2011, a 2 per cent increase in volume over May 2010. However, slower early spring sales resulted in the overall year-to-date sales being 3 per cent lower than the 2010 spring market. "Consumers are looking for shorter commute times to work and easy access to a wider range of services provided by these inner city communities," says Sano Stante, president of CREB�.
"Many of these communities are surrounded by amenities such as parks, mature trees, diverse shopping and transit which appeals to a wide range of consumers; furthermore, inner city homes can be considered a stable real estate investment, as there is significant value in land located near the city's core."
For additional information and analysis of the statistics click on the link below to view the CREB� Stats Newsletter and expanded breakdown. All information provided by the Calgary Real Estate Board. If you are thinking of buying or selling don't hesitate to contact us and we can provide you with a comprehensive community and class specific Comparative Market Analysis.
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