Paul Viau , Guaranty GMAC ,Halifax, N.S.

Hello - my name is Paul Viau. I have been a Realtor in Halifax since 1994. I am an avid photographer, and just recently started shooting homes for other Realtors. I am a firm believer that any property -when staged properly- and priced right - and with 20+ quality photographs , when placed on line in various websites and blogs including the MLS - It will sell before all of the before all of the homes that are competition in the area.

I offer a no nonsense approach when it comes to selling. I use a guy that has had great luck selling properties. He is good at it. I take the photos and offer my opinion on listing the condo.Then enter the property on my "Point2" site and produce the blog for the property and make sure its getting as much exposure as possible. He handles the MLS side.

The name of the site is www.homesearchnovascotia.com

It ranks very high on google when people search for -- condos in halifax nova scotia

I spend most of the time ensuring we rank high on Google because I feel being found is important!

Anyway - we would love the chance for an interview. We promise some fresh ideas...in this tough selling environment that we are in.

I have put together a collection of stats,quotes.blogs and websites to back-up my claim that photography is perhaps the most important factor when it comes to selling homes in any market.

Real estate photos worth more than a thousand words

This blog was a good chuckle - click on the links and have a look at the photographs!

Worst MLS Photos

Photography for real estate

The Importance of Multiple Photos in Real Estate Advertising

A Picture is Worth a Thousand words

I can be reached at 902-499-2950 anytime.

Or just pop me an e-mail and I'll be sure to reply ASAP.

A recent slowdown in Halifax home sales has me thinking. What are the people thinking?

Just this week positive notes in the US market! It seems that people are on the move again ! New home sales jumped in August 7.4% from july data ! Maybe it's just a blip on the radar screen

Halifax has no industry to slow down. We have hospitals , 4 universities , and a abundance of IT jobs .

People are going to always get sick! And the enrollment in our universities is fine. We still have record amounts of people retiring here from Calgary ,Toronto etc.

Sure! theres the odd number of buyers that will take advantage of the situation and low-ball some property , but there's only so much available. The inventory hasn't sky-rocketed like in Calgary where the prices have gone up at a feverish rate for over 5 years. They were due for a correction there.

I read an interesting article in the Nova Scotia Business Journal. Where an analyst shared my view. - Prices shall not drop here. They may not rise as fast next year but they will rise.

If you are a buyer sitting on the fence - Why not give me a call and we can discuss the situation over a coffee?

I can be reached at 902-499-2950.

you can also check out my website at www.homesearchnovascotia.com

What looks like a perfect storm in the financial markets is opening up some oportunity in Nova Scotia!

The Canadian dollar has dropped from at least par or better to 78.5 cents! Today - Oct 24/2008

That combined with Oceanfront prices already being lower and you have the pertfect situation.

Oceanfront in canada is condidered almost "resession proof" and is set to almost double in value over the next 10 yrs due to the huge demand in the european and the Canadian Retirement sector.

You could - for example - pick up a property in Canada on the ocean in a popular spot for a lot less today than even last month. I know of 2 such bargains - even if you are buying with canadian currency!

With the exchange rate you would get a home for $500,000 canadian dollars for $392,859 at todays spot rate.

If you wait only 3 years - That home should appreciate to be $600,000 plus and if oil prices come back and you wait for the canadian dollar to come back up you should make yourself a tidy $200,000 min.

Thats seems like a no-brainer to me - especially to an older couple looking for a second home to spend summers in.

Why not check out the possibilities?

902-499-2950

On a recent trip downtown I brought my camera along. Let me see if I can jog your memories from years gone by - Maybe some of you were here recently ,but it pretty much remanes timeless.

People Wandering from the Historic Properties to the Pier 21 where the cruise ships tie up. If its a nice day you might catch me at the my local fav. for a keiths or two.

The Lower Deck - Part of a three level complex housing a restaurant and two great pubs.

Part of the Historic Properties. Feels like your in a different era.

Then theres the Nova Scotian Crystal building where you can watch them hand craft magnificent works in crystal.

The Millennium building where Halifax made the news by hosting the G8 conference.

And of course! Our famous tug boat.

No wonder people seem to want to come here. -The lifestyle is so layed back!

You can see all these photos and much more if you check out my website - www.homesearchnovascotia.com

Reporting from the scene - Here in downtown Halifax , Nova Scotia. Only 450 miles from Boston -as the crow flies.

I guess if your going to take a boat.....3 or 4 days straight down the coast across the gulf of Maine -no course change - all the way to Nantucket.

So close to the U.S. and all the termoil thats been happening gripping the markets there and we have so far escaped much of the turn down so far- in the markets.

There was a good article in the Nova Scotia Business Review recently That documented the stats so far this year. Overall we are down a bit over last year ,but the inventory and the price for the units has remained fairly steady.

On a personal note - I'm seeing a fair bit of activity in the Halifax condo market as new buildings come stream in the coming months. See - www.homesearchnovascotia.com