Courtesy of Shelley Littlefair

Shelley Littlefair Real Estate Associate, ABR, SRS Compliments of Direct: 780-221-2979 Email: littlefair@shaw.ca Web: www.ShelleyLittlefair.com

SOLD Shelley Littlefair 780.221.2979

HomesAndGardensRealEstate.com

Working in Edmonton and Surrounding Areas

Volume 15 | Number 4

THINGS YOU SHOULD CONSIDER BEFORE PLANTING A FRUIT TREE Often when we’re readying a property for sale, we focus on the interior instead of the exterior. If you’re listing in the

winter, this might make sense. But if you’re planning on listing in the spring or summer you should definitely invest in beautifying the landscaping as well. One such way to do so is to plant one or two fruit trees in the yard. Not only are fruit trees lovely to look at, they’ll provide produce for the new owners to enjoy every year. That ’s something they’ll appreciate! However, here are a few things you should consider before choosing a fruit tree for your exterior space. The first is how well the area around the tree drains. You don’t want to plant the tree somewhere that water gathers or the roots could get waterlogged. Next you’ll want to think about sun exposure. Different trees need different amount of exposures, which may help you determine which types to buy as well as where in your yard to plant them. The last thing to consider is cold weather durability. You don’t want to choose a heat-loving tree if you live in a colder climate – and vice versa!

FAJITA STUFFED CHICKEN BREAST Courtesy of www.ehow.com

INGREDIENTS : 3 or 4 large chicken breasts 2 medium bell peppers 1/2 medium onion 2 tablespoons fajita seasoning Juice of 1/2 lime

1 cup cheese, shredded Brown rice, guacamole, salsa and/or sour cream for serving Chopped cilantro for serving Oil for cooking

DIRECTIONS: 1. Preheat oven to 375°F and grease a baking dish. In a large skillet cook peppers and onions until tender, about 5 to 7 minutes. Set aside. 2. Slice chicken widthwise, avoid cutting all the way through. You should be able to “open” the chicken breast like a book. Add about 2 tablespoons of cheese and a handful of onion mixture on one side. Close the chicken breast. Sprinkle fajita seasoning on top and repeat on other side. Set aside any leftover cheese. 3. Sear the chicken breasts on each side until browned. 4. Add chicken and any leftover peppers and onions in the baking dish. Top with leftover cheese. Bake for 15 minutes or cheese is melted and bubbly. Drizzle with lime juice and top with chopped cilantro. Serve with brown rice, salsa, guacamole and/or sour cream. " THE EARTH DOES NOT BELONG TO US. WE BELONG TO THE EARTH. -Chief Seattle

Chief Seattle, born in 1786 near Kent, Washington, was a Suquamish and Duwamish chief. The city of Seattle, Washington is named after him. Hudson’s Bay Company traders gave him the nickname Le Gros (The Big Guy) due to his height of nearly six feet! He has been said to have a voice that could be heard over 3/4 of a mile away. A widely know speech about Indigenous people’s rights and environmental values has been attributed to him. He died on June 7, 1866.

WHAT TO DO WHEN WILD ANIMALS VISIT YOUR YARD If you live in a suburban our rural setting, you likely have animal visitors in your yard on a regular basis. While squirrels in your trees, rabbits in your shrubbery – even a curious deer or two – can provide much joy, they also can cause issues. There are a few things you can do to peacefully coexist with wild animals that don’t harm or even disturb them. First: do not feed them. Wild animals are used to foraging for their food, and if you intentionally feed them it will train them to wait for food rather than go look for it. Another step you should take is to not have any dense growth near your home. Keep shrub beds and treed areas on the border of your property instead of close to your house, which will keep the animals further away. Don’t forget to cover your garbage,

recycling and compost bins. Wild animals love to dig through the trash. Don’t give them the chance to do so and either use secure lids on your bins or store them in your garage or shed. Another thing to consider are the different ways in which animal visitors could get into your house. Make sure to install a chimney cap if you have a fireplace, repair any damaged screens on windows and doors and consider covering basement window wells. The best thing you can do to protect wild animals is to let them stay wild!

SOME BENEFITS OF DOWNSIZING

YOUR HOME

The desire to downsize is a common reason people sell their homes. Maybe you had a larger home when your children were young, but now that they’ve grown there’s no need for the extra space. Or perhaps you’re tired of cleaning and maintaining a home that feels too big for your lifestyle. Whatever the reason may be, there are many benefits to downsizing. Nowadays, many single-family homes have multiple bathrooms, large family rooms and a number of bedrooms. While the space can be nice, it ’s an awful lot of square footage to keep clean. Especially if you have a busy lifestyle. Downsizing is a great way to save money if you’d like to travel more or if you’d like to spend the majority of your money on things BRAIN TEASERS Courtesy of www.riddles.com 1. Mr. and Mrs. Mustard have six daughters and each daughter has one brother. How many people are in the Mustard family? There are nine Mustards in the family. Since each daughter shares the same brother, there are six girls, one boy and Mr. and Mrs. Mustard. 2. How do you make the number 7 even without addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division? Drop the “S”.

other than your house. This is because smaller homes usually have smaller mortgages and smaller utility bills. Downsizing to live in a condo in the heart of a busy city brings many more positives as you can often get by without needing a car. Imagine being able to walk everywhere and have restaurants, shops and entertainment practically at your doorstep. A less talked about benefit to living in a smaller residence is that it can bring families closer together. When your home is small, you have no choice but to spend time together. While this sometimes can be an irritating part of living in a downsized home, most families who have scaled down say that it is actually a positive in the long run.

3. What has six faces, but does not wear makeup, has twenty-one eyes, but cannot see? A die (dice). 4. There are 20 people in an empty, square room. Each person has full sight of the entire room and everyone in it without turning his head or body, or moving in any way (other than the eyes). Where can you place an apple so that all but one person can see it? Place the apple on one person’s head.

REBUS PUZZLES Can you solve these visual word puzzles? Pay attention to how words are positioned in relation to each other, to words and letters that are different colours, as well as words or letters that are smaller or larger then the others in the puzzle. Let your imagination fly!

10. All in a day's work.

no see.

9. Long time,

Shoes.

little pond.

8. Tennis

7. Big fish in a

6. Black sheep of the family.

5. Tow left feet.

Courtesy of www.puzzles-to-print.com

face. and ham. 3. Backrub 4. All thumbs.

2. Green eggs

Answers: 1. Red in the

March Sees Large Number Of Listings Hit The Market

$245,070 condo

$503,711 detached UP 9.9% year-to-year

UP 6.7% year-to-year

2,420

$389,321 rowhouse UP 11.8% year-to-year

AVERAGE SALE PRICES

1,300

4,298 NEW LISTINGS

single family detached condo

34 DAYS ON MARKET

76% SALES TO NEW LISTING RATIO

ACTIVE LISTINGS (residential inventory) 5,265

3,283 SOLD LISTINGS

an average of $245,070, seeing an increase of 6.7% yearover-year as well as an 8.4% increase compared to February 2022. Duplex prices increased 11.8% from March 2021, selling at $389,321, a 3.8% increase from February 2022. “The Greater Edmonton and Area market continues to surprise us as we enter into what is normally the start of the busy season of real estate,” says REALTORS® Association of Edmonton Chair Paul Gravelle. “Although we are seeing slightly lower increases for average sale prices across all categories, there has been a huge increase in the number of listings hitting the market as well the number of sales in the month of March.” Statistics reflect market activity in March 2022 | Source: REALTORS ® Association of Edmonton | Market values stated are of the average of Edmonton and surrounding region. Individual home market values will vary and are affected by factors such as location, size, interior and exterior condition. Please call to get an up-to-date evaluation of your home.

Edmonton, April 4, 2022 – Total residential unit sales in the Greater Edmonton Area (GEA) real estate market for March 2022 increased 45.4% compared to February 2022 and increased 34.7% from March 2021. New residential listings increased both 7.6% year-over-year and 47.7% month-over-month from February 2022. For March, single-family home unit sales are up 21.2% from March 2021 and up 37.7% from February 2022 at 1,920. Condo unit sales increased 67.1% from March 2021 and were up 62.9% from February 2022. Duplex/ rowhouse unit sales were up 54.2% year-over-year and increased 45.1% month-over-month. Single-family homes averaged $503,711, a 9.9% year-over-year increase and a month-over-month increase of 2.0%. Condominiums sold for

The greatest compliment my clients can give me is the referral of family and friends! FREE one hour consultation for buyers and sellers Shelley Littlefair Real Estate Associate, ABR, SRS

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Direct: 780-221-2979 Email: littlefair@shaw.ca Homes & Gardens Real Estate Ltd. 3659 99 Street NW Edmonton, AB T6E 6K5

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