As a window, it does everything that you might expect, allowing light into the home and keeping the weather out. At it’s core, it’s so much more. The transparent touchscreen is home base for the display of digital media and widgets including weather, twitter, web browsing, and so on.

At the right price, it’s got great potential as the family media centre where a large screen television might be difficult to incorporate into the room.

The video that I initially saw said that Samsung intends to enter a mass production stage in the next couple of months. A post on Engadget says it’s still in the concept stage. In any case, check it out.

I’m always happy to answer your Saskatoon real estate questions. All of my contact info is here. Please feel free to call of email me.

Get the most current market intelligence with our FREE Market Snapshot including prices of homes recently sold in your area. Get it here, now.

Norm Fisher
Royal LePage Saskatoon Real Estate

Street level, three-dimensional images provide a close-up view of any location, flickr images contributed by users around the globe provide a glimpse into the past and in some cases, streaming video may open a window into the present. If that’s not enough to blow you away take a walk indoors or gaze towards the heavens for an astronomically complete representation of the sky above.

Blaise Aguera y Arcas, a Microsoft architect presented new developments to their Bing Maps at the TED 2010 conference happening in California showing us how various technologies and bits of data are being integrated into their mapping software to change the way we can interact with maps and data. This eight minute video is a must watch for any tech geek.

Imagine the possibilities for real estate.

I’m always happy to answer your Saskatoon real estate questions.  All of my contact info is here. Please feel free to call or email.

Real estate geeks can follow our daily updates on Twitter @norm_fisher.

Our Saskatoon home search tool offers MLS listings represented by all real estate brands, presented with more detail than you’ll find anywhere else. Check it out here.

Norm Fisher
Royal LePage Saskatoon Real Estate

You’ll probably want to start by checking out your own haunts to see if you can find yourself captured on a Google map. Start by searching for an address, click on the map placement pin that identifies the location and then select the “Street View” link for a closer look. If you find something fun please share it in the comments.

Click image for a larger view

You can also find the Street View feature live and functional on all of the listings featured on our website, including the MLS listings database available under the Saskatoon Homes tab of the navigation bar. To use the Street View tool on any MLS listing, click the “Map/Walkscore” tab and then follow the “Street View” link just above the map image in the upper right hand corner.

Click image for a larger view

The map placements seems to be less than perfect but it’s pretty easy to move around and it’s kind of a cool way to get a look up and down the block of any home that you might be interested in.

It just keeps getting better. Have fun!

A tip of the hat to @dcramps for the heads up on the availability of Street View for Saskatoon, and a big thank-you to @billskrypnyk, Technical Director at MyRealPage for making it all work.

I’m always happy to answer your Saskatoon real estate questions.  All of my contact info is here. Please feel free to call or email.

Real estate geeks can follow our daily updates on Twitter @norm_fisher.

Our Saskatoon home search tool offers MLS listings represented by all real estate brands, presented with more detail than you’ll find anywhere else. Check it out here.

Norm Fisher
Royal LePage Saskatoon Real Estate

The updates are live and functional now, available behind the “Saskatoon Homes” tab at the right side of the navigation bar, just below the header image on this page.

Check out the “Show More Options” link highlighted in the image below where you can select certain styles of home (bungalow, two-storey, etc.) or specify the type of garage you most prefer.

Even better, notice the “Kitchens” drop down menu which allows you to easily identify homes with rental suites (both legal and non-legal), and just as easily eliminate them from your search results if you’re not interested in having a suite in your home.

If you’re interested in an easy and effective home search tool, you must take some time to explore ours. Here are just a few of the advantages over realtor.ca.

• Updated far more frequently to give you quicker access to new listings from all real estate brands
• Search by neighbourhood, map, MLS number or property address
• More search fields for fully customized results
• Many additional data fields displayed including taxes, days on the market and more Cooliris slideshow functionality
• Mapping functionality for Google maps and Google Earth
• Neighbourhood “Walk Scores” which maps amenities in each area
• Save your favorite searches for easy access on return visits
• Enable and disable email notifications for new listings and price reductions
• Choose from numerous sorting and listing view options
• Save your favorite listings for easy review
• Mobile access to your account on an iPhone or a Google Android device
• Easy contact options for additional information with our assurance that you’ll never be contacted unless you ask for assistance

Please check it out on our Saskatoon Homes page. You won’t be disappointed.

My thanks to Bill Skrypnyk, Technical Director for MyRealPage and everyone else who contributes to the hard work that goes into delivering a great product. You’ve been super to deal with every step of the way.

I’m always happy to answer your Saskatoon real estate questions.  All of my contact info is here. Please feel free to call or email.

Norm Fisher
Royal LePage Saskatoon Real Estate

Located under the “Saskatoon Homes” button on the navigation bar, this powerful home search tool provides access to Saskatoon MLS listings represented by all local real estate brands. Regular data feeds typically result in new listings appearing here within hours of hitting the agent MLS, and well ahead of realtor.ca.

You’ll have options to search by selecting neighbourhoods, by drawing out a preferred geographic area on a Google map, by address, or by known MLS numbers.

Search results are delivered quickly and with a number of viewing options.  Results can be easily sorted to display by price, by listing date, or even by house size.

Without a doubt, the detailed listing view provides more information than you’ll be accustomed to seeing on any other public home search site, including realtor.ca.

The search tool works and provides full details on MLS listings with no registration required, but there is additional functionality if you don’t mind throwing your name and email address into a registration form. You have my promise that we won’t treat your registration as an invitation to spam you. If you need something, just ask. Otherwise, we’ll leave you to browse on your own.

Registered users can save searches to a private portfolio so they don’t have to be executed each time they return, but rather, selected from their list of searches. They can save their favorite properties to separate lists, rank listings using a star rating system, make notes on listings, and opt in or out of email notifications on changes to their saved searches (price changes and new listings).

There’s an awesome mobile component for iPhone and Android devices. Rumour has it that a Blackberry version is in the works.

Check out one of the quick search links that reside on the side bar under “Search Saskatoon MLS Listings” or customize your perfect search here.

Hats off to MyRealPage who developed and market the tool. Technical Director Bill Skrypnyk, along with his crew of top-notch programmers have been busting their butts to bring some huge improvements to the product over the past few months.

I’m always happy to answer your Saskatoon real estate questions.  All of my contact info is here. Please feel free to call or email.

Norm Fisher
Royal LePage Saskatoon Real Estate

It uses your device’s GPS to position you on a map and it plots all Saskatoon MLS listings within one kilometer of your current location.

Have you ever driven by a real estate for sale sign and thought to yourself, “Hey, I wonder what the deal is on that place?” Well, wonder no more my friend, wonder no more. Just pull out your phone, open the bookmark and browse the listing details including all of the MLS photos and dozens of data fields.

It will continue to search nearby listings as you “pan” the map and it can “follow” you as you walk or drive and automatically update the search results.

If you see something you’d like to visit, you can call us or send us a text message directly from the listing.

It’s a web-based application so it requires no installation and it takes up virtually no room on your phone’s hard disk.

Simply open this link with your iPhone or your Android, bookmark it, and you’re experiencing the magic, now and forever.

But please, don’t keep this gem to yourself. Email it to all of your iPhone and Android friends (you can use that little blue email icon at the bottom of this post to forward it on). They’ll love you for it.

I’m always happy to answer your Saskatoon real estate questions.  All of my contact info is here. Please feel free to call or email.

Follow our daily updates on Twitter @Norm_Fisher.

Norm Fisher
Royal LePage Saskatoon Real Estate

This application is brought to me by MyRealPage, the most kick-ass home search tool for MLS listings on planet earth, perhaps in the solar system.

I first signed up to use this “social media” tool a little more than a year ago. I think I gave it a fair shot (96 tweets and a lot of listening) but it just doesn’t seem to work for me. I’m not that comfortable sharing the minor details of my life with others.

On the other hand, I am kinda crazy about sharing real estate stuff with those who are into it. If you’re into that, and you’re into Twitter, well, you might want to check out my Twitter stream here.

You probably won’t find out where I am, or what I had for dinner, but if you were checkin’ it out you’d know how many Saskatoon homes sold today, and what the average selling price was. You’d know that a property sold above a million bucks yesterday, and that another one picked up a sold sign today at just shy of a million. Heck, you’d even already know the average selling price of a Saskatoon home for March 2009.

So, hit me up on Twitter, won’t ya?

I’m over here, by myself, at the moment. ☺

I’m always happy to answer your Saskatoon real estate questions.  All of my contact info is here. Please feel free to call or email.

Follow our daily updates on Twitter @Norm_Fisher.

Norm Fisher
Royal LePage Saskatoon Real Estate

The Calvert government announced another election year carrot yesterday unveiling its plan to create the “largest free wireless Internet network in Canada.” The province will invest approximately $1.3 million dollars to install wireless transmitters in various “hot spots” through Saskatoon, Regina, Moose Jaw and Prince Albert. They’ll also foot the bill for the service costs which are estimated to be around $340,000 a year. The “Saskatchewan Connected” initiative should be up and running by May of this year.

Saskatoon residents can expect free wireless service in a number of locations including the downtown Saskatoon area, the University of Saskatchewan, SIAST and the Broadway business district. There is some possibility that wireless zones may be expanded in the future.

At the announcement Premier Calvert said, “We need to keep Saskatchewan in the forefront…of information technology” and added that the initiative will “contribute significantly to the progressive image of our communities.”

Andrew Thomson, the minister responsible for information technology suggested that you may not want to move too quickly in dumping your current Internet service provider. He promised that the service would be superior to dial-up, but it won’t meet high-speed specifications. Secure transactions are not recommended. Porn and gambling sites will not be accessible.

Personally, I think it’s long overdue and a pretty cool move but I expect that the Calvert government’s hope that it will “attract and retain” young people in the province is a bit of a stretch.

However, until now, most of the evidence has been purely anecdotal without any solid statistical support. I suppose that’s why I found a recent post titled, “The Most Important Number in Listing Marketing,” by Point2’s COO Brendan King so interesting. Point2 is the largest real estate network in the world hosting hundreds of thousands of property listings in their database which are displayed to millions of viewers at Point2Homes each month. They are in a position to deliver definitive answers on the viewing habits of home buyers and that’s exactly what they’ve done with this fascinating study.

Over a thirty day period, Point2 observed the viewing habits of people that visited their website and concluded that “views” of listings and “leads” generated by those listings increased significantly as the number of photos available on a listing increased. On the following graph, the vertical axis represents the number of photos on a listing and the bars represent the number of viewings on a listing, followed by the number of leads which were generated as a result of those views. Clearly, we see properties which feature just one photo generating approximately 5 views and 1.37 leads, while listings displaying 21 or more images received over 77 views and close to 11 leads.

One serious question remains unanswered in this study; in spite of overwhelming evidence that listing photos are a major benefit to both buyers and sellers, why do agents typically under deliver in this area? With today’s technology it costs nothing to capture more images. Granted, there is a time investment required in capturing, processing and posting the images but it seems marginal to me in light of the potential benefits for both the seller and the seller’s agent.

If you’re thinking of selling your Saskatoon home, why not make the number and the quality of photos part of your selection criteria when choosing an agent? It will pay dividends.

Related Posts: If a Picture is Worth a Thousand Words, What Are the Photos of Your Home Saying to Prospective Buyers?

I’m always happy to answer your Saskatoon real estate questions.  All of my contact info is here. Please feel free to call or email.

Follow our daily updates on Twitter @SaskatoonHomes.

Norm Fisher
Royal LePage Saskatoon Real Estate

I’m sure you’ve heard it before. Saskatoon is rapidly becoming a force to be reckoned with when it comes to leading edge work in natural and applied science fields. There’s the National Research Council’s Plant Biotechnology Institute, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s research centre, Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization, and of course, the Canadian Light Source. All of these exciting ventures promised to give Saskatoon a reputation as an outstanding “science city.” It seems that those promises are being delivered on.

A report released this week by the Scotiabank Group shows that Saskatoon has the strongest annual percentage growth in its science workforce so far over the last ten years. Only Kitchener-Waterloo managed to match the growth seen here. The report, Smart Cities: High-knowledge Industries and Regional Prosperities shows that Saskatoon is in fact ahead of the national average when it comes to the percentage of the workforce which earn their income from natural and applied sciences. In 1996, only 4.4% of Saskatoon’s population worked in science related fields. Today, 7 % of our population, or 8,900 people do just that.

You’ve got to hand it to Saskatoon people. They can typically be counted on to do things with a sense of pride that yields positive results.