Canada’s housing market: a victim of demographics ROB CARRICK  The Globe and Mail Demographic trends built up our housing market, and now they’re going to start pulling it apart. Prepare yourselves, buyers and sellers. The years ahead for housing will look nothing like the last decade. A report issued by Pacifica Partners Capital Management in […]

Borrowers reminded of flexibility amid fixed-rate feverBy            Nestor Arellano            |            12/12/2012 4:35:00 PM            |                 0                comments Outgoing Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney may be delighted that consumers are heeding his warnings and have been flocking to fixed-rate mortgages in record number, but one broker is advising borrowers to pick shorter term mortgages because […]

By            Nestor Arellano        “In the current context, a specific concern is that the total number of housing units under construction has been increasing and is now well above its historical average relative to the population,” according to the bank’s Financial Systems Review – December 2012 report. “If the upcoming supply units are not absorbed by […]

News Release: December 4, 2012 HOME SALES DECREASE IN THE FRASER VALLEY; THOSE BUYING LOOKING FOR AFFORDABILITY (Surrey, BC) – Property sales through the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board’s Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) decreased by 19 per cent in November compared to the same month last year, moving from 1,120 to 905. Sales also decreased […]

Flaherty ‘happy’ about slowing marketBy            Vernon Clement Jones            |            04/12/2012 6:00:00 PM            |                 2                comments Jim Flaherty’s reaction to a cooling real estate market may be the polar opposite of most brokers, with the finance head suggesting he’s “happy” about the slowdown. “Less demand, lower prices, modestly, in the housing market are much better […]

Bank of Canada Interest Rate Announcement – October 23, 2012 The Bank of Canada once again opted to hold its target for the overnight rate at 1 per cent this morning. Interest rates have been held constant for over two years, the longest such period since the 1950s.  The Bank somewhat tempered its bias for […]

News Release: October 2, 2012 BUYERS TAKE ‘WAIT AND SEE’ APPROACH FOR SINGLE FAMILY HOMES; CONDOS HOLDING THEIR OWN (Surrey, BC) – For the second month in a row, property sales on the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board’s Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) have decreased to historically low levels. In September, a total of 857 sales […]

Mortgage insurance is typically mandatory for homebuyers without 20% equity.   Putting down 10% on the average $350,152 home, for example, means you’ll cough up a $6,302 insurance premium (given fully documented income and decent credit). Since insurance premiums are tacked on to your mortgage, that adds up to $9,000+ if you amortize it over […]

Hope for housing market Two recent independent reports cite demographics, interest rates and employment growth as significant factors that will cushion the expected downturn in the Lower Mainland’s housing market next year and through the next decade. In a report issued on August 28, CIBC senior economist, Benjamin Tal, predicts an increased demand from baby […]

Please be advised, effective July 9, 2012, the following changes mandated by the Department of Finance – Canada will be implemented: Maximum Amortization Available for Default Insured Mortgages The maximum amortization for      default insured mortgages will be reduced to 25 years (previously 30      years) Maximum Amortization Available for Uninsured Mortgages The maximum amortization […]