November 25, 2008
New Conference Board of Canada study just released lists consumer confidence at a 26 year low in Canada. The article published in 24 Hours is attached. Articles like this help consumer confidence sink lower because most people will follow the accepted or published trend so if you are someone that goes against trends you will find many deals to be had around town - some of the biggest being real estate.
November 24, 2008
Here is an article from today's 24 Hours newspaper. It lists the top 10 recession proof careers. If your profession is on the list now may be the best time to start investing - go on offense when everyone around you is on defense.
October 9, 2008
So the Bank of Canada lowers the overnight lending rate yesterday by 0.5 but mortgage rates for the 5 year fixed are still inching up and the variable rates are still not being discounted like they were a few weeks ago. To read more about the Bank of Canada's move read it from their website, straight from the source.
August 8, 2008
If you are a first time buyer or investor, this summer is a good time to be looking at buying property. The inventory is actually very high quality and available inventory is competing on price to find the right buyer. At this moment in time the supply is high and demand is low. To see an up to date graph on Supply vs. Demand read the market forecast.
July 26, 2008
Vancouver is getting press worldwide as a great place to live. Did you know that other cities have created a verb out of our city? Yes city planners are trying to Vancouverize their downtown cores and now we are an idealogy too – yes Vancouverism! Read about it on the website www.vancouverism.ca which features the travelling exhibit currently on display in London and then onto Paris.
July 15, 2008
The Bank of Canada announced today that the overnight target rate will stay at 3%. This means that prime will likely remain at 4.75%. They state the three factors affecting the economy are:
July 11, 2008
The Government announced on July 9 that they will no longer back new 40 year amortized mortgages or 100% financing. As of October 15, 2008, insured mortgages will require 35 year amortization or less, minimum of 5% down, a minimum credit score and new loan documentation. The new rules were put into effect to protect and strengthen Canada’s housing market as a result of the housing troubles in the United States. To read more visit: http://www.fin.gc.ca/news08/08-051e.html.
July 9, 2008
Two new seminars have been added and are now open to registration. View the seminar descriptions and register today. All seminars are focused on education and providing you with information you can actually put to use.
June 25, 2008
At the end of the month the public site most visited by buyers to research available properties will be changed from www.mls.ca to www.REALTOR.ca. If you forget and type in the old address, the sites will run parallel for a bit and then users will be redirected to the new site. The Canadian Real Estate Board is not only re-branding the site but will be adding improvements, including interactive mapping and streamlined search capabilities.
May 28, 2008
The media is reporting that the market may be slowing. I am not sure how they reached their conclusion but one thing is for sure, there are a lot more listings out there. Buyers tend to be taking a bit more time to decide on a place because there is that much more to choose from. This does not necessarily mean that they are getting properties at a lower price but there seems to be less competition on properties which mean prices are not being driven up as much with multiple offers.
