real estate

CMHC moves to take steam out of housing market

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arrowdownOttawa is taking new steps to cool the country’s housing market.

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. is limiting guarantees it offers banks and other lenders on mortgage-backed securities. The measure comes amid the federal government’s efforts to protect taxpayers from financial risks in the housing sector, further cool lending and add upward pressure to mortgage rates.

The Crown corporation has notified banks, credit unions and other mortgage lenders that they will each be restricted to a maximum of $350-million of new guarantees this month under its National Housing Act Mortgage-Backed Securities (NHA MBS) program. The decision comes in the wake of “unexpected demand” for the guarantees, a spokeswoman for CMHC said in an e-mailed statement.

CONTINUE READING : http://m.theglobeandmail.com

New mortgage rules pushing 1st-time homebuyers to wait.

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WAITINGA year after Finance Minister Jim Flaherty tightened mortgage rules to not allow insured mortgages with amortization terms of more than 25 years, many prospective buyers say they are waiting longer to buy their first home.

About 19 per cent said they would wait longer to buy, a survey by Pollara for BMO Bank of Montreal showed.

In June 2012, Flaherty laid out rules aimed at reining in a hot housing market and ensuring Canadians aren’t taking on more debt than they can afford. The rules went into effect July 9, 2012.

First-time homebuyers were expected to be the most affected by the new rules, which included reducing the maximum amortization period for a government-insured mortgage from 30 to 25 years, and also dropping the upper limit that Canadians could borrow against their home equity from 85 per cent to 80 per cent.

CONTINUE READING : http://www.cbc.ca/

Les gagnants du tirage.

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Le 27 Juin 2013 le tirage au sort de 4 prix pour mes clients a eu lieu au restaurant “ERMITAGE”.

Et voici les noms des gagnants !

P1040308Premier prix – carte cadeau 1000$ de RONA – Nadejda A.

SAMSUNGDeuxième prix – carte cadeau 200$ de IKEA – Christian S.

P1040307Troisième prix – carte cadeau 100$ de IKEA – Oleg et Lyudmila B.

SAMSUNGPrix de présence – bouteille de vin Le Trio du Vignoble Le cep d’Argent – Marie-Denise N.

Mes félicitations aux gagnants! Le prochain tirage aura lieu le 9 janvier 2014. Pour avoir la chance de gagner un des prix vous n’avez qu’acheter ou vendre votre propriété avec moi avant le 01 janvier 2014.

 

 

 

Canadian mortgage rates on the rise

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croissanceSome of Canada’s major banks are starting to raise mortgage rates. RBC, Scotia Bank and TD have all increased some of their mortgage rates in the last month and RBC announced a second hike last week.

Everyone breathe.

For RBC, the four-year closed-rate mortgage is moving up 10 basis points to 3.39 per cent, five-year increase by 20 basis points to 3.6 per cernt, the seven-year by 20 basis points to 3.99 per cent, the 10-year is moving up by 30 basis points to 4.29 per cent.

When mortgage rates increase, homeowners, or those ready to buy, are often fearful, with reason.

However, it’s not all bad. Hopefully, we can get a little bit of perspective on the recent rise in Canadian mortgage rates.

These are still really good rates

In November 2008, the monthly average mortgage rate for a conventional five-year mortgage in Canada was 7 per cent. Since the 2008 crash, we’ve been a bit spoiled with artificially low mortgage rates. A five-year closed rate of 3.69 per cent is still low, historically speaking.

Rising mortgage rates are a double-edged sword

Rising mortgage rates are a signal of a stabilizing economy in North America, which we’ve all been rooting for since 2008. A stabilizing economy means increases in employment, incomes and hopefully stock markets. These are good things that should help families offset the effect of mortgage hikes.

These are very small hikes

The largest increase announced is 30 basis points on the RBC 10-year closed mortgage. That’s three tenths of a percent. We aren’t talking full percentage swings over night. Small rises in mortgage rates can be a signal of upward trends, but at least they give home owners time to speak with their mortgage specialist and lock down a rate that allows them to sleep at night.

Most mortgage rates are set by banks

Mortgage rates are set by each individual bank, based on supply and demand. Banks who have not yet raised rates may hold off on a rate increase to see how their competitor’s decisions plays out.

How to survive a mortgage rate hike

  1. Purchase a home you can afford, even when rates rise. The bigger your mortgage, the more effected you are.
  2. Aim to have a 20 per cent down payment to ensure that you’re not over leveraged.
  3. Start paying down consumer debt to free up additional cash flow for your household.
  4. Sit down with a mortgage specialist and ask for a rate hold, which you can always cancel if you need to or lock in a historically low rate.

SOURCE : http://globalnews.ca/

May 2013 Real Estate Market: North Shore Fared Well Despite Ongoing Slowdown

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Île-des-Sœurs, June 7, 2013 – According to the real estate brokers’ Centris® provincial database, there were 4,288 residential sales transactions concluded in the Montréal Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) in May 2013, said the Greater Montréal Real Estate Board (GMREB). This represents an 8 per cent decrease compared to May 2012 and the smallest drop in sales in the past seven months. The North Shore performed well with a 5 per cent decrease in sales.

“The North Shore registered the smallest decrease in sales for the fourth consecutive month,” said Diane Ménard, Vice-President of the GMREB Board of Directors. “In a context where some buyers had to revise their budget due to the new mortgage rules, the North Shore continues to benefit from the fact that it is the most affordable area in the Montréal region,” she added.

All three property categories registered a drop in sales in May 2013 as compared to May 2012. Sales of single-family homes and plexes fell by 7 per cent, while condominium sales decreased by 12 per cent.

All five main areas of the Montréal CMA registered a decrease in sales in May 2013. While the North Shore posted the smallest drop at 5 per cent, sales in Vaudreuil-Soulanges, the South Shore and Montréal decreased by 7, 8 and 9 per cent, respectively. Laval registered a 14 per cent drop in sales.

The median price of single-family homes grew by 4 per cent across the CMA in May, the largest increase since December 2012. By area, the South Shore led the way with a 6 per cent increase ($279,900) followed by Laval with a 5 per cent increase ($290,000), Vaudreuil-Soulanges with a 3 per cent increase ($268,000) and the North Shore with a 2 per cent increase ($240,000). On the Island of Montréal ($380,000), the median price of single-family homes remained unchanged compared to May of last year.

The median price of condominiums remained unchanged (0 per cent) in May in the Montréal CMA. A slight decrease of 1 per cent was registered on the Island of Montréal ($274,000) and in Laval ($208,000), but this was compensated by increases of 3 per cent on the North Shore ($175,000) and 4 per cent on the South Shore ($189,500).

“Condominium prices have stabilized since the start of the year in the Montréal Metropolitan Area,” noted Paul Cardinal, Manager, Market Analysis, at the Québec Federation of Real Estate Boards. “Despite a slight excess in supply, construction of new condominiums has slowed considerably in recent months, which could lead to a rebalancing of this market segment in the near future,” he added.

As at May 31, 2013, there were 32,603 active listings in the Centris® system, up 16 per cent compared to the same period last year. Once again, the increase in active listings was most noticeable for condominiums (28 per cent). The increase in supply was more moderate for plexes (12 per cent) and single-family homes (10 per cent).

Geographically, the increase in the number of active listings was largest on the Island of Montréal (+25 per cent) and in Laval (+23 per cent), while Vaudreuil-Soulanges, the South Shore and the North shore registered respective increases of 16, 11 and 6 per cent.

MLS® Home Price Index for May 2013