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House sales rebound in June
The Fraser Valley real estate market saw a resurgence in activity in June as house sales in the Fraser Valley more than doubled in one month as buyers return to the market. The Fraser Valley Real Estate Board (FVREB) processed a total of 1,718 sales in June which was an increase of 113 per
CMHC Mortgage Rule Changes Coming
Below is a brief analysis of the recently announced CMHC changes from our national head office. CMHC announced more restrictive underwriting criteria that will apply to new applications for homeowner purchases effective July 1, 2020. We recently argued against tinkering with mortgage underwriting criteria in light of the COVID-driven housing market slowdown. While we
Mortgage Rates Reverse Direction
After seeing mortgage rates increase for about a month due to market conditions they started coming back down in the last few weeks. With the onset of Covid-19, investors and lenders became nervous and the money supply tightened forcing rates to increase. In fact, we saw rates increase over ½% in the first few weeks
Mortgage Qualification Tightening
With the Covid-19 virus in full swing there has been a wild ride in the mortgage market of late. This has included mortgage qualification rules tightening along the way. Changes are happening on almost a daily basis. We saw Prime Rate drop 3 times in a month and then lenders get rid of their
Prime Rate Drop not passed along to consumers
The Bank of Canada dropped its’ overnight rate twice in the last few weeks for a total cut of 1.00%. The banks and other lenders in Canada previously held their Prime Rate at 3.95% and followed suit accordingly dropping their Prime Rate to 2.95%. If you had an existing variable rate mortgage then you
Bank of Canada Lowers Rate Again
The Bank of Canada announced today another ½% cut to its’ overnight lending rate in order to try and minimize the potential effects from the coronavirus. This was an unscheduled rate cut as they normally would not have held a meeting at this time. It remains to be seen as to whether or not
Stress Test Changes Coming
The Government of Canada recently announced changes to the stress test rate used to determine the minimum qualifying rate for insured mortgages. Currently all insured mortgages (purchases with less than 20% down) qualify at the Bank of Canada 5 year Benchmark Posted Rate. This rate is currently 5.19%. So borrowers have to qualify at
Home Sales Stats for 2019
Home sales for 2019 got off to a slow start in the first half of the year but recovered as the year went on. Here are some of the most notable stats for the year from the Canadian Real Estate Association. National home sales declined by 0.9% on a month-over-month basis in December. Actual
How do banks determine your interest rate
The world of interest rates used to be quite simple a few years ago. Banks had one set of rates and those rates were used for all types of purchases and refinances or renewals. Rates were often the same if you qualified with your income or if we were using a stated income program.
Latest Economic News
Here is the latest economic news for this week that could impact interest rates, the value of your home and the cost of consumer goods. The Canadian labour market added another $53,000 jobs. Wage growth picked up as the unemployment rate fell to near-historic lows. The housing market continued to recover and this has contributed