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Posted in 2010 real estate market, buying, First-time buyers, mortgage rates, real estate market

Dropping...

     

Great news this week as the “Big Banks” are finally getting in the game for interest rates. The news is all about the drop in interest rates by the Banks. Other lenders have already been down for a few weeks and I am looking to see rates go down even further. It is becoming more difficult to make the choice between variable and fixed rates as these rates get closer together.

 
The Real Estate market has slowed considerably since the hectic pace of late spring/early summer. Higher rates, changes to qualifications for obtaining a mortgage and the perceptions surrounding the HST are all responsible for the slowdown.
 
When things get slow, rates stay low….or go lower. Perhaps we will see a busy fall market as borrowers see an opportunity with lots of housing inventory and great interest rates.

          

Bank Prime Rate 2.50%
Term
Best
Bank Posted
1 year
2.65%
3.50%
3 year
3.49%
4.50%
5 year
3.79i

 5.49i

10 year
5.25%
6.90%
25 year
9.30%
9.65%
 
 
 

 

 
 
 
 
 
Bold numbers denote change from last posted rates.  
 
Variable mortgage from Less Than Prime!
 

Courtesy of

Laura Stein - The Mortgage Centre
Telephone: 604-657-6535 ext 222
www.mortgagecents.ca

 

Call Laura today and tell her Lyn sent you!
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Posted in 2010 real estate market, buying, First-time buyers, Laura Stein, mortgage rates, real estate market, Vancouver Real Estate blog

Baby Steps...

      Another week - another small decrease in interest rates. I’ve been telling you that fixed terms have to come down and they are. There’s more room for decreases but whether or not the lenders offer the savings to the borrower or try to hang onto their larger spreads, only time will tell.

      The Bank of Canada next meets Wednesday, September 8th. It’s widely thought that the B of C cannot go too much further without the rest of the world, most notably the USA, joining in the recovery. Based on what I’ve read, the recovery in the USA is looking more like 2012-2013. About the time that the Port Mann bride is finished, rates in the USA will be going up.

    Until then, keep your speed under 80km/h (in Vancouver) and consider riding in a variable mortgage. Have a Great week!

          
Bank Prime Rate 2.50%
Term
Best
Bank Posted
1 year
2.65%
3.50%
3 year
3.49%
4.50%
5 year
3.89i

 5.79i

10 year
5.25%
6.90%
25 year
9.30%
9.65%
 
 
 

 

 
 
 
 
 
Bold numbers denote change from last posted rates.  
 
Variable mortgage from Less Than Prime...TODAY at 2.15%!
 

Courtesy of

Laura Stein - The Mortgage Centre
Telephone: 604-657-6535 ext 222
www.mortgagecents.ca

 

Call Laura today and tell her Lyn sent you!
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Posted in 2010 real estate market, mortgage rates, real estate market

Mortgage Rate Forecast

By Cameron Muir, Chief Economist and Brendon Ogmundson, Economist, British Columbia Real Estate Association
 
The Canadian economy grew at the exceptional pace of 6.1% in the first quarter of 2010, propelled by a booming housing market, strong consumer spending and the rebuilding of private sector inventories. Moreover, growth in the second quarter of 2010, while not expected to register the sizzling pace of the previous six months, should be a robust 3%-4%.
  
table
 
However there are signs that the economy, if not stalling out, may be slowing down. April’s monthly GDP print was disappointingly flat as consumers moved to the sidelines, sending retail sales lower by almost 2%.
 
chart
 
Even if Canadian consumers are beginning to tire out, economic growth should be supported in coming months by projects initiated under the federal government’s infrastructure stimulus plan. This stimulus will provide a needed boost to the economy through the remainder of 2010, with projected impacts peaking in the third quarter, but will create a drag on growth in 2011 as the stimulus is withdrawn from government expenditure.
 
The strength of the Canadian economic recovery over the past six months is evidenced by the over 300,000 jobs created in the Canadian economy since the beginning of the year. While this exceptional rate of job creation stands in stark contrast to the gloomy employment situation of our southern neighbour, it also re-affirms the need for the Bank of Canada to begin withdrawing its emergency level of monetary stimulus by raising interest rates, particularly given the proximity of core inflation to its 2% target rate.
 
The withdrawal of monetary and fiscal stimulus from the Canadian economy in coming months will result in slower growth in both the second half of 2010 and into 2011. This growth slowdown may be further exacerbated by weaker than currently anticipated US and global economic growth as well as a higher Canadian dollar resulting from a rise in Canadian interest rates relative to the United States.
 
In all, slower economic growth and inflation that is within the Bank of Canada’s comfort zone should mean that, while interest rates are certain to rise, the pace of interest rate increases should be orderly and the level of interest rates will remain near historic lows through the remainder of the year.
 
© Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver
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Posted in 2010 real estate market, buying, mortgage rates, Vancouver Real Estate blog, Vancouver real estate market

Little Change This Week...

Not much movement with interest rates this week. Some lenders have lowered their 1-5 year fixed rates over the last couple weeks, making the fixed option a little more desirable then it previously was. Also a great time to get yourself pre-approved and lock in these lower 5 years fixed rates. Rate holds are good for up to 120 days, which gives people time to shop around while holding on to yesterdays low rates. Variable Clients…...Still a great time to keep floating!  

          
Bank Prime Rate 2.25%
Term
Best
Bank Posted
1 year
2.64%
4.35%
3 year
3.75%
4.60%
5 year
4.19%

 6.10%5

10 year
5.25%
7.05%
25 year
9.30%
9.65%
 
 
 

 

 
 
 
 
 
Bold numbers denote change from last posted rates.  
 
Variable mortgage from Less Than Prime...TODAY at 1.90%!
 

Courtesy of

Laura Stein - The Mortgage Centre
Telephone: 604-657-6535 ext 222
www.mortgagecents.ca

 

Call Laura today and tell her Lyn sent you!
Read

Posted on by
Posted in 2010 real estate market, buying, First-time buyers, mortgage rates, real estate, real estate market

No Surprise Hikes.

Not much movement with interest rates this week. All lenders raised their prime rate last week with the Bank of Canada...but we were all ready for that move. The bond market has left room for lenders to bring down their longer term rates. The 5 year rate could come down by another .5%. The Banks are charging 4.49% for their 5 year rate while others are willing to discount further. Low rates are here for awhile longer. Still a great time to keep floating!

  
           Bank Prime Rate 2.25%
Term
Best
Bank Posted
1 year
2.64%
4.35%
3 year
3.75%
4.60%
5 year
4.19%
5.99%
10 year
5.25%
7.05%
25 year
9.30%
9.65%
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Bold numbers denote change from last posted rates.  
 
Variable mortgage from Less Than Prime...TODAY at 1.90%!
 

Courtesy of

Laura Stein - The Mortgage Centre
Telephone: 604-657-6535 ext 222
www.mortgagecents.ca

 

Call Laura today and tell her Lyn sent you!
Read

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Posted in 2010 real estate market, mortgage rates, real estate market

Bank of Canada Increases Overnight Rate Target to 1/2 per cent and Re-establishes Normal Functioning of the Overnight Market
OTTAWA - June 1, 2010

 

The Bank of Canada today announced that it is raising its target for the overnight rate by one-quarter of one percentage point to 1/2 per cent. The Bank Rate is correspondingly raised to 3/4 per cent and the deposit rate is kept at 1/4 per cent, thus re-establishing the normal operating band of 50 basis points for the overnight rate.

The global economic recovery is proceeding but is increasingly uneven across countries, with strong momentum in emerging market economies, some consolidation of the recovery in the United States, Japan and other industrialized economies, and the possibility of renewed weakness in Europe. The required rebalancing of global growth has not yet materialized.
 
In most advanced economies, the recovery remains heavily dependent on monetary and fiscal stimulus. In general, broad forces of household, bank, and sovereign deleveraging will add to the variability, and temper the pace, of global growth. Recent tensions in Europe are likely to result in higher borrowing costs and more rapid tightening of fiscal policy in some countries - an important downside risk identified in the April Monetary Policy Report (MPR). Thus far, the spillover into Canada from events in Europe has been limited to a modest fall in commodity prices and some tightening of financial conditions.

Activity in Canada is unfolding largely as expected. The economy grew by a robust 6.1 per cent in the first quarter, led by housing and consumer spending. Employment growth has resumed. Going forward, household spending is expected to decelerate to a pace more consistent with income growth. The anticipated pickup in business investment will be important for a more balanced recovery.

CPI inflation has been in line with the Bank's April projections. The outlook for inflation reflects the combined influences of strong domestic demand, slowing wage growth, and overall excess supply.

In this context, the Bank has decided to raise the target for the overnight rate to 1/2 per cent and to re-establish the normal functioning of the overnight market. This decision still leaves considerable monetary stimulus in place, consistent with achieving the 2 per cent inflation target in light of the significant excess supply in Canada, the strength of domestic spending, and the uneven global recovery.

Given the considerable uncertainty surrounding the outlook, any further reduction of monetary stimulus would have to be weighed carefully against domestic and global economic developments.

Information note: The next scheduled date for announcing the overnight rate target is July 20th, 2010. A full update of the Bank's outlook for the economy and inflation, including risks to the projection, will be published in the MPR on July 22nd, 2010.
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Posted in 2010 real estate market, mortgage rates, Vancouver Real Estate blog, Vancouver real estate market

Rates Stay Steady This Week

 

Interest rates have not moved this week as the world adjusts to the new normal after 3 rate hikes on the longer terms. The ironic thing is that the yield on the bond market, where lenders go to get their funds to lend as mortgages, has come down to almost the same levels that it was at when lenders were offering 5 year mortgages for under 4%. Currently the “Banks” are charging 4.79% on their 5 year mortgage. There are lenders who have better deals but it would be nice to see the rates come down a little.

 
The uncertainty in Europe over the financial crisis in Greece….and soon to be other countries as well, is causing investors to flee to the safety of bonds and (oddly) the US dollar. This will make it even more difficult to predict the next move by the Bank of Canada. Perhaps the volatility will allow them to hold steady with the rates into the summer or later in 2010.

 

Many borrowers are going into a  variable term these days with the idea that the coming increases will be manageable and drawn out. The Real Estate market continues to be brisk, especially while borrowers with a pre-booked rate find themselves a new home before time is up. 
 
            Bank Prime Rate 2.25%
Term
Best
Bank Posted
1 year
2.65%
4.35%
3 year
3.29%
4.6%
5 year
4.39%
6.10%
10 year
5.25%
7.05%
25 year
9.30%
9.65%
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Bold numbers denote change from last posted rates.  
 
Variable mortgage from Less Than Prime...TODAY at 1.75%!
 

Courtesy of

Laura Stein - The Mortgage Centre
Telephone: 604-657-6535 ext 222
www.mortgagecents.ca

 

Call Laura today and tell her Lyn sent you!
Read

Posted on by
Posted in 2010 real estate market, First-time buyers, mortgage rates, real estate market, Vancouver Real Estate blog
The count down is on for rate increases. It is only a matter of time until lenders decide to stop giving their money away and make us pay for it. Some lenders are offering rate sales right now, so this is the time to get pre-approved if you are wishing to buy a home this Spring. Call me today to hook you up with a respected & professional mortgage broker that can get you these rates:
 
CURRENT MORTGAGE RATES
Effective March 16, 2010


TERM                        BEST RATE              POSTED RATE
1 Yr Closed                     2.50%                         3.60%
2 Yr Closed                     2.85%                       
3 Yr Closed                     3.35%                         4.15%

4 Yr Closed                     3.69%                       

5 Yr Closed                     3.89%                         5.39%
7 Yr Closed                     5.05%                        
10 Yr Closed                   5.30%                        
 
Prime Rate: 2.25%
5 Year Variable @ Prime - 0.40%
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Posted in 2010 real estate market, BC; British Columbia, buying, canadian real estate market, First-time buyers, mortgage rates, real estate investors

New Mortgage Standards to Begin April 19th.

Tuesday, February 16, 2010 - Globe an Mail Report on Business

 
Finance Minister Jim Flaherty today unveiled new mortgage standards aimed at stopping housing speculators and ensuring homebuyers can adequately juggle their debts when interest rates inevitably rise. Mr. Flaherty stressed that Canada's real estate market is healthy, and that the new rules, which take effect April 19, would stop “negative trends” from development. Ottawa moved in three areas:
  
• New qualifying standards will mean borrowers must be able to handle a five-year, fixed-rate mortgage, even though they may opt for a shorter term and lower rate. The government said this test will help homebuyers prepare for higher rates. As it now stands at the major banks, borrowers are income-tested for a three-year fixed rate. Craig Alexander, Toronto-Dominion Bank's deputy chief economist, said in a research note that the change could influence about 25 per cent of all new mortgages. That does not mean those buyers wouldn't still buy, but they may have to lower their expectations as to the size of the homes they want, Mr. Alexander said. Based on a 5-per-cent down payment and a national average home price of $337,000, a buyer would need about $9,200 more in annual income to qualify under the changes, Mr. Alexander said. At $200,000 and 5 per cent down, that would fall to $5,500.
  
• Refinancing homes will now be limited to 90 per cent of the value of a property, down from 95 per cent. That means property owners won't be able to draw equity back down to the 5 per cent down payment level, Mr. Alexander noted. The government said this will help make owning a home a more effective way to save. “The impact of this change should be quite limited,” according to Mr. Alexander. “Less than one-third of refinancing is done by individuals with mortgage loans in the range of 90 per cent to 95 per cent of the value of the property. On the margin, it will act as a small negative for consumer purchases (largely on durable goods) that are financed through mortgage refinancing - but the amount will be small.”
  

• A minimum down payment of 20 per cent will be required for government-backed insurance on properties not lived in by their owners, up from 5 per cent. “This measure is likely aimed at tempering speculative buying of real estate by reducing the leverage available to buyers,” Mr. Alexander said. “It will, however, also impact individuals buying real estate for investment purposes more generally, including those looking for rental properties. In rough ballpark terms, the change might impact about 5 per cent to 15 per cent of new mortgage originations.”

Scotia Capital economist Derek Holt, noting that the market alone would have cooled things down, said the biggest move that could affect prices is the one on qualifying, which would kick out many potential buyers. “The mortgage rule changes raise the odds of lower house prices into the back half of 2010 and into 2011,” Mr. Holt said. “… I think house prices were going to fall because of market mechanisms, but today's rule changes add further pressure in that regard.”

Eric Lascelles, TD Securities chief economics and rates strategist, projected “some extreme volatility” in the housing market in the short term as home buyers rush to beat the April 19 date. After that, he said, activity could “crater” because so many buyers moved up their purchases. Over all, Mr. Lascelles said, “the economic implications of this rule change are unlikely to be severe, and we expect the housing market to slow its ascent without crashing back down to earth.”

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Posted in 2010 real estate market, Laura Stein, mortgage rates, real estate market
 

The Low Down on Interest Rates...

 

The Bank of Canada has decided to leave interest rates where they are. This was no surprise to anyone as the B of C has promised to keep the overnight rate at .25% until June of this year. They predict growth to pick up through the latter half of this year. If they are correct, then we will see interest rates start to go up later this year. All the powers that be, the government and the Bank of Canada, will be approaching any rate increases extremely carefully as the recovery will be slow and precarious until the USA is on better footing. 
 
            Bank Prime Rate 2.25%
Term
Best
Bank Posted
1 year
2.25%
4.5%
3 year
3.25%
5.15%
5 year
3.79%*
5.84%
10 year
5.25%
7.15%
25 year
9.30%
9.65%
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 *Strings attached to this rate!
 Bold numbers denote change from last posted rates.  
 
Variable mortgage from Less Than Prime...TODAY at 2.05%!
 

Courtesy of

Laura Stein - The Mortgage Centre
Telephone: 604-657-6535 ext 222
www.mortgagecents.ca

 

Call Laura today and tell her Lyn sent you!
Read

Posted on by
Posted in 2010 real estate market, First-time buyers, mortgage rates, Vancouver Real Estate blog, Vancouver real estate market

Happy New Year!

 

2010 promises to be an interesting year for mortgages and real estate. The final numbers are in for 2009 and prices and volumes of activity have eclipsed 2008. The market has been spurred on by record low interest rates and a very, very slow start to the year. The demand is still strong and, with less listings on the market, there will be pressure on prices to increase.

   

Interest rates will remain low for the next while too. The Bank of Canada is holding to their commitment to keep rates low into June. The rise in the Canadian dollar will mean that the B of C will have to wait to raise rates. Too soon and they derail the recovery, especially in the manufacturing sector.            
 
            Bank Prime Rate 2.25%
Term
Best
Bank Posted
1 year
2.25%
4.5%
3 year
3.25%
5.15%
5 year
3.89%*
5.84%
10 year
5.25%
7.15%
25 year
9.30%
9.65%
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 *Strings attached to this rate!
 Bold numbers denote change from last posted rates.  
 
Variable mortgage from Less Than Prime...TODAY at 2.15%!
 

Courtesy of

Laura Stein - The Mortgage Centre
Telephone: 604-657-6535 ext 222
www.mortgagecents.ca

 

Call Laura today and tell her Lyn sent you!
Read

Posted on by
Posted in 2009 Real Estate Market, mortgage rates

Holding Steady!

 

No changes were made at the Bank of Canada meeting...
“The target overnight rate can be expected to remain at its current level until the end of the second quarter of 2010.” - Canadian Mortgage Trends

 

The bond market continues to be favorable for low rates on the longer term mortgages. The real estate market continues to stay busy as we near the end of 2009.  
             Bank Prime Rate 2.25%
Term
Best
Bank Posted
1 year
2.25%
4.5%
3 year
3.25%
5.15%
5 year
3.89%*
5.84%
10 year
5.25%
7.15%
25 year
9.30%
9.65%
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 *Strings attached to this rate!
 Bold numbers denote change from last posted rates.  
 
Variable mortgage from Less Than Prime...TODAY at 2.15%!
 

Courtesy of

Laura Stein - The Mortgage Centre
Telephone: 604-657-6535 ext 222
www.mortgagecents.ca

 

Call Laura today and tell her Lyn sent you!
Read
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