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Home sales in Fraser Valley hold steady in August- from FVREB
2011-09-02 | 14:14:21
News Release: September 2, 2011
HOME SALES IN FRASER VALLEY HOLD STEADY IN AUGUST
(Surrey, BC) – The Fraser Valley Real Estate Board processed 1,341 sales on the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in August, an increase of 35 per cent compared to the 997 sales during the same month last year and slightly higher than the 1,322 sales in July.
Sukh Sidhu, president of the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board, says, “We typically see a summer dip in sales in August compared to July and that didn’t happen this year. We attribute the current steady market to interest rates remaining favourable, as well as buyers taking advantage of home prices softening slightly in certain markets and an influx of new inventory across all property types.”
The board posted 2,644 new properties on its MLS® in August, an increase of 26 per cent compared to August of last year and 10 per cent fewer than it received in July. The number of active listings in the Fraser Valley remained at 10,074 in August, on par with July’s volume.
“The number of homes on the market remains at a yearly high, which combined with a decrease in sales, can put downward pressure on pricing. We’re only seeing this in some communities for certain property types underlining the importance for both sellers and buyers to obtain local real estate expertise.
“Year over year, home prices in the Fraser Valley are either on par or showing increases; month over month, benchmark prices for the three main residential property types combined declined by 1.3 per cent.”
The benchmark price of a single family detached house in the Fraser Valley in August was $528,959, an increase of 3.7 per cent compared to $510,107 in August 2010.
For townhouses, the benchmark price in August was $327,317, an increase of 0.9 per cent compared to $324,485 during the same month last year. The benchmark price of apartments in Fraser Valley in August was $245,751, an increase of 2.5 per cent compared to $239,659 in August 2010.
Information and photos of all Fraser Valley Real Estate Board listings can be found on the national, public web sitewww.REALTOR.ca. Further market statistics can be found on the Board’s web page at www.fvreb.bc.ca. The Fraser Valley Real Estate Board is an association of 2,916 real estate professionals who live and work in the communities of North Delta, Surrey, White Rock, Langley, Abbotsford, and Mission.
August 29th, 2011-Current interest Rate Sheet
2011-08-29 | 23:26:26
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| This edition of the Weekly Rate Minder has the latest, best rates for Canadian mortgages. At Dominion Lending Centres, we work on your behalf to find the mortgage that suits your needs. Best of all — our service is free.* It's the selected lender that pays us and YOU get the best rate. *(O.A.C., E.&O.E.)
• Our Best National Rates
• Explore Mortgage Scenarios with Helpful Calculators on http://www.richulvild.com
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| Terms |
Bank Rates |
Our Rates |
| 6 Month |
4.45% |
4.40% |
| 1 YEAR |
3.50% |
2.64% |
| 2 YEARS |
3.85% |
2.99%
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| 3 YEARS |
4.35% |
3.29% |
| 4 YEARS |
3.99% |
3.19% |
| 5 YEARS |
5.39% |
3.39% |
| 7 YEARS |
6.35% |
4.49% |
| 10 YEARS |
6.75% |
4.79% |
| Rates are subject to change without notice. *OAC E&OE |
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| Prime Rate is 3.00% |
| Variable rate mortgages from as low as Prime - .75%
Please note that rates shown above are subject to change without notice. The rates shown are posted rates and the actual rate you receive may be different, depending upon your personal financial situation. “Some conditions may apply. Rates may vary from Province to Province. Rates subject to change without notice. *O.A.C. E.& O.E.” Check with your Dominion Lending Centres Mortgage Professional for full details and to determine what rate will be available for you.
*O.A.C., E.& O.E.
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- We are Canada's premier online mortgage lender, and one of the fastest growing mortgage companies nationwide!
- Our Brokers are Experts in their field and many are ranked amongst the best nationally.
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- We are the preferred mortgage lender for several of Canada's top companies.
- Dominion Lending Centres' Mortgage Experts are available anytime, anywhere, evenings and weekends — we'll even come to you!
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News + graph "Canadian Home Sales Stable In July"
2011-08-16 | 15:05:24
OTTAWA – August 16, 2011 – According to statistics1 released today by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), national resale housing activity was stable on a month-to-month basis in July following an uptick in June.
Highlights:
• Sales activity was stable from June to July, but posted a big year-over-year gain due to weakened demand in July 2010.
• Year-to-date sales continue to run in line with the ten-year average.
• The number of newly listed homes inched up by less than one per cent from June to July.
• The national housing market remains firmly entrenched in balanced territory.
• The national average price posted the largest year-over-year gain since April 2010, but was below where it stood in June.
• Upward skewing of the national average price is diminishing due to fewer expensive sales and a declining share of national activity in Vancouver and Toronto.
National home sales activity held steady in July 2011 compared to the previous month, with just over half of local markets posting month-over-month gains.
Major markets that saw gains compared to June include Edmonton, Montreal, as well as Newfoundland and Labrador. Activity also held steady in Toronto, while Vancouver recorded a small decline.
“The continued stability in national sales activity shows that homebuyers remain confident about the soundness of investing in a home,” said Gary Morse, CREA’s President. “Mortgage interest rates are low and keeping home affordability within reach, making it an excellent time for buyers to take advantage of very favourable financing. Prices and affordability evolve differently among local markets, so buyers and sellers should consult their local REALTOR® to better understand how the outlook for housing supply, demand, and prices is shaping up in their housing market.”
Actual (not seasonally adjusted) sales activity came in 12.3 per cent above national levels reported one year earlier. This increase reflects weakened activity in July 2010, when levels for the month reached their lowest point since 2002.
A total of 284,537 homes have traded hands via Canadian MLS® Systems so far this year. This stands just 1.6 per cent below levels in the first seven months of last year, and continues to run in line with the ten-year average.
The number of newly listed homes edged up by less than one per cent from June to July. New listings were down in 60 per cent of local markets, but increased in many large urban centres including Toronto, Vancouver, Edmonton, and Ottawa.
The national housing market remains firmly planted in balanced territory. The national sales-to-new listings ratio, a measure of market balance, stood at 51.8 per cent in July, which is little changed from 52.3 per cent in June.
Based on a sales-to-new listings ratio of between 40 to 60 percent, about three in every five local markets in Canada were balanced in July. Half of the remaining markets may be classified as sellers’ markets, with a sales-to-new listings ratio of above 60 per cent.
The number of months of inventory stood at 6.1 months at the end of July on a national basis, which is little changed from the end of June (6.0 months). The number of months of inventory represents the number of months it would take to sell current inventories at the current rate of sales activity, and is another measure of the balance between housing supply and demand.
The actual (not seasonally adjusted) national average price for homes sold in July 2011 stood at $361,181, which is the lowest level since January. While up 9.3 per cent from its year-ago level, the increase reflects a short-lived decline in the average price following the introduction of the HST in B.C. and Ontario, and tighter mortgage regulations earlier in 2010.
“Earlier this year, the national average price was being skewed upward by sales in some expensive Vancouver neighbourhoods, but this factor is now diminishing,” said Gregory Klump, CREA’s Chief Economist. “Upward skewing of the national average price is also shrinking due to overall sales trends in Vancouver, and most recently in Toronto. Their market shares as a percentage of provincial and national sales activity are declining from the elevated levels seen in the first half of the year.”
“Changes in the national average home price are open to being misinterpreted,” added Klump. “They often signify changes in the mix of sales activity across and within local markets, rather than a rising or falling price trend for typical homes in a specific market.”
“The national share of sales activity in some of Canada’s more expensive urban centres may retreat further from elevated levels recorded earlier this year, resulting in an easing trend for the national average home price,” he added. “Even so, the stability of Canada’s housing market will likely continue to stand in stark contrast to further expected volatility in financial markets.”
PLEASE NOTE: The information contained in this news release combines both major market and national MLS® sales information from the previous month.
CREA cautions that average price information can be useful in establishing trends over time, but does not indicate actual prices in centres comprised of widely divergent neighborhoods or account for price differential between geographic areas.
Statistical information contained in this report includes all housing types.
MLS® is a co-operative marketing system used only by Canada’s real estate Boards to ensure maximum exposure of properties listed for sale.
The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) is one of Canada’s largest single-industry trade associations, representing more than 100,000 REALTORS® working through more than 100 real estate Boards and Associations.
Further information can be found athttp://www.crea.ca/public/news_stats/media.htm.
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For more information, please contact:
Pierre Leduc, Media Relations
The Canadian Real Estate Association
Tel.: 613-237-7111 or 613-884-1460
E-mail: pleduc@crea.ca
1 All figures in this release, unless otherwise noted, are seasonally adjusted to remove normal seasonal variation. Removing regular seasonal variations enables analysis of monthly changes and fundamental trends in the data.
Got a secure job and lots of debt? - Rejoice
2011-08-10 | 18:51:07
Original post by ROB CARRICK - The Globe and Mail
The debt problems in the United States and Europe have taken the pressure off Canadians with mega-mortgages and credit lines that are over the line.
Remember how Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney and Finance Minister Jim Flaherty were warning not too long ago that high personal debt levels could become unmanageable when interest rates moved higher? Well, interest rates aren’t going anywhere for now.
That’s the view of economists following the worsening of the debt crisis in some European countries and the continuing difficulties the U.S. economy is having.
“Rate expectations have taken a big step backwards,” said Doug Porter, deputy chief economist at BMO Nesbitt Burns.
Early in 2011, when the economy was humming and inflation was moving higher, Mr. Porter expected the Bank of Canada to raise its trend-setting overnight rate by a full percentage point in total over the year. That forecast was trimmed to an increase of half a percentage point, and then further reduced just recently. “We’re leaning to nothing now,” Mr. Porter said.
It’s a sign of how decisively the global economic outlook has changed that economists are even considering the possibility of interest rate cuts. Mr. Porter noted that rates are still close to the depths reached in 2009, but he thinks they could fall a bit if global economic problems reach crisis proportions.
Canada’s government debt problem is mild when compared with the likes of the United States and some European countries. The issue here is personal debt, which has hit record levels in relation to income and continues to grow, although at markedly slower levels than a year or two ago.
Global economic upsets do nothing to reduce personal debt here in Canada. But they do make it easy to carry that debt.
Here’s the thinking on that: With economic growth in the United States stuck at frustratingly weak levels, Canada’s economy is bound to feel the effects. Debt-cutting by Washington and European countries could further choke back growth around the world.
The Bank of Canada is also constrained by the fact that cranking up borrowing costs here while rates remain low in the United States would drive our dollar higher. That’s bad for our manufacturing sector because its products become more expensive in foreign markets.
All of this means that heavily indebted Canadians get a reprieve from the higher interest rates they’ve been warned about for more than a year. “But you have to be careful what wish for,” Mr. Porter said. “There are real economic consequences to this kind of financial upset. We could end up with much weaker job growth that what would have otherwise been the case.”
This is why you should reduce your debts, even while borrowing costs remain at attractively cheap levels. If the economy struggles and your job is affected, it’s not going to matter that you got a great rate on your mega-mortgage.
Recent history suggests low rates are hard to resist, however. In the recent recession, Canadians did the opposite of what you’d expect and increased their borrowing. This was particularly noticeable in the housing market, which experienced a short, sharp slump and then soared.
Mr. Porter said global economic uncertainty could temporarily affect consumer confidence here in Canada and in turn chill the housing market. “But as the smoke clears in financial markets and we’re left with low borrowing costs, we could get a fairly quick rebound in sales activity.”
If you are buying in the next while, the current rate outlook argues in favour of a variable-rate mortgage. On Tuesday, the U.S. Federal Reserve Board said it expects to keep rates near zero for two years at least, which in turn limits the Bank of Canada. Mr. Porter said he expects the central bank to boost rates by just half a point in 2012.
Those who prefer the security of a five-year, fixed-rate mortgage will pay as little as 3.6 per cent, which is tremendous by historical standards. Chalk up another benefit to Canadians from global financial upheaval. When the stock markets plunge, money flows into bonds. Bond prices rise, which means bond yields fall. Mortgage rates track bond yields, which means mortgage costs are falling.
It’s Canada’s biggest borrowers who are the biggest beneficiaries of what’s happening in financial markets, though. As Mr. Porter put it, “If you have a secure job and lots of debt, things have unfolded well for you.”
GLOBAL ECONOMIC WOES AND YOUR DEBTS
Troubles in the global economy mean interest rates will stay low for longer. Call it a reprieve for those who need to cut the amount they owe. Here are current interest rates for common borrowing products:
Variable-rate mortgages
2.25 per cent (based on a prime rate of 3% minus a three-quarter-point discount)
Five-year fixed-rate mortgages
3.6 per cent or so at best; Big Bank posted rates are at 5.39%
New home equity lines of credit
3.5 to 4 per cent, depending on how much of a markup over prime you have to pay
Car loans
6.8 per cent on average over five years
Sources: Cannex, Fiscal Agents, company and mortgage broker websites
Canada's home sales rebound in June
2011-07-17 | 07:28:16
Canadian home sales jumped in June for the first time in three months, according to figures released Friday.
The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) said the number of homes that changed hands nationally grew by 2.6 per cent last month.
That performance was a marked improvement compared to May, when housing sales slid approximately one per cent, and April, when home buying activity tumbled even more, down 4.4 per cent.
"The rise in monthly home sales activity at the end of the second quarter, upbeat business sentiment and hiring intentions, and signs that the Bank of Canada is in no rush to raise interest rates bode well for home sales activity and prices going into the second half of 2011," said Gregory Klump, CREA's chief economist.
Sales slump
Considering the second quarter as a whole, however, sales activity slipped by almost five per cent compared to the first quarter of 2011.
Canada's national realty association is now forecasting a drop in housing sales for all of 2011, down 1.3 per cent compared to 2010. The group then expects the sector to rebound, with activity growing 2.6 per cent in 2012.
Canada's continued economic recovery and the country's historically low interest rates have put some lift into the housing sector. Those factors, however, have been outweighed by the Bank of Canada's continued fretting over mortgage debt and Ottawa's new rules designed to squeeze out risky home buyers, CREA noted.
Price bounce
The country's second quarter housing roller-coaster, however, did not put the brakes on home prices, which continued to rise. The average price of a home nationally rose 8.7 per cent in June compared to May, reaching $372,700.
CREA predicts that home prices for 2011 will rise four per cent and less than one percentage point in 2012.
By contrast, American prices for new homes are expected to rise 1.6 per cent in 2011 while the average value of an existing house in the United States — a different market than the new house segment — could drop by almost 2.5 per cent in the same 12-month period.
Condo rebound pushes new-home construction higher
2011-07-11 | 18:45:46
Metro Vancouver builders have returned to building condominiums in a big enough way to push the region's overall housing starts this year up while the number of single-family homes is declining, according to new numbers from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.
The pace of new-home construction in June declined from an unexpected frenzy of starts in May, according to Robyn Adamache, a Canada Mortgage and Housing analyst in Vancouver. However, he 8,472 total housing starts recorded in Metro Vancouver at the end of June represented a 23 per cent increase from the same period of 2010.
Of those starts, 6,813 were multi-family homes — condominiums and townhouses — which was a 51-per-cent increase from starts during the same period of 2010. And the 1,659 single-family-home starts for the same period represented a 30-per-cent decline.
Adamache said the post-recession recovery in housing construction began a year ago in single-family home building, but this year's increase in multi-family construction reflects the confidence developers have that the economic recovery is on more solid ground.
"Builders are feeling more confident to start those larger projects now on the multi-family side," Adamache said. "They're feeling like it's not just a short-term change in the economy and things are really settling down."
And overall, Adamache added that the factors that drive new-home construction — immigration, an improving job market and still-low mortgage rates — are still strong enough to support the construction going on.
Adamache said Metro Vancouver saw a spike in the pace of housing construction in May that skewed provincial results, but that was likely due to the nature of stronger multi-family construction.
"[Multi-family] construction is very volatile," she said. "It makes it look like things are swinging a lot from month to month when it really could be the difference of one or two projects [starting in a given month] if they are very large."
As of the end of June, Adamache said builders around Metro Vancouver were on pace to start work on 15,700 new housing units by the end of 2011, which is close to Canada Mortgage and Housing's forecast of 16,000.
The biggest increases in multi-family construction have come in Richmond and Surrey with some of the activity pushed along by same influence of immigrant and offshore purchasing that is impacting the overall real estate market.
Richmond saw 1,185 multi-family housing starts in the first half of 2011 versus 458 for the first half of 2010, and total starts of 1,315 in 2011 compared with 595 in 2010.
Across B.C., the province's urban centres saw 11,405 new-home starts in the first half of 2011, which was fractionally lower than the 11,475 in the same period of 2010.
Nation wide, home construction rose more than expected in June, led by a jump in single-unit activity, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing.
Nationally, the seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts was 197,400 units last month, up 1.7 per cent from a revised 194,100 units in May, CMHC said. The April figure was also revised to 194,100 units.
Economists had expected between 184,000 to 185,000 starts in June.
"Housing starts increased in June due to an increase in single and multiple starts in Ontario," said Bob Dugan, Chief Economist at CMHC's Market Analysis Centre.
"The revised numbers show that housing starts have been above their trend line since March," according to Bob Dugan, Canada Mortgage and Housing's chief economist said. "However, we expect housing starts to move back toward levels consistent with demographic fundamentals in the near term."
depenner@vancouversun.com
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