There stll seems to be some hesitation in the Victoria real estate market. Fixed and Variable rate are incredibly low and the amount of inventory on the market is staggering, and the average price for a home is increasing. What are people waiting for? It could be all the negative news that is spewing out […]

I heard today, on 2 separate occations, people thinking that they need more than 5% of the purchase price as a down payment on a house or condo. With the changes CMHC made this year and in 2010, I guess some people are confused. The changes were made to the amortization, or the length of […]

The fixed rates may be coming down a little more, RBC finally lowered their 5 year fixed rate by 10 basis points. Their mortgage rates are still much higher than other non branch lenders though. The variable rates are still constant at Prime minus .75% or better. An article yesterday stated that sales numbers have dropped […]

In the last week the big banks have increased their 5 year fixed mortgage rates by 30 basis points. The bond rates have increased by only 10 basis points. It looks like the banks are trying to increase their earnings by charging their clients more when it doesn’t look like they need to. How much […]

The Bank of Canada held its lending rate this morning as expected. The state of the rest of the world’s economy being the most significant reason for not tightening up the monetary policy. The quote below leaves the decision unknown for April’s meeting. It was expected that they would increase their lending rate in April […]

Harbourview Mortgages first draw for Great Payment Giveaway! EVENT DETAILSDate:  Tuesday March 1st 2011Time: 6:00-8:00 PMPlace: Oyster Bar, 618 Humboldt St.

Free Mortgage Payments for a year, what a great deal. You have 4 chances to win. Draws will be done quarterly, first draw will be March 1st. If your mortgage funds with me between Dec 1, 2010 and Feb 28, 2011, you will be entered in the March 1st draw and the next 3 consecutive draws. […]

The Bank of Canada held their lending rate steady today, stating “the cumulative effects of the persistent strength in the Canadian dollar and Canada’s poor relative productivity performance are restraining this recovery in net exports and contributing to a widening of Canada’s current account deficit to a 20-year high.” This along with “a significant source […]

The Honourable Jim Flaherty, Minister of Finance, and the Honourable Christian Paradis, Minister of Natural Resources, today announced prudent adjustments to the rules for government-backed insured mortgages to support the long-term stability of Canada’s housing market and support hard-working Canadian families saving through home ownership. “Canada’s well-regulated housing sector has been an important strength that […]

Last week I sat in on a Firstline seminar and had the chance to listen to Benjamin Tal, the senior economist for CIBC. He made some very good points about the mortgage market, the global economy and where it is all headed. He started off by saying the international markets used to affect our economy […]