The Bank of Canada boosted the overnight rate by 25 basis points (bps) to 0.75% this morning and reiterated that the timing of further reductions in policy stimulus will be contingent on developments both within and outside of Canada. The rate hike was widely expected by financial markets. The Bank characterized domestic economic developments as […]

The market seems to be cooling off a little. I think that was the plan with the HST and CMHC changes. With the uncertainty in Europe and the economy moving forward gradually, it looks like the increase in Prime rate will be slow and steady over the next 18-24 months.  The Victoria market has a […]

With the chaos in Greece the world is thinking the problems may not be over and increasing rates may not be the best idea. The Canadian economy created 108,700 jobs last month, more than four times as many as expected. This is the largest monthly gain on record, this should cause the Bank of Canada […]

By Derek Scott, The Canadian Press VANCOUVER, B.C. – Buying a house in the hot housing markets of Vancouver, Toronto and other major cities in recent years has been a possible dream for some first-time homebuyers only because many of those houses had suites they could rent out. But new rules coming into effect April […]

The Bank of Canada today announced that it is maintaining its target for the overnight rate at 1/4 per cent. The Bank Rate is unchanged at 1/2 per cent and the deposit rate is 1/4 per cent. The ongoing global economic recovery is being driven largely by strong domestic demand growth in many emerging-market economies […]

Jim Flaherty Tuesday announced tighter lending standards for mortgages, saying that while the housing market is “healthy” the moves are needed to “help prevent negative trends from developing.” Under the new rules, all borrowers will need to meet standards for 5-year fixed-rate mortgages regardless of whether they’re seeking a loan with a lower rate and […]

Real estate sales in Greater Victoria got off to a solid start in 2010 with 418 homes and other properties sold through the Multiple Listing Service during January. The Victoria Real Estate Board noted the January figures were down slightly from the 453 sales in December, but up nearly 70 per cent from the same […]

The Bank of Canada Held it’s lending rate today holding Prime at 2.25%. The employment numbers look great for November but they will need to see a trend first before reading to much into it. Economists think that they will not repeat the 2 premature rate hikes in 1992 and 2002 with an early increase mid next year. […]

“Vancouver and Victoria, especially, are posting near record unit sales this fall,” said Cameron Muir, BCREA Chief Economist. With mortgage rates ranging from 3.89% to 4.29% for a 5 year fixed in the past 6 months there has been large consumer demand. Unit sales have increased by 20% from 2008 and there is a forecasted increase of […]

It looks like the fixed mortgage rates are on the way back down again. The CDN dollar has dropped slightly and so have the bonds. We are seeing a decrease to below 4% again for 5 year fixed. This is the second time in 6 months we have seen fixed rate increase from 3.8% to […]