Synergy Mortgage, Author at Synergy Mortgage

09Mar

Economy added 55,900 jobs in February: StatCan

[CTV News - March 8, 2019] OTTAWA -- The labour market generated a second straight month of strong job gains in February with the creation of 55,900 net new positions, all of which were full time, Statistics Canada said Friday. The surge followed an even bigger gain of 66,800 positions in January. The back-to-back results gave Canada its strongest two-month stretch of job creation since the spring of 2012 -- and its best two-month start to a year since 1981. The unemployment rate [...]

Economic Outlook

09Mar

10 Best-Kept Secrets for Selling Your Home

[HGTV - March 2019] Selling Secret #10: Pricing it right Find out what your home is worth, then shave 15 to 20 percent off the price. You’ll be stampeded by buyers with multiple bids — even in the worst markets — and they’ll bid up the price over what it’s worth. It takes real courage and most sellers just don’t want to risk it, but it’s the single best strategy to sell a home in today’s market. Selling Secret #9: Half-empty closets Storage [...]

Home Design + Decor

09Mar

Availability of newly built and presale condos skyrockets in Metro Vancouver

For those looking to buy a new-build condo in Metro Vancouver, there’s good news – the number of available units has skyrocketed, according to a report released March 7. [Western Investor - March 7, 2019] In its quarterly State of the Market report for the Urban Development Institute, real estate research firm Urban Analytics said that the number of concrete condos that were either released for presale or completed and unsold, at the end of 2018’s fourth quarter, was quadruple that [...]

Vancouver Real Estate

24Feb

Buying costs

[December 18, 2018 - Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver] If you’ve decided to buy a home, it’s important you understand all the costs involved in addition to the price you're paying for the property. Mortgage applicationLenders may charge a mortgage application fee, which will vary depending on the lending institution. Mortgage insuranceThe federal government requires high-ratio mortgages with less than 20% down payment to be insured against default. The cost ranges between 0.60 to 3.85 per cent of the mortgage amount which [...]

Mortgage Education Centre

10Feb

Uneasy Year of the Pig arrives for China – dependant BC companies

[BIV - February 4, 2019] Chinese New Year dawns on a jittery business landscape as Huawei dispute casts uncertainty over access to overseas markets. Not only is Chinese New Year one of the local community’s most celebrated holidays, it is also typically the time for B.C. businesses – especially those with ties to the Chinese market – to celebrate a year of gains while looking optimistically at the potential of more in the coming year. 2019, however, is not a typical year. [...]

British Columbia, Canada, Economic Outlook

10Feb

OSFI under pressure by banks, industry lobbyists to ease mortgage stress test: sources

[Financial Post - February 4, 2019] Supporters of easing say the stress test should be flexible and adjusted to account for interest rate moves and market conditions. TORONTO — Canada’s main financial regulator is coming under increasing pressure from banks and mortgage industry lobbyists to ease a stress test designed to cut out risky lending, but the regulator is expected to hold off on changing the rules, three sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters. Proponents of a change say [...]

Canada

10Feb

BC Home + Garden Show: Find everything you need to know for your next big project

[Vancouver Sun - February 9, 2019] The BC Home + Garden show, February 20 - 24 at BC Place is brimming with projects to revamp your living space, big or small. It doesn’t matter how many times it’s happened before: Every time the BC Home + Garden show opens, show manager Tyson Kidd feels a mix of excitement and satisfaction at a job well done. “We really try to keep ourselves dialled in to what’s fresh and exciting,” he says. “We work [...]

Home Design + Decor, Remodel + Renovation

10Feb

These were the 3 biggest Vancouver real estate trends of 2018

[Daily Hive - January 24, 2019] If nothing else, 2018 was an interesting year for Vancouver real estate. While the three preceding years had seen the real estate market in Vancouver increase in competitiveness, March of 2018 brought an abrupt and sudden change in both demand and supply. 2018 also saw both increases to the foreign buyers’ tax and the introduction of the empty home tax — placing additional pressure on demand. We talked to real estate expert Shawn Brown of West Haven Group to [...]

Vancouver Real Estate

07Feb

Metro Vancouver home prices to bottom in 2019 and then bounce back: forecast

[BIV - January 21, 2019] Home prices in Metro Vancouver may slide further in 2019 but then will recover as demand continues and supply remains constrained, according to a panel of developers at a 2019 forecast event. Speaking at the Urban Development Institute’s annual Forecast Luncheon on January 17, Neil Chrystal, president and CEO of Polygon Homes, said, “This year, the single-family home market will remain slow, and experience further price corrections…. In order for prices in the multi-family market to stabilize, [...]

Economic Outlook, Vancouver Real Estate

19Dec

Modest Home Price Growth Forecasted for 2019

[The Province - December 12, 2018] TORONTO — Home prices across the country are expected to rise in 2019, but only at a moderate pace compared with recent years, according to two of Canada’s largest residential real estate brokerages. Royal LePage is anticipating the national median home price will increase by 1.2 per cent in 2019, with prices in Toronto and the surrounding areas expected to rise 1.3 per cent to $854,552. Home prices in Greater Vancouver are forecast to go up [...]

Canada, Economic Outlook