Synergy Mortgage, Author at Synergy Mortgage

07Mar

Bank of Canada announces rate – March 1, 2017

[Source: Repmag.ca, March 1, 2017] OTTAWA - The Bank of Canada is holding its trend-setting interest rate at 0.5 per cent but it's keeping a watchful eye on "significant uncertainties'' that it warns could alter the economy's improving trajectory. The central bank's scheduled rate announcement Wednesday arrived as Canada tries to assess the direction of U.S. economic policy under President Donald Trump and the potential fallout from any changes he may bring. The bank has said some U.S. proposals, which include tax [...]

Bank of Canada announcements, Canada, Economic Outlook, International Influence

06Mar

Barry Appleton - BC just violated NAFTA with its foreign property tax - and we could all pay for it

B.C.’s home loan program draws more first-time homebuyers into market

[Source: Vancouver Metr0, February 16, 2017] Realtors say clients are taking advantage of the B.C. government’s new interest-free down payment loan program, and it may be helping to boost condo sales especially in more affordable markets like East Vancouver and the Fraser Valley. Meanwhile, higher-priced parts of Metro Vancouver’s housing market, and especially the single detached market, continue to lag. “It’s raised the hopes of some people who didn’t have the down payment,” said Brian Rushton, a realtor with Century 21, of [...]

British Columbia, Vancouver Real Estate

06Mar

Low supply and snow limit Vancouver-area home sales in February

[Source: Vancouver Sun, March 2, 2017] Home sales across the Vancouver area were down dramatically in February compared with last year’s record-breaking pace, while prices across the region remained more stable. The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver says a limited supply of listings and an unusually snowy start to the year affected the market. It says residential sales totalled 2,425 in February, an almost 42-per-cent plunge from February 2016. But sales in February were up about 59 per cent from January. The [...]

Vancouver Real Estate

03Mar

Listing Hiatus Pushes Greater Vancouver Back to Sellers’ Market: REBGV

[Source: Real Estate Weekly, March 2, 2017] Home sales in February much lower than last year’s scorching market, but signs of spring are in the air, according to latest statistics Sellers holding off listing their properties was a major factor in a decline in February sales activity, according to the latest market figures published by the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) March 2. Sales on the MLS® in February were nearly 49 per cent lower than the unseasonably hot February [...]

Vancouver Real Estate

03Mar

Greater Vancouver condo prices rise despite tumbling sales

[Source: The Globe and Mail, March 2, 2017] Prices for condos and town homes are climbing in Greater Vancouver, despite tumbling sales. Sales of detached houses, condos and town homes fell to 2,425 transactions last month, down 41.9 per cent when compared with 4,172 deals a year earlier – a record high for the month of February. Total sales volume last month rang in 7.7 per cent under the 10-year February average. But the number of residential transactions last month rose 59.2 [...]

Vancouver Real Estate

03Mar

Low supply continues to limit Metro Vancouver home buyers

[Source: Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver, March 2, 2017] Reluctance amongst Metro Vancouver* home sellers is impacting sale and price activity throughout the region’s housing market. Residential home sales in the region totaled 2,425 in February 2017. This is a 41.9 per cent decrease from the record 4,172 homes sold in February 2016 and an increase of 59.2 per cent compared to January 2017 when 1,523 homes sold. Last month’s sales were 7.7 per cent below the 10-year February sales average. “February [...]

Vancouver Real Estate

03Mar

CMHC to Increase Mortgage Insurance Premiums – Effective March 17,2017

[Source: CMHC - January 17, 2017] CMHC is increasing its homeowner mortgage loan insurance premiums effective March 17, 2017. For the average CMHC-insured homebuyer, the higher premium will result in an increase of approximately $5 to their monthly mortgage payment. “We do not expect the higher premiums to have a significant impact on the ability of Canadians to buy a home,” said Steven Mennill, Senior Vice-President, Insurance. “Overall, the changes will preserve competition in the mortgage loan insurance industry and contribute [...]

Canada, Vancouver Real Estate

01Mar

New program partners with first-time homebuyers as they enter the housing market

[Source: BC Housing, December 15, 2016] “We believe every British Columbian deserves a place to call home,” said Premier Christy Clark. “We’ve invested in affordable rental housing, we’ve invested in transitional and emergency housing, and now we’re partnering with first-time buyers to make the purchase of their first home more affordable.” Saving for a mortgage down payment can be hard for first-time homebuyers. The B.C. Home Owner Mortgage and Equity Partnership program contributes to the amount first-time homebuyers have already saved [...]

British Columbia, Vancouver Real Estate

08Feb

Vancouver’s pre-sale condo market is HOT!

[Source: Huffington Post, January 27, 2017] More than 10,500 new condo units* are slated to hit the Greater Vancouver housing market this year, according to MLA Canada's 2017 Market Intel report -- opening up plenty of more-affordable housing options for prospective homebuyers who have been priced out of the single-detached segment. It's welcome news in the city that has once again taken its usual place atop the unaffordability scale, as per the latest RBC Housing Trends and Affordability Report. Vancouver also [...]

Vancouver Real Estate

08Feb

BC’s first-time home buyer program already working, province ready to approve applicants: minister

[Source: Financial Post, January 17, 2017 British Columbia’s housing minister says a program to help first-time homebuyers received applications within hours of launching. Rich Coleman said that within six hours of the provincial loan program’s launch on Monday, 29 applications had been submitted. He said the province would be ready to approve eight of the applications by Tuesday for the loan that is interest- and payment-free for five years. “This opportunity will change a number of lives,” Coleman said. The B.C. Home Owner Mortgage [...]

British Columbia, Vancouver Real Estate