Industry News - Synergy Mortgage

08Apr

Bank regulator proposes tougher mortgage rules as ultralow rates fuel overheated housing market

[Globe and Mail - April 8, 2021] Canada’s bank regulator is proposing to make it harder for borrowers to qualify for a home loan, as ultralow mortgage rates fuel the country’s overheated real estate market. The proposed changes to the mortgage stress test for uninsured mortgages would effectively raise the minimum qualifying rate to 5.25 per cent. Current rules require banks to qualify borrowers at a rate two percentage points higher than the market rate or the Bank of Canada’s conventional five-year [...]

Mortgage Qualification

20Mar

Today’s hot Vancouver housing market may be just a prelude

[Globe and Mail - March 19, 2021] One year after the pandemic began, and despite initial worries, it turned out to be one of the real-estate industry’s best years. “There are bidding wars on many homes throughout the Lower Mainland, on the Island, and even in the Kootenays,” says Rudy Nielsen, an industry veteran who owns Landcor Data Corporation, Niho Land & Cattle Company and LandQuest Realty Corp. “Realtors, mortgage brokers, mortgage lenders, have never been busier and are making a [...]

Canada, Economic Outlook

17Mar

B.C. economy set to grow in 2021, 2022, forecast suggests

[News 1130 - February 25, 2021] VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – B.C.’s economy is looking up — at least for now — according to a new forecast. Central 1 suggests the provincial economy is going to grow by 4.2 per cent this year and by 4.5 per cent in 2022. Exports and the demand for housing are expected to be the main drivers as economies around the world bounce back from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Vaccine rollout and development are also [...]

British Columbia, Economic Outlook

06Mar

Home buyer demand remains elevated across Metro Vancouver

[CREA + REBGV - February 2021] In the first month of 2021, Metro Vancouver’s* housing market continued the pattern set at the end of last year with home sale activity outpacing the supply of homes listed for sale. The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential home sales in the region totalled 2,389 in January 2021, a 52.1 per cent increase from the 1,571 sales recorded in January 2020, and a 22.8 per cent decrease from the 3,093 homes sold in December 2020. Last month’s sales were 36.4 per cent above the 10-year January sales average. "With home sale activity well above our January average, the supply [...]

News Releases From REBGV, Vancouver Real Estate

05Mar

Land Owner Transparency Registry – NEW RULES FOR ALL BC LANDOWNERS

NEW RULES: If you are an existing property owner in BC and your title is held by a reporting body, or if you are buying real estate in BC and are an individual or a reporting body there are new rules. Starting on November 30, 2020, every application to register an "interest in land" under the Land Title Act (British Columbia) must be accompanied by a "transparency declaration". So every homebuyer in BC will be required to make this declaration [...]

British Columbia

03Mar

B.C. to extend rent freeze to end of 2021, increase protections against ‘renovictions’

[CBC - March 1, 2021] NDP government says it's meeting recommendations from a 2018 task force on rental issues The British Columbia government says it will introduce legislative changes to extend a rent freeze through to the end of this year to stop illegal "renovictions" and improve the dispute resolution process for tenants and landlords. The province has already introduced and extended a rent freeze during the COVID-19 pandemic, and it says in a news release Monday that new legislative changes will keep it in [...]

British Columbia, Economic Outlook, Vancouver Real Estate

01Mar

Vancouver real estate: home across Trout Lake listed $1.7 million, sells $870,000 over asking for $2.6 million

[Georgia Straight - February 28, 2021] The Straight has previously reported about homes selling over $500,000 on top of their listed price. If some thought nothing is ever going to beat that, here’s a surprise. A home in East Vancouver recently sold $872,134 over its original asking price. The top-up alone is enough to buy a townhouse or perhaps two condos. The two-storey home at 3285 Victoria Drive sold on February 24 after eight days on the market. Oakwyn Realty Ltd. listed the five-bedroom, four-bath [...]

Canada, Vancouver Real Estate

27Feb

TD becomes first major bank to hike fixed five-year mortgage rates amid surge in bond yields

[Globe and Mail - February 26, 2021] Bay Street expected higher interest rates – but not this high, this fast. And we’re now starting to see the impact on those shopping for mortgages. Canada’s five-year government bond yield, which leads fixed mortgage rates, surged past 1 per cent on Friday morning, its highest since before the Bank of Canada cut rates last March. That’s a 50-basis-point move in nine trading days, the likes of which we haven’t seen since 2010. (There [...]

Canada, Mortgage Rate Outlook, Vancouver Real Estate

24Feb

Time to complete your speculation and vacancy tax declaration

[Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver - February 22, 2021] Residential property owners in communities where the speculation and vacancy tax (SVT) applies will soon receive their declaration package and can complete it online at: https://gov.bc.ca/spectax All owners on the title, including spouses and relatives, must complete a declaration to claim an exemption or determine eligibility for a tax credit. Corporations must also complete a declaration for all residential properties in taxable regions. The deadline to complete a declaration is March 31. Property owners needing help can: phone 833-554-2323 (toll-free in Canada and [...]

British Columbia, Vancouver Real Estate

18Feb

Despite the botched vaccine rollout, the Canadian economy is on the ‘cusp of a boom’

[Financial Post - February 17, 2021] The U.S. will be awash in stimulus dollars soon — and Canada must catch that wave The word ‘boom’ is starting to show up in analysts reports. While Canada has botched the vaccine rollout at least in the short-term, pundits believe the blip will soon be in the rearview mirror if more paralyzing delays are few and far between in the near future. The good news is that the Pfizer-BioTech joint venture will deliver more than 878,000 [...]

Canada, COVID-19, Economic Outlook, International Influence, Vancouver Real Estate