Industry News - Synergy Mortgage

22Apr

Recent Mortgage Rule Changes

[Synergy Mortgage Inc. / Invis - April 21, 2021] There had been speculation that the government would act to cool the hot housing market, but the industry saw only modest measures in the April 19 federal budget. A national annual tax on foreign-owned properties that are left vacant or under-occupied was announced, which will take effect in 2022. This will only apply to "non-residents" to discourage offshore buyers. New stress test The budget also referenced the recent announcement by the Office [...]

Mortgage Education Centre

22Apr

Forget Pent-Up Demand, Let’s Talk About Pent-Up Housing Supply

[CREA Cafe - April 21, 2021] On Thursday, April 15, the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) released its national housing statistics for the month of March. Below, CREA’s Senior Economist Shaun Cathcart provides an update on the current state of housing markets in Canada and explains what the data means for members. As everyone already knows, home sales have been setting major records since last summer. In previous posts I’ve said the market wouldn't be able to keep that up at [...]

Canada, Vancouver Real Estate

22Apr

Bank of Canada keeps benchmark rate at record low but economic outlook brightens

Bank forecasting a 6.5% increase in GDP growth in 2021, up from 4% [CBC - April 21, 2021] The Bank of Canada opted to keep its benchmark interest rate steady at a record-low 0.25 per cent Wednesday, saying the pandemic recovery "continues to require extraordinary monetary policy support." At the same time, it significantly increased its growth estimates, forecasting a 6.5 per cent increase this year, up from an earlier prediction of four per cent. The bank said in a statement that it intends to [...]

Bank of Canada announcements, British Columbia, Canada, COVID-19, Economic Outlook, Vancouver Real Estate

22Apr

Vancouver’s red-hot housing market starting to cool Sales ‘ froth’ coming off as higher supply begins to meet buyer demand across Greater Vancouver, early April data shows

[Western Investor - April 21, 2021] After soaring 128 per cent in March to set an all-time sales record, Greater Vancouver’s red-hot housing market is starting to cool down, early April data shows As of April 15, home sales were down fractionally from the same period a month earlier, with 2,402 transactions compared to 2,663 sold as of mid-March, according to early data from the Greater Vancouver Real Estate Board, but the number of active listings increased to 10,301, up from 9,467 at [...]

Vancouver Real Estate

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