The federal budget was announced on April 16th and we have some highlights that will affect the real estate market: FIRST TIME BUYERS – effective August 1st, these lucky people will be able to take up to a 30 year amortization on their mortgage when purchasing a new property (new build) with less than 20% down […]

1. Today’s rates – As widely expected, the Bank of Canada held the overnight rate at the current level so there is no change to the Prime rate or variable rates at this time. The fixed rates have been falling since their peak in Oct 2023.  Your lowest rate and easiest qualifying rate continues to be […]

The BC Provincial Government is introducing some big changes that affect the purchase of real estate.   The 2024 provincial budget includes three significant changes to the PTT (Property Transfer Tax) Framework. 1.      Increase the Fair Market Value (FMV) Threshold for the First Time Home Buyer (FTHB) Exemption: Currently, the FTHB full exemption applies to […]

2017 was a busy year! While a lot happened, here are the main takeaways I have from 2017: 1.       A lot of first time buyers entered into the market, especially in the condo sector. 2.       Attached properties saw the biggest increase in value (e.g. condos and townhomes) in most areas of the city. 3.       Single family (houses) saw […]

The Bank of Canada announced last week that the new mortgage rules (stress test for mortgages with more than 20% equity) will go into effect Jan 1st, 2018, for all federally regulated lenders. Therefore, if you have a pre-approval or rate hold, these WILL BE subject to the new rules unless you have an actual […]

As you have likely seen, the BC government’s new Home Partnership program, which provides first time homebuyers with interest-free loans of up to $37,500 on their first home purchase, was open for applications this week. However, did you know that this isn’t the only program available to help first time buyers get into BC’s real […]

Don’t sabotage your New Year’s resolutions before the New Year even gets here! Do a financial checkup this year to get the New Year started off on the right foot. Popular New Year’s resolutions are to be more organized and get personal finances in order.  However, you don’t need to wait until the New Year […]

  Mortgage calculators can be a great tool to give you an idea of what your payments would look like if you purchased a property for a certain amount.  Mortgage calculators can show how much your payments might increase or decrease if you change your down payment, amortization period, or interest rate.     However, mortgage […]

The government’s new mortgage rules are coming into force this week, and whether you are applying for a new mortgage, refinancing, or still shopping for your home, you should be aware of these changes. As of November 30, the government has set new criteria for high-ratio insurance.  Even when clients take a 5 year fixed […]

One of the biggest hurdles for home ownership is coming up with the down payment.  In high-priced markets like Vancouver, a 20% down payment isn’t always a given, and many buyers will put less money down and pay for obligatory mortgage default insurance in order to jump into the market sooner.  This insurance has allowed […]