Mortgage News and Rates

I was sent a very interesting article on Mortgages and lending rules. I often find that new home buyers are not sure how all of this works, So over the next couple of weeks I will be posting some information on how mortgages work and how the Mortgage brokers work with you. There is a lot of varying opinions on whether to use a mortgage professional or a bank to mortgage your new purchase. I would say that it is personal preference.

There are a couple of things to consider though. If you are more comfortable with your bank then make sure that you research what the best rates are available and make sure that your bank can match these rates. I can help with this as I always have a current rate sheet with me and I will be posting a current rate sheet here and on my Facebook page for you to see. I will update these every week so that my followers can have a better idea of what is going on in the mortgage market. This article in general caught my eye and it could mean changes to the lending rules in Canada.

March 22, 2012   Flaherty Tells Banks: Do Your Jobs

Finance Minister, Jim Flaherty, says it’s “a bit odd” that banks are asking the government to tighten mortgage rules.

Banks ultimately control who they lend to and shouldn’t require babysitting, or so one would think.

In comments made today, Flaherty hinted that we might not see further mortgage regulations in the near future.

These were his quotes from earlier, some of which were semi-amusing and certainly refreshing from a common sense standpoint:

read more here

I have also attached the latest rate sheet here.  If you have any questions please contact me, I am always here to answer all of your questions.



Cheers

Susan!

I thought I would put together some information on Understanding the Real Estate Market better if you are selling your home and a guide to feedback.  This is all very valuable information when listing your home and how feedback and when and how many times it is being shown comes into play.  I hope that you find this helpful.  If you have any questions about this please let me know, I would be happy to answer all and any of them!

Cheers Susan

RBC Housing Affordability Index March 2012

Check out the latest housing affordability index for Canada.  Edmonton is still one of the most reasonable and affordable places to live according to the March 2012 report.  This is great to see and should mean that Edmonton should stay on top in Economic Growth and the housing market.

I found a great Garage Storage Idea

I was browsing the web and I came across a great Website with a wonderful idea for storage in thew garage. Create a Sliding Storage System On the Garage Ceiling | The Family Handyman

What a  great idea to save space!

Alberta Outlook from CMHC

http://www.box.com/s/ecefqvi5b8xuu1z1zsgo

February Housing Prices Rise with Sales - REALTORS®

February Housing Prices Rise with Sales - REALTORS®

Edmonton, March 2, 2012: The REALTORS® Association of Edmonton reports that housing prices were up in all housing categories in February in the Edmonton area. The all-residential average1 price, at $329,911, was up 3.7% from January and up 5.7% when compared to the same month last year.

“Average prices in February were higher than the year-long average price for last year,” said REALTORS® Association of Edmonton President Doug Singleton. “Buyers seem to have confidence and REALTOR® offices are reporting solid traffic. This is lifting prices up and they are already higher than at the same time in the past two years.”

In February, the average price of a single family detached (SFD) home was $375,268, up 3.1% from the previous month. The average price of a condominium in February was $234,973, up 8.5% from the January price. This is higher than all months except May of last year. Duplex and rowhouse properties sold on average for $306,491; a 1.4% improvement from the previous month.

Year-over-year prices were also up in all categories. Single family properties were up 4.8%; condos were up 1.7% and duplex/rowhouses were up 0.2% from the same month last year.

Sales and listings by REALTORS® on the Multiple Listing Service® System in February were both up from January and the sales-to-listing ratio recovered from 36% in January to 46% in February. This indicates that less than half of the residential properties listed were sold and provides fresh property options for buyers who may have been looking for several months. Sellers should be pleased to see that the average days-on-market in February was 54; down from 65 in January.

There were 5,976 residential properties in the local MLS® System at the end of January. Although the inventory was up from last month, it is lower than a year ago when there were 6,389 properties available for sale on the MLS® System.

“Nationally the housing still appears to be soft,” said Singleton. “But the local market is much more robust. Consult your local REALTOR® for the most comprehensive local market information. REALTORS® are here when life happens.”