Canada’s May home resale prices up for 13th straight month, but not likely to be sustained

 

Vancouver Sun- Canadian home prices rose 1.3 per cent in May, their largest monthly gain since last September, but are unlikely to keep up the pace in months ahead, according to the Teranet-National Bank composite house price index, released Wednesday.

On an annual basis, prices rose 13.6 per cent and are now 4.2 per cent higher than their pre-recession peak.

Prices have now advanced for 13 straight months, the survey showed.

The yearly gains were strongly influenced by advances in Canada’s major markets, with Vancouver up 17.1 per cent year over year and Toronto up 16 per cent…

Canada’s May home resale prices up for 13th straight month, but not likely to be sustained

With low interest rates, is it time to reconsider your mortgage?

Vancouver Sun- With mortgage rates low and more likely to go up than down, some borrowers may want to think long and hard about whether they want a long and hard — fixed, that is — mortgage rate.

The first question is whether to go fixed or variable when borrowing to buy a home. Statistics show that 88 per cent of the time, a variable mortgage is cheaper than a fixed-rate mortgage, said Feisal Panjwani, senior mortgage consultant with Invis-Feisal & Associates Mortgage Consulting in Cloverdale. But the problem with a variable rate is that it is just that: It changes over the life of the mortgage…

With low interest rates, is it time to reconsider your mortgage?

Bank of Canada bumps up rate

Calgary Herald- The Bank of Canada raised its benchmark policy rate by 25 basis points to 0.75 per cent, even though it scaled back its growth outlook on the belief budget cutting among households and governments in advanced economies will "temper" the pace of the global recovery.

Many of Canada’s commercial banks followed suit by raising their prime lending rates.

The central bank acknowledged the economy is weaker than initially believed — but not feeble enough to call off yet another rate hike and likely more in the future.

Certainly, the interest-rate decision delivered yesterday teemed with caution. The central bank’s statement accompanying its decision highlighted how a "greater emphasis" on budget cutting among governments and households would slow the pace of the global recovery…

Bank of Canada bumps up rate

Making your next home work

Times Colonist-  Location, location, location. Ask any realtor and he or she will agree that where you buy your home can be as important as how big it is, what it looks like and how much it costs.

One of the many valuable services a realtor provides is helping homebuyers find the right neighbourhood for them. They will work with you to develop a list of "needs" and "wants" as part of the overall home-buying process.

Determine your priorities. It’s a good idea to write down your needs and wants and develop a checklist to take with you. Obviously your budget will play a large role in determining where you end up buying. For example, your money may buy a lot more house in the county than it will in the city. But the style of home you want, and desired features and amenities, will also factor in…

Making your next home work

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