Blogs

Just in time for the Spring 2020 real estate market, Canada's finance minister has announced changes to the stress test used to qualify insured and insurable mortgages. The government originally introduced a minimum qualifying rate in 2016 to ensure that home buyers would be able to afford their homes even if interest rates rise, incomes change, or families are faced with unforeseen expenses.

If you've been worrying about rising mortgage rates, you're not alone! With home prices still near all-time highs in Victoria and Vancouver, Canadian home owners owe more on their mortgages than ever before. How dire is the situation? We took a look back to see what could happen.

"I'm planning to buy in a few months, but can we lock in a mortgage rate now?" We hear that question often from clients who want to be pre-approved, but haven't yet started seriously shopping for a home. While rate holds do exist in mortgage financing, they may not always suit your needs.

Victoria is now second only to Richmond in the number of residential real estate transactions in this province involving foreign buyers. According to data from October, 6.3% of the sales in the Capital Regional District were to non-residents. This volume is almost double the amount of September transactions.

Low borrowing rates and high demand continues to fuel BC's housing market.

According to the latest report from the British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA), residential sales increased more than 25 percent in June, making it the second strongest June on record.

We’ve all felt the urge to price shop.  Maybe for you it’s clothes, maybe it’s patio furniture, or maybe it’s trying to find the cheapest plumber in town … regardless of when you bargain shop, almost everyone does it when it comes to mortgage rates.

How do I know?  Well turn on the TV, listen to the radio, read a newspaper, surf the net, talk to your neighbor (I’m not kidding, go ahead don’t text him or her, actually talk to them).  Any one of these sources will know something about what’s happening with mortgage rates.  And I’m guessing so do you!   So why are we so obsessed with them? It’s a good thing right?