Skip to content

CategoryReal Estate Trends

Posted Interest rates

CMHC forecasts a healthy housing market for 2012-13…. but fixed mortgage rates have started to climb.

CMHC issued a report that says the economy will expand at a moderate pace over the next few years, as reported in The Spectator.  The Bank of Canada should also keep it’s trend setting rate low until mid 2013.    This means Variable mortgage and secured lines of credit rates will remain low.

The report also says the average house price in Canada is expected to hit $368,900 this year.  But, a closer look at the Greater Toronto Area market shows that house prices are climbing much faster.   A lack of supply and a pent up demand, together with record low interest rates are fueling price increases.   Reports of homes being sold above asking are popping up outside of Toronto.. including Milton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington and Hamilton.

If you’re in the market for a home, my advice would be to not wait til the Spring market.  The market is now.  Experienced realtors are telling me they have priced a 5% increase in the first 2 months of 2012.  Waiting could cost homebuyers $18,000 or more.

FIXED MORTGAGE RATEShave started to climb.  Earlier this week we saw RBC and TD pull their special mortgage rate offers…   BIG SIX Banks don’t like to compete in the wholesale mortgage market with mortgage brokers… when these 2 banks realized no other BIG SIX bank was offering this rate, they quickly withdrew the offer…   read this article...  the BIG SIX banks are calling a truce?   What does that mean…?  Don’t you want your banks to compete?  And that last paragraph by BMO’s Frank Techar is priceless.. “We went to 2.99 per cent to draw attention to the benefits of having a mortgage with a maximum amortization of 25 years”.   This does make me a laugh a little… BMO’s NO FRILLS mortgage was a way to gain market share and entice borrowers into a restricted and closed mortgage product…  Mortgage Brokers already had access to this rate and a NO FRILLS product through another lender… but it’s not a great product and the restrictions are costly…Most brokers will not recommend or even offer this product to their clients.

The ripple effects of this ‘truce’ are that wholesale mortgage rates have started to climb… ING and National Bank have also increased their rates.  This could be temporary but if the Greeks get their act together and the U.S. economy starts to improve, we will see rate hikes….  My advice is get your mortgage preapproval now…. These are historical low interest rates…  I’m not sure they will be here for much longer.

 

Posted Consumer Debt

Canadians buy $4.9billion worth of Florida property in 2010

Here’s some interesting stats…. According to the Jacksonville Business Journal, Canadians accounted for 39% of all international buyers of property in Florida during 2010…  That’s $4.9billion worth of property purchased by Canadians. Wow, we must have a lot of snowbirds here.!  Or maybe we just have a lot of investors?   Perhaps it’s is a combination of the two.

One thing is for certain, Canadians like Florida…  It certainly has become a popular investment for many.   Who wouldn’t want a sunny getaway in Florida?  The ads are everywhere…condos starting at $30k… houses that once sold for $600k are now selling for $225k.  Clearly, Canadians see Florida as a bargain.

And maybe, just maybe, Canadians aren’t getting into debt for frivolous reasons?… Maybe we are borrowing with these record low interest rates to invest?   Maybe those stats and articles that keep telling us we should be concerned with the ‘high personal debt levels’ of Canadians, are not a true reflection of our spending habits…??

Most Canadian buyers of Florida property are obtaining loans from a Canadian bank.   Borrowing from a Florida bank isn’t easy these days.  That’s why many Canadians will refinance their homes and use the equity to buy their Florida property.

Borrowing to invest is a good thing…. this is known as ‘good debt’….but I don’t think there are any stats that show how much we are actually borrowing to invest…. sure would be nice to know those figures…

Posted Case study

Investing in a multi-unit properties? Take care…

Recently, I noticed something very strange happening with multi-unit properties and I want to share two experiences with you…

I was approached to refinance 2 separate and different Multi-unit properties by 2 completely different borrowers.    Both properties were in the Greater Toronto area.   They were both in great condition and were bringing in good rental income.

Property 1 was purchased in 2008 for $385k.  There are 3 legal rental units.   It generates good rental income of $3700/month. The owner paid utilities.

Property 2 was purchased in 2006 for $610k.  There are 3 legal rental units.  It generates rental income of $3400/mth…. The tenants paid utilities…(it should be noted that Property 2 is in a more expensive part of town where real estate prices are higher).

Fast forward to today…. Based on current appraised values, Property 1 is currently worth $460k, Property 2 is currently worth $660k.   Keep in mind that these are actual rents for both properties.

So how can this happen?  It’s clear to me… the buyer’s of Property 2 overpaid in 2006….Property 1 is in a less expensive part of town but the rental income and condition of the property are more relevant when dealing with investment properties….

How can you avoid this mistake?  Seek out the help of a good Mortgage Broker… A good broker can seek out the opinions of a recognized real estate appraiser… and even crunch the numbers with an experienced Lender to determine the property’s Lending Value…

As an aside, the average sale price of a single family home in GTA in 2006 was $350k…. today, it’s around $427k.   Multi-unit dwellings can be attractive but consider single family homes if you want to invest in real estate.  Always discuss the purchase with a trusted group of advisors… including your Mortgage Broker.

 

Posted Mortgage News

Vacancy rates fall in Canada…there’s an opportunity here.

Here’s some interesting stats  from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.    Apartment vacancy rates are down…

The national vacancy rate is 2.6% compared with 2.8% from October 2009.  CMHC attributes this to the economic recovery.. according to CBCnews.ca.

We are also hearing reports of Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) buying up properties as they expect  the rental market to remain strong.

And here’s one more article about the Florida housing market… 90,000 homes and condos were bought by International Investors…  read more here.

Add in historical low mortgage rates and this looks like a good time to buy an investment property…. Consider that a $250,000 mortgage will carry for around $1072/mth based on a 5 year fixed rate of 3.79% (lower rates are available but we’re using a higher rate for illustration purposes).      Something to consider….

Posted Mortgage News

Annual Mortgage borrowing stats are strong

The Canadian Association of Accredited Mortgage Professionals (CAAMP) released it’s Annual State of the Residential Mortgage Market in Canada, today.   The stats show that mortgage defaults are not a concern….and Canadians can absorb up to another $300/mth in higher mortgage costs…and we have 72% equity in our homes… wow, that’s quite impressive….

I’m amazed at how the media is reporting these stats… look at this headline “Canadian Mortgage Debt tops $1-Trillion for first time”. Well, here are the highlights of the report… the numbers look good to me…

• 35% of all mortgage holders have either increased their payments or made a lump sum
payment on their mortgage in the last 12 months
• Vast majority of Canadians have ability to afford higher mortgage payments. 84% said
they could handle monthly increases of $300 or more in their monthly payments
• 90% of Canadian homeowners have at least 10% equity in their homes, 81% have over
20% equity
• 70% of Canadians are satisfied with their mortgage terms
• Despite low Bank of Canada interest rates reflected in low variable rate mortgages, a
majority (66%) of Canadians still have a five year fixed mortgage, 29% have variable
mortgages and 4% a combination
• Overall, 22% of mortgages have an amortization of greater than 25 years compared to
18% last year
• Overall home equity is 72%. For homeowners with mortgages, equity level averages
50%
• Mortgage rates continue to drop. Average mortgage rate is 4.22% versus 4.55% last
year. For those who took out a mortgage in the last year, the average rate was 3.75%,
72% of those renewing saw a decrease in their mortgage rate
• Overall, mortgage brokers account for 25% of all mortgages and for new mortgages in the
past year, this number rises to 40%
• As of August 2010, there was over $1 trillion in outstanding residential mortgage credit in
Canada
• Mortgage arrears rate remains stable at 0.42%, lower than for most of the 1990s