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Posted Real Estate Trends

Public mls… $400 flat fee?

Lots of talk about the MLS being challenged to go public or at least become more accessible…. Currently, it’s only available through members.  The Competition Bureau is concerned it may be a monopoly. … read more in the Globe and Mail.  There is talk of a $400 flat fee offer to list your home.

We all want to save money, but be careful…. there is a saying..’You get what you pay for’.

There is also concern that a potentially cheaper MLS will drive house prices higher…. Globe and Mail.

Posted Real Estate Trends

A new Public mls?

Article from Globe and Mail…There has been a lot of pressure on the Canadian Real Estate Association to make the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) more accessible.  The Competition Bureau says Agents that want to charge a flat-fee are being excluded from MLS.   The Competition Bureau says this restricts competition.

This could be the case of winning the battle but losing the war.   A good realtor is someone that can give you the background information about a neighborhood.  All those little things that we forget to ask during the frenzy of negotiating an offer and a mortgage.

Your realtor should be able to tell you about the schools, the local businesses, crime and safety issues, industry concerns, etc.  This is where the true value of a realtor comes in to play.   But I also like freedom of choice… perhaps there is a compromise.

It would be a shame to see a realtor’s services diminished because their incomes go down…  An interesting subject for discussion…

Posted Mortgage Trends

December ’09 best ever for home sales

Hard to believe that we were or are in a recession when you hear reports like this one in the media.   It’s easy to say that this market is interest rate driven…. there’s a lot of truth to that, but there must also be some level of consumer confidence… confidence in having a job, being able to pay the mortgage…   We’ll have to watch and see how the Feds will view these numbers…

Remember, inflation will surely cause the government to raise rates.. up til now, no inflation concerns… Personally, I think it was partly driven by pent-up buyer demand…the market was much slower than normal in September, October and November…  we’ll be watching and reporting…stay tuned..

Posted Real Estate Trends

Real Estate prices expected to remain strong…

Here’s a little more good news…. Real estate prices are expected to remain strong in the first half of 2010 according to an article in the Canadian Press.

Did you know….. a 0.25% rate difference on a $250,000 mortgage adds up to a $3,100 savings over a typical 5 year term?   Factor in that your principal residence mortgage is not tax deductible and add in a 40% tax bracket and you are talking around a $5,000 difference…

Posted Mortgage Trends

Starting with the good news…

Welcome to the launch of  CanadaMortgageNews.ca.   This is the place to find the latest on interest rates, trends, forecasts and 0pinions….  A mortgage is the biggest debt for most of us…take the time to get informed and stay informed…

The good news for today is that the Bank of Canada announced they won’t raise interest rates to cool the housing market, according to an article in the Globe and Mail, Jan 11th.