Canadian Funding Corp. Reviews CMHC Case Studies» Alexander

June Home Sales Rise 8.7%

admin — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 19:45:16 +0000

Canadian sales of existing homes rose for a fifth month in June, adding to evidence that record low borrowing costs are fueling housing demand.

Sales rose 8.7 percent to 41,304 homes from the previous month on a seasonally adjusted basis, the Canadian Real Estate Association said today in a statement from Ottawa. Average home prices rose 3.6 percent from a year earlier and the inventory of unsold homes fell to its lowest since August 2007.

Recent data on Canada’s housing market suggest the Bank of Canada’s efforts to stimulate spending with interest rate cuts are helping fuel demand for homes and may be reversing a slump in home construction. The Bank of Canada, which forecast that housing will shed 1.1 percentage points from growth in 2009, has cut its benchmark lending rate to a record 0.25 percent.

“Obviously there is one segment of society that doesn’t believe this will be a lengthy downturn,” said Doug Porter, deputy chief economist with BMO Capital Markets in Toronto.

New home sales jumped a record 32 percent during the second quarter to 114,173 units, the realtor group said. The number of months needed to sell current inventories fell to 4.2 in June, the lowest level in more than two years.

Agents and Brokers

Output of real estate agents and brokers was up 8.2 percent in April, Statistics Canada said June 30. Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. said July 9 that new home construction rose for a second month in June, while the total value of permits issued by municipalities jumped 15 percent in May.

One explanation for the pick-up in the real estate market, Porter said, may be that the decline earlier this year was “extreme” and created pent-up demand for homes. Existing home sales fell in January to their lowest since 2000.

“I can’t help but wonder whether these gains are sustainable,” Porter said.

The country also may be benefiting from a financial system that has largely escaped bad-asset problems plaguing other countries.

“The positive impact of low interest rates on mortgage demand is clearly much more powerful in Canada than in the U.S.,” Derek Holt, an economist at Scotia Capital in Toronto, said in a note to investors.

http://montrealhypotheque.blogspot.com/2009/07/june-home-sales-rise-87.html

reviewed by Moishe Alexander, CFC Canadian Funding Corp CEO

Canadian Tourism Industry Benchmark Study finds favourable performance compared with other sectors

admin — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 14:23:48 +0000

In the hustle and bustle of the information age, with news and views cascading from the internet, the big picture can pass you by. However, the Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC) has just published a new in-depth report on the state of the Canadian tourism industry in relation to other sectors of the economy to redress that balance.

The Canadian Tourism Industry Benchmark Study: Where Do We Rank in the Context of the Canadian Economy? shows how the total tourism industry measures up. Using the most recent available data from 2007, the report reveals Canada’s tourism sector is performing favourably compared to other broad sectors of the economy. It ranked fourth in a composite analysis, behind: finance, insurance and real estate; wholesale and retail trade; and community, business and personal services.

It’s a strong and consistent performance over a broad range of economic and financial performance measures juxtaposed with other major economic sectors. The results suggest the tourism industry is certainly worthy of future investment considerations.

Meanwhile, the primary industries sector (agriculture, fishing and trapping, and forestry), which, like tourism represents 2% of Canada’s Gross Domestic Product, was the weakest performer in the report’s index.

The CTC commissioned The Conference Board of Canada to provide this benchmarking study on the vibrancy and competitiveness of the Canadian tourism industry.

http://www.adventuretravelnews.com/?p=472

reviewed by Moishe Alexander, CFC Canadian Funding Corp CEO

Improved affordability helps spur housing market, says RBC Economics

admin — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 13:22:38 +0000

Softening home prices drew Canadians back into the housing market in a big way in the first quarter, according to a Royal Bank (TSX:RY) report.

RBC Economics says home affordability recorded some of the biggest quarterly improvements on record in the first quarter. Senior economist Robert Hogue says with market turmoil decreasing and credit flows increasing, resale activity has “rallied impressively.”

He says what is most impressive is how widespread this rebound has been, “with all major cities in Canada experiencing a revival.”

Declining costs of home ownership during the last year were driven by significant cuts in mortgage rates.

In the first quarter, says RBC, monthly payments on a typical detached bungalow fell by close to 17 per cent from a year earlier.

RBC says the proportion of pre-tax household income needed to own a home improved across all housing segments.

It says the benchmark detached bungalow moved to 39.4 per cent, the standard townhouse to 31.9 per cent, the standard condo to 27.1 per cent and the standard two-storey home to 44.7 per cent respectively.

RBC’s affordability measure for detached bungalows in the largest cities were 62.6 per cent in Vancouver, 45.9 per cent in Toronto, 39.1 per cent in Ottawa, 36.5 per cent in Montreal and 35.1 pr cent in Calgary.

“Housing markets generally appear to be on the mend in Canada but the road to full recovery still has obstacles,” added Hogue.

He added that further improvement in affordability will depend on greater gains in family income.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5iE0WgUzhh7xwb3MGbU8RjqZkWe_A

reviewed by Moishe Alexander, Canadian Funding Corp CEO

Real Estate Board monlthy update for June

admin — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 20:19:14 +0000

Market conditions drive strong June housing sales
VANCOUVER, B.C. – July 3, 2009 – The combination of low interest rates and more affordable pricing helped propel Greater Vancouver home sale numbers to the second all-time highest total for the month of June.

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that sales of detached, attached and apartment properties increased 75.6 per cent in June 2009 to 4,259, from the 2,425 sales recorded in June 2008. The figure is just short of the record-breaking 4,333 sales which occurred in June 2005.

New listings for detached, attached and apartment properties declined 17.9 per cent to 5,372 in June 2009 compared to June 2008, when 6,546 new units were listed. However, new listings increased 13.5 per cent from May to June of this year. Total active listings in Greater Vancouver currently sit at 13,252, down 27 per cent from June 2008 and 2.9 per cent below the active listings count at the end of May 2009.

“Price reductions and low interest rates have created an improvement in affordability, which is causing the number of sales to rise to levels comparable to 2003 to 2007,” Scott Russell, REBGV president said.

“Many people who were reluctant to purchase a home last fall and earlier this year are returning to the market because they see conditions that appeal to their personal and financial needs,” Russell said. “However, the current marketplace is such that buyers are more inclined to walk if they don’t like the terms of an offer.”

Residential benchmark prices, as calculated by the MLSLink® Housing Price Index, declined 8.2 per cent to $518,855 in June 2009 compared to June 2008.

The number of sales of detached properties increased 81.6 per cent to 1,667 from the 918 detached sales recorded during the same period in 2008. The benchmark price for detached properties declined 8.4 per cent to $701,384 in June 2009 compared to June 2008.

The number of sales of apartment properties in June 2009 increased 69.3 per cent to 1,790, compared to 1,057 sales in June 2008. The benchmark price of an apartment property declined 8.2 per cent from June 2008 to $356,880.

The number of attached property sales in June 2009 increased 78.2 per cent to 802, compared with the 450 sales in June 2008. The benchmark price of an attached unit declined 7.3 per cent between June 2009 and 2008 to $441,620.

Bright spots in Greater Vancouver in June 2009 compared to June 2008:

Detached:

Burnaby up 109.7 per cent (151 units sold from 72)

Coquitlam up 122.2 per cent (160 units sold from 72)

Delta – South up 107.7 per cent (56 units sold from 27)

Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows up 54.3 per cent (162 units sold from 105)

New Westminster up 104.8 per cent (43 units sold from 21)

North Vancouver up 96.2 per cent (153 units sold from 78)

Port Moody/ Belcarra up 120 per cent (33 units sold from 15)

Richmond up 77.4 per cent (204 units sold from 115)

Squamish up 107.7 per cent (27 units sold from 13)

Sunshine Coast up 33.9 per cent (75 units sold from 56)

Vancouver East up 71.2 per cent (238 units sold from 139)

Vancouver West up 85.2 per cent (200 units sold from 108)

West Vancouver/Howe Sound up 117.8 per cent (98 units sold from 45)

Attached:

Burnaby up 81.8 per cent (140 units sold from 77)

Coquitlam up 80 per cent (54 units sold from 30)

Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows up 48.6 per cent (55 units sold from 37)

North Vancouver up 121.2 per cent (73 units sold from 33)

Port Coquitlam up 82.6 per cent (42 units sold from 23)

Port Moody/ Belcarra up 77.3 per cent (39 units sold from 22)

Richmond up 84.5 per cent (155 units sold from 84)

Vancouver East up 118.5 per cent (59 units sold from 27)

Vancouver West up 121.8 per cent (122 units sold from 55)

Apartments:

Burnaby up 60.4 per cent (239 units sold from 149)

Coquitlam up 93.9 per cent (95 units sold from 49)

New Westminster up 57.1 per cent (121 units sold from 77)

North Vancouver up 71.4 per cent (120 units sold from 70)

Port Coquitlam up 58.1 per cent (49 units sold from 31)

Port Moody/Belcarra up 128.6 per cent (48 units sold from 21)

Richmond up 54.1 per cent (225 units sold from 146)

Vancouver East up 58.7 per cent (165 units sold from 104)

Vancouver West up 87.2 per cent (627 units sold from 335)

West Vancouver/Howe Sound up 155.6 per cent (23 units sold from 9)

http://vancouverspaces.com/07/real-estate-board-june/

brought by Moishe Alexander, CFC CEO

New Brunswick’s Spring Housing Starts – Canadian Funding Corp Looks at the Numbers

admin — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 13:58:14 +0000

MONCTON, June 8 /CNW/ – According to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s (CMHC’s) preliminary data(1) released today, residential construction in May produced a total of 334 starts in New Brunswick’s urban centres compared to 481 units during the same period last year.

“Total urban starts for the month of May were down from last year’s monthly level due to an overall decrease in both single and multiple starts in provincial urban centres,” said Claude Gautreau, CMHC’s senior market analyst for New Brunswick. Single starts in provincial urban centres were down 38 per cent to 138 units in May. Year-to-date, single starts were down by 39 per cent to 292 units.

Meanwhile, in New Brunswick’s urban centres, a total of 196 multiple starts were recorded in May of 2009, down from 258 units during the same month last year. The year-to-date decline in multiple starts was moderate at 6.7 per cent at the end of May. “Increased activity in both Saint John and Fredericton through the first five months of 2009 has bolstered overall multiple starts in provincial urban centres,” continued Gautreau.

In urban centres across Canada, total housing starts in May declined by 46 per cent, down to 10,368 compared to last year’s total of 19,222. Single-detached starts decreased 42 per cent to 4,939 units, while multiple unit starts were down 49 per cent from 10,654 units last year to 5,429 units this year. In the Atlantic region, 760 new units were started in May 2009 compared to 1,094 units during the same period in 2008.

As Canada’s national housing agency, CMHC draws on more than 60 years of experience to help Canadians access a variety of quality, environmentally sustainable, and affordable homes – homes that will continue to create vibrant and healthy communities and cities across the country.

—————————————-
(1) Figures for the most recent month are preliminary and subject to
revisions due to corrections or updates from quarterly enumeration or
sampling results.

————————————————————————-
PRELIMINARY URBAN MONTHLY HOUSING STARTS
NEW BRUNSWICK SUMMARY
————————————————————————-
2009 2008 YEAR-TO-DATE
———— % Change ————– % Change
MAY MAY 2009 2008
————————————————————————-
ALL URBAN CENTRES WITH POPULATIONS GREATER THAN 50,000
————————————————————————-
SAINT JOHN CMA
Single 40 57 -29.8% 103 164 -37.2%
Multiple 60 20 (XX) 192 138 39.1%
TOTAL 100 77 29.9% 295 302 -2.3%
————————————————————————-
MONCTON CMA
Single 44 96 -54.2% 76 155 -51.0%
Multiple 114 165 -30.9% 170 248 -31.5%
TOTAL 158 261 -39.5% 246 403 -39.0%
————————————————————————-
FREDERICTON CA
Single 29 47 -38.3% 70 117 -40.2%
Multiple 22 66 -66.7% 95 72 31.9%
TOTAL 51 113 -54.9% 165 189 -12.7%
————————————————————————-
ALL URBAN CENTRES WITH POPULATION GREATER THAN 10,000(*)
————————————————————————-
ALL CENTRES
Single 138 223 -38.1% 292 477 -38.8%
Multiple 196 258 -24.0% 457 490 -6.7%
TOTAL 334 481 -30.6% 749 967 -22.5%
————————————————————————-
Figures for the most recent month are preliminary and subject to
revisions due to corrections or updates from quarterly enumeration or
sampling results.

(*) Includes all centres with a total population of more than 10,000
(Saint John CMA, Moncton CA, Fredericton CA, Bathurst CA,
Campbellton CA, Edmundston CA, and Miramichi City).

(XX) Indicates changes in excess of 100% which are not reported due to
volatility resulting from small absolute numbers.

http://www.dailycommercialnews.com/nw/12359/re

Report provided to the blog by Moishe Alexander, CFC CEO

Here’s a CTV news article on The Housing Market

admin — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 18:48:31 +0000

Atlantic Canada housing market strongest in ‘09

Updated Wed. Apr. 8 2009 6:40 PM ET

CTV.ca News Staff

A recession-cooled Canadian real estate market saw falling housing prices during the first quarter of the year, though the declines were not as steep as expected.

A quarterly house price survey, released Wednesday by Royal LePage Real Estate Services, showed national price declines in several major housing types compared to the same quarter in 2008.

According to the survey numbers:

* The price of a standard two-storey home dropped 6.5 per cent
* The price of a detached bungalow fell 6.1 per cent
* The price of a standard condominium declined by 4 per cent

Royal LePage Real Estate Services President Phil Soper said the data shows the hottest housing market to be in St. John’s, where prices for standard two-storey homes rose 15 per cent year over year.

“Consumer confidence drives a lot of activity in the housing market and they remain a very confident lot, and there’s still a supply shortage of homes for sale there,” he told CTV’s Canada AM.

Soper said other markets in Atlantic Canada also performed steadily, due in part to the region’s affordable housing prices and to an increasingly diverse regional economy.

“Halifax, Moncton, Saint John, N.B., are all healthy markets,” he said.

“The economies have really diversified over the last 15 years and it’s showing up in terms of steadier prices.”

In Ontario and Quebec, Royal LePage said the markets “held steady” with some small gains and declines. But overall, Ontario typically saw “mid to low single digit declines” in its housing prices, the survey said.

The survey said that Western provinces saw “significant changes” in real estate prices, with double-digit declines in many areas. Manitoba was the lone major exception to this trend.

The survey predicted that B.C. and Alberta may be among the first areas in Canada to see pricing gains because those provinces experienced market corrections prior to the brunt of the economic crisis.

Soper said the first quarter of 2009 was, overall, one of the worst-performing sales periods for real estate in recent memory.

But he said Canadian realtors have high hopes for an improvement in the national market this spring.

“There is a remarkable uptick in March in buying activity in the marketplace, compared to November, December, January, February, (which) were easily the worst four months in the last decade in terms of housing market activity,” he said.

Out west, the declines were particularly severe, Soper said.

“In Vancouver, the activity level in the province was down by half,” Soper said.

“Fifty per cent of the transactions just disappeared over those four months. So, now we’re only down 25 per cent in March, that’s a remarkable turnaround in one month.”

The survey also said that condominiums have become “increasingly accessible” for young homeowners across Canada, due to a combination of low lending rates and falling prices during the recession.

In the first quarter of 2009, the average price of a standard Canadian condominium was $232, 877 — a mid-point price on a scale that ranged from $120,000 in Charlottetown to $431,500 in Vancouver.

http://www.johnhutton.ca/?p=84

brought to the blog by Moishe Alexander, CFC CEO

Builders, real estate firms gave big to BC Liberals

admin — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 13:47:48 +0000

Reports brought by Moishe Alexander, CFC CEO.
Real estate and construction companies were some of the most generous donors to the B.C. Liberals with some donors pushing well over $100,000 according to the 2008 Annual Financial Report.

Amongst the highest donors were Madison Pacific Properties and The Maple Bay Townhomes Corporation each donating $100,000.

According to Business Week Magazine, Madison Pacific Properties “engages in the ownership, development, and operation of industrial and commercial real estate properties,” the majority located in Metro Vancouver.

As of December 31, 2007, the company’s property portfolio contained 1.1 million square feet of net rentable area in industrial properties; 395,708 square feet of net rentable area in highway-commercial properties; and 81,149 square feet of rentable area in office properties.

In 2007, the company generated over $19.8 million in revenue.

Sam Grippo, chairman of Madison Pacific Properties, is also president and CEO of Madison Venture Corporation, a company that operates business and tourist publications as well as community newspapers. Madison Venture also gave to the Liberal party with a donation of $10,000.

Grippo is also chairman of Glacier Ventures, which had company shares acquired by Madison Venture. Glacier Ventures owns daily and weekly community newspapers including Business in Vancouver and, also in B.C.:

Whistler Question, Squamish Chief, Lillooet Bridge River News, the Sunshine Coast Reporter, the Powell River Peak, Nelson Daily News, West Kootenay Weekender, Cranbrook Daily Townsman, Kimberley Daily Bulletin, East Kootenay Weekly Extra, East Kootenay Weekly Weekender, Trail Times, Fernie Free Press, Grand Forks Gazette, Grand Forks Boundary Bulletin, Creston Valley Advance, Kamloops Daily News, Kamloops The Extra, Prince George Citizen, Prince George This Week, Prince George Extra, Alaska Highway News, North Peace Express, The Northerner, Peace River Block News, The Regional Advertiser, The Northern Horizon, The Mirror, Prince Rupert Daily News, Merritt News, Cariboo Advisor, Quesnel Advisor, 100 Mile House Advisor, Coast Mountain Advisor, the Real Estate Weekly and Kodiak Press.

Another member of the 100K club is businessperson Milan Ilich who donated $253,050.

Ilich is president of Progressive Contracting Ltd., a construction and development company. Progressive Contracting made a separate donation of $9,750 to the B.C. Liberal party. Ilich is also former owner of the Vancouver Whitecaps and is related to Olga Ilich, Richmond Centre MLA. Prior to being MLA, Olga Ilich was an executive vice-president of Progressive Contracting.

Ilich has been a loyal contributor to the Liberals donating over $70,000 in 2005 and in 2006 went on to donate over $17,000. He donated over $53,000 in 2007.

Ilich’s company, Progressive Contracting, recently submitted a bid of over $323,000 to the Greater Vancouver Sewage and Drainage District to provide “earth moving equipment.” Ilich and his wife Maureen have given to a number of causes through the Maureen and Milan Foundation. Both the Richmond Hospital Foundation and the Richmond Community Centre Transportation Program are previous causes to which the foundation has given.

Other donors of the real estate and construction company variety included Dunkley Lumber, a lumber product corporation that distributes all over North America, its location focused in Prince George, B.C. The lumber distribution company donated over $40,000 to the Liberal party in 2008.

In 2008, Dunkley Lumber constructed “a fully automated lumber grading system, along with additional trimsaws, a second sorting system, autostacker, banding and paperwrapping stations. This investment has provided significant gains with respect to efficiency, recovery, consistency and flexibility,” said the Dunkley Lumber webpage.

Dunkley Lumber also donated over $35,000 in 2005 and just over $20,000 in 2007. Delta Land Development, located in Vancouver, donated $42,000 last year. The company is a North American branch of the Delta Group, an international real-estate development company with offices located in Singapore, London and Shanghai.

The company is responsible for the construction and completion of Callitso, a massive apartment suite on Coal Harbour and a number of other projects within B.C. including the Conservatory in Oakridge Vancouver.

Delta Land Development donated over $30,000 in 2006 and in 2007, the company donated $33,000 to the B.C. Liberals.

Rennie Marketing System, a company responsible for handling the assets of real-estate properties and the manufacturing and selling of condominiums all over B.C. donated just under $30,000 to the B.C. Liberals.

The company has donated thousands of dollars to the Liberals in the past, with over $30,000 in 2007 and $1,550 in 2005.

Led by Bob Rennie, the company has managed to sell $1 billion in property in the last four years and has sales teams all over B.C.

Burnco Construction gave the Liberal party a donation of more than $20,000 in 2008. The company specializes in the manufacturing of rock and concrete bi-products made for industrial construction and is the largest independent supplier of ready-mix concrete in Canada with offices all over B.C. and Canada.

The company has also contributed to the party in the past with over $4,000 dollars in both 2007 and 2006.

Other companies who broke the $20,000 mark in political donations to the Liberal party included Polygon Homes, donating $22, 250 in 2008. In 2005, the company donated $25,000 and roughly $18,000 in 2006. The company went on to donate over $18,000 in 2007. The company has contributed over $85,000 to the B.C. Liberals since 2005.

In 2008, Concord properties donated $26,000. They also have been a generous donor in the past, having donated over $80,000 to the B.C. Liberals in 2005. The company also donated over $12,000 dollars in 2006 and over $14,000 in 2007.

Maple Bay Townhomes donated $100,000 to the B.C. Liberals in 2008 with no previous donations in past years.

While many donors to the BC Liberals are in the business of building homes, one other very supportive group is all about what’s parked in the garages.

The B.C. Association of New Car Dealers donated $107,000 to the BC Liberals last year.

http://thetyee.ca/Blogs/TheHook/BC-Politics/2009/05/08/Builders-real-estate-firms-gave-big-to-BC-Liberals/

Falling prices in B.C.’s real estate market are levelling off

admin — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 14:07:02 +0000

Plunging prices in B.C.’s residential real estate market are levelling off, according to the latest forecast issued by the British Columbia Real Estate Association.

“The majority of the decline in home prices has already occurred,” said association chief economist Cameron Muir, in a report released on Tuesday.

“Balanced markets are emerging in Victoria, Vancouver and the Fraser Valley. There’s now little downward pressure on home prices in these areas,” said Muir.

As a result, the real estate association has revised its forecast for the year, predicting the average listed price for a residential property in B.C. will decline eight per cent to $420,600 in 2009, instead of 13 per cent as originally forecasted at the beginning of the year.

Prices have stabilized because of increased demand, with seasonally adjusted home sales raising over the past three months, according to Muir.

“First-time buyers were largely absent in the late fall and winter, making it more difficult for move-up buyers to sell their current homes. The chain of ownership is now being oiled,” he said.

Lower home prices and record low interest rates have reduced the carrying cost of the average priced home 24 per cent over the last year, according to Muir.

“A significant increase in affordability has brought many first-time buyers into the market,” he said.

Muir expects stronger consumer demand to continue for the balance of the year and residential sales in 2010 to climb 10 per cent.
Moishe Alexander’s report.

http://www.victoriarealestate.ca/falling-prices-in-bcs-real-estate-market-are-levelling-off

Moishe Alexander reports: Ron Beyer says the rates may still hold

admin — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 14:03:12 +0000

OTTAWA – The Bank of Canada today announced that it is maintaining its target for the overnight rate at 1/4 per cent. The Bank Rate is unchanged at 1/2 per cent and the deposit rate is 1/4 per cent.
Information received since the Bank’s April Monetary Policy Report (MPR) is broadly consistent with the Bank’s medium-term outlook for output and inflation in Canada. The economy is undergoing major restructuring in a number of sectors. The already significant output gap will continue to widen through the third quarter, putting downward pressure on inflation. The Bank continues to expect that the global and Canadian recoveries will be more muted than usual.
In recent weeks, financial conditions and commodity prices have improved significantly, and consumer and business confidence have recovered modestly. If the unprecedentedly rapid rise in the Canadian dollar (which reflects a combination of higher commodity prices and generalized weakness in the U.S. currency) proves persistent, it could fully offset these positive factors.
The outlook is subject to considerable uncertainty. While the underlying macroeconomic risks are roughly balanced, the Bank judges that, as a consequence of operating at the effective lower bound, the overall risks to its inflation projection remain tilted slightly to the downside.
Conditional on the outlook for inflation, the target overnight rate can be expected to remain at its current level until the end of the second quarter of 2010 in order to achieve the inflation target.
The Bank retains considerable flexibility in the conduct of monetary policy at low interest rates, consistent with the framework outlined in the April MPR.
Information note:
The next scheduled date for announcing the overnight rate target is 21 July 2009. A full update of the Bank’s outlook for the economy and inflation, including risks to the projection, will be published in the MPR on 23 July 2009.

http://livinginvictoriabc.blogspot.com/2009/06/karie-siess-says-rates-are-going-up.html

Victoria BC – Karie Siess says the rates are going up

admin — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 13:58:48 +0000

Well, it was nice while it lasted, but, along with the nice increase in our weather temperatures, it seems we are going to see the same in our interest rates.
Here is what’s being “talked” about today…
“There is a lot of financial indifference in the markets…as many of the Economists have stated… the Bond Market is reacting to this…
I would suggest that investors (cash guys) are demanding more for their money, even in these times. Thus over the last few weeks I have been monitoring the long term Bond Market and it has risen almost 50bps and today it is up 3 bps alone…. This means the spread on mortgage rates is lessening and in turn pushing lenders to raise rates. I believe we are in for some interest rate hikes over the next 4 – 5 weeks, which may mean a couple more increases like we are seeing right now. Over the last week we have seen some lenders raise interest rates by 30 bps bringing them above the 4.25% mark, I am sure other lenders will follow.
There are still lenders that have not formally made any moves to their rates, but I am sure it is on its way. I would urge you to contact those clients that are ’sitting on the fence’ because they believe one or both of the following:”
” I think rates are going to go lower and I don’t want to pay more than I have too… ”
“… house prices are coming down, I want to wait and get best deal…”
Please call me today to discuss any clients you may be working with. I will pre-approve them and hold them at our current low rates!Bank of Canada maintains overnight rate target at 1/4 per cent and reiterates conditional commitment to hold current policy rate until the end of the second quarter of 2010.
Reviewed by Moishe Alexander, CFC CEO

http://livinginvictoriabc.blogspot.com/2009/06/karie-siess-says-rates-are-going-up.html