I was talking with my friends at Mortgage Architects and it looks like mortgage interest rates have headed down again!  

One year fixed mortgages have dropped to as low as 2.39% for those with the best credit.  Wtih prime at 3.0% that's a pretty sweet deal!

Five year rates start at 3.09%, 10 year at 3.89%, and variable 5 year rates start at 2.75%

With great rates like this, and great prices on homes, this could be the time to upgrade or get into the market.  Don't forget, there are also great incentives from the government for first time buyers such as a $10,000 tax refund (restrictions apply) and no property transfer tax.  Feel free to give us a call or leave a comment if you would like more details.

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Last week all the chatter in the press was that the upcoming mortgage rules changes were going to grind the real estate market to a halt.  Well, the world seems to still be turning and buyers seem to still be buying.  That is good news, and not a surprise to us, or to many others. 

When the mortgage rule changes were first announced, we talked to many buyers and found that the vast majority weren’t planning on using the 30 year amortization even though it was available to them.  In most cases they opted for as short a mortgage as they could comfortably afford so that they could minimize their long term interest costs.  It seems once again the press has scared the public and made a mountain out of a mole hill.  Oh well, we all should be used to that by now!

Back in the real world, the market is still ticking along at a medium, middle-of-the-road pace. The high inventory levels are tending to favour buyers more than sellers.  We find that listing prices need to be sharp to attract a buyer and that those well priced homes continue to sell quickly.   We did notice that inventory increased a bit again this week, reversing the trend of declining inventory that had begun to appear.  As long as inventory remains high there will definitely be some good deals for buyers who can move quickly.

Here are the raw statistics:

Over the last 30 days, 301 single family houses were sold, down by 3 houses from last week.  The median price is down $3,875 to $530,000. The average house was on the market for 44 days.

In the last 30 days, 156 condos were sold, unchanged from last week.  The median price is up $8,850 to $275,600. The average condo was on the market for 43 days.

There are now 2,477 houses for sale, up by 25 from last week.  Condo inventory has fallen by 3 to 1136 suites.

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