Saturday, January 31, 2015

Toronto Real Estate Board 2014 Real Estate Sales Results

Hello from Beautiful Mississauga!

The report from TREB for the 2014 Real Estate Sales is in the books.

Average prices rose 8.4% to $566,726
The number of sales rose 6.7% to 92,867

Click this graph to see all the results and figures


This was just short of the all time record reported in 2007

The full press release is below.

You can see graphs of prices at this page:

www.mississauga4sale.com/TREBprice.htm

Let's hope for another good year in 2015!

All the best,
Mark


Near Record Sales in 2014

January 7, 2015 -- Toronto Real Estate Board President Paul Etherington announced that Greater Toronto REALTORS® reported 92,867 residential sales through the TorontoMLS system in 2014, including 4,446 in December. The calendar year 2014 sales result represented a 6.7 per cent increase over the 2013 sales figure of 87,049 and was just short of the record set in 2007.


"TREB's 2014 sales figures are a testament to the importance Greater Toronto Area households continue to place on home ownership. GTA households realize that home purchases have been a quality long-term investment. While home prices certainly increased substantially in 2014, the purchase of an average priced home remained affordable, in terms of the average household's ability to comfortably cover their monthly mortgage payments," said Mr. Etherington.

"Even with a constrained supply of homes for sale in many parts of the Greater Toronto Area, buyers continued to get deals done last month. Households remain upbeat about home ownership because monthly mortgage payments remain affordable relative to accepted lending standards. This is coupled with the fact that housing has proven to be a quality long-term investment," stated Mr. Etherington.

The average selling price continued to grow on a year-over-year basis in calendar year 2014, with an 8.4 per cent increase over calendar year 2013 to $566,726. This included a seven per cent increase in the December 2014 average selling price to $556,602. Throughout 2014, annual increases in the average selling price and the MLS® HPI Composite Benchmark were consistently reported on a monthly basis for most market segments, from detached homes through to condominium apartments.

"The strong price growth we experienced in 2014 can be explained with two words: listings shortage. The constrained supply of listings was especially evident for low-rise home types like singles, semis and town houses. The number of households looking to purchase these home types increased, while the number of homes from which they could choose decreased. This situation resulted in more competition between buyers and more aggressive offers," said Jason Mercer, TREB's Director of Market Analysis.


I hope this finds you Happy and Healthy!
All the Best!
Mark
A. Mark Argentino
P. Eng. Broker
Specializing in Residential & Investment Real Estate

RE/MAX Realty Specialists Inc.
Providing Full-Time Professional Real Estate Services since 1987

BUS 905-828-3434
FAX 905-828-2829  CELL 416-520-1577
mark@mississauga4sale.comMississauga4Sale.com
  • Thinking of selling your home in the next 3 to 6 months?  Would you like a Complimentary & Quick Over-The-Net Home Evaluation ?
    www.mississauga4sale.com/internet-evaluation.htm
  • Power of Sales and Foreclosureswww.mississauga4sale.com/Power-Sales-Bank-Sales-Alert-Request.htm
  • If you have not already signed up to receive my monthly real estate newsletter, you may do so here: On-Line Real Estate Newsletter sign up
    www.mississauga4sale.com/popupquestion.htm
  • See seasonal housing patternswww.mississauga4sale.com/TREBprice.htm
  • Would you like me to send you a desk or wall Calendar?
    www.mississauga4sale.com/Calendar-Order-Form.htm
 

Thursday, January 29, 2015

Should I lock in my mortgage rate due to recent Bank of Canada Rate Cut?

Should I lock in my mortgage rate?

This is a question many ask.

I just posted the article below about the current status of Short term or long term Mortgage Rates

Enjoy!

Mark















This page is a running record of how interest rates have changed over the past 5 to 10 years and what my personal philosophy is regarding what you should do with your mortgage - namely, should you lock in your mortgage interest rate or should you stay with a variable rate mortgage.  This is the question!

After nearly 4.5 years, the Bank of Canada made an announcement last week that shocked the experts, they lowered the Prime Rate by 0.25%  Nobody was expecting this reduction!  The reasons behind the drop are varied, but the largest reason is that the price of oil is under $50 per barrel and the Bank of Canada performs most of it's forecasting based upon the assumed price at $60 per barrel.  Thus, with low inflation, low oil prices generating lower overall revenue for Canada (and certainly Western Canada) the bank decided to lower the rate.

Read about the current Bank of Canada Prime Rate Update

The major Canadian banks did not immediately lower their prime rates that they charge their best customers.  As a matter of fact, the Banks only lowered their prime rate by .15% and not the .25% that the Bank of Canada dropped the rate.  Bank prime is now 2.85% and mortgage rates for fixed term are nearly the same. 

Many believe that there will be mortgage rate wars over the next few months.  The banks still have plenty of cash to lend so this is likely the case.

We are still at or near 50 year historic lows- meaning, it's still a good time to 'lock in' your rate if you are not a gambler.

Again, please don't forget these are posted rates and often you can get a lower rate than posted if you negotiate.
Variable rates - the banks are posting their rates as prime plus 0.000% and you can likely find prime minus .2%  to prime minus .5% or possibly more

I've written many articles about staying with short term or variable mortgage rates at this page:  http://www.mississauga4sale.com/Lock-In-Short-Term-Long-Term-Mortgage.htm

My preference for many years (and continues to be) to go variable, but if you are not a gambler, then it could be getting close to the time where you lock in your mortgage.

I recall reading an article the day of the rate cut on January 21, 2015 that not one of the 19 'experts' on the Bloomberg Panel had predicted a rate cut. 

Now if you read about predictions for the March 4, 2015 Bank of Canada Interest Rate Announcements the 'experts' are saying that they expect the bank rate to drop another .25%

Read the article below that just appeared in the Herald about rates, it's very interesting what the experts are now saying about rates.

If you want interest rate security, then you go long term.

If you want to save money, my advice is to go variable, always (at least for the next 1 to 1.5 years).
....and this is still why


The mortgage interest rate debate continues.....

All the best!

Mark

Read more about this subject at this page: http://www.mississauga4sale.com/Lock-In-Short-Term-Long-Term-Mortgage.htm

Read this particular post online at this page: http://www.mississauga4sale.com/Lock-In-Short-Term-Long-Term-Mortgage.htm#2015mortgageoutlook

Wednesday, January 21, 2015

Bank of Canada Interest Rate Cut Shock with Article with videos and more information

Hello from Beautiful Mississauga!

The link below is to a very good article about today's Bank of Canada Interest rate cuts, how the markets reacted so far, with some great graphs in it, make sure your volume is turned low as there is an auto-load video

the graph near the bottom is also very interesting where they say the Bank of Canada "was the first to blink"  - if you watch the other videos or listen to the Bank of Canada Governor's comments he uses many euphemisms that allow him to stay 'non-committal' on many key issues - this is the Bank's way of not signaling their future intentions to the marketplace - so interesting!



Borrowers, current and pending, will be very pleased about this quarter percent rate drop

The Bank's announcement today to reduce rates was a real shock to the Canadian Economy and the world, could prove to be a very forward thinking decision in light of other indicators in the economy!

All the Best!
Mark

Bank of Canada Rate announcement to drop Prime Rate by .25%

Hello!

Just when you thought that you could predict the future, the Bank of Canada announces a prime interest rate cut!

After nearly 4.5 years, the bank rate has finally changed.  I'm sure very few predicted the rate would drop. 

The prime rate is now 3/4% and the prime rate banks charge to customers is now 2.75%  The previous rate was 3%  This is unexpected news and good for anyone looking to borrow soon or having a mortgage coming up for renewal any time soon!

This is in direct contrast to all the recent announcements and many economists saying that the economy is bullish and they anticipate a rise in the rate in late 2015 or 2016, so much for the experts!

This is an excerpt below,

Enjoy!
Mark



The Bank of Canada today announced that it is lowering its target for the overnight rate by one-quarter of one percentage point to 3/4 per cent. The Bank Rate is correspondingly 1 per cent and the deposit rate is 1/2 per cent. This decision is in response to the recent sharp drop in oil prices, which will be negative for growth and underlying inflation in Canada.
Inflation has remained close to the 2 per cent target in recent quarters. Core inflation has been temporarily boosted by sector-specific factors and the pass-through effects of the lower Canadian dollar, which are offsetting disinflationary pressures from slack in the economy and competition in the retail sector. Total CPI inflation is starting to reflect the fall in oil prices.
Oil’s sharp decline in the past six months is expected to boost global economic growth, especially in the United States, while widening the divergences among economies. Persistent headwinds from deleveraging and lingering uncertainty will influence the extent to which some oil-importing countries benefit from lower prices. The Bank’s base-case projection assumes oil prices around US$60 per barrel. Prices are currently lower but our belief is that prices over the medium term are likely to be higher.
Read the entire report here:
http://www.bankofcanada.ca/2015/01/fad-press-release-2015-01-21/

I hope this finds you Happy and Healthy!
All the Best!
Mark
A. Mark Argentino
P. Eng. Broker
Specializing in Residential & Investment Real Estate
RE/MAX Realty Specialists Inc.
Providing Full-Time Professional Real Estate Services since 1987
BUS 905-828-3434
FAX 905-828-2829  CELL 416-520-1577
mark@mississauga4sale.com
Mississauga4Sale.com
Thinking of selling your home in the next 3 to 6 months?  Would you like a Complimentary & Quick Over-The-Net Home Evaluation ?
www.mississauga4sale.com/internet-evaluation.htm
Power of Sales and Foreclosures
www.mississauga4sale.com/Power-Sales-Bank-Sales-Alert-Request.htm
If you have not already signed up to receive my monthly real estate newsletter, you may do so here: On-Line Real Estate Newsletter sign up
www.mississauga4sale.com/popupquestion.htm
See seasonal housing patterns
www.mississauga4sale.com/TREBprice.htm
Would you like me to send you a desk or wall Calendar?
www.mississauga4sale.com/Calendar-Order-Form.htm