Wednesday, June 23, 2010

RSP's to help when buying your home

I had another good question about RSP's that I will share my answer with you.

Hi Mark

Hope you are good well i got an email from you concerning RSP. We told me that i can use the RSP to buy a home and pay in 15years. So i wanna know in 15 years how much should i need to pay? Is there any interest on that amount? Please let me know where can i got more informations if you dont have.

Hope to hear from you soon
Thanks
S.


Hi S.,

Yes, this is correct. You pay 1/15 per year starting after the first year you withdraw the money. There is no interest to be paid on the money, you just have to return the principal. You are allowed to pay more, but you must pay the minimum. I am not sure what happens if you miss a payment, maybe then you have to pay interest. Please contact your bank holding your RSP and they will know the full details.

Please let me know if you have any other questions or if there is anything else I can help you with.

Thank you again for contacting me and I will do my best to help you with your real estate needs,

Mark

A. Mark Argentino
P. Eng. Broker
Specializing in Residential & Investment Real Estate

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Short or Long term on your Mortgage what's the best choice?

The choice to go with a long or short term mortgage is dependent upon many factors and only you can make the final decision.

It can also depend upon your risk tolerance, if rates increase, and some people like to know their rate and payments are fixed for a long period of time.

There are great opportunities right now for variable rate mortgages.

This link will show you the opportunity that exists by choosing short term mortgages: http://blog.mississauga4sale.com/2010/05/opportunity-abounds-long-term-versus.html

You can read about my person situation and recommendations at this page: http://www.mississauga4sale.com/Lock-In-Short-Term-Long-Term-Mortgage.htm

How to pay down your mortgage quicker: http://blog.mississauga4sale.com/2010/04/how-to-pay-down-your-mortgage-faster.html

More reading at this page too: http://blog.mississauga4sale.com/2009/12/is-it-time-to-lock-into-long-term.html


As you can see, it's completely up to you.

I still feel that short term rates are the best choice because it may take 2 to 3 years before the prime rate reaches current mortgage variable rates, which means you will be saving money all the while.

You should be able to find variable rates of about prime minus .5% or so.

I hope this helps.

Please let me know if you have more questions.

Thank you,

Mark

Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) Average Prices and GraphFor more information please contact A. Mark Argentino

A. Mark Argentino, Broker, P.Eng.,Specializing in Residential & Investment Real EstateRE/MAX Realty Specialists Inc., Brokerage2691 Credit Valley Road, Suite 101, Mississauga, Ontario L5M 7A1BUS. 905-828-3434FAX. 905-828-2829E-MAIL: mark@mississauga4sale.comWebsite: Mississauga4Sale.com

Friday, June 11, 2010

Current mortgage interest rates in the GTA

The table below shows the current posted and attainable mortgage rates that
you can now obtain in the GTA

TERM POSTED OBTAINABLE
RATES*
6 Month 4.85% 3.95%
1 Year 3.90% 2.75%
2 Year 4.40% 3.45%
3 Year 4.95% 3.60%
4 Year 5.64% 4.09%
5 Year 5.99% 4.19%
7 Year 6.59% 5.25%
10 Year 6.90% 5.20%
Variable Rate 1.90%
Prime Rate 2.50%















* Rates may vary and are subject to change without notice OAC.
Rates Last Updated: Thursday, June 10, 2010

I hope this finds you Happy and Healthy!

All the Best!

Mark

A. Mark Argentino
P. Eng. Broker
Specializing in Residential & Investment Real Estate

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Wednesday, June 09, 2010

Real estate prices in Canada versus other major cities

Real estate in Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary and Montreal is relatively
inexpensive compared to other major cities in the world.

We just returned from Paris and London. I browsed through some real estate
magazines while we were in Paris, average prices for a one bedroom flat of
about 75square meters (about 800 square feet) were about 450 to 600 thousand
Euros! In London, in a nice area of town, about 700 thousand pounds! The
same condo in Mississauga would be about $190,000

The most expensive house on the market in London's exclusive area of
Belgravia is currently for sale at 100 million pounds, but for that you get
6 floors, including basement, about 20,000 square feet and 2 parking spots.
It's an attached home, not detached, almost zero land to speak of and you
have to pay a land lease to the owner of the land, the Duke of
Westminster... think of the cash he rakes in a year! The same 20,000 square
foot house in Mississauga would be about $10 to $20 million and that would
get you huge piece of land and plenty of parking!

So don't worry, our real estate in Canada is cheap compared to other major
cities, just keep buying more and you can't go wrong in the long run.

All the best!
Mark

Tuesday, June 08, 2010

TREB GTA Real Estate reports that May 2010 Sales Remain High

This is the summary report from TREB about last months sales.

The number of transactions in May slowed compared to previous months, but
average price was still up compared to previous month, to $446,593

More details to come!
Mark



May Sales Remain High

June 3, 2010 -- Greater Toronto REALTORS(r) reported 9,470 sales through the
Multiple Listing Service(r) (MLS(r)) in May, representing a one per cent dip
from May 2009. In comparison to previous years, this was the third highest
May sales result on record.

"The pace of transactions slowed in May following record-setting sales in
February, March and April," said Toronto Real Estate Board President Tom
Lebour. "Buyers who otherwise would have been purchasing a home in May moved
more quickly this year, likely to get ahead of mortgage rate hikes."

New listings were up 38 per cent annually to 18,940. The average price for
May transactions was $446,593 - up 13 per cent compared to the average of
$395,609 recorded in May 2009.

"The gap between listings and sales has widened, which means there is more
choice for buyers," said Jason Mercer, TREB's Senior Manager of Market
Analysis. "The annual rate of price growth will slow in the second half of
2010, from the current double digit pace into the single digits."

Tuesday, June 01, 2010

Bank of Canada Prime Rate and Mortgage Interest Rates Increase today

The Bank of Canada announced a .25% increase in their prime rate today June
1, 2010. Thus the Bank of Canada prime rate increased from 0.25% from 0.5%

Banks are currently charging 2% premium on this Bank of Canada Prime rate.
This means the bank prime has now increased to 2.25% from 2.5%

Variable mortgage rates will increase immediately and short and long term
rates are likely to follow in the short term.

If you are interest rate sensitive, it may be the time to lock in your rate.

If you are like me, ride the wave on variable rate mortgages, could be a
while before bank prime rises to 4.5%

All the best!
Mark