Correction

The media is reporting that the real estate market is slowing down however, no one seems to have told my clients that! The office has remained untraditionally busy through August and I am very happy about it. I do not disagree that we will likely see a correction in property prices. Most of the impact will be felt in Vancouver but, I am sure that the Fraser Valley will not be completely immune. I will not be surprised to see a correction of about 5% in home prices over the next 2 years. Following record high prices in the Lower Mainland, a correction in prices is necessary. That being said, if you are considering buying a home to live in, so long as you have a plan to be there for 4 or more years, now is still a great time to get into the market. Interest rates remain at record lows and whether you decide to rent or buy, you are paying a mortgage either way. It just depends on whether you want to pay your mortgage, or someone else's. Whether you are buying your first home or your 4th home, getting pre-approved before purchases helps to ensure you have the purchasing power you want and can get the payments that you need. Contact me today for a free consultation.

Upgrading?

Hope you all had a fabulous long weekend! The weather has warmed up and the housing market is starting to cool down. August is not knows as a great month in real estate however, rates are still low making home shopping more affordable. The Bank of Canada seems pleased with the new mortgage lending rules and has said that they will not be releasing any further changes. We will see revisions to rules in January at the earliest. That means that we will see low rates until then. If you currently have a mortgage, now is the time to try and pay down as much as you can. Even if it is just $50 extra per month, getting money down on the principal now will help dramatically down the road. Understanding the pre-payment options on your mortgage is important. For example, some lenders allow you to up-to-double up your payments while others will allow an increase of only 15% - 20% on the payments. If your goal is to put more down monthly rather than focusing on larger lump sum payments, it is good to research a lender that will allow you to do that. Over the next 2 weeks I am looking for new clients who currently own a home, perhaps a condo or townhome, and are wanting to start thinking about buying a house. Knowing the numbers upfront is necessary so that we can maximize purchasing power and build a plan for making the payments easy. Who do you know who is looking to upgrade their home? I appreciate you introducing them to me.