Good News and Bad News

Reports across the country regarding the state of housing in Canada have been conflicting this week. The general consensus is that the overall market has cooled, the debate seems to be about what 2013 will look like. CREA (Canadian Real Estate Association) is expecting an overall drop in sales next year by 1.9%. This drop is to be mainly focused in Ontario while Alberta and Manitoba are expected to remain stable. This is opposite to a study conducted by Genworth Canada which predicts an overall increase in the housing market in 2013. Edmonton is expected to perform the best with a 3.2% increase in condo prices while even the Greater Toronto area is expected to see condo prices climb by 2.5%. So there is good news and bad news depending on who you want to believe. The likelihood is that the Vancouver area market will continue to correct and there does not seem to be a consensus on just how much. As prices soften and the market stabilizes, now is an excellent opportunity for first time home buyers to enter the market. Those who take advantage of it will be able to get excellent prices on homes as well as historically low interest rates on mortgages. Don't get caught out of the market, call me today!

All around the world

The kids are back in school and everyone is getting into the new routines of the Fall season. Metro Vancouver is also still getting used to the new mortgage rules that were brought in during July and saw quite a dip in home sales for August. Despite the temporary slump, economists are expecting a rebound by the end of the year. Interest rates are expected to stay low and the US Federal Reserve has stated that they are going to be keeping rates low into 2015 south of the border. The US has also had to introduce monetary stimulus as the economy has not been recovering as expected. For those of you who didn't know, I spent the last 3 weeks in Italy touring and taking in the great food and culture. In speaking to locals and restaurant owners, the economy there is similar to Greece and, in Naples we had a long chat with an oceanfront restaurant owner who told us that the failing economy forced them to close the restaurant and lay off staff for several months earlier in the year. Most stores were advertising large sales and we noticed quite a dip in the Euro compared to a few years ago. So the moral of the story is that, things are not great now however, all around the globe, people are hopeful for a full economic recovery.