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Finance Minister Jim Flaherty is tightening mortgage rules in order to crack down on speculators and discourage homeowners from taking on too much debt. This is the attempt made to responding on the growing concerns that Canada’s housing market is getting too hot, although he stresses that there is no such bubble in Canada’s real estate market yet. Flaherty says that all borrowers will need to meet stiffer criteria in order to get a mortgage. In order to qualify for an insured mortgage, borrowers would have to meet standards for a fire year old fixed rate mortgage, which is up from the current standard of the three years fixed rate mortgage. Flaherty also noted that he will be increasing the down payment that borrowers must pay for speculative investments. If prospective home buyers want to purchase a property in which they will not be living in themselves, then there will have to come up with around 20% down payment. Flaherty is not stopping here; he is imposing tighter restrictions on how much money people can borrow against their houses. The limit was 95% on how much you could borrow of the value of your property, however it will not be at 90%. These new rules are expected to come into effect as of April 19th. The Bank of Canada has been warning for moneys that homeowners should ensure that they can absorb an increase in their floating rate mortgages once rates begin to rise, which could be as early as summer of this year. Read more: http://banknerd.ca/2010/02/16/rules-getting-stricter-for-home-buyers/#ixzz0heU2NkN2
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1. Absolutely the most important thing and the very cheapest is CLEAN. Your house needs to be immaculate. Windows and the window frames. People look at windows and if they are not new windows they should be a least very clean windows with no evidence of mildew. If you cannot afford to replace old carpets, steam clean them. Yes they may replace them anyway, but they may not have the money to do it. Especially right away. No dishes in the kitchen sink. Bathrooms should be spotless with the toilet seats down for showings. Taps should be shiny. Beds all made, etc etc. 2. While you're cleaning, DECLUTTER. Get rid of the piles of stuff. If you truly want to move you need to deal with it anyway. Make piles that go to the dump, Sally Ann, and storage. It is worth renting a storage facility if you have that much stuff. Organize shelves and closets. Buyers don't want to see a cramped house. They want to picture their things there and if they see no space or if they see how you have cramped everything in, it will not appeal to them. Buyer's cannot imagine themselves there. 3. It is important to keep your house smelling good. Fresh flowers and air freshners really help a buyer feel good about the home. Do not cook fish or wild meat or curry. These SMELLS linger and really put someone off when they walk through the front door. Don't go overboard on air freshners though. There are buyers out there with allergies. 4. Next in line would be STAGE. Invest in selling your home. Buy a few nice things to make your house appeal to someone. A nice bedspread, new bathroom carpets, artwork, a nice throw etc. Spruce it up! You can take it all with you for your next home. Tell yourself you have to do this to sell your house if spending the money on these types of things both you. 5. PAINT. Go pick out some earth tones, not just plain beige or white. Go with some color! The local paint store can really help you with a color palette. Use their help and listen. This will brighten your home up and look better maintained because all of the paint chips that are on your wall now will be gone. It also makes the house appear alot cleaner. 6. If your house is really tired, FLOORING. Invest a few thousand dollars and do it. Again, go with earth tones and texture. You will get your money out of it. If you need flooring and don't do it, you can guarantee the buyer is going to try to get you down lower on your price to compensate for it, even if you have already lowered the price. 7. Does your KITCHEN need a face lift. Countertops are very reasonably priced and can do the job. Change the hardware on your kitchen cabinets also helps. 8. Does your BATHROOM also need a face lift. Counterops again will help so much. Bathroom fixtures. A new taps and shower head. 9. LIGHTING in your home is huge. New lighting does wonders for the look of your home at little expense. Brushed nickel lighting fixtures is best or black. 10. When your house has a SCHEDULED SHOWING, leave all the lights on, all of the window coverings open, fresh flowers or air freshners, completing neat and tidy, toilet seats down, keep the house warm on winter days and cool on summers days. Make your house available to show. Be very accomidating, the more people who come through your home the better chance it has to sell!!! Good luck.
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I have buyers who can't find anything to buy. There are fewer Cranbrook houses for sale at the moment, so there is not alot to choose from. Especially in the $130,000 to $275,000 zone. Lots of first time homebuyers being smart and getting in while these prices are down and the interest rates are at their best. I have buyers looking in the Jaffrey/Wardner/Elko area for acreage up to $375,000. If you have a home that may suit this criteria, please call me at 250-421-4415 or e-mail me at carla@ekrealty.com.
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When you listen to the news the prediction is the real estate prices will go up. It is hard to say for sure. If we positively knew what the real estate market was going to do we would have all made alot of money in real estate by now. The Cranbrook real estate listing inventory is down. It is that time of year, but it also shows us that the existing inventory is being bought up. It comes down to supply and demand. If there is alot of demand and not alot of supply the prices will go up. We are told that interest rates are to be held until June 2010. There should be alot of buyers prior to June 2010 getting in on the amazing interest rates while the prices are down. Probably. That is if you can afford to do it. There is also another factor that will effect all of this, and that is employment. If you don't have a job, you will not be buying. Wait on the sidelines and see what happens...being cautious is a reasonable, but beware, it could bounce back very quick.
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For most of us, this is our plan. Start off small. Usually that is all you can afford anyway! With interest rates being so low (the lowest we have seen ever!!!!) it is much easier to get into the market at this time. Your mortgage payment is going to be quite a bit lower than it would have been 2 years ago. The Cranbrook Real Estate prices have also come down. There has been a 8 to 10% decrease in property prices. If you have to start out in a Cranbrook condo, townhouse, duplex, that is where you start. You are building your equity by paying your mortgage. The Cranbrook Real Estate market will rebound again and you make good money on your first real estate investment. Take care of it. Clean it. Maintain it. When you are ready. Call a REALTOR, get a Market Evaluation. A REALTOR can let you know what your expenses are and how much money you can expect to get for your home. You sell it and buy another home that is a bit better. Keep doing this again and again. You will reach your goal. You may be out of your comfort zone at some point in this process, but if you never do this, you will never own your own home you dream of.
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Why? They are an excellent way to make money in the Cranbrook real estate market with a smaller cash investment. You also do not have to worry about maitenance. When spending the same amount of money on a house in Cranbrook, you are looking at a house that will definitely have maitenance to be done and at a higher cost. You do have to pay a strata fee with a condo or townhouse, but your maitenance is taken care of and so you will know what your monthly expenses are as opposed to owning an older home that you will not know what kind of expenses may be lurking around the corner. Most of the condos and townhouses in Cranbrook are also very close to the College, Hospital and ameneties. Students and retirees prefer these areas. Easy to rent. The rental vacancy is very low in Cranbrook and you can obtain a good rent now. Your rent pays for your expenses ie. mortgage payment, property taxes and strata fees. You sit on it until the market goes up or you have paid down your mortgage and you sell it and wola! You've made money with little hassle.
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Generally every year the Cranbrook real estate listing inventory starts to decline. Most Sellers don't feel it is worth having their house listed during the winter because they feel there won't be any buyers. It is the opposite actually. There are alot of buyers who need to move during the winter months and when you have your house listed during this time, there is less competition because of the listing shortage. In the Spring, our inventory boosts and our buyers increase only slightly, but your competition is much higher since their are so many more choices. So if you want to sell and you don't mind moving during the winter months. Keep it on. Your chances are much higher of getting a sale and also a better chance of getting your price.
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The Bank of Canada held its benchmark overnight lending rate steady at 0.25 per cent at its setting on October 20th, 2009. The trend-setting Bank rate, which is set 0.25 percentage points above the overnight lending rate, remains at 0.5 per cent. The Bank acknowledged that recent indicators point to the start of a global recovery, and that economic and financial developments have turned more favourable than it had previously expected. While recognizing that the Canadian economy is rebounding, it expects the recovery to be weak by historical standards. The Bank downgraded its forecast for Canadian economic growth this year, while keeping its forecast unchanged for 2010. It also lowered its forecast for economic growth in 2011. In its September announcement to hold interest rates steady, the Bank forecast that inflation would return to its two per cent target in the second quarter of 2011. The Bank has now moved that date out to the third quarter of 2011. The Bank’s commitment to keep interest rates on hold until the second half of next year is conditional on the outlook for inflation. Since inflation is not expected to pick up sooner than it previously expected, the Bank repeated its commitment to keep interest rates on hold. “Conditional on the outlook for inflation, the target overnight rate can be expected to remain at its current level until the end of the second quarter of 2010 in order to achieve the inflation target.” The Bank pointed to the rapid rise in the Canadian dollar in recent weeks as a risk to the Canadian economic recovery, saying “Heightened volatility and persistent strength in the Canadian dollar are working to slow growth and subdue inflation pressures.” The Bank now expects that the domestic economy will be a greater source for economic growth, at the expense of weaker net exports. The Bank expects the output gap to close in the third quarter of 2011, one quarter later than it had projected in July when it said production would reach capacity in mid-2011. “The Bank threw cold water on recent speculation that it may raise interest sooner rather than later,” said CREA Chief Economist Gregory Klump. “By highlighting the recent rapid rise in the Canadian dollar while intentionally failing to mention the rebound in the Canadian housing market as sources for concern, the Bank aimed to end recent speculation that it will hike rates before its repeated pledge of not doing so until at least July 2010.” As of October 20th, the advertised five-year conventional mortgage rate stood at 5.84 per cent. This is down 1.36 per cent from one year earlier, but stands 0.35 per cent above where it stood when the Bank made its previous interest rate announcement on September 10th. Improving credit market conditions have enabled lenders to reintroduce discounts off posted mortgage interest rates. Discounts of up to a percentage point can be negotiated, depending on lender-client relationship. http://creastats.crea.ca/natl/interest_rate_trends.htm (CREA 10/20/2009)
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Keeping your Cranbrook home maintained is a worthwhile task. When it comes to selling your home this pays off in $$. It shows that you have looked after your home and there are not going to be any big issues coming up for the new buyer. Buyers notice the stickers on a furnace showing the annual services. They notice the new faucet in the bathroom. Keep receipts for all maintenance. You buy a new hot water tank. Save the receipt. Keep a household file and fill it up with receipts for the work you have had done to your home to keep it in good shape. When it comes time to upgrade or downsize to a new home, all you will need is a new coat of paint!
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When the Cranbrook real estate market goes down, it is your opportunity to make money. Pretty easy money and not just a little bit of money. You have to put in the time to look for a good investment property that will pay your expenses. Right now the rental vacancy rate is very low at 3%. Our property management department at East Kootenay Realty has a list of people waiting for rental properties. Interest rates will not get lower and they will not stay this low. It is very easy to make your real estate investment pay for itself. Then you sit back and wait. The market will be going back up. We have seen how far it can go up. Then you sell and pocket your money. All of the variables are there right now to make a great real estate investment. The first step is go and talk to your mortgage broker or banker. Creative financing using your existing home is how you manage this purchase. Get the information and then make a decision. Investing in real estate can help you get ahead in life. If you don't find out you will never know...and you then need to be satisfied with where you are financially and keep plugging away.
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When selling your home, cleaning and decluttering I would say would be the most important things to do. It is easy to lose a purchaser if the house is dirty. Realtors tell their clients to look past the mess, but its tough. It cannot smell terrible either. Smell will turn them right out the door. This also applies to clutter. If you have alot of knick knacks, furniture or just stuff you have collected over the years. Go through it, toss it or pack it up and store it. Sometimes it is worth getting a storage unit if you have no space. You don't want a potential purchaser to think that there is not enough room in your home. You are going to move anyway, so you might as well start going through things. Spend some time on this. It will be worth it! 
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We are still seeing sales reflecting the 2003 and 2004 slower market. Job loss is the one of the biggest influences in the real estate market and coming a short second would be consumer confidence. We don't know what will happen next. It seems that things are getting back on track and then you hear an annoucement that it is just a bit of Spring Fever. One day you hear Tembec is shutting everything down for the Summer then they receive a big chunk of money from the government for black liquor and they are up again and everyone is happy. Its hard to keep a positive outlook. IThe Vancouver real estate market and the Calgary real estate market have started to stabilize. We are always a short distance in time behind them. I do believe it is getting better. It is just going to be a bumpy road.
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Its tough. No doubt about it. You want to get the most money out of your real estate investment, but if you go to high, you end up getting less in the long run. Its hard to compare apples to oranges. Every house is quite different from the other. There are many variables that come into play. Condition of the home, has it been well maintained, recently painted, roof updated, furnace etc. Location is one of the biggest. Is it private, is it fenced. Close to good schools, parks, do the neighbors take care of their homes? Most people think they have a good idea what their house is worth. Most of us (me included) always think a little more, than it is usually worth. This is normal! Its human nature. The very most important variable is how much the comparible houses in your area have recently sold for. Not houses from 2008. It needs to be houses that have sold in the past 3 - 4 months. Not what they listed their house for. This is the biggest misconception most people make. They think the price the house is listed at is close to the price the homeowner usually gets. In this market today, that is the farthest from truth. Most houses for sale in past 8 months have been reduced and reduced. After that, they sell for another reduced price. These were homes that were listed at prices that were selling in 2007 and the first part of 2008. To get the most money for your home right now. Price it right. Very important to be bang on the money. Purchasers are buying, but they are also very informed purchasers. They know what kind of value they can get right now. Most Sellers are still making incredible money on their real estate investment. You also have to remember that you will be buying into the same market. Its all relative. Realtors are trained to sell houses, do market evaluations, handle difficult situations for you. Realtors have all of this information. Use it, and good luck!
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 Wish list for most buyers...large RecRoom for the kids to go, masterbedroom ensuite and a fenced backyard, preferably private. Its tough to find it all, but we can usually get very close.
Large RecRoom where the kids can go. Get them out from under your feet. Somewhere they can go with their friends and have the run of the room. Its great for you and great for them! Once you have had a masterbedroom ensuite, it is very hard to give it up, especially if you had your own shower. Most buyers moving up, want it. It is a very nice feature in a home, probably my #1. Pets. Alot of buyers have a dog. They need a fenced yard. If they have young children, they want to know they can send them to the backyard and they are safe. Freedom for both the parents and the kids.
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Some purchasers don't know this, but, we are a free service to them. The sellers pay us for finding a buyer for their property. Not 1 cent is paid by the purchaser. One realtor can show you every listing in town! It doesn't matter who it is listed with. They can even show you FSBO (for sale by owner) listings. Most FSBO will work with a REALTOR to achieve a buyer and your REALTOR will negotiate their pay cheque with them. This way you know you are paying market value for this property and that you will be legally protected when entering into a Contract of Purchase and Sale with a FSBO. REALTORS will be able to find you the properties that you want. REALTORS know your local market. If you are consistantly on the mls (multiple listing service) reviewing the listed properties, you can see what sellers are asking for their homes, but what you don't know is if they ever sold or if they did sell after how many reductions, how long did it take and how much did it actually sell for. REALTORS have access to all this information and use it when negotiating a purchase. REALTORS know what good value is. REALTORS see everything that is listed. When a property is first listed, it goes on a REALTOR caravan. This allows all REALTORS to go and look at them. REALTORS can set you up with financing, house inspectors, insurance agents, lawyers/notaries, everything you will require in your house purchase. Use us! This is what we do! Take advantage of this service! We don't bite, we don't force, we educate you. You are making one of the biggest purchases of your life, don't go into blindly. Good luck! Any questions or comments, please let me know. I want to hear them, bad or good.
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