Get your RRSP deduction & use it for down payment !! A legal loophole.
If you know you are buying your first home in the next 90 days, you can make a $25,000 RRSP contribution or $50,000 for two people. That means a big refund in April. You then withdraw the $25,000 or $50,000 to pay for that initial home’s down payment.
SUMMER = when interest rates are going to rise!!!
Hot off of the press – below the Bank of Canada expects mortgage rates to rise in the summer of 2014 !!!
Warren buffet said everyone knows what is going to happen – [rates rising] – but no one knows when. Now we know, or at least we think we know. The article does a good job explaining that when the market rises, bonds have to pay more to get people to buy them and this increases the bond rates. Surprise, higher bond rates = higher mortgage rates.
Proof the Banks do not Love you – Big Bank (TD) does 25% car loan
On a daily basis people call me to talk mortgages and think that the big Canadian Bank loves them. It does not!
Only in Canada do we feel great if they rip us off – just give me the security blanket of a big bank – and I’ll gladly pay more of my hard-earned, post-tax dollars!
Calgary homes summary for 2013 and higher prices for 2014
Below is part of an article that notes all the in-bound migration supporting home prices …
Mark Herman
Calgary sales powered by economy
In Calgary, 16,302 single family homes changed hands, an eight per cent increase, and 4,007 condos were sold, a 14 per cent rise.
The benchmark price for a single-family home was $472,200 in December, an 8.6 per cent increase from the previous year.
Property Tax assessments – add 6% to average home value
Your Calgary property tax assessment is probably going to go up by 6%.
Mark Herman
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City assessment finds values of residential properties in Calgary up 6% between 2013 and 2014
By Jenna McMurray ,Calgary Sun
First posted: Friday, January 03, 2014 07:59 PM MST | Updated: Friday, January 03, 2014 08:08 PM MST
Property values for both single family homes and condos are up in Calgary, according to the city’s assessment findings.
What does Calgary housing have left for price increases in 2014?
This is part of Garry Marr’s article where he looks at what prices may do in 2014.
Mark Herman
Investors in Toronto continue to bet on price appreciation in the face of negative cash flow, leaving them vulnerable to a market shift.
Glut of job vacancies in Alberta; 52,800 vacancies – supports home prices
This is more great news and more data on why people will continue to move to Alberta and need places to live thereby supporting home prices.
Mark Herman
Job vacancies in Alberta outstrip available labour
Province led the nation in employment opportunities in September
CBC News Posted: Dec 30, 2013 5:50 AM MT Last Updated: Dec 30, 2013 5:50 AM MT
Alberta employers have more job openings than there are job seekers to fill them.Alberta continued to be the best place in the country for job-seekers in the fall of 2013.
Businesses in the province reported 52,800 vacant jobs in the month of September. Statistics Canada says that is fewer than the previous year, but still the highest number in the country.
Renewing your mortgage early? It may cost you
We get this question all the time – should I renew early. Do early mortgage renewals save or cost you money? Below Rob does a great job summarizing the situation.
ROBERT MCLISTER
Special to The Globe and Mail
Alberta still the fastest growing economy in Canada
Here is a bit about the post from last week where I noted that if Alberta were a country it would tie China for growth. No surprise Alberta hast he strongest economy in Canada. All this of course will support home prices while others move her for high quality jobs.
Mark Herman
Alberta Mortgage Broker
Alberta economy fastest growing in Canada
Forecast 3.4% annual growth in 2014
By Mario Toneguzzi, Calgary Herald December 9, 2013 3:00 PM Alberta’s economy will outperform all other provinces in 2014CALGARY – Alberta has been the largest contributor to economic growth in the country for three consecutive years, outpacing the much larger economies of Central Canada, says a new report released Monday by the Conference Board of Canada.
Prime says at 1%. Probably till 2015.
Don’t read this entire thing. It is a sample of the stuff we read to keep you up on what is happening in mortgage land. Summary: Prime is to stay the same till about 2015. That means variable rates are a good idea now that they are at Prime – .5%. Consumer Prime is 3% so that is then 2.5% for a mortgage.
Mark Herman, Calgary, Alberta Mortgage Broker.
Bank of Canada keeps key interest rate unchanged at one per cent
THE CANADIAN PRESS December 4, 2013The Bank of Canada is keeping its trendsetting overnight interest rate at one per cent.
OTTAWA — The Bank of Canada says it sees some encouraging signs in the Canadian and global economies, but warned inflation remains too low to justify moving off its view that the recovery remains fragile and in need of monetary stimulus.As expected, the bank on Wednesday once again decided to keep in place its key rate at one per cent, a level that has helped keep borrowing costs near historic lows for several years.But markets did not read the statement as neutral, apparently interpreting the bank’s caution that “downside risks to inflation appear to be greater” as a signal governor Stephen Poloz intends to keep interest rates low for an extended period — likely well into 2015 — and raising the possibility, although slim, of a rate cut next year.