Vancouver Home sales register a strong finish to cap off 2024

Vancouver home sales register a strong finish to cap off 2024

Home sales registered on the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in Metro Vancouver rose over thirty per cent in December, compared to the previous year, signalling strengthening demand-side momentum to close out 2024.  The Greater Vancouver REALTORS® (GVR) reports that residential sales in the region totalled 26,561 in 2024, a 1.2 per cent increase from the 26,249…

Exciting New Mortgage Rules Effective December 15th
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Exciting New Mortgage Rules Effective December 15th

Exciting New Mortgage Rules Effective December 15th Exciting changes to mortgage rules are here! Here’s what you need to know: Key Updates 1. 30-Year Amortizations 2. Higher Price Cap 3. Newly Built Homes Focus • Homes must be owner-occupied and not previously used for residential purposes. What This Means for You

Vancouver Home sales register a strong finish to cap off 2024
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Home buyer demand continues to strengthen in November

Home buyer demand continues to strengthen in November Home sales registered in the MLS® in the Metro Vancouver1 market rose 28 percent year-over-year in November, building on the momentum of the 30 percent year-over-year increase seen in October. Sales The Greater Vancouver REALTORS® (GVR)2 reports that residential sales in the region totalled 2,181 in November 2024, a…

How to Buy a House in Vancouver in 2024
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How to Buy a House in Vancouver in 2024

What You Should Know Before you start looking for a home, it’s important to understand the current real estate market in Vancouver. This gives you an idea of how much a home would cost and how much you would need to save up for. Based on current home prices in Vancouver as of October 2024, the average…

How to Buy a House in British Columbia 2024
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How to Buy a House in British Columbia 2024

Proposed Anti-Flipping Tax On April 7th, 2022, the federal budget plan proposed a new anti-flipping tax. The tax is imposed on people who own real estate for less than a year. You may lose your Principal Residence Exemption if you buy a primary residence and move for non-exempt reasons. Additionally, if you sell an investment…

First Time Home Buyer Incentives in Canada 2024
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First Time Home Buyer Incentives in Canada 2024

There are four main incentive programs for first-time home buyers in Canada: Land transfer tax rebates, which rebate some or all of your land transfer tax. Some municipalities have down payment assistance programs (DPAPs) for first-time homebuyers. The Home Buyers’ Plan which allows you to withdraw up to $60,000 (since April 16, 2024) from your Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) without…

Buying a Foreclosure Home in Canada
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Buying a Foreclosure Home in Canada

If you are interested to have access to all Vancouver Foreclosures MLS® Listings, please click on the “VIP Insider Access” button. In the “Notes” box include the code “Foreclosures” or visit Vancouver Foreclosures and register What You Should Know Foreclosed homes are typically homes put on sale by lenders after the previous buyer defaults on their mortgage. Foreclosures are rare…

income-needed-to-purchase-a-home-in-canada-drops-in-major-cities
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Income needed to purchase a home in Canada drops in major cities

If your home ownership dreams have been put on hold, there may be hope on the horizon as Canada’s falling interest rates are impacting how much income is needed to purchase a property. But depending on where you live, it still requires a hefty paycheque to enter the market. According to a new report from Ratehub.ca, the income needed to afford a home has fallen in 12 of 13 cities across the country. This comes after the Bank of Canada (BoC) announced a massive interest rate cut in October. The BoC dropped the rate by 50 basis points, bringing it from 4.25% to 3.75%, which many referred to as a “jumbo-sized” drop. This was the fourth announcement of 2024, and such a low rate hasn’t been seen since December 2022. According to Ratehub.ca’s Penelope Graham, “affordability conditions have been improving since June, when the Bank of Canada first started cutting its benchmark interest rate, easing mortgage costs and the pricing of other borrowing products.” RateHub Vancouver and Toronto, Canada’s most expensive cities, saw the most significant drops in the income needed to purchase a home between September and October 2024. “While both of these cities saw a robust increase in sales activity in October, they remain well supplied, which has helped keep a lid on price growth,” notes the report. Still, prospective buyers in these cities need to take home significant paycheques to get into the housing market. The income required to purchase the average home in Vancouver now stands at $214,000 annually. In Toronto, it’s slightly lower at $195,420. Moreover, Canada’s smaller cities haven’t experienced the softer prices of their larger counterparts. A drop in supply and an increase in buyer activity have resulted in prices going up, as six out of 13 markets across the country saw month-over-month price hikes. Fredericton was the only market where affordability deteriorated between September and October as home prices increased by $16,100, meaning buyers would need $1,890 more income to purchase an average property. Ratehub.ca provided an optimistic outlook for prospective buyers over the next few months as mortgage rates are expected to drop further. The overnight lending rate is predicted to drop by another 25 basis points, bringing the benchmark interest rate to 3.5%. Rates are expected to drop further in 2025. However, lower rates will likely lead to an uptick in prices as more buyers could enter the market. “The national average home price is expected to end the year largely flat at $683,200 – just a 0.9% increase – before rising 4.4% next year to $713,375,” concluded Ratehub.ca.

Minimum qualifying rate for uninsured mortgages

Minimum qualifying rate for uninsured mortgages

Current rate:The greater of the mortgage contract rate plus 2% or 5.25%. The minimum qualifying rate (MQR) for uninsured mortgages is a mortgage stress test applied by lenders to borrowers. OSFI obliges federally-regulated lenders to apply this stress test to their borrowers. This helps lenders prepare borrowers so they can continue to make mortgage payments…