Vancouver BC Real Estate
Vancouver is one of the most interesting, diverse, and beautiful cities in the world. It has consistently been ranked the most desirable and livable city by CNN.com and other magazines and websites.
Vancouver has a population of about 600,000, and is located in a region of 2 million people, making it the largest city in the province and the third largest in Canada. Famous for being one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world, more than 50% of the residents have a first language other than English. Whole sections of Vancouver have been appointed as "Little India" and "Little Italy", and Vancouver's China Town is second largest in North America.
Vancouver Real Estate Articles and Market News
Rates Lowered Unannounced
RBC, without a press release, lowered their posted rates today by 0.10% across the board. This is the second time in under 2 weeks that mortgage rates have been lowered. Based on current bond yields, we can anticipate futher rate decreases in the near future. No other lenders have followed RBC’s lead thus far but we can expect them to match in the coming days. Wayne Mah, AMP / Senior Mortgage Planner / mah.w@mortgagecentre.com / 604.880.1899 Read More →
Beware Of The B.C. Property Tax Deferral Program
This week all B.C. homeowners started receiving their annual property tax bills and inside there is information about the new option to defer the payment of them if you meet certain criteria. I previously wrote about this under 2010 BC Budget Homeowner Changes. So if you qualify, why not take advantage of this? Most certainly if you had to, this is a good new option in what are still hard economic times for many B.C. families. However, I do want to caution you and ensure you take a few things into... [Read more]
How To Finance A Former Grow-Op Property
Living here in beautiful British Columbia has some definite perks. The mild climate, gorgeous scenary, and for those that like to partake…B.C. bud. Now I am not getting into the debate over pot use but wanted to detail the steps required to purchase a property that was a former grow-op. In B.C. there seems to be a huge number of homes that are used for the illegal cultivation of marijuana. Once these places are shut down by the authorities or are known to have contained a former grow-op, selling... [Read more]
So It Begins…Bank of Canada Raises Bank Rate Today
The Bank of Canada raised the Bank Rate by 0.25% today. It is now at 0.50%. This is the first increase by the central bank since July 2007. With this rise I expect all major lending institutions to rate their Prime Rates by an equivalent amount – from 2.25% to 2.50%. This means that if you are in a variable rate mortgage or have a line of credit, you will be paying more. This is most likely a start of a series of rate increases by the Canadian central bank over the foreseeable future as the... [Read more]
Looming HST…what it means for you
It’s coming, whether we like it or not. Starting July 1st, 2010, the HST (Harmonized Sales Tax) will take place, and services and goods which we used to pay only 5% GST on will now be subject to a 12% HST. So what does this mean? Which goods and services are we talking about? Any exemptions? Rebates? If you’re a buyer who will likely be making a purchase after July 1st, read up, it’ll do you well to be informed. The Rebate At this point those of us who have been paying attention... [Read more]
UPDATE: Strata Duplexes Now Okay
CMHC has just announced that they will now be insuring mortgages on “non-conforming stratas” again. This reverses an earlier decision (see previous post). A requirement is that title insurance must be taken out. This is super news for both buyers and sellers. Now buyers can go as low as 5% down again! No updates from the other two insurers as of yet. Wayne Mah, Senior Mortgage Planner, The Mortgage Centre 604.880.1899 / mah.w@mortgagecentre.com Read More →
