(Surrey, BC) – Sales processed on the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board’s Multiple Listing Service (MLS®) increased by 23 % in one month going from 1,477 sales in May to 1,815 in June. June’s numbers represent an 8 % decrease compared to the 1,982 sales during the same month last year.
“Historically, it’s not unusual for June sales to outperform May in the Fraser Valley. This has happened in nine of the last twenty years. However, a 23% increase in one month is significant. We were busier than expected and it could be due to the combined effect of mortgage rates edging down, the Harmonized Sales Tax coming into effect July 1, as well as the tremendous selection of homes available in the Fraser Valley.
Although we’re seeing a decrease in the number of new properties coming on stream, June buyers have only had this volume of homes to choose from two other times in our history, in 1995 and 2008.”
The total active inventory on Fraser Valley’s MLS® at month’s end was 11,110, 19% more than was available in June 2009. The Board’s MLS® received 9% fewer new listings in June compared to May. Listings typically do decrease in the summer, which will continue to stabilize the market. Over the last few months, we’ve seen residential benchmark prices leveling. Year-over-year, price increases may still appear dramatic depending on the property type and location because at this time last year, we hadn’t yet begun our recovery phase. In a stabilizing market, consumers know to rely on the expertise of a REALTOR® because prices are highly local and competitive.
In June, the benchmark price for Fraser Valley detached homes was $518,355, a 9.9 % increase compared to $471,788 in June 2009. The benchmark price of Fraser Valley townhouses in June was $328,080, a 9% increase compared to $301,103 in June 2009. The benchmark price of apartments increased by 6.6 per % year-over-year going from $231,014 in June 2009 to $246,351 in June 2010.
(Surrey, BC) – Property buyers continued to see an increase in selection while sellers faced more competition as listings grew and sales decreased on Fraser Valley’s Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in May.
The Fraser Valley Real Estate Board posted 1,477 sales in May, a decrease of 2 % compared to the 1,501 sales processed on the MLS® during May 2009. At the same time, the Board received 3,457 new listings, taking the number of active listings to 11,411, an increase of 14 % compared to the 10,047 listings available during May of last year.
“May’s sales were 16 % below our ten-year average, 1,760 sales for that month. Considering how busy the market has been in the last decade that represents solid sales activity, slower yes, but steady.
“What’s changed most is the increase in inventory. The last time this many homes were available on Fraser Valley’s MLS® in May was in 1995. Tremendous selection allows buyers the luxury to find the right home, comparison shop and gives their REALTORS® the ability to negotiate hard on their behalf.”
“For sellers, getting specific advice about home values in your local neighbourhood is crucial in a competitive market.”
In May, the benchmark price for Fraser Valley detached homes was $515,375, a 10.6 % increase compared to $465,939 in May 2009. The average number of days to sell a detached home in May was 43 days, one day faster than it was in May of last year.
The benchmark price of Fraser Valley townhouses in May was $328,295, a 10.1 % increase compared to $298,308 in May 2009. Townhomes in May sold on average 27 days faster than they did a year ago – 39 days compared to 66 days in 2009.
The benchmark price of apartments increased by 8.6 % year-over-year going from $232,170 in May 2009 to $252,221 in May 2010. The average days to sell in May for apartments in the Fraser Valley was 51 compared to 69 days during the same month last year.
The Fraser Valley Real Estate Board’s Multiple Listing Service (MLS®) saw close to record levels of listings in April, in addition to strong sales and prices.
“his is a typical, healthy spring market for the Fraser Valley. We received an abundance of new listings in all price categories giving buyers tremendous opportunity, while sellers saw a typical detached home sell in an average of 40 days for 13% more than in April of last year.”
The Fraser Valley Real Estate Board received 3,760 new listings in April compared to 2,477 new listings received during the same month last year, an increase of 51.8%. The new inventory increased the number of active listings to the second highest April on record, reaching 10,635, with only April 1995, at 11,891, offering more selection.
Along with the surge in listings, April sales remained strong, similar to the same month in 2007 and 2008. This years April ending with 1,793 total units sold, an increase of 38.7% compared to the 1,293 sales sold in April of last year when the market was just beginning to recover.
“A number of factors are motivating buyers. Spring is one of the most popular times of year to house hunt, plus interest rates are edging up and buyers are inquiring about the upcoming Harmonized Sales Tax in BC.”
“The Fraser Valley will offer savings when the HST comes into effect because many new homes in our region fall under the new housing rebate threshold.”
Thanks to lobbying efforts by REALTORS® and other housing industry advocates, the threshold to receive the max. BC new housing rebate was increased to $525,000 from $400,000, the government’s original limit. Horn says, “It’s important for buyers to know that the majority of new town homes and apartments in the Fraser Valley cost less than $525,000, including some single family detached homes.”
In April, the benchmark price for Fraser Valley detached homes was $520,423 reflecting all residential sales on the MLS®, of which approx. 10% were new homes. Benchmark price is 13.1% higher than it was in April 2009, when it was $460,229.
The benchmark price of Fraser Valley townhouses in April was $326,367, a 10.6% increase compared to $295,078 in April 2009. The benchmark price of apartments increased by 8.3% going from $230,337 in April 2009 to $249,453 in April2010.
With plenty of selection and relatively modest price increases, buyers are enjoying a healthy spring market in the Fraser Valley. The Board’s Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) recorded 1,565 sales in March, an increase of 30 % over February’s sales and an increase of 56 % over the 1,006 sales processed March of last year.
“March sales volumes can fluctuate as much as the weather, and this year’s reached the mid-point between the highs and lows seen over the last decade.”
“However, available listings were near the peak, meaning buyers had lots to choose from and were clearly taking advantage of it.”
There were 3,395 new listings entered onto the MLS® in March, slightly higher than in March 2009, when 3,028 new listings were added. Altogether, there were 9,828 active listings on the MLS® at the end of March, on par with the 9,832 active listings one year ago.
The ratio of sales compared to active listings, which indicates the type of market, reached 16 % in March, representing a buyer’s market. This is up from last year’s 10 % but a far cry from the 25 % ratio in March 2007, when the Fraser Valley was in a seller’s market.
“Prices are closing in on the record highs we last saw in spring 2008, so it’s no surprise to see the increase in listings as sellers position themselves to move up or downsize into a smaller residence using their home equity for their purchase.”
In March, the benchmark price for Fraser Valley detached homes was $514,787, an increase of 11.9 % from the March 2009 price of $459,841. The benchmark price of Fraser Valley townhouses in March was $326,307, a 10.3 % increase compared to $295,809 in March 2009. The benchmark price of apartments increased by 8.6 % year-over-year going from $227,188 in March 2009 to $246,673 in March 2010.
I know there is a great amount of confusion going on about the new mortgage insurance guidelines coming into place, so here is a brief explanation for you, and if you have any work associates or clients that need this information, please feel free to forward it on.
BANK OF CANADA CHANGES
Qualifying Rate – For new applications received on or after April 19th, the qualifying rate will be changed for all Variable rate terms, as well as 1-4 year fixed rate terms. The new qualifying rate for those terms will be the chartered bank’s 5 year posted rate. 5 year fixed rate terms or longer fixed rate terms will be qualified at the actual contract rate given to the client (which is the lender’s discounted rate).
Self Employed Stated Income–
- Income qualifying – CMHC feels that clients who have been self employed for more than 3 years should be able to produce adequate tax returns and financials to fully income qualify using the income declared to CRA (line 150). Therefore, effective on all new applications received on or after April 9th, CMHC will only be accepting stated income applications for clients that are LESS than 3 years business for self. This is because these clients don’t typically have 2 full years completed tax returns yet, so they aren’t able to fully income qualify with a 2 year average. If they are less than 2 years BFS, the client will need to have had employment in the exact same line of work previously.
- Self employed borrowers,without traditional income verification, must put 10% down payment on purchases, the maximum loan to value (LTV) is 90% on a purchase or when porting a mortgage, previously 95% LTV.
- And refinancing maximum is 85% LTV, previously 90% LTV.
CMHC ONLY CHANGES into affect April 9, 2010. (Genworth and AIG have yet to jump on board this change)
An 80% rental offset is no longer allowed in the TDS calculation (used to help borrowers qualify) if the subject property is generating rental income. 50% of the gross rental income can form part of the borrowers gross annual income, this works out to be MUCH less than the previous 80% offset used by CMHC.
Rental income from other properties can be used, but must be verified with T1 Generals and NOAs. You can only gross up the net rental income by 15%.
**For further details please see the two attachments straight from CMHC on the new guidelines set out by the Bank of Canada**
If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to respond to this email and I’ll do my best to clear up any further confusions.
I have received a number of Panic Calls from clients with regard to Flaherty’s announcement this morning—DO NOT PANIC. There was nothing new in the announcement–most of what he had to say–so called new rules ,are rules the mortgage industry as been working with for more than a year.
The only totally new item was in the area of refinances–where its official you cannot take out more than 90% of the equityin your house. Even this is really not new , as is has been very difficult for more than a year to take out more than 90% of the equity, unless you were an extremely strong applicant.
With regard to the purchase of investment and rentals–here again the rule the industry has lived by for the last year or more is 20-25% down.
So theres nothing really new in any of this–simply acknowledging the rules all ready in place.
This morning, Federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty announced prudent changes to mortgage insurance rules intended to come into force on April 19, 2010. CAAMP and it’s members was actively engaged in the discussions around these changes which are as follows:
1. All borrowers must meet the standards for a five-year fixed rate mortgage even if they choose a mortgage with a lower interest rate and shorter term;
2. The maximum amount one can withdraw in refinancing their mortgage will be reduced to 90% from the current 95% of the value of one’s home;
3. Non-owner occupied properties will require a minimum down payment of 20%.
There were no changes to down payment requirements or length of amortizations for owner-occupied residences.
We will continue to monitor developments including transition rules and update you accordingly
The Fraser Valley experienced a return to typical home sale levels plus an early surge in new listings in January, according to the latest figures from the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board. “Compared to last January, the market has returned to balance. Consumers continue to take advantage of the affordability created by lower interest rates.”
There were 981 sales processed on FVREB’s Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in January, an increase of 152 % compared to the same month last year when 389 sales were processed. There was also a 46.8 % increase in new listings, 2,941 compared to 2,003 during January last year.
On a month-to-month basis, sales decreased 22 % in January compared to December, while new inventory more than doubled, going from 1,453 new listings in December to 2,941 in January. This increased overall inventory by 14 % in one month.
“If I were house-hunting right now, I’d be pretty excited. There is more selection and potentially less competition over the next few weeks. Some buyers will put their house-hunting on hold during the Olympics creating an advantage for those who don’t want to wait.”
While residential benchmark prices, as determined by the MLSLink Housing Price Index (HPI), continued to recover, they remain 3 % lower than in spring 2008. The price in January for the three main residential property types combined was $446,671 compared to $460,682 in May 2008.
In one year, the benchmark price for detached homes in the Fraser Valley increased by 10.8 %going from $452,145 in January 2009 to $500,931 in January 2010. The benchmark price of Fraser Valley townhouses in January was $317,719, a 7.6 % increase compared to $295,339 in January 2009. The benchmark price of apartments increased by 10.4 % year-over-year going from $220,595 in January 2009 to $243,470 in January 2010.
• This week’s spate of U.S. economic news told the tale of a tepid U.S. recovery, still-benign inflation pressures and a Fed that is poised to stand pat for some time to come.
• U.S. retailers suffered an unexpected drop in sales in December of -0.3% and -0.2% excluding autos. Q4 results still point to a recovery in retail spending, but a relatively shallow one in light of the precipitous slump in sales during the recession.
• U.S. CPI headline and core inflation rose by a modest 0.1% M/M in December and the 12-month trend in core prices was stable at 1.8%.
• Bolstered by this week’s reports, the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield fell to a one-month low. What is good for bonds is often bad for the USD, which continued to shed ground against a number of major currencies.
• In Canada, housing developments moved to centre stage again, with evidence that new homebuilding activity continued to gear up and resale activity stayed strong in December.
• Remarks by a Bank of Canada Deputy Governor this week reinforced the view that regulatory changes, not rate hikes, would be used to address an overheated housing market if future conditions warrant.
• The Canadian trade balance worsened unexpectedly in November, moving back into deficit territory on the back of a 3.9% M/M surge in imports.
Summary:
This would indicate to me that we could see extended amortizations scaled back further in which case, a 35 year could be reduced to a 30 year, and this of course would affect the mortgage amount that one could qualify for. Down payments could be affected, and/or sources of down payment, and variable rate mortgages may have restrictions to those with little down payment.
The report is also an indicator that we might not see rates go up as early or by as much as originally speculated. However, for anyone about to get into the market and buy, or about to refinance an existing mortgage, now couldn’t be a better time to secure your options and make plans.
In 12 months, we went from the worst January in 20 years to the third best December. A significant portion of the 148% increase in activity in December’s sales, 1,260 compared to 508 in December 2009, can be attributed to first-time home buyers confident with the current economic conditions and taking advantage of all-time low interest rates. An informal poll in December revealed 40% of home sales were by first-time buyers when it would normally be in the 25% range.
The trend overall for 2009 was one of increasing sales, decreasing inventory and prices rebounding. The Board’s MLS® processed 16,721 sales in 2009, compared to 13,194 the previous year, an increase of 26%. However, it received 15% fewer new listings during the same time period – 30,221 in 2009 compared to 35,651 in 2008. Over the year, the number of active listings for buyers to choose from dropped by 34% going from 9,960 properties in December 2008 to 6,534 in December 2009.
We’re seeing the combined effect of fewer homes being listed, which is normal for this time of year, a flurry of buying activity, plus a decrease in the number of new homes being built. This has put pressure on prices in the Fraser Valley, particularly on homes in the lower to mid-range markets.
The Housing Price Index (HPI) benchmark price for detached homes was $497,732 in December compared to $464,189 in December 2008, an increase of 7.2%. Although prices have gradually recovered, they have not yet reached the previous benchmark high of $513,798 in May 2008.
The benchmark price of Fraser Valley townhouses in December 2009 was $318,174, a 7.4% increase compared to $296,296 in December 2008. That price also last peaked at $335,991 in May 2008.
The benchmark price of apartments decreased by 0.3 % year-over-year going from $237,786 in December 2008 to $237,157 in December 2009. It’s previous high was in April 2008, at $260,037.
(Surrey, BC) – Sales processed on the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board’s Multiple Listing Service (MLS®) increased by 23 % in one month going from 1,477 sales in May to 1,815 in June. June’s numbers represent an 8 % decrease compared to the 1,982 sales during the same month last year. 
(Surrey, BC) – Property buyers continued to see an increase in selection while sellers faced more competition as listings grew and sales decreased on Fraser Valley’s Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in May.
With plenty of selection and relatively modest price increases, buyers are enjoying a healthy spring market in the Fraser Valley. The Board’s Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) recorded 1,565 sales in March, an increase of 30 % over February’s sales and an increase of 56 % over the 1,006 sales processed March of last year.
I know there is a great amount of confusion going on about the new mortgage insurance guidelines coming into place, so here is a brief explanation for you, and if you have any work associates or clients that need this information, please feel free to forward it on.
