First Time Home Buyers Driving Real Estate Market: Report
Posted by Chris Proctor on
According to a recent Re/Max report, first time home buyers across the country are driving the real estate market forward.
There are a few factors behind this trend. The first is the prospect that higher mortgage rates are just around the corner. In fact, most of the major banks have already hiked their standard five-year, fixed rates.
The second is the Government’s new mortgage rules, which reduce the maximum amortization period for government-insured mortgages from 35 years to 30 years. What’s very interesting here is that instead of preventing first time home owners from taking the plunge into the housing market, the new rules are simply compelling many people to change their expectations. They’re willing to bend a bit when it comes to location,…
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According to a report by the REALTORS ® Association of Edmonton, housing prices remained stable in April vs. March. And after a shaky 2010 and an even more volatile 2009, stability in the housing market seems like just what the doctor ordered if you ask me! 
While our Oilers may not be making the playoffs (again…sigh) and the Eskimos haven’t had a parade in more years than I’d care to remember, there’s one place where Edmonton is doing extraordinarily well – and that’s on the MoneySense “livability” list.
When buying a home in Edmonton, obviously you’ll be looking at key details like square footage, price and condition. However, just as important to your home buying decision is the neighbourhood.
At the beginning of a new
year, it’s always fun to play “what might happen in the 12 months ahead?” and
then see, in time, if you were right.
A valuable incentive that
home buyers can take advantage of is the Government’s Home Buyers’ Plan (HBP). In my experience, however, there is some confusion surrounding this
program, and so I’d like to take this opportunity to provide you with a clear,
simple overview.
In my experience helping numerous home buyers –
especially first timers – knowing the difference between a pre-qualified mortgage and pre-appoved mortgage is a VERY important. Unfortunately, there is a lot of confusion surrounding the two (probably because they "seem" to be the same thing if you just go by what they're called).Â
On
January 5th, I wrote about the Minister
of Finance’s concern over Canadians’ household mortgage debt, and how some
changes to borrowing rules were probably in the works. Those changes were
clarified and confirmed this morning.Â
I’ve
written
a few times about Edmonton (and Alberta’s) growing housing market, so this
latest news may seem as a shock – but really, it’s nothing to worry about and,
on the contrary, quite predictable.
