Vancouver realtors enjoying three year demand high ….. why paying off the mortgage quicker may be bad for your golden years… and why real estate is taking to the skies…..
Demand at Three Year High in Vancouver
Good news from the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver yesterday, with a rise in sales of 14% year on year for May. This was a climb of 7.7% from April. Although these figures are short of the 10 year high for May, the sales to active listings ratio is at its highest since April 2011, at 20.4%. Prices have increased 4.3% year on year according to the Board’s MLS price index. Read the full story.
Calgary Commercial Real Estate Picks Up – Slowly
Last year wasn’t a good one for commercial real estate in Calgary; in fact it’s been called the worst year in the market’s history as levels of occupied space fell. This year so far, the news is better. Vacancy rates are around 8% which considering last year’s slump, means a good turnaround. There is however still something of a lack of demand, which may have been expected, given improving news on the economy and a general growth of confidence. Realtors believe that things are picking up, albeit slowly. Read the full story.
Don’t Ignore Missed Mortgage Payment
It can happen to anyone; you lose your job or your business takes a slump, you may not have readily available savings and, you miss a payment. When situations like this happen, we know we should do something to sort it out, but somehow we have a tendency to ignore the problem and hope it will go away. Of course, it won’t. A survey by LawPro shows that almost two thirds of Canadians don’t know how to deal with not being able to make a payment, even though there are options open to them. One thing’s for sure; lenders prefer you to talk to them sooner rather than later, and certainly don’t like being ignored. Read the full story.
Pay Down Mortgage or Save For Your Golden Years?
For nearly all of us, our home is our biggest single monthly expense, and almost certainly our most expensive possession. With constant talk of interest rate rises at some time in the near(ish) future it might seem logical to do what we can to pay down that loan to balance the effects of rate rises and to be mortgage free sooner. That may not be the best policy. While we are making those extra mortgage payments, we may be neglecting to save for our retirement. Of course you can gamble on using the equity in your home giving you retirement cash, but that locks you in to having to sell your home or borrow against it later on. Perhaps keeping to your mortgage payment schedule and saving for retirement too is the best option? Read the full story.
Realtors Take to the Sky
With property above $1 million set to break new records this year in Calgary, buyers at the luxury end will now have a new way to view their potential new homes. Sotherby’s International Realty Canada has launched a new service which will fly select clientele to Calgary by private jet, and take them to properties by helicopter. They say that in some cases they can get clients ‘from tarmac to property’ in minutes; a real selling point for busy multi-millionaires. The new service is part of the company’s expansion in the market. Read the full story.
