Bungalows are where the growth still remains. Check out the following ranking of Canada's current hottest markets: (Prices June 2006 compared to June 2007)
The increases in prices for a standard detached bungalow were 55.2 per cent in Edmonton, 29.2 in Calgary, 13.4 in Vancouver, 9.2 in Victoria, six in Ottawa, 5.7 in Toronto and 5.4 in Montreal.
55% 1yr. increase in Edmonton!!!
on the other hand, prices have dropped in the 1st quarter of 2007 in the GTA in Condo's, Condo Townhomes and Adult Complexes.
the average time on market has increased across the board, which tells me that people are greedy and asking too much... even builders are hanging onto old numbers.
I recently looked at a beautiful house on 2.5 acres on Damascus in Caledon East. It was listed in February for $689,000. (CMA average for the area- so it was priced correctly). It being the only house for sale in that high demand area presently made it difficult to predict what it would sell for. It selled last week for $597,000... almost $100,000 below asking... and it was on the market for over 9 months!
On the other hand, there is a waiting list of buyers with cash in hand to buy any bungalow that comes up for sale in that same area.
FOOTSNIFFER said:
P.S. Carlyle Dunbar in the investor's digest is pretty certain that the long-standing inverted yield curve is finally going to lead to a recession in the states, and then lower interest rates. I kind of agree with him...there's this nervousness in the air. It's like people don't really believe that the recent dip in the markets are over.
footsniffer,
Those are US predictions. Canada has more in common with Australia right now. It's not lower interest rates on the horizon for us. 10% mortgages are expected by 2011.
and it's happening already, again.
Canadian Press said:
Bank of Canada governor says C$ may be overinflated but hints at rate hike
OTTAWA (CP) - Bank of Canada governor David Dodge has taken the unusual step of weighing in on the surging Canadian dollar, suggesting that the loonie may be higher than economic factors warrant.
However, Dodge also said Wednesday he may have to raise interest rates in July to bring down inflation. Higher interest rates would tend to further increase the value of the currency.
One of the competitive lenders out there, PresChoice financial's mortgage rates for the past 6 years:
01/2002 3.75
06/2002 4.25
01/2003 4.50
06/2003 5.00
01/2004 4.25
06/2004 3.75
01/2005 4.25
06/2005 4.25
01/2006 5.25
06/2006 6.00
01/2007 6.00
06/2007 6.25
expected in July 07 - 6.75% - might climb higher. These are 2 year fixed rates, with PC Points Plus.
Looking at those figures, one can see that the sudden rise in Days On Market stats coincide with the jump from under 5% Fixed Rate Mortgages to Above 6% FRM's in less than 10 months.
going from 4.25 to 5.25 is an increase of around 20% on someone's mortgage renewal if they are in the first 4 years of a 25 year mortgage.
ie, an $1800/mth mortgage payment jumps to $2160/month + property taxes.
Also, the timing is perfect for explaining the reasoning behind why Banks are now
putting Mandatory holds on ABM deposits. Didn't you notice this? This is because people are putting in empty envelopes as deposits to cover there mortgage payments and avoid defaulting. This is fraud and becoming a huge problem. Especially in Brampton, Woodbridge and other new suburbs of the GTA, where families were given larger mortgages than their income can support.