Author: Kirsten Mason

BC Home Sales Continue at Brisk Pace, BCREA

B.C. Real Estate News

Vancouver, BC – June 15, 2015. The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) reports that a total of 10,174 residential unit sales were recorded by the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in May, up 16.6 per cent from the same month last year. Total sales dollar volume was $6.4 billion, a 30.4 per cent increase in comparison to the previous year. The average MLS® residential price in the province rose to $632,182, an 11.8 per cent increase since last May.

“Home sales for the month were at an eight year high for the month of May,” said Cameron Muir, BCREA Chief Economist. “Strong consumer demand is pushing home sales up in most of the large urban areas of the province.”

MLS Residential Sales June 2015 BC“A dwindling inventory of homes for sale in the face of strong demand is putting upward pressure on home prices in many regions, with the single-detached market segment experiencing most of the gains. We haven’t experienced inventories this low since prior to the financial crisis,” added Muir.

Year-to-date, BC residential sales dollar volume increased 35.5 per cent to $25.5 billion, when compared with the same period in 2014. Residential unit sales climbed by 22.4 per cent to 40,265 units, while the average MLS® residential price rose 10.5 per cent to $631,941.

Kamloops Housing Market ‘Surged’ During First Part of 2015, Infotel

Kamloops Real Estate News

This article appeared in the Infotel (Kamloops InfoNews.ca) on June 2nd, 2015 and was written by Dana Reynolds.

KAMLOOPS – With more houses being built and home-buyers spending more the Kamloops housing market is off to a very good start in 2015.

According to Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation single-unit housing starts in Kamloops ‘surged’ in the first three months of 2015. The report from the corporation shows every category of housing start grew during the first quarter, with the exception of rental apartments. The first quarter of 2015 saw just one rental unit built, compared to 88 in 2014.

The corporation notes there is a provincial trend towards multi-family dwellings and the trend is seen in Kamloops as well, where the number of starts on semi-detached homes tripled. Single-family homes almost doubled as well though, growing to 33 in the first quarter of 2015 from 19 during the same period in 2014.

The number of completions during the first quarter were up 76 per cent as well, with 92 more homes finished in quarter one of 2015 than in 2014.

The price of newly built homes during this time period averaged about $490,000, a more than $40,000 increase from the first quarter housing prices in 2014. Of the 69 single family homes sold in the first quarter of 2015, 68 per cent came in under $500,000. There have also been more people who have purchased houses in the $500,000 and up range so far this year, with 22 homes falling within that price range in the first quarter of 2015, compared to just 13 during the same time period last year.

CMHC Mortgage Holders Spend 26% of Income on Housing Loan Defaults at Low 0.34%, Showing Strong Ability to Manage Debts

Mortgage Information, National Real Estate News

This article appeared on CBC.ca on the 29th of May 2015.

CMHC Canadian Mortgage and Housing CorporationCanadians are showing a strong ability to manage their debts even as housing prices rise, with arrears on CMHC mortgages at a low 0.34 per cent for the first quarter of this year, according to new figures from the federal housing agency.

That means there were 9,572  Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.-insured mortgages in arrears in the quarter, while it insures a total of 2.8 million mortgages. It had to pay just 588 claims.

The gross debt service ratio for Canadian homeowners – the percentage of housing costs to gross monthly income – sits at 26 per cent for the three months ended March 31.

That’s almost the same as in the first quarter of 2014, but up slightly from 25 per cent in 2013.

The ratios are highest in Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario, where housing prices have been rising rapidly. New homeowners in those provinces are also more likely to need a CMHC mortgage, which is necessary when buyers do not have a 20 per cent down payment.

However, a small proportion of CMHC-insured homeowners – 12.1 per cent – have a gross debt service ratio of more than 35 per cent, meaning more than a third of their monthly income goes to housing costs.

Another 21 per cent of CHMC-insured mortgage holders are juggling housing costs of 30 to 35 per cent of their gross income.

As housing costs rise, more than a quarter of the mortgages insured by CMHC are for over $400,000.

However, the average insured loan amount was $238,630.

In its annual report the federal agency predicts today’s low interest rates will continue to stimulate demand for housing.

It expects mortgage rates will not rise in Canada before the end of 2015.

The report comes after CEO Evan Siddall said CMHC’s share of the mortgage market had dropped from about 90 per cent of new mortgages to about half of new mortgages.

Ottawa had encouraged the agency to reduce exposure to mortgage defaults for the Canadian taxpayer, saying it wanted private insurers to take over the risk.

In its annual report, CMHC said it insured mortgages worth $543 billion in 2014, down 4.1 per cent from 2012, and below the legal limit of $600 billion.

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