HST

Resale homes

Similar to the GST, the HST will only apply to the sale of new or substantially renovated homes. Substantially renovated homes are homes with additions or major renovations completed on at least 90% of the property.

New homes

In general, buyers of new homes priced at up to $525,000 will be eligible for a new rebate of 71.43% on the provincial portion (7% of the HST’s 12%) of the HST paid. Purchasers of new homes priced at $525,000 or above will be eligible for a flat rebate of $26,250. These rebates are in addition to the new housing rebates already available under the GST, however unlike the GST rebates, the new provincial HST rebate will not be eliminated for higher priced homes.

CMHC Changes

Qualifying Interest Rate:
1) all borrowers (high ratio, less than 20% down), if taking a variable mortgage or a fixed term under 5 years, must qualify on the contract interest rate, or the "benchmark rate" set by Bank of Canada. ( We don't know what the benchmark rate will be yet but we expect it to be close to a 5 year posted rate)
2) all borrowers (high ratio) taking a 5 year fixed term or higher will qualify on the contract interest rate.

Self- Employed:
1) purchases for self empl under "stated income" program ltv is reduced to 90% from 95%
2) refinances for self empl under "stated income" program ltv is reduced to 85% from 90%
3) anyone self empl in same business for 3 or more years will not be eligible for "stated income" program and will have to provide proof of income to support what they earn.


Courtesy
Joanne Vickery
Dominion Lending Centres

Changes to Mortgage rules- rule #2 and #3

Rule #2 All borrowers will have to meet qualification standards for a five-year fixed-rate mortgage even if they choose a mortgage with a lower interest rate and shorter term (such as one- or three-year terms).Current standards for mortgage qualifying are typically based on a lender’s three-year fixed rate (if you’re opting for a variable rate, home equity line of credit, or one-, two- or three-year fixed-rate product, which typically carry a lower interest rate). This qualifying standard has, in the past, been sufficient to protect consumers from rates increasing over the term (at least on paper). Essentially, the government is forcing people to prepare for a likely rate hike over the next five years. Considering the average difference between discounted three- and five-year fixed rates is only between 0.30% and 0.49%, this should truly not have a drastic impact on the average mortgage applicant – if, in fact, the new rules intend to have mortgage applicants qualify based upon discounted rates. It is still unclear if the upcoming alterations are meant to have Canadians approved based upon “posted” five-year rates, which would mean a difference of over 2%!
Rule #3
The maximum amount Canadians can withdraw when refinancing their mortgages will be reduced from 95% to 90% of the value of their homes.This final change will likely have the most impact on those Canadians who have a current government-backed insured mortgage and would like to take advantage of the equity in their home to do some debt consolidation in the future. In recent times, with rates at historical lows, it’s been advantageous for consumers to roll their unsecured debt into their mortgage to decrease monthly payments – so much so that the government has sought an end to this trend of high loan-to-value mortgages.This does not, however, stop consumers from overspending and taking on large amounts of credit card debt. In some cases, the ability to borrow the equity in one’s home to pay off debt has saved people from bankruptcy and kept them in their homes. Hopefully this change doesn’t backfire on the government’s intentions.

Only time will tell if the government’s measures to curb spiking house prices and encourage equity savings will be a positive change for Canadians.Prior to this announcement, there was wide-spread speculation that the government was going to change current mortgage policies to include a minimum 10% down payment, an increase from the current 5%, and a reduction in amortization from a maximum of 35 to 30 years. Luckily for first-time homebuyers in Canada, these rumours have not proven true. As always, if you have any questions about these new mortgage rules or real estate in general, I’m here to help!


Source: Joanne Vickery Dominion lending

Changes to Mortgage rules- rule #1

Minister Jim Flaherty announced three changes to the mortgage insurance rules, which will come into effect on April 19th, 2010.
The good news is that most mortgage consumers will not be significantly impacted by the three latest changes. The intentions of the new rules are to curb speculation housing and encourage homeowners to use their homes as a savings tool, rather than borrowing home equity to pay down loans and credit cards.
Rule #1
Minimum down payment requirements for non-owner-occupied homes will increase to 20% from 5%, and the way that rental income is considered has been scaled back as well. This rule will have the most dramatic impact of all three changes, but only on real estate investors. Being required to put more money down and being able to use less potential rental income for qualifying purposes will displace many new real estate investors (who currently only make up around 4% of all mortgage consumers in Canada).This change is intended to avoid any kind of future housing bubble in Canada by curbing speculation building. The recent economic downturn caused builders to stop building and many new homes sat vacant through the early stages of 2009. When rates started to drop and buyers began to gobble up property that had been on the market for some time, the supply/demand ratio started to lead to higher demand and higher prices.

STRONGER THAN EXPECTED FRASER VALLEY HOME SALES DURING OLYMPICS

March 2, (Surrey, BC) – Not even the most engaging Olympics in Canadian history could completely slow the appetite for house hunting, according to the most recent statistics from the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board. The Board’s Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) recorded 1,204 sales in February, an increase of 23 per cent over January’s sales and an increase of 77 per cent over the 682 sales during February of last year. Deanna Horn, president of the Board explains, “Although the phones were quieter and we did experience less traffic at open houses, we were surprisingly busy given how much everyone, including REALTORS® were enjoying the Games.“Buyers are aware of two key changes that could impact their purchasing ability. The new mortgage rules coming in April, plus the Harmonized Sales Tax in July, so the ‘Olympic effect’ we were expecting wasn’t as deep.”The Board’s MLS® received 2,879 new listings in February, an average of 144 per business day, providing buyers with 14 per cent more selection than they had the previous month. The number of active listings in February was 8,485, 12 per cent fewer than were available during February last year.
Horn adds that the combined strength of listings and sales currently is stabilizing Fraser Valley home prices. “Overall, we’ve seen modest price gains for the last three months. The benchmark price for all residential types combined increased less than one per cent from January to February.“When you have a healthy level of inventory, it puts less upward pressure on prices and creates a stable, balanced market.”
In February, the benchmark price for Fraser Valley detached homes was $508,136, an increase of 11.3 per cent from the February 2009 price of $456,683.The benchmark price of Fraser Valley townhouses in February was $324,708, a 9.8 per cent increase compared to $295,731 in February 2009. The benchmark price of apartments increased by 7.8 per cent year-over-year going from $228,091 in February 2009 to $245,879 in February 2010.

source fvreb

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Immaculate 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom rancher on 0.5 acres. Stunning southern view. Built by a very reputable contractor 'Charlie Skeleton'. Bright spacious kitchen and family room with backyard access. Gardeners paradise with outdoor shed and horseshoe pit. Garage includes interior workshop for the handyman. Alarm system in place. Listen to the Westminster Abby Bells and enjoy the beautiful view of the Fraser River here on Hatzic Beach.

Type: Residential, Style: rancher, Bedrooms: 3 ,Bathrooms: 2 "4 pce, 3 pce", Garage: Double Basement: Yes, Crawl, Size: 1,504 sq. ft., Lot Type: Rectangular, Lot Size: 20775 sq. ft. Year Built: 1991, Taxes: $3,497.00 (2009)

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