New Mortgage Rules Announced

New rules for Canadian mortgages were announced early this morning:

• Mortgage amortization periods are to be reduced from 35 years to a maximum of 30 years.
• When refinancing a mortgage, Canadians can now borrow a maximum of 85% of the value of their homes, this is reduced from 90%.
• The government will withdraw its insurance backing on lines of credit secured on homes (ex. HELOCs) 

Rules become effective March 18 2011.

As for the real estate market here in Calgary we may see a surge of buyers entering the market in hopes of purchasing a home before these changes are enforced. From speaking with my mortgage broker this morning our understanding is that all sales closing before March 18th will not be affected. Pre-approvals however will not be transferable to purchases made after March 18th.

For more information on how this will affect you as a seller or purchaser feel free to comment here or contact me at brittney.macmillan@creb.com

Ciao for now!

The Importance of Pricing Right

Happy New Year everyone! I took a little blogging break over the holidays and hope you all had as great of a time with those closest to you as I did.
This week's blog topic is all about the importance of pricing your home properly. When a new property initially enters the market a surge of interest occurs. We want to maximize this interest!
-the average buyer looks at 10 properties, the goals is for yours to perceive the greatest value
-properties have a greater exposure the first few weeks on the market, make sure you're priced correctly during this time
-price reductions don't reflect well on the home

-the price you set should reflect your selling goals ex. are you in a time constraint?

-competitive pricing can result in a quicker sale and more money in your pocket

-many buyers have subscribed to auto-notifications, this mean that if your home meets their criteria they are informed of your property entering the market immediately

Many people have the mind set that we should "test the waters" and then we can lower the price later if we need to however this can be extremely detrimental to the sale of your home.

I hope you found this posting helpful! Ciao for now!