We are proud to announce that this Oct 30th, 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM we will be hosting an Open House at 8328 207A St. in YORKSON CREEK in the Willoughby/Yorkson neighborhood, LANGLEY. This is an opportunity to visit this excellent Apartment for sale in beautiful Willoughby/Yorkson.

Please come with any questions you may have. In the meantime you can take a virtual tour of this Willoughby/Yorkson Apartment for sale.

As always please do not hesitate to give me a call at 604.307.4242 if I can answer any questions before the open house, or if you would like to book a private showing.

Tammy Evans, Personal Real Estate Corporation
Treeland

I just finished uploading this Apartment for sale, 103 8328 207a st, LANGLEY, B. C.

Bank of Canada maintains overnight rate target at 1/2 per cent

The Bank of Canada today announced that it is maintaining its target for the overnight rate at 1/2 per cent. The Bank Rate is correspondingly 3/4 per cent and the deposit rate is 1/4 per cent.

The global economy is expected to regain momentum in the second half of this year and through 2017 and 2018. After a weak first half, the US economy in particular is strengthening: solid consumption is being underpinned by strong employment growth and robust consumer confidence. However, because of elevated uncertainty, US business investment is on a lower track than expected.

Looking through the choppiness of recent data, the profile for growth in Canada is now lower than projected in July’s Monetary Policy Report (MPR). This is due in large part to slower near-term housing resale activity and a lower trajectory for exports. The federal government’s new measures to promote stability in Canada’s housing market are likely to restrain residential investment while dampening household vulnerabilities. Recent export data are improving but are not strong enough to make up for ground lost during the first half of 2016, despite the effects of the Canadian dollar’s past depreciation. Growth in exports over 2017 and 2018 are projected to be slower than previously forecast, due to lower estimates of global demand, a composition of US growth that appears less favourable to Canadian exports, and ongoing competitiveness challenges for Canadian firms.

After incorporating these weaker elements, Canada’s economy is still expected to grow at a rate above potential starting in the second half of 2016, supported by accommodative monetary and financial conditions and federal fiscal measures. As the economy continues to adjust to the oil price shock, investment in the energy sector appears to be bottoming out. Non-resource activity is growing solidly, particularly in the services sector. Household spending continues to rise, along with employment and incomes outside of energy-intensive regions. The Bank expects Canada’s real GDP to grow by 1.1 per cent in 2016 and about 2 per cent in both 2017 and 2018. This projection implies that the economy returns to full capacity around mid-2018, materially later than the Bank had anticipated in July.

Measures of core inflation remain close to 2 per cent as the effects of past exchange rate depreciation and excess capacity continue to offset each other. Total CPI inflation is tracking slightly below expectations because of temporary weakness in prices for gasoline, food, and telecommunications. The Bank expects total CPI inflation to be close to 2 per cent from early 2017 onwards, when these temporary factors will have dissipated, but downward pressure on inflation will continue while economic slack persists.

Given the downward revision to the growth profile and the later closing of the output gap, the Bank considers the risks around its updated inflation outlook to be roughly balanced, albeit in a context of heightened uncertainty. Meanwhile, the new housing measures should mitigate risks to the financial system over time. At present, the Bank’s Governing Council judges that the overall balance of risks is still in the zone for which the current stance of monetary policy is appropriate, and the target for the overnight rate remains at 1/2 per cent.

Provided by the Bank of Canada. For more details view their site here: http://www.bankofcanada.ca/2016/10/fad-press-release-2016-10-19/

We are proud to announce that this Oct 23rd, 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM we will be hosting an Open House at 8451 206 Street in the Yorkson neighborhood, Langley. This is an opportunity to visit this excellent House for sale in beautiful Yorkson.

Please come with any questions you may have. In the meantime you can take a virtual tour of this Yorkson House for sale.

As always please do not hesitate to give me a call at 604.307.4242 if I can answer any questions before the open house, or if you would like to book a private showing.

Tammy Evans, Personal Real Estate Corporation
Treeland

I just finished uploading this House for sale, 8451 206 st, Langley, B. C.

'EVERGREEN' in Yorkson - Barely 1 yr old executive home is a SHOWSTOPPER! Customized 2 storey Great Room plan w/full basement- over $50k spent on upgrades inc. extra-wide driveway, air conditioner, high-end furnace (low heating bills), quartz counters throughout, hardwood, upgraded carpets & underlay, built-in cabinetry, BI Vac, security, inground sprinklers. Vaulted living room, den on main. Gorgeous bright kitchen boasts quartz eating bar, under cab. lighting, gas range, winefridge, high-end fridge w/ice. Double French doors open from spacious eating area onto luxurious patio w/classy vaulted cover. Big bedrooms - Huge Master suite feat. vaulted ceiling, WI closet, ensuite w/free-standing soaker tub, separate shower, double sinks, heated floor. Basement has natural light & is Roughed-in for legal suite. Loft up flexes as office/library or frame in for 5th bedroom. West-facing fenced backyard w/shed. Kids walk to school- Ultra-convenient location, close to Park n' Ride, parks, arena, shopping. HomeWarranty.

Fraser Valley inventory reaches highest level in 2016 as sales settle for fall season

SURREY, BC – September housing sales in the Fraser Valley continued to slow throughout September, dropping below the ten-year sales average for the month for the first time this year.

The Fraser Valley Real Estate Board processed 1,305 sales of all property types on its Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in September, a decrease of 24.4 per cent compared to the 1,727 sales in September of last year, and a 23 per cent decrease compared to the 1,694 sales in August 2016.

“What we’re experiencing is an environment where the summer sizzle has ceased, and demand is producing numbers in-line with what we’ve seen historically. It seems dramatic, as would anything else that wasn’t the incredible, continuous uptick we’ve seen for the last eighteen months,” said Charles Wiebe, Board President.

Despite receiving the lowest amount of new listings for the region in seven months, the total active inventory for the Fraser Valley was 6,422 listings in September, the highest level since October 2015’s 6,535 active listings. Active inventory increased by 5.2 per cent month-over-month, but still decreased 9.8 per cent when compared to September 2015.

The Board received 2,709 new listings in September, a 4.6 per cent decrease from August 2016, and a 9.2 per cent increase compared to September 2015’s 2,481 new listings.

“The level of available inventory is rising as we had hoped, and homes are taking a bit longer to sell than they have throughout the year. It’s encouraging, and gives buyers a bit more room to navigate the market more comfortably,” explained Wiebe. “At 20 per cent, our sales to active listings ratio has moved towards a more normalized state.”

For the Fraser Valley region, the average number of days to sell a single family detached home in September 2016 was 27 days, compared to 17 days in June 2016.

“When comparing with August, benchmark prices in September have remained flat, signalling a shift in market dynamics towards a balanced market. However, when stacked against last year at this time, prices are up significantly.”

The MLS® HPI benchmark price of a Fraser Valley single family detached home in September was $879,200, an increase of 37.5 per cent compared to September 2015 when it was $639,500.

The benchmark price of Fraser Valley townhomes in September was set at $419,500, an increase of 35.8 per cent compared to September 2015’s benchmark price of $308,900. Similarly, the benchmark price for an apartment in the Fraser Valley increased 26.5 per cent year-over-year, from $226,133 in September 2015 to $249,800 in September of this year.

Stats provided by the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board. For a full package click here:
http://www.fvreb.bc.ca/statistics/Package201609.pdf

Backgrounder: Ensuring a Stable Housing Market for All Canadians

Protecting the long-term financial security of Canadians is a cornerstone of the Government of Canada’s efforts to help the middle class and those working hard to join it. Recognizing that for many families, their homes are their most important asset, the Government is taking preventative measures today to ensure a healthy, competitive and stable housing market for all Canadians.

Today’s actions recognize the effect that years of low interest rates and shifting attitudes towards debt and indebtedness have had on the housing market. While the overall Canadian housing market is sound, house prices have risen significantly in some markets, notably Toronto and Vancouver, and some borrowers are taking on high levels of debt. In these circumstances, it is important to ensure that these debt levels are sustainable, that lenders are acting prudently, and that financial stability risks do not arise in the event of increases in interest rates or a housing market downturn.

The Minister of Finance has been actively engaged on the housing file. One of the Government’s first steps since being elected nearly a year ago was to address pockets of risk in the housing market by raising the minimum down payment for homes priced above $500,000. Since then, Department of Finance Canada officials have been further studying the housing market, and have led a working group with municipalities and provinces, as well as federal agencies such as the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions and Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.

This in-depth analysis, informed by the productive dialogue with our partners, has informed today’s announcement of three complementary measures designed to reinforce the Canadian housing finance system, to help protect the long-term financial security of borrowers, and to improve tax fairness for Canadian homeowners. Analysis and cooperation are ongoing as the Government continues to carefully monitor the situation.

1. Bringing Consistency to Insured Mortgage Rules

“Mortgage rate stress test” for all insured borrowers:

To help ensure new homeowners can afford their mortgages even when interest rates begin to rise, mortgage insurance rules require in some cases that lenders “stress test” a borrower’s ability to make their mortgage payments at a higher interest rate. Currently, this requirement only applies to a subset of insured mortgages with variable interest rates or fixed interest rates with terms less than five years. Effective October 17, 2016, this requirement will apply to all insured mortgages, including fixed-rate mortgages with terms of five years and more. Homeowners with an existing insured mortgage or those renewing existing insured mortgages are not affected by this measure.

Safer lending:

There are currently different rules in place depending on what proportion of the value of the property is covered by a loan. For example, mortgage insurance criteria for a loan that represents 80 per cent of the value of the property or less (low loan-to-value ratio mortgages) are not as stringent as forhigh loan-to-value ratio mortgages (loans that represent more than 80 per cent of the value of the property). This could lead to increased risk for the taxpayers who ultimately back insured mortgages. To help ensure that taxpayer support for mortgage funding is targeted towards safer lending, effective November 30, 2016, mortgages insured by lenders through portfolio insurance and other low loan-to-value ratio mortgage insurance must meet the same loan eligibility criteria as high loan-to-value insured mortgages.

2. Improving Tax Fairness and Closing Loopholes

The Government is committed to tax fairness, and to ensuring that the exemption from capital gains tax on the sale of a principal residence is available only in appropriate cases. Proposed changes to the tax rules would ensure that the principal residence capital gains exemption is not abused, including by non-residents buying and selling a property in the same year. An additional measure would improve compliance and administration of the tax system with respect to dispositions of real estate, including the sale of a principal residence.

3. Managing Risk and Protecting Taxpayers

The Government continuously monitors the housing market and is committed to implementing policy measures that maintain a healthy, competitive and stable housing market. As a part of this effort, the Government is looking at whether the distribution of risk in Canada’s housing finance system is balanced, and appropriately reflects all parties’ abilities to share in the management of housing risks.

To this end, the Government will launch a consultation process with market participants this fall on lender risk sharing, a potential policy option that would require mortgage lenders to manage a portion of loan losses on insured mortgages that default. Currently, lenders are able to transfer virtually all of the risk of insured mortgages to mortgage insurers, and indirectly to taxpayers through the government guarantee.

Provided by the Bank of Canada - Department of Finance.