March 2019

The cost of borrowing for a home is predicted to get a little cheaper this year.

That's according to the latest mortgage rate forecast from the B.C. Real Estate Association.

"The average contract rate for 5-year mortgages has declined about 30 basis points from its peak in 2018, reaching 3.44 per cent in March," the BCREA states in a two-page report. "Unfortunately, this still means a stress test rate of 5.44 per cent, even for the highest quality borrowers."

However, the association points out that if five-year bond yields remain at the current level, "a 5-year qualifying rate of under 5 per cent should follow suit." The contract rate refers to the interest percentage listed on the face of a note or a bond.

The qualifying rate refers to a

Vancouver, BC – March 12, 2019.

The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) is calling on the federal government to revisit the B-20 stress test so that more BC families can achieve their dream of home ownership. Mortgage lending rules, known as the B-20 stress test, have eroded housing affordability by reducing the purchasing power of families by as much as 20 per cent. Introduced last year, the stress test forces even the most credit-worthy borrowers with large down payments to qualify at an interest rate that is two percentage points above the rate they negotiate with their bank.
 
“We would like to see a review and reconsideration of the current mortgage underwriting ‘stress test,’ as well as a return to 30-year amortizations for

The Housing Cycle is Entering A Big Shift In Key Cities Across North America

If you are a baby boomer, this might sound familiar: You moved out of your parent’s home as soon as you graduated from high school; you lived in a place you rented – maybe even a ‘room’ in a larger house, where you shared the bathroom with the other tenants; you could put all your belongings in one small bag; and you saved up to buy a car.

That was the ideal lifestyle of the largest demographic ever to populate the world. It’s estimated that 9.6 million baby boomers are in Canada today and they are rapidly becoming the senior population – a population whose living conditions are far different today.

But did you know that there is another demographic as big as – if not