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September Update…

UnknownThe Powell River real estate market saw an upswing in both sales and new listings over August which is a fairly common signal that the Fall market has begun. Prices have been increasing since the beginning of the year although the rate of increase tapered off a bit over the summer. This Fall market should give an indication if the market is cooling off a bit. There are still lots of buyers looking in this area and multiple offers are still quite common on well-kept, well-priced homes. The upswing in new listings will increase inventory which could slow things down. It all depends on buyer interest this Fall. If the new listings are snapped up quickly, we may see that upward pressure on prices we’ve seen in the first half of the year increase again. Interest in Powell River continues to be high and there’s every reason to believe that our ‘active’ market will continue into the new year.

New Marketing Resources

Print (16)This month Josh Statham and I along with digital media specialist Alex Rawnsley have formed the Josh Statham Home Team.  This will allow me to provide you with some amazing marketing resources for the sale of your home.  For every listing I’ll have professional photography including an interactive video resource that allows Buyers to ‘virtually’ walk through your house at home in front of their computer, tablet or phone. Each new listing will feature a short promotional video for social media and a floor plan as well. Click on the image below to try out the 3-D Interactive Media!
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With these resources and Alex’s marketing expertise in so many areas, you’ll receive services and resources which are hard to beat in Powell River at my very competitive commission rates.  Give me a call, text or email to find out more.

Rising Interest Rates…

30% of Canadians have a ‘variable rate mortgage’ and over 65% have a ‘fixed-rate mortgage’.  Variable rate mortgages tend to have a lower interest rate, but that rate varies with the general level of interest rates in the country.  If interest rates go up, so will the monthly payments on this type of mortgage.  In a fixed-rate mortgage, your interest rate is locked in for a fixed period of time – generally 1 – 5 years.  If interest rates rise, the monthly payments won’t rise until the fixed term expires.  At this time, a new rate will be negotiated according to the general level of rates in the country.

What would a rate hike look like?

If you had a variable-rate mortgage on a $350,000 home with an interest rate of 1.75% with a 20% downpayment, the monthly payments would be $1153.01.  With the same situation, but a 0.25 interest rate increase, the payment would be $1186.79

If the same homeowner with a 5 year fixed rate mortgage at 2.97% and the same downpayment, the monthly payments would be $1320.78.  With the 0.25% rate increase the monthly payment amount will be $1356.90.
The Bank of Canada is being cautious with its increases to avoid big shocks to homeowners.  As you can see, a 25% rate increase will push the monthly payments up by $30-$50 per month which is manageable, but several of these would have a more punishing effect on the monthly budget!

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