7 Tips to Maximize Your Home’s Sale Price Over the past few years, a real estate buying frenzy bid up home prices to eye-popping amounts. However, as mortgage rates have risen, buyer demand has cooled.1 Consequently, home sellers who enter the market today may need to reset their expectations. The reality is, it’s no longer enough to stick a “for sale” sign in the yard and wait for buyers to bang down the door. If you want to net the most money possible for... [read more]

Buy Now or Rent Longer? 5 Questions to Answer Before Purchasing Your First Home Deciding whether to jump into the housing market or rent instead is rarely an easy decision – especially if you’re a first-time homebuyer. But in today’s whirlwind market, you may find it particularly challenging to pinpoint the best time to start exploring homeownership.    A real estate boom during the pandemic pushed home prices to an all-time high.1 Add higher... [read more]

8 Strategies to Secure a Lower Mortgage Rate Interest rates have risen rapidly this year, triggered by the Bank of Canada’s efforts to curb inflation. And the July MNP Consumer Debt Index found that 59% of Canadians “are already feeling the effects of interest rate increases.”1   Why has the impact been so widespread? In part, due to the rising popularity of variable rate mortgages. According to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, in the latter... [read more]

A Return to ‘Normal’? The State of Real Estate in 2022   Last year was one for the real estate history books. The pandemic helped usher in a buying frenzy that led to a record number of home sales and a historically-high rate of appreciation, as prices soared by a national average of 19.9% year over year, according to the Canadian Real Estate Association.1 There were signs in the second quarter that the red-hot housing market was beginning to simmer down. In June,... [read more]

New Build or Existing Home: Which One Is Right for You? Homebuyers today are facing a huge dilemma. There simply aren’t enough homes for sale.1 Nationwide, the number of newly listed homes dipped slightly in September, down 1.6% from August. According to the Canadian Real Estate Association, that’s only about 2.1 months of inventory, which is far less than the five to six months that is generally needed to strike a healthy balance between supply and demand.2 Given the... [read more]