I just sold this House at 226 Jensen St, New Westminster, BC Queensborough.

View this recently sold House or see all my home sales

I just sold this Condo at 1208 108 CORDOVA West Street, Vancouver West, British Columbia Downtown VW.

View this recently sold Condo or see all my home sales

On January 17th, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty announced three new changes to Canadian mortgage qualifications. They are as follows:

1. A 30 year maximum, down from 35 years, amortization on insured mortgages (down payment of less than 20%)

2. An 85% Loan to Value limit on insured refinances

3. Elimination of government insurance on secured lines of credit (aka HELOCs)

The goal with these new Canadian mortgage rules is to help stabilize Canada's long-term housing market and to encourage hard-working Canadians to save by investing in their homes. 

Full press release details can be viewed here.

What do you think of the new mortgage rules?

Bank of Canada maintains overnight rate target at 1 per cent

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

The global economic recovery is proceeding at a somewhat faster pace than the Bank had anticipated, although risks remain elevated. Private domestic demand in the United States has picked up and will be reinforced by recently announced monetary and fiscal stimulus. European growth has also been slightly stronger than anticipated. Ongoing challenges ...

I just finished uploading this House for sale, 1349 Oxford St, White Rock, BC

This lovely hillside home offers spectacular unobstructed ocean views from both floors! If you're looking to downsize, upsize from a condo or find the perfect view lot to build your dream home, this is the place for you. Both patios are made for entertaining, along with an open living, dining and kitchen upstairs. Downstairs features a large family room, office, laundry/storage and plumbing/electrical for a kitchen. Turn-key and truely a wonderful blank canvas to work your design magic. A welcoming home, fabulous location and a wonderful opportunity for Buyers or Investors looking for a lovely view property with options.

Two things I love to support: great ideas and great friends! 

Please take a moment to check out The Eco Floor Store by Hillcrest Floors, recently opened by my friend Jared. This great new eco-friendly flooring store is located in Surrey, a quick hop over the bridge from the Tri-cities.

Friends of Think Julie (that's YOU!) are welcome to an exclusive 15% discount using this coupon below. Print it out and head over to this great new store full of stylish eco-friendly offerings.



Congrats on the wonderful idea, Jared!

HIGHER HOMEOWNER GRANT THRESHOLD PROTECTS TAXPAYERS

VICTORIA – More than one million B.C. homeowners with homes valued up to $1.15 million may be eligible for the full homeowner grant amount as the Province raises the threshold by 10 per cent for the 2011 tax year.

“Raising the homeowner grant threshold ensures that 95 per cent of homeowners continue to benefit from a full grant, helping them with the cost of living,” Finance Minister Colin Hansen said. “While we’re starting to see mills and mines reopen in our smaller communities, we recognize the economic downturn hit some parts of rural B.C. harder, so we’ve kept our promise to provide a Northern and Rural Home Owner Benefit to ease the burden on rural families in the months ahead.”

BC Assessment estimates the value of most properties...

The REBGV has released the statistics from December 2010, along with an overview of 2010. They are reporting more stability in home sales over the past six months. See below for all of the details.

Real estate market stable at year-end

The Greater Vancouver residential housing market entered three distinctive phases in 2010. Continued buoyancy from the post-recession recovery began the year, followed by a summer lull and, throughout the fall, a sustained period of stability.

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that total sales of detached, attached and apartment properties in 2010 reached 30,595, a 14.2 per cent decrease from the 35,669 sales recorded in 2009, but a 24.2 per cent increase from the 24,626 residential sales in 2008. Last year’s number of housing sales was 10.3 per cent below the ten-year average for annual Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®)...