BMO cuts rates “great time to buy”
The ‘increasingly wobbly’ Canadian housing market is getting a boost from the Bank of Montreal with a mortgage rate cut and aggressive news release.
“It’s a great time to buy a home,” Martin Nel, a senior BMO official, said in news release announcing the change. He added that people who take advantage of the offer will benefit.
“If ever there was a time to buy, it is now,” Mr. Nel said.
The move which takes effect Thursday brings the bank’s key five-year rate to 3.59%, down from 3.79%, making it one of the lowest five-year rates ever offered by a Canadian bank, says industry newsletter Canadian Mortgage Trends.
But some experts are already scratching their heads because of the aggressive tone of the announcement as well as the timing, given the recent spate of warnings about the uncertain state of the market, including one earlier this week from the Canadian Centre for Policy alternatives predicting an imminent collapse.
When the big banks make mortgage rate changes they generally just disclose the new numbers without commenting on housing market conditions. If pressed, bank officials are usually quick to explain that the change in these consumer lending rates are merely a function of fluctuations in their own borrowing costs.
“It’s a bit puzzling to me,” John Andrew, a professor at Queen’s University’s School of Urban and Regional Planning, said of the BMO announcement. “Perhaps they are concerned that the number of new customers will fall off precipitously.”
And why would they care about a drop off in new customers? Ah, here it is later in the article:
September 3rd, 2010 at 7:36 am
Debt just got a little more expensive as the real world of treasury auctions is not a happy place to be these days.
http://www.financialpost.com/n.....story.html
How long can governments keep buying their own paper????
Meanwhile the double dip in housing is here……even give away money programs can’t turn back the tide. The Canadian government can’t afford anymore giveaways for sure….. I know there has been some anecdotal information that banks are shying away from HELOCS and telling prospective buyers to seek alternative lenders…is it a quiet revulsion of even the slightest risk that has them turning away the CHMC fees they would recieve for passing along the 95% mortgage app????
http://www.financialpost.com/n.....story.html
All is not well in the real world……you wouldn’t know that by listening to the pimps…good thing you’ve got a brain eh?
September 2nd, 2010 at 11:57 pm
Watch out Rennie, noticed Simon Coutts on Global again, he had trouble selling bikes and fixing flats but now has his eye on being the new condo king!
Proof that if at first you don’t succeed you can always be a real estate salesman.
September 2nd, 2010 at 10:59 pm
Its hilarious to have read through the pimps fully coordinated press of the past few days that they think that if they all bellow about ‘how everythings going to be OK’ that this bullshit can stop the ship of fools from crashing.
The numbers supporting the negative trend are heavily against them, the economy is against them, the circumstances are against them…but they seem to think that if they all pull together and get you and I to look the other way that nothing bad can happen…..’because they say so’…….too funny.
How will they disguise all the underwater owners of the past six months…in three months time…these stats are obviously growing….will they dream up another excuse by then?….is this campaign all about buying time for the whores to extricate themselves????????….before the complete collapse tumbles down mainstreet.
The lies and false information that is being spun out of the media by desperate representaives of the desperate stake holders is precedent setting…never before have we seen so many lie to such a degree….it is only by knowing that the information is being diseminated by the spokesmen for the sales organizations that have the most to lose do you get a clear picture of how nasty and insidious the ad campaign of the real estate whores is…….a direct attack on the well being of unsuspecting Canadians…..a pox on all their houses.
September 2nd, 2010 at 9:45 pm
@specialfx3000: Isn’t an agent supposed to disclose they are also the owner of the property being sold?
September 2nd, 2010 at 9:22 pm
@Anonymous: Yup. Take it for what it is–a linear projection. And note, this is a projection not a prediction.
September 2nd, 2010 at 9:19 pm
“August stats are out! Here is a summary of the total dollar and percent benchmark price changes since the April peak:..”
Nice numbers. I am curious.. anyone know what the MOM percent change is in the benchmarks? The stats release always mentions YOY changes.
September 2nd, 2010 at 9:13 pm
@Anonymous: VHB is just doing some interesting math. Math that ought to interest supposed economists like Tsur. It isn’t of interest to him, however, because our Scandinavian friend would rather shill for the real estate industry than tell the truth. He does not want to be associated with having caused a stampede, which he knows damn well the truth, out of his mouth, would cause.
September 2nd, 2010 at 8:57 pm
@VHB:
Projecting September stats from a whole 2 days? Hmm.
September 2nd, 2010 at 8:43 pm
@Anonymous:
Oh, those clever Chinese! First gun powder, now newspapers that speak to you! No wonder they’re taking over the world.
September 2nd, 2010 at 8:39 pm
@Boombust: Michael Campbell does not allow anyone to say negative stuff about BC real estate, family rules. He’s the biggest joke on the investment scene here. When has Garth Turner ever been on his show ? Never,case closed. Only Ozzie the pumper is allowed on with his so called hot properties in tim-buk-two where your car gets the tires stolen on a weekly basis.
September 2nd, 2010 at 8:30 pm
This unit at King Edward Village just sold for $420K, a sizable haircut off the asking price of $469K.
http://www.mls.ca/propertyDeta.....1324083974
The other Village people will not be pleased, especially this guy
http://www.mls.ca/propertyDeta.....=331140104
This guy
http://www.mls.ca/propertyDeta.....=843192451
And this guy
http://www.mls.ca/propertyDeta.....1237267946
September 2nd, 2010 at 8:11 pm
contruction is crashing!!!
http://www.vancouversun.com/ne.....story.html
September 2nd, 2010 at 8:10 pm
ts562rs
I think I have an answer that will lead to closure on this subject. The difference between property tax rates and the different states is simply a correlation between median house prices and household income. Compare CA and TX on this interactive map.
http://articles.moneycentral.m.....eRank.aspx
CA has a median house price of $467K vs. TX at $127K. CA has a median household income of $82K vs. TX at $64K. The percentage of household income applied to property taxes is the same for both states at 3.5%. This is I believe to be an apples to apples comparison except for the state income tax issues.
Sorry this subject has nothing to do with Vancouver.
September 2nd, 2010 at 7:46 pm
Am I missing something?
It’s a co-op, isn’t it?
September 2nd, 2010 at 7:38 pm
BAM there you go speculators BAM
http://vancouver.en.craigslist.....73382.html
LOL The real value of Vancouver housing.
September 2nd, 2010 at 7:24 pm
Found an interesting deal, if anyone has a thing for recreational property.
MLS 105793 (Summerland)
Property is in foreclosure (whoohoo!more to come I’m sure!) $85k, a spacious 378sq feet (bring your family-uh ya!) and you can only use it 180 days a year (mostly in the winter). Oh you have to cough up strata fees of over $200/month, property taxes of about $2000 and realtor warns “Current financials do not offer cash flow. Monthly fees of $264/month are payable and currently not covered by any income.”
Interesting that this property hasn’t been snapped up by “investors”-sign of the times?? Also, similar units NOT in foreclosure are listed for $159k+….good luck with that…there are at least 20 units in the same complex for sale.
Okanagan=Florida North