Hey Bloggers,

Here’s the April Real Estate Stats for homes in Niagara region and St. Catharines.

St. Catharines Real Estate Stats – March 2011
St. Catharines Real Estate Stats – February 2011
St. Catharines Real Estate Stats – January 2011
St. Catharines Real Estate Stats – 2010 verses 2009

Timothy Salisbury
905-937-6000
email@timothysalisbury.com

Hey Bloggers,

Here’s the March Real Estate Stats for homes in Niagara region and St. Catharines.

St. Catharines Real Estate Stats – February 2011
St. Catharines Real Estate Stats – January 2011
St. Catharines Real Estate Stats – 2010 verses 2009

Timothy Salisbury
905-937-6000
email@timothysalisbury.com

Hey Bloggers,

Here’s the February Real Estate Stats for homes in Niagara region and St. Catharines.

St. Catharines Real Estate Stats – January 2011
St. Catharines Real Estate Stats – 2010 verses 2009

Timothy Salisbury
905-937-6000
email@timothysalisbury.com

Hey Bloggers,

Here’s the Real Estate Stats for homes in Niagara region and St. Catharines.

St. Catharines Real Estate Stats – 2010 verses 2009

Timothy Salisbury
905-937-6000
email@timothysalisbury.com

Hey Bloggers!

Here are the residential statistics for the Niagara region and St. Catharines.

In 2010, residential houses sold for 97% of their asking price and the average listing duration was only 50 days.

If you have any additional questions about the current real estate market, do not hesitate to contact me.

Timothy Salisbury
905-937-6000
email@timothysalisbury.com

The Honourable Jim Flaherty, Minister of Finance, and the Honourable Christian Paradis, Minister of Natural Resources, today announced prudent adjustments to the rules for government-backed insured mortgages to support the long-term stability of Canada’s housing market and support hard-working Canadian families saving through home ownership.

The new measures:

• Reduce the maximum amortization period to 30 years from 35 years for new government-backed insured mortgages with loan-to-value ratios of more than 80 per cent. This will significantly reduce the total interest payments Canadian families make on their mortgages, allow Canadian families to build up equity in their homes more quickly, and help Canadians pay off their mortgages before they retire.
• Lower the maximum amount Canadians can borrow in refinancing their mortgages to 85 per cent from 90 per cent of the value of their homes. This will promote saving through home ownership and limit the repackaging of consumer debt into mortgages guaranteed by taxpayers.
• Withdraw government insurance backing on lines of credit secured by homes, such as home equity lines of credit, or HELOCs. This will ensure that risks associated with consumer debt products used to borrow funds unrelated to house purchases are managed by the financial institutions and not borne by taxpayers.
• Our Government’s ongoing monitoring and sound underlying supervisory regime, along with the traditionally cautious approach taken by Canadian financial institutions to mortgage lending, have allowed Canada to maintain strong and secure housing and mortgage markets.
• The adjustments to the mortgage insurance guarantee framework will come into force on March 18, 2011. The withdrawal of government insurance backing on lines of credit secured by homes will come into force on April 18.

Mortgage Expertise at your Doorstep 24/7

Paul Croteau, AMP
Mortgage Specialist
BMO Bank of Montreal
Tel.: 905-321-3230
Fax: 905-641-7854

Hey Bloggers,

COMPETITION BUREAU UPDATE – In summary – Overwhelmingly, (97-3) boards have voted to approve the negotiated settlement with the Competition Bureau. Business will remain as it is today. MLS remains a member to member service. Sellers must use a Realtor to gain access to the MLS system, though they can chose the level of service they are willing to pay for. While at Royal LePage we will, of course, remain a full service brokerage, there will no discrimination against a brokerage that offers minimal service. Lastly, the seller contact information cannot be displayed in the public remarks.

As always should you have any questions or comments, don’t hesitate to do so here in the blog post.

T.

Timothy Salisbury
Broker
The Salisbury Team
Royal LePage Niagara Real Estate Centre Inc., Brokerage
Toll Free – 1-800-467-8498
Office – 905-937-6000
View My Website and my Blog at www.timothysalisbury.com
P.S. The best compliment we can ever receive, is when you tell others about us.