Open House- The Real Estate & Mortgage Show March 31, 2018
On this week’s episode the gang talks about renewal rates offered from the banks and what a Mortgage Broker can obtain for you, where rates are headed and the current seller’s market in the Ottawa region.
Host Steve Gregory is joined by Frank Napolitano of Mortgage Brokers Ottawa and Paul Rushforth of Paul Rushfoth Real Estate on this week’s edition of Open House: The Real Estate and Mortgage Show.
Frank discusses the slip in the recent bond markets and how we might see a slight decrease in mortgage rates as a result. Given the spring market, lenders tend to get fairly competitive in the mortgage rate pricing. Expectations are that the Bank of Canada is not inclined to raise the rates in the first part of the year. Variable rates are still very attractive and for those clients who chose variable, they are ahead of the fixed rates’ spread.
The group discusses some renovation financing options with a caller, as well as finishing a basement from a re-sale perspective.
Paul discusses the absorption rate on the market which is the rate at which a home would sell if no other homes entered the market. Last year the condo market was about 11 months, this year it is closer to 4 months. On the residential side it is about 3 months which really is indicative of a seller’s market. There about 6000 listings currently on the market, in comparison to last year this number was closer to 8000.
Frank talks about some of the documents he requires to provide to lenders when looking at mortgage application. One area that is more common is separation agreements; whether there is alimony or child support, there may be liability implications. Providing these documents upfront is the best practice when working with your Mortgage Broker for a seamless process with no surprises.