Hafez Realty News

The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) reports that a total of 8,221 residential unit sales were recorded by the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in May, a decline of 7 per cent from the same month last year. The average MLS® residential price in the province was $707,829, a decline of 4.3 per cent from May 2018. Total sales dollar volume was $5.8 billion, an 11 per cent decline...

The trend in housing starts was 201,983 units in May 2019, compared to 205,717 units in April 2019, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). This trend measure is a six-month moving average of the monthly seasonally adjusted annual rates (SAAR) of housing starts.

"The national trend in housing starts decreased in May as a result of continuing decline in the trend for single...

Last week’s market reports from real estate boards including those in Vancouver and Toronto show that there is recovery underway with even the tough market conditions in Vancouver suggesting a bottoming-out.

This is unlikely to end calls for the mortgage stress tests to be altered or scrapped, says RBC Economics’ senior economist Robert Hogue, but it should “quiet down critics fearing...

Fixed and variable loans have gotten cheaper because costs for lenders are down too

Spring is typically a busy time for home sales, so lenders are competing fiercely right now for new business — and that's adding up to record low rates for borrowers. (Ty Wright/Bloomberg)

House prices may be as high as ever in many parts of the country, but Canadian homebuyers are being offered some of the...

The BCREA Commercial Leading Indicator (CLI) rose by 1.3 points to 135.2 in the first quarter of 2019. Compared to this time one year ago, the index is 1.1 per cent higher.

“While economic activity remained tepid at the start of 2019, a rebound in financial markets pushed the CLI higher,” says BCREA Deputy Chief Economist Brendon Ogmundson. “That signals a lower risk environment, but...