http://youtu.be/8r1CZTLk-Gk

Hello Everyone,

There has been much talk of late as to when and how far the Bank of Canada will be raising interest rates.  Recently economists have been doing a lot of backpedalling regarding a rate hike.  Originally, they were estimating that March or May would be the time for the increase to the overnight rate, which affects the prime lending rate.  Lately July 19th has been the predicted date that the Bank of Canada would raise interest rates.  Now, however, most economists are predicting that interest rates will not move until the fall, or later.

The reasons for this are the following:

• Weak economic data from the U.S.
•  Core inflation remains manageable.
• Debt-laden consumers are only cautiously spending,
• U.S. housing market that is double-dipping.
• U.S. unemployment that may be structurally and permanently elevated.
• The value of the Canadian dollar.

What economists from the big 6 banks are predicting, on average, is that prime will increase by about .5% by the end of this year and +1.5% from what it is now until the end of December 2012.

What this means is that if you are in a variable rate mortgage, you will likely have some additional time before considering whether or not you should lock in.  Often, by not locking in at all, you have a greater potential for savings.  You will have to decide.  However, I can help you with this decision by providing some illustrations and some number crunching.  Another thing to keep in mind is that  lenders reset the effective rate of their variables differently ie. one lender might change the effective rate immediately after the rate increase, while some will increase the effective rate up to 3 months after the increase.  Check with me if you are not sure and I can confirm this for you.

The banks are also predicting that as 5-year bond yields begin to rise, by the end of 2012, deeply discounted 5-year fixed rate mortgages could be as high as 5%.  Only time will tell and by then there could be many more revisions to these forecasts.

If you have questions about this or other topics, please call me any time.  Have a great weekend! 

Daniel Lewczuk

agent fsco. lic. M08011086

Mortgage Intelligence

fsco. lic.10428

Tel. 905-632-1800

I have never been a fan of Newsprint advertising. Although it can be  a good self promotion option. I have ran open houses with Internet Promotion only vs Real Estate Newspaper adds. The simple truth of the matter there has never been a significant increase as  a result of newsprint.

When I say self promotion it sells the agent to obtain more listings, This is called famous advertising .  I argue selling houses is what really counts. Selling houses in the Burlington and Hamilton area , my business has grown on a referral business. Newspapers in my view belong on the bottom of birdcages.

I have  embraced the internet.  

All of my Listings in Hamilton Burlington are on too many sites too mention. We now offer You Tube Marketing.

eg. Below

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVMqfZpDYqU

One of the most effective internet sites for open house traffic is buyers are pointed to this site from their agents

which is  www.openhouses.ca

.

Another internet option is my new point2agent web site which shares information with all the other major  realtor site.  http://carlstars1.point2agent.com/

MLS ( known as  Realtor.ca) www.realtor.ca will always be the flagship of Real Estate.

So when buying or selling real estate  Hamilton or Burlington  please contact me for my complete Internet Marketing Program. I feel it is one of the best Listing Packages available.

Sincerely, Carl

I never post anything "political in nature. But  I have always commented on the amount of debt my clients seem to be very comfortable carrying  when purchasing real estate.  I myself have never liked debt. This You tube video is kind of cool because the debt clock seems to bring attention to the debt problem in Canada. I am amazed at all the blog comments from right and left.

Everyone has different opinions were the money is to be spent. Some say health care education, some say military, business, and infrastructure/ investment. Some say spend it all ………………..  

Check out the video and enjoy ! !

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNBXi00Myro).

http://thestar.blogs.com/photodesk/2011/06/the-daily-beast-not-your-average-bear-june-2-2011.html

Stumbled across these photos and just had to post ! !

This End Unit is amazing. Great BackYard has a two tiered deck with wonderful stone work with raised flower gardens surrounded by mature trees. Ceiling with Pot lights oak kitchen and all apliaances included. This lovely family home demonstrates pride of ownership. Listed $ 234,900 MLS H 3066232

 SOLD

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVMqfZpDYqU

Unit 308 4003 Kilmer Drive Burlington, Ontario L7M 4M1 .

Freshly painted open concept unit.Generous Visitor Parking. Raised Breakfast Bar overlooking living room and dining room. 1+1 bedroom ( second room can be utilized as Den)  MLS # H 3062053

Condo fee includes building insurance, cable tv, exterior maintenance, parking and water . All appliances included.  Flexible closing.

For more details contact Carl Stars 905 730 5919

OPEN HOUSE THIS SUNDAY 2 PM TO 4 PM ………….. STOP BY AND GET YOUR FREE CONDOMINIUM BUYERS GUIDE .

Some thoughts on Social Media !  Yes There is no question  Twitter, Facebook, Linked IN  and many other sites are short of remarkable. The exposure is amazing. My Active Rain Blog hooks me up with most " active Realtors" in North America.

Recently after a year of Facebook Fan Page ( which has been very useful as everyone is on Facebook ) Twitter and more. I have paused to reflect.

Are we  all sheep  going over the mountain in one direction. ?

The truth of the matter I rarely have time to BLOG.

For those that follow I apoligize not making an entry since March. But I have been busy selling Real Estate in Burlington- Hamilton.

Last week I have sold two houses and juggled 6 referrals. I expect one or two new listings shortly.

There are days I wish it was website hard copy newsletter and good old fashion hard work ONLY.

Well Social Media is here to stay and I am amazed at young people when they attend social functions and can't communicate as their heads are buried in their blackberry's.

I am pleased to annouce I will be sending out  a new newsletter to stay in touch with you the valued client.

Despite all the changes ( I suspect in one more year I will need an apple I pad to perform my job )

One thing for sure is  I will always provide good old fashion service and yes as always phone calls and emails  will be returned.

So many people are asking me about whats going to happen next year with regard to housing prices and mortgage rates. Truth be known,  none of us really know ?

What I do know is depending on your industry 18 months ago was not pretty to say the least. Guess what ? We survived and moved forward.

House prices stabilized , interest rates remained reasonably low  and employment has improved somewhat. Houses actualy saw some higher prices this year and  in the last month an increase in some types of homes ( at least in the Burlington Ontario market) and those statistics haven't hit the news yet.

I continually mention in at least 5 blog articles or more to buy a home you love , focus on being happy. I also as our government is doing is reminding everyone to get their consumer debt down which is at an all time high !

Its xma$ and we dont need to spend massive amounts of $ dollars to tell a friend  or family member we love them. 

On a personal note it has been a good year , with some great family moments and some losses as well . Life is not always easy but we really  have only one  choice and that is  to be happy and live for the moment .

I would like to wish everyone a successful new year in 2011.

This November, CAAMP has released its 6^th Annual State of the Residential Mortgage Market report.  Recurring themes within the report suggest that Canadian homeowners are comfortable with their mortgage debt, have significant home equity and could withstand an increase in their mortgage interest rate. 

Significant Statistics

• 35% of all mortgage holders have either increased their payments or made a lump sum (more…)