Hope you're enjoying these last few weeks of summer!

The big news this week is that mortgage rates have risen significantly in the last month. It's pretty hard to believe that a five year fixed rate mortgage could be had for 2.89% only a short time ago. While this news isn't very positive, it is to be expected. Canadians have been warned about rising interest rates for some time now.

The latest rate increase combined with a reduced maximum amortization of 25 years and the implementation of the B20 rules will, no doubt, make it harder for some to qualify for a mortgage. That being said, we should be very thankful to be working in real estate in Alberta where the economy is good and the average family income is quite high. With the influx of people coming to Alberta and such a healthy economy we're in the best place in Canada to deal with the fallout from mortgage rate increases.