The Bank of Canada announced earlier today that it is once again keeping its key policy rate unchanged, although continuing to signal that rates will move higher at some point. The prime rate for most lenders should stay at 3%.

The Bank's statement noted that "housing activity is expected to decline from historically high levels, while the household debt burden is expected to rise further before stabilizing by the end of the projection horizon." There was caution that these high debt levels...

Somewhere in a homebuyer or homeowner’s budget there should be a line item that says "Emergency Fund".

Every homeowner should have an Emergency Fund set aside. That's because someday, something will go wrong. Imagine the roof suddenly starts to leak. Or you discover mould in the basement. Or maybe you get hurt and need to take a month or two off work. What happens to your carefully designed budget then?

Having an emergency fund in place before you buy a home will give you peace...

In a continued effort to keep you up-to-date with the most relevant and timely Real Estate information please take a moment to review the Real Estate activity statistics for August 2012 as provided by the Realtor’s Association of Edmonton with the link below.

http://www.ereb.com/News&Events/LatestMarketStatistics.html

I would be glad to discuss these trends and any other Real Estate questions you may have. Call me direct at 780-908-1224.

It's great news for variable rate holders as the Bank of Canada announced earlier today that it is keeping the overnight rate unchanged, which means the prime rate for most lenders should stay at 3%.

The Bank's statement noted that there is "widespread slowing of activity across advanced and emerging economies" and that in Canada "global headwinds continue to restrain economic activity."

As with recent releases, there was the hint that future rate hikes may be necessary through the ...

New mortgage rules will soon eliminate "cash-back" mortgages, which provide upfront cash to help cover your down payment. Securing a down payment through a loan or unsecured line of credit is also becoming more difficult to get.

Qualified homebuyers who are deciding whether to buy now or keep saving should take a look at these opportunities now while they are still available. Why? Buying today means you can take advantage of today's historically low fixed mortgage rates. And zero-down helps you get...