For the past year, soaring home prices and a desire for more space have sent homebuyers flocking beyond the suburbs and into beautiful cottage country.

It’s a trend that is playing out right across the county, and one that’s expected to continue throughout 2021. High demand is expected to push average recreational property prices higher by 15% to $502,730, according to an updated forecast from Royal LePage.

Recreational properties in Ontario and Atlantic Canada are expected to see average prices rise 17%, while Quebec and B.C. should see prices increase by 15% and 13%, respectively. That would be on top of the 16% national price gain seen for this segment between 2019 and 2020.

“From coast to coast, the line between primary residence and recreational property is blurring,” Phil Soper, president and CEO of Royal LePage said in a release. “The trend began last summer when the option of travelling abroad was taken away, and continued to gain popularity as it became clear that with access to high-speed internet, many people can do their jobs from just about anywhere.”

That, plus rising prices in many of Canada’s urban markets, have led many buyers to look well beyond the city limits for more affordable housing options. In February, for example, the average home price in Toronto soared above $1 million for the first time, with many of its suburbs not far behind.

“Life during the pandemic has made cottage country and country living more desirable than ever, in every part of Canada,” Soper added.

And in many cases, younger buyers—those between 25 and 35—are making up an increasing share of buyers trading in the big city for country life, with nearly half of buyers in that demographic (47%) saying they would choose a small town or rural living.

Who can blame them, given the world-class beauty found in many of the “cottage country” regions throughout Canada, not to mention pandemic-related concerns about high-density living. Many are thinking about expanding their families and want their kids to grow up with a little more space to roam.

“The flexibility provided by working remotely, excess savings from months sitting at home, and low interest rates have left Canadians young and old alike to seek properties with more space, easy access to nature, and the ability to achieve that ever-elusive work-life balance,” Soper said. Speak to me for more Insight.

Are you currently or soon to be in the market for a home or recreational property? There are still plenty of options available, and I’d be happy to review them with you.

Call Deb Murdoch today!

Deb Murdoch
(306) 222-7900
debm@mortgagegroup.com

Mortgage rates have spent the better part of the past year in near-freefall, with numerous terms setting fresh record lows.

But a couple of weeks ago, rates pulled a U-turn and have been starting to climb higher ever since. And here’s why. Since the beginning of February, 5-year Canada bond yields, which typically lead fixed mortgage rates, have surged. They’ve risen nearly 60 basis points over the past month to a 12-month high.

With funding costs being pushed up and margins being squeezed, lenders could no longer hold rates at those record-low levels.

As for why bond yields are rising—which often coincides with market optimism—the answer is multi-fold.

For one, yields have been soaring south of the border, and when U.S. bond yields move, Canadian yields often follow. Given expectations for rising vaccination rates and ultimately an end to lockdown measures and a return to normalcy, many see greater inflationary pressure ahead, which usually leads to rising interest rates to keep that inflation in check.

Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem addressed rising bond yields in a speech last week. "To some extent, the back-up that we’ve seen in rates reflects the success of the fiscal stimulus, the monetary stimulus, combined with the rollout of vaccines,” he said.

Current Rate Increases Apply to Fixed Rates Only

It’s important to note that only fixed rate mortgage products are currently on the rise. Most lenders have increased rates on several key terms by anywhere from 10 to 30 basis points, again due to higher funding costs.

Variable mortgage rates, on the other hand, take their lead from prime rate, which rises and falls according to the Bank of Canada’s overnight target rate.

That rate is largely expected to remain as is for at least another year, or possibly two.

“We have committed to keeping our policy interest rate at the effective lower bound until economic slack is absorbed so that our inflation target is sustainably achieved," Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem said last week. The Bank has repeated previously that it doesn’t see that happening until “into 2023.”

Keeping Things in Perspective…

Rates Are Still at Historic Lows

Despite the recent 10- to 30-bps rise in some rates that we’ve seen so far, it’s important to note that rates are still not far off their historic lows.

Consider that the lowest nationally available 5-year fixed rate was north of 3.00% just two years ago. Today, you can still find many terms available for under 2.00%.

Speak to a Mortgage Broker for More Insight

Are you considering refinancing or looking for a new mortgage and are concerned about rates trending higher? There are still plenty of options available to you, and I’d be happy to review them with you.

Call Deb Murdoch today!

Deb Murdoch

The Mortgage Group

306.222.7900

debm@mortgagegroup.com

www.debmurdoch.com

A COMMON QUESTION – OTHER THAN DOWN PAYMENT, WHAT OTHER COSTS WILL NEED TO BE PAID TO PURCHASE A HOME?

There are a few different areas of costs when it comes to purchasing a home…costs before you complete the agreement to purchase a new home, costs before you move into your home and ownership costs.

Before you have a firm purchase…

Home Inspection Fee – A home inspection is often a condition of the offer, particularly if it is a pre-owned home. The home inspector goes over the house and provides a report on the condition of the home. The cost of this service can vary.

Deposit – The deposit is required when you make an offer on a property. Once the offer is accepted, the deposit is held in trust until the closing of the sale. At this time it gets applied to the down payment. The deposit amount required is determined usually by the value of the property and what your real estate agent thinks is appropriate.

Appraisal Fee – an appraisal estimates the fair market value of the property. If your mortgage is an insured mortgage (less than 20% down payment), an appraisal is usually not required. If an appraisal is required you should plan on a min $325.

Closing Costs – these are the expenses that you pay when you meet with your lawyer (to sign title transfer and registration of mortgage)

Legal Fees – these are the fees your lawyer charges to complete the paperwork for you

Land Transfer Tax – these are the fees that are paid to land titles when you purchase a new home

Title Insurance – these protect against losses of a property ownership dispute, should there be one; quite often the lender will require one on their behalf. You can also have one on your behalf.

Property Tax Adjustment – if the seller has prepaid taxes for any months after the sale date, they will need be reimbursed

Other Home Ownership Costs

Mortgage Insurance – if you put less than 20% down, then mortgage insurance is required. It can be paid up front but most will have it included in their mortgage. This insurance is provided by either CMHC, Sagen (Genworth) or Canada Guaranty
Home Insurance – all lenders require mortgages to insured against fire and other damage.

So when my clients are planning on purchasing a home and we are going through the preapproval process, I will go through each of these items in detail so my clients can anticipate what their extra costs are going to be. Feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions.

Call Deb Murdoch today!

Deb Murdoch

The Mortgage Group

306.222.7900

debm@mortgagegroup.com

Happy New Year everyone! I’m sure we aren’t the only ones who are happy to welcome 2021 with open arms.

In our last market update we predicted that early 2021 would bring reduced inventories and a strong sellers market in Saskatoon. We want to share with you, if our predictions were right and what this means to you as a buyer or seller.

We ended 2020 with a very strong month in the Saskatoon Real Estate Market. There were 274 home sales in December, which means that sales were up 35% for the month compared to December of 2019, which only saw 203 home sales. That’s 71 more sales during this time.

In December, we also saw 347 new listings posted to the MLS, which means listings were up 14% for the month compared to December of 2019, which only saw 304 listings posted.

The average sale price in Saskatoon right now is $345,358 which is up 3.4% compared to December 2019.

As we predicted in our last market update, inventories are at an all time low. Back in December, we predicted there could be as low as 899 active listings in Saskatoon as of January 2, 2021. We were pretty close with our prediction… because as of January 4th there are 940 active listings in Saskatoon.

The reason we are experiencing this low inventory, is because of a high volume of home sales compared to the number of new listings. Even though we saw more listings in December this year than last year, it still isn’t keeping up with the number of sales in Saskatoon.

472 of those are single family homes, 272 are apartment style condos and 196 are townhouse style condos. Out of the 472 single family homes listed, 272 are on the eastside and 200 are on the westside.

We wanted to break this down for you to demonstrate, for example, that if you are thinking of selling a single family home on the eastside of Saskatoon, you would only be competing against 272 other homes on the eastside. This number would get even smaller when you start to narrow down other criteria such as neighbourhood, home style, number of bedrooms and baths etc…

What this means is that right now listings are like GOLD. This is the time to get your home on the market. There is no reason to hesitate or wait for the spring market. With the extremely low interest rates available, there are many motivated buyers actively searching for homes in Saskatoon right now.

Based on the current market conditions you will want to rely on us as your Realtors to guide you through this limited inventory. We have a wide network of contacts in Saskatoon who we rely on to get the most up to date listing information that we will share with you.

As always, if you would like some more information, or are interested in buying or selling a home, reach out to us and we would be happy to help.

We’ve made it to the last month of 2020, and what a crazy year it has been. Looking back over the last 12 months it feels like we’ve been on a crazy roller coaster ride. This is especially true when you review the past year in the Saskatoon real estate market.

2020 started out pretty strong from January through March and then when COVID-19 hit in April, it felt like the market came to a standstill. At that time, we weren’t sure what the rest of the year in real estate might look like in Saskatoon.

After another slow month in May, I don’t think either of us could have predicted the rocket-like trajectory the market would take for the rest of the year.

The month of June kicked off the strong market in Saskatoon and it continued to get stronger each month after that. Our monthly sales were consistently and significantly higher in comparison to the sales in 2019.

This past month was no exception. There were 358 sales in November 2020 compared to 243 sales in November of 2019. This is 115 more sales which means sales are up +47.3% for the month and +17.1% for the year.

Looking forward, what can we expect in 2021? There is no precise, crystal ball that can predict the future, but we are feeling confident that Saskatoon's strong market will continue into the new year.

I think one of the main things we are predicting in the first couple of months of 2021 will be a reduced inventory of listings in the market.

There are currently 1123 active listings in Saskatoon. 625 are single family homes, 498 are condos, of which 275 of those are apartment style.

Between now and January 2, 347 of those listings are expected to expire. Some of those expired listings may be renewed, but if we base our projections on historical info from 2019, we can likely expect 207 home sales and 330 new listings in December 2020.

When you do the math, this means there could be as few as 899 active listings as of Jan 2. We believe this number is aggressively low, and we expect listings to be higher than this, because of the strong market and low interest rates.

We believe this means that listings are going to be like GOLD in the first couple of months of 2021. Historically, spring is thought to be the start of the busy season in real estate in Saskatoon. Although, the past year has proven that you shouldn’t expect things to be status quo.

Moving into 2021, If you have a home to sell, we strongly feel that there is no reason to wait until spring to get your home on the market, as listings will be in very high demand, especially for single family homes.

If you’re looking to buy a home in early 2021, you will want to rely on your Realtor to guide you through the limited inventory. As Realtors, we receive hourly updates when new listings go on the market, which is considerably faster than commonly used websites and apps that may only update every 24 hours or more. We also have a wide network of contacts in Saskatoon who we rely on to get the most up to date listing information, sometimes even before a home hits the MLS.

So as always, if you have any questions please reach out to either of us, we would be happy to help. From our families to yours, we hope you have a very Merry Christmas and we hope to see you in the New Year.

Should I Refinance My Mortgage?

I think we can safely say that 2020 has been a strange year. A year of lockdowns due to a pandemic, financial support from the government, and the lowest interest rates in recent history. This has led to a rise in the number of homeowners who are considering refinancing their mortgage. According to a recent poll, approximately 20% of Canadian homeowners say they plan to refinance their mortgage in the next 12 months.

Like all financial decisions, it’s important to look at the bigger picture, which includes reviewing your goals.

First Things First -- What’s a refinance?

A refinance alters the terms and conditions of your mortgage – it’s essentially a new mortgage. Specifically, you are increasing the amount of your mortgage, whether to pay off consumer debt, finance a renovation, invest, or to get a lower rate.

Here are a few reasons to opt for a refinance:

1. Decrease your overall monthly debt payments by using the equity in your home to pay off those high-interest credit cards or unsecured loans.
2. Lower monthly mortgage payments. A borrower may be able to lower their monthly payments by either securing a lower mortgage rate or by extending their loan term, which would spread their payments out over a longer time period. This can be important for those with a tight monthly budget and who are looking for additional financial breathing room.
3. You can refinance to purchase another property. Using the existing equity in your home can be a great way to buy a rental property which, if done right, can also make the interest you pay tax deductible.
4. You could also take out some of the equity for investment purposes -- an option that many homeowners consider this time of year as they look ahead to the new year
5. And there are more uses for your equity such as helping putting your kids through school.
6. You can also finance a renovation or home improvements.

Repayment – What You Need To Know

Borrowing against your property is not free money – it’s a mortgage loan -- and like any other loan, it has to be repaid.

Speak to a Professional to Understand Your Options

There are many factors to consider before deciding to refinance. Each individual’s financial situation is different. Let’s talk about your unique situation and the options available to you.

Call Deb Murdoch today!

Deb Murdoch

The Mortgage Group

306.222.7900

debm@mortgagegroup.com

The housing market doesn’t come to a standstill during the holidays. In fact, we’ve found that December is actually a great month to sell your home. Although, selling your home through the holiday season can come with a few additional things you should consider. In addition to all of the regular things you need to do to prepare your home to sell quickly, like cleaning, depersonalizing and decluttering, you will also need to consider whether or not to decorate for the holiday season.

We think that the holidays are a perfect time to showcase the warmth and character of your home to prospective buyers. We don't think that you need to avoid decorating altogether, but that you should follow some simple tips to ensure your house looks it’s best for prospective buyers.

Here are some tips for decorating for the holidays when you are preparing to sell:

Less is More

Follow the “less is more” theory when it comes to decorating this season. Too many decorations can be overwhelming and distracting. Minimizing the amount of decorations you use will make your home feel more spacious and inviting.

If your space is full of clutter and decorations, prospective buyers will have a hard time seeing past it and envisioning your home as their own.

This is true on the exterior of your home as well. Holiday decorations are a fantastic way to add curb appeal and pleasantly welcome your potential buyers. Just try to avoid embracing your inner Clark Griswold. Too many flashing lights and large ornaments might be fun and playful, but they may distract or turn off a potential buyer.

Think smaller

You need to be very thoughtful about the size of decorations you use. For each item, be honest with yourself and ask whether it helps to showcase the space or actually detracts from the room's best features.

Your overall goal is to add some festive cheer and warmth to the space without detracting from the main features of your home. This might mean that you tone down the size of your christmas tree. Large trees and decorations, while festive, may make the room look smaller. Choose an oversized tree only if you have a really large room.

Go neutral or coordinate colors

You want every room of your home to be as appealing as possible to prospective buyers. So, if your favorite holiday decorations clash with the existing colors in your room, think twice about using those decorations this year.

Consider using neutral tones and metallics, such as gold, silver, copper, white or cream. These colors compliment almost every existing decor and is a great way to add class and charm. Think about replacing any multicolored tree lights with white lights for a more neutral and elegant feel. If you are still planning to use the traditional red and green tones, try using more red than green - scientifically, red is emotionally, a more appealing color.

Don’t make it too personal

When preparing your home to sell, you need to keep in mind that buyers want to be able to walk into your home and easily envision themselves, and their belongings, in the space. This means that your holiday decorations shouldn’t be overly personal.

Keep your decorations secular to avoid putting off potential homebuyers of different religions. Avoid displaying family photos, heirlooms and kids' crafts. Stick to more generic holiday decor, and try to create an overall festive ambiance. A good trick is to simmer some apple cider on the stove or bake some holiday cookies before your showing.

In conclusion, we believe that you can still enjoy decorating this home for the holidays even when you're preparing to sell. If you strike the right balance, and follow the tips we outlined above, your home will radiate warmth and charm that will appeal to potential buyers and help them to imagine living there. Enjoy what may be your last holiday season in your home.

Happy holidays!

Revisiting Fixed Vs. Variable Mortgages

It’s the classic rate decision many mortgage shoppers are faced with. And it’s only been made more complicated since the start of the pandemic. Towards the latter half of 2019, variable rates were flying off the shelves with rates as low as prime – 1%. A lot has changed since then.

In March, fears over the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdown forced most banks and other mortgage lenders to cut their fixed rates from 3.95% to 2.45% within the span of just one month. At the same time, variable-rate discounts were scaled back to just prime – 0.15% to 0.25%. By the summer fixed rates were setting historic lows. That led to a dramatic shift in mortgage selection by borrowers.

Why the shift in mortgage preference?

First, the fixed rate mortgage is among the most competitive mortgage products on the market. And many believe variable rates have no more room to fall, given that the Bank of Canada’s overnight target rate is holding at 0.25%.

Second, homebuyers are attracted to the stability that fixed-rates offer. They can lock in a rock-bottom rate for five full years.

The outlook

The Bank of Canada, in its recent Monetary Policy Report, suggested that rates won’t be rising until at least 2023, which is when inflation is expected to return to full capacity. Some forecasters, such as those at TD Bank, don’t expect the first-rate hike until 2024.

With forecasts like that both variable and fixed could be good options.

If you are in the process of shopping for a mortgage and are undecided whether to take a fixed or variable rate, I can help you understand the pros and cons and offer personalized solutions.

If you need additional information on this topic, please feel free to reach out to me at 306.222.7900 or debm@mortgagegroup.com

With the cooler temperatures outside, you would normally expect to see the real estate market cool off...but that is not what we saw this past month.

In October we saw 430 home sales, which is a super high number for this time of year. This is actually the same number of sales we saw in September.

Historically at this time of year, things begin to wind down, social activities begin, and the market starts to cool off. For example, in October of 2019, we only saw 307 home sales. So that means for this October we are up 41.5% in homes sales compared to last year.

We commonly hear from clients that they think they should wait until spring to get their home on the market...but we want to show you why we think December is actually a great month to sell your home.

To prove our point, we wanted to collect some historical, end of the year data...and after digging around a bit, we found a trend that we had to share.

We went back a few years, and decided to look at sales to listings ratios. Sales to Listing Ratios measure supply and demand by simply dividing the number of sales by the number of new listings. It is a good indicator of the speed at which homes are selling.

In 2017, the sales to listing ratio for the year was 38.9%, but in the month of December the sales to listing ratio jumps to 63.8%.

In 2018, the ratio was 41.7% for the year, but 52.7% in December.

In 2019, the ratio for the year was 46.5%, but then 67.2% in December.

When you average out those 3 years, you have an average sales to listing ratio for the year of 42.4%, but in December the average is 61.2%.

This means, over the last three years, December has provided homeowners a 18.8% greater chance to sell their home compared to the rest of the year.

In 2020, COVID-19 may impact the sales to listing ratio even more, as we’ve already seen that October was a very strong month. We may find that December proves to be once again a stellar month, and it could be a great opportunity to sell your home.

If you have a home to sell, there is still time to get your home on the market to take advantage of the December upswing. If you have any questions about this, or specifically about your home, we would be happy to go over everything with you.

Thanks and have a great November!

It’s officially Autumn and the leaves are falling and the temperatures are dropping. You’re probably wondering what this change in season means for the Real Estate Market in Saskatoon? Is it still a good time to buy or sell your home?

We’re going to share what we think you need to know about the market going into the fall and winter season of 2020.

First, we will quickly review the stats that just came out for the month of September. As we predicted, they continue to trend upwards.

There were 430 sales last month, which is a high number for this time of year. That’s actually 40.7% more sales compared to September of 2019, and 12.2% more sales for the year compared to this time last year. Although you should note, that it’s still less sales than August, where we saw 461 sales. This shows that even though we are seeing a slight decrease in sales due to the fall season, which is typical, we are seeing a much stronger fall market than we did in 2019.

This is also evident when you look at new listings from September. There were 12.8% more new listings this September compared to September of 2019. This indicates to buyers that due to the strong market there are still new listings being posted and there will likely be more in the coming months.

There were 1483 total active listings as of the end of September. This is a much lower inventory than we would typically see in September, where we are normally closer to 2000 or so active listings. This low inventory indicates that we are still generally in a sellers market, especially in the 300K - 550K price range.

So after looking at all of these stats, you’re probably wondering if you should be considering selling your home in the fall or winter market. We want to share a couple reasons why we think selling in the fall and winter can be a great idea.

1) In fall and winter, the buyers that exist in the market tend to be more motivated than they might be in the spring and summer. The colder weather weeds out any maybe-buyers and instead brings in super serious clients who want to close on a property before spring.

We also think that this year will be a bit different than normal as people are unable to travel due to the pandemic. People might get a bit stir crazy, and start looking for a change of scenery in their home.

2) As the weather gets colder the inventory in the market continues to decrease.

Lower inventory = less competition for your listing

Those super serious buyers in the market will have fewer homes to compare against yours making your property more attractive.

In general, we believe that regardless of the season, if your home is priced appropriately and in good condition, interested buyers and potential offers can be expected.

If you’re interested in getting more information, or would like us to provide you with a free evaluation of your home, please contact us and we would be happy to help.

We wanted to share one more piece of good news!

In September, 23% of all real estate transactions in Saskatoon were done by Realty Executives agents. This makes Realty Executives Saskatoon the #1 brokerage in the city! 

We are so proud to be a part of this amazing team, and we want to give a big shout out to Wayne Zuk, our broker/owner who is always there for advice and encouragement and who is one of the main reasons our team is so successful!

We hope you all enjoy your long weekend and have a wonderful Thanksgiving! Stay safe and see you soon!