I'm sure this rate news makes you feel a bit like David after his trip to the dentist, "Is this real life?". Well, it certainly may not seem like it if you consider the average 5-year fixed rate over the past 10 years is just over 6%! Most lenders are offering their 10 year fixed rate around 4.99%; however, one lender in Canada is as low as 3.89%!

If April sales are to be any indicator of the rest of 2012, the Calgary housing market will have its busiest year since 2008. According to a recent report by the Calgary Real Estate Board, April sales were up over 26% from the previous year's sales. Furthermore, the average sale price of $429,388 increased by nearly 2% from April 2011. So I guess the big question is… will this trend continue?

In the past year, I have expanded my business into the Fort McMurray area, and have had great success! I recently had a realtor call and ask if I could help his client purchase a home, even though the client’s bank and a different broker had led to a dead end. Bonnie, my client, wanted to give up but the realtor insisted that she talked to me because he was aware of my previous success. After some strategic planning and a conversation with a lender that I have a great relationship with, it was clear that Bonnie had a very good chance at approval

In years prior, common reasons for refinancing a closed mortgage have ranged anywhere from debt consolidation purposes to renovating your house. However, with the recent economic conditions, another reason has been added to the endless list: low interest rates.

On January 27, 2009 the government of Canada released an economic action plan designed to stimulate the economy. The plan was summed up with words that undoubtedly create high expectations for our nation’s economic growth in the upcoming year: “extraordinary and unprecedented action”.