I have noticed that people who blog seem to be up to date on a lot of stuff. Since I am a mortgage broker, I figure it's time to get up to date on more stuff. So I have decided to start a blog.
For those of you who don't know me, I am a mortgage broker with an office in Coquitlam, but doing the majority of my business in Maple Ridge. These two communities are just outside of Vancouver, Canada.
I am obviously new to blogging, and I'm sure it will show for a while, but I'll catch on.
For my first post I wanted to do something for the local realtors. I noticed there are more than a few on this site, and hopefully they will take advantage of my effort to help build their business. I am not sure which local realtors are currently partnered with a mortgage broker, and which of those brokers would have passed this information on already, but here it is. I have personally already passed it on to just under 100 realtors in town, but there are always more that I am sure haven't received it.
Either way, this is a pretty easy way for me to enter the world of blogging, and hopefully some of you might find it a worth-while read.
The following is a summary of the significant statistics that were gathered during the researching of the "Annual State of the Residential Mortgage Market in Canada." This is an annual report released by CAAMP (Canadian Association of Accredited Mortgage Professionals). Please remember this acronym in the future as it's quite a mouthful to type and I plan on doing it sparingly.
The full report is 42 pages, a bit voluminous for this arena, but if you contact me, I can get the report to you.
The summary is as follows:
ANNUAL STATE OF THE RESIDENTIAL MORTGAGE MARKET IN CANADA
Significant Statistics
• During the past 15 years, residential mortgage credit has expanded at an average rate of 7.2 per cent per year, which is slightly faster than the 6.9 per cent growth rate for total household and business credit.
• More and more Canadians are going to mortgage brokers when shopping for mortgages. Forty per cent consulted a broker last year, up from 28 per cent, and 35 per cent of new mortgages were taken out through mortgage brokers.
• Average amount of equity in a home for Canadians is $136,000 for those with mortgages. For those with no mortgage the total equity increases to $280,000. For both groups combined, the average equity is $195,000.
• Sixty-six per cent of mortgages are fixed, but there has been a pronounced shift towards variable rate and adjustable rate mortgages. The share for variable and adjustable rate mortgages has essentially doubled to 40 per cent this year compared to 21 per cent for those who negotiated their mortgage a year or more ago. This shift suggests that consumers may be expecting interest rate reductions.
• Fixed rate mortgages are most popular amongst 18-34 year-olds; seventy-three per cent of this age group secured fixed mortgages. Older age groups are slightly more likely to choose variable rate mortgages. Combination mortgages are chosen by small minorities within each age group.
• The average mortgage interest rate was 5.41 per cent, a reduction from 5.56 per cent. Borrowers who have renewed or refinanced their mortgages during the past year have seen the average interest rate drop by 0.4 per cent compared to rates prior to renewal.
• The survey also sheds light on the extent of mortgage rate discounting in Canada. Borrowers who have taken five-year, fixed rate mortgages during the past year have an average mortgage interest rate of 5.59 per cent. Typical advertised rates averaged 7.18 per cent over the same period, indicating these borrowers negotiated discounts averaging 1.59 per cent below advertised rates.
Let me know if anyone finds this useful.
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