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Pat Sawler
902-465-5533
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1959 Upper Water Street
Suite 1301
Halifax, NS B3J 3N2
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Surrey, British Columbia, V3W 1N6
Nova Scotia Brokerage 2021-3000179
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It’s about the numbers
Buying a home can sometimes be a very emotional decision. This is where you will be spending a great deal of your time so you want to get as many things right as possible. However it is also a good idea to take a step back and examine the numbers, because long after the initial […]
Rate increased
Just incase you were not watching the 5 year fixed insured AAA rate went up yesterday from 3.84% to 4.09% or an increase of 25 basis points. This is an increase of 120 basis points or 1.2% since the first of February. So it’s no wonder that the core inflation rate in Canada increased by […]
Blind Bidding
Blind bidding as it refers to real estate is when you put in an offer on a house with no idea what others have offered on the same property. You don’t see blind bidding at art of luxury car auctions yet they still seem to be getting record amounts for both of those products. So […]
March 2022 Inflation numbers
Well the inflation numbers for March 2022 just came out this morning and we are now at 6.7% ( up from 5.7 for February) or the highest rate since January of 1991. All the categories that Statistics Canada tracks from food, energy, shelter and transportation were all up. The largest increase is the 11.2% increase […]
Soft Landing
With the spike of interest rate increases the Bank of Canada is hoping for a soft landing to our economy instead of a recession. They want people to gradually slow their spending as rates increase so demand for products and services will decline and the prices of these commodities can reduce as a result. That […]
Personalization
As those who have read my posts before you know that I have read and attended the Dale Carnegie’s programs. In fact I have written about his first principal the 3 C’s before, and you can check it out here. Today I am going to touch on another one of his principals and how I […]
Bank of Canada policy announcement
At 11am Atlantic Standard Time it is widely expected that the Bank of Canada will introduce the latest change in the overnight lending rate to combat inflation. Although I am starting this post prior to the announcement, I will hold off publishing it till it actually has been announced. It is widely expected to increase […]
Hack the Stress Test
With the cost of housing still increasing by the day, it is vitally important to maximize the amount that you can qualify for when applying for your mortgage. Through most of the pandemic we qualified based on the stress test rate of 5.25%. Now that we are in an interest rate increasing market we have […]
Unconventional
In terms of mortgages there are basically two types for the standard A banks, there is high ratio and there is conventional which is when you put down 20% or more down payment. However here I want to talk about being unconventional about looking for solutions to uncommon problems that people are faced with today […]
2022 Federal Budget
Yesterday the federal government tabled the 2022 federal budget. While it seems that we are getting away from the spend your way out of the pandemic, this one seems more focused on the need to improve access to housing for Canadian’s. Here is how it is going to effect the real estate sector. They will […]
Changing Rates Again
Bond yields increased again yesterday so therefor the fixed mortgage rates on which they are based also increased. If you are putting down less then 20% your 5 year fixed AAA rate is now 3.84% which is up by .05 basis points since last week. However if you are putting down 20% or more your […]
Hire an expert
Generalist are fine when the problems or issues are minor, but when they are important or vital it is time to consult an expert. I was having issues with my feet this winter and asked my GP about it when I saw her. While the level of care is normally great for minor issues, if […]
NS budget 2022
Just as a point of reference I am not going to delve into all the items on the 2022 budget here in NS, but only how it effects the real estate market. It doesn’t matter the political strip of the government just the details on how it effects your ability to purchase property here in […]
Buckle Up
Buckle up as it may be a bumpy ride. Since Russia decided to invade Ukraine, I am not saying because of it but this did start around the same time, that bond yields have been steadily rising thus the fixed mortgage rates have also been increasing. In the past month the 5 year discounted fixed […]
Changing Rates
The global instability due to the war in Ukraine has finely started to effect mortgage rates. There have been a lot of changes in the past month and they are now starting to hit the financial markets. Bond yields which effect fixed mortgage rates have steadily started to rise since the start of the month […]