The recent fall in housing prices in Canada has made home ownership more affordable, and broad-based cuts to mortgage rates announced by Canada's major banks yesterday will help even more.

The Quebec-based Desjardins Group said that its index of Canadian housing affordability is "slowly but surely inching its way" back up to its historic average

The bank's affordability index, which has averaged 128.8 over the past 20 years, rose to 115.9 in the third quarter of the year from 112.4 in the previous quarter

read more.......

Eric Beauchesne, Canwest News Service 
Published: Thursday, November 27, 20

Wonderful thing about this business is that every day brings some new twists and ideas about real estate.

I was holding an open house last weekend and had some decent traffic. So, what are the buyers looking for? Good deals,beter prices, and as one of them said, zero interest??. What di he mean? Well he said that he thinks the interest rates will go to zero. When I questioned him as ti what he meant, he really wasn't sure what he was talking about. Who knows what news he was listening to. There is talk and speculation that Bank of Canada will reduce the rates at the next meeting on December the 8th. It could be 1/4 to 1/2 off todays prime rate of 4%. Bank of Canada rate is 2.25% and the prime is usually 1.75 above that.

So what was my visitor thinking about. Zero rate for what? He wasn't sure. Even if the Bank of Canada overnight rate got to 0%, the bank prime would be 1.75% great deal for borrowing money and mortgages, but it sure wouldn't be much good for savings and other investments. I gues  he wasn't thinking along those lines.

I think the rates  are pretty good. Anything you can get under 6%for a 5 year mortgage has always been a good deal. There is no more discounting from the bank prime rate. most lenders will ad up to 1% to the prime as a variable mortgage rates and most of them will not give you a closed rate. Still, at 5% variable, and with the rates on the way down by most accounts, it is a pretty good deal.
There are other deals out there. A good mortgage broker will find you the best options available, but make sure you are dealing with an  Accredited Mortgage Professional.

Here are some news items that I have of interest, and you may enjoy them as well;

World's first globally coordinated rate cuts
Alia McMullen, Financial Post

....October marked the world's first globally coordinated interest rate cut....
FINANCIAL POST

In the trenches, talk of holding on
Kerry Gold, Globe & Mail

....look for market stability towards February.....
GLOBE AND MAIL

Vancouver real estate now a buyers' market
CBC News

....buyers seem to be uncertain about the economic future.....
CBC

House price drop may be exaggerated, TD says
Reuters

....drop in Canadian home prices...may not be as severe as it seemed.....
Vancouver Sun

Housing Market Outlook: BC Region Highlights - 4th Quarter '08
Canada Mortgage & Housing Corporation

...report...

With all the bad news around, you would think that all the house prices, in all areas of Canada, are down substantially. 
However, looking at this report by the Canadian Real Estate Association, house prices are still above the 2006 levels by a large margin in most areas of Canada.

The only area that shows lower levels in 2008 as compared to 2006 is in Northwest Territories.
Other areas are still up to 42% higher than 2006 levels.

The same is true when we look at the average house prices by cities.

Other than Victoria and Yellowknife most cities average house prices are still at higher levels than in 2006, by up to 45% in Regina and Saskatoon. So much for statistics. In general, and in spite the huge housing problems just South of us in the USA, Canadian house prices are not falling trough the floor.

Residential housing price decline creates buying opportunities

VANCOUVER, B.C. - November 3, 2008 - Housing price reductions across Greater Vancouver over the last six months have eliminated price gains witnessed in the first quarter of 2008.

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential benchmark prices, as calculated by the MLSLink Housing Price Index®, declined 8.8 per cent between May and October 2008, resulting in a 3.9 per cent year-to-date price reduction for detached, attached and apartment properties in Greater Vancouver between  Octobers 2007 and 2008. In May 2008, the overall residential benchmark price was $568,411, compared to $518,668 in October 2008.

"Home sales are not keeping pace with the positive economic conditions in BC," said REBGV president, Dave Watt.

"That's a direct result of a loss of consumer confidence in the overall market. Accordingly, today's housing market is characterized by moderating home prices and wide selection. It's definitely a buyer's market."

Residential property sales in Greater Vancouver declined 55 per cent in October 2008 to 1,364 from the 3,028 sales recorded in October 2007.

 Active listings totaled 19,257 in October 2008, a three per cent decline from the 19,852 active listings reported in September 2008. New listings for detached, attached and apartment properties increased one per cent to 4,867 in October 2008 compared to October 2007, when 4,819 new units were listed.

Sales of detached properties in October 2008 declined 56.5 per cent to 493 from the 1,133 sales recorded during the same period in 2007. The benchmark price for detached properties declined 4.7 per cent from October 2007 to $695,962. Since May 2008, the benchmark price for a detached property in Greater Vancouver has declined 9.8 percent.

 Sales of apartment properties in October 2008 declined 52.7 per cent to 647, compared to 1,368 sales in October2007. The benchmark price of an apartment property declined 3.5 per cent from October 2007 to $358,359. Since May 2008, the benchmark price for an apartment property in Greater Vancouver has declined eight per cent.

 Attached property sales in October 2008 are down 57.5 per cent to 224, compared with the 527 sales in October 2007. The benchmark price of an attached unit declined 1.4 per cent in Greater Vancouver between October 2007 and 2008 to $448,152. Since May 2008, the benchmark price for an attached property in Greater Vancouver has declined 6.4 per cent.

Editor's Notes: The MLSLink Housing Price Index® (HPI) calculates benchmark prices, which represent a typical property within a market. The HPI takes into consideration what averages and medians do not - the price of housing features such as lot size, age, number of rooms, etc. These features become the composite of the 'typical house' in a given area. Each month's sales determine the current prices paid for bedrooms, bathrooms, fireplaces, etc. and apply those new values to the 'typical' house model. The HPI measures typical, pure price change (inflation or deflation).

The Real Estate industry is a key economic driver in British Columbia. In 2007, 38,050 homes changed hands in the Board's area generating $1.065 billion in spin-offs. Total dollar volume of residential sales set a new record at $22.25 billion and total dollar volume of all sales set a record at $22.77 billion. The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver is an association representing more than 9,500 REALTORS®. The Real Estate Board provides a variety of membership services, including the Multiple Listing Service®. For more information on real estate, statistics, and buying or selling a home, contact a local REALTOR® or visit www.realtylink.org.

For more information please contact:

Craig Munn, Assistant Manager of Communications

Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver

Phone: (604) 730-3146

E-mail: cmunn@rebgv.org