Real Estate Toronto Canada

Today is June 30th, 2010 which means that tomorrow is July 1st, 2010 – the day the earth will stand still as the dreaded HST era begins in Ontario.Today is quite possibly the busiest closing day in the history of Toronto.

The last week of June is traditionally the busiest of the year for closings as this marks the official start to summer as well as the end of the school year. People want to be in their new homes for the summer months and parents don’t want to move until their kids are finished school. Over the past several months, a huge percentage of the resale transactions that have taken place have been set to close this week, and in particular this day – June 30th.

There is still a great deal of misinformation about the HST. I had a client ask me just this week who purchased a resale home that is closing in September if they would have to pay HST in addition to the sale price! Can you imagine-adding a surprise 13% to the purchase price of a home! Of course HST does not apply to the sale price of a resale home whatsoever, I reassured my client but it goes to show that the general public does not know how this HST will be affecting them. I suppose like anything, you have to live with it for a while before you can tell what it feels like.

We’ve been hearing about it for months, that there would be a rush to get in before the HST, and it has definitely played out this way. I suspect many lawyers will be taking next week off as just about no one will be doing any closings this week.Now the question is, what happens next? Will the market drop off in July? Probably not. Buyers will keep buying and sellers will keep selling. Questions or comments? Contact me.

Well, they’re doing it again. Promising one thing and delivering another.

Have you heard the news that the provincial government is now planning on stopping the next extension of the 407 at Simcoe Street rather than taking it through to the Highway 35/115? Do the powers that be really think Simcoe Street has  the capacity to handle traffic resulting from a 407 terminus? In 2007 the Prime Minister of Canada and the Premier of Ontario committed to the completion of the 407 East Extension from current terminus at Brock Road in Pickering to Highway 35/115 in Clarington by 2013. This commitment has been reiterated on many occasions by Ministry of Transportation staff and Ministers in your Government.

I’m including a link here to a letter written by Roger Anderson, Regional Chair and CEO, The Regional Municipality of Durham. I encourage you to put his letter into your own words and then forward it on to the following representatives by fax or mail.

Region MPPs:

Christine Elliott, Whitby-Oshawa (905.430.1840)

John O’Toole, Durham (905-697-1506)

Jerry Ouellette, Oshawa (905-723-1054)

Joe Dickson, Ajax-Pickering (905-427-6976)

Wayne Arthurs, Pickering-Scarborough East (905-509-0334)

Also, think about contacting:

Premier Dalton McGuinty                                                   1-416- 325-9895

Minister of Transportation, Kathleen Wynne                       1-416 -327-9188

Minister of Energy & Infrastructure, Brad Duguid                1-416-327-6754

I believe that the 407 extension is needed. They’ve been promising it to us for years and now need to deliver. The last thing we need is to have the 407 end at Simcoe Street – a road that is already substandard. Together, we can make our government accountable to us. We need them to hear that all we want is what has been repeatedly promised to us!

While day to day volatility remains high, mortgage rates remain near their all time lows. The economic data is still mixed, but it looks like the recovery is losing steam, and the fear is that the economy may dip back into a new recession, or continue a long slow slog of bumping along the bottom, without a real upturn into growth.  Existing home sales fell 2.2% in May. The inventory of unsold homes on the market is sitting at an 8.3-month supply at the current sales pace, slightly better than the 8.4-month supply in April. New home sales fell 32.7% – the slowest sales pace since they began keeping records back in 1963. New home sales have fallen 78% from their peak in July 2005. Durable goods orders fell 1.1% in May after increasing a revised 3% in April. Initial claims for unemployment benefits fell by 19,000 to 457,000 for the week, showing that employment is still a major concern. One of the big market movers last week was the Fed meeting report. The Fed changed their wording slightly to a more bearish stance, which means the odds of a rate increase coming now shift even further into the future. The net result of this activity is that rates are as low as they have ever been. Not everyone can qualify, but if you do, this could be the right time to pull the trigger on a mortgage refinance or home purchase. Locking in these low rates now means big savings over time.

The big question this week is whether Congress will extend the close date for the home buyers tax credit. All contracts had to be written and in place by April 30th, but the legislation gave up until the end of June to close the transactions. This month has been crazy getting so many people in before the deadline, but their are still a lot of home buyers who bought in time, but through no fault of their own may not be able to close on time. Most of these are buyers who bought short sales or foreclosed homes. Short sales take more time to close, as you not only need to get the buyer to agree but also the lender (or lenders). This means more time, and their are buyers who bought months ago who are still trying to sort out all the details to get the deals closed. Foreclosures should be more cut and dried, but even when the bank which owns the home has agreed to all the terms, it can still be a maddening experience trying to get them to perform in a timely basis. This means there are a lot of buyers who fully expected to close on time, who are now anxiously waiting. A measure to allow more time to close was added to a jobs bill, was passed by the Senate, but died in the House of Representatives. There is still hope that a new bill will come through this week, but we are down to the wire on this. The other possibility is that something is passed in July and made retroactive. If this doesn’t happen, many of these transactions will still close, but the buyers will be out the $8,000 credit they were counting on. If you are one of the buyers affected by this, get on the phone and call your representative now. They do listen and respond to pressure.

Here are the current Chicago Illinois Home mortgage rates for an A+ (740 Fico or above), full doc single family home purchase or rate/term refinance on a 45 day rate lock, with 0 points, and no origination fee, best FHA rates assume a 660 Fico score, but loans are available with credit scores as low as 620. Mortgage rates in other states may be slightly different, give me a call and I will give you an accurate quote for your particular situation. The conventional and FHA rates are based on the highest conforming loan amounts, which give the best pricing. Again, there are many factors which affect mortgage rates and your ability to be approved for a loan. These rates may not fit your situation and this is just a sample of the programs that are out there. If you would like a quote for your personal situation, or to get pre-approved for a mortgage, give me a call or contact me (Illinois mortgage company) and I will take the time to find the rate and program that is best for you:

Conventional loans up to $417,000

For Jumbo loans over $417,000

*A better option may be to break your Jumbo loan into 2 parts a conventional loan to the limit of $417,000 and a HELOC or fixed second mortgage for the rest. The blended rate is usually much better than a single loan would be, especially for the lower end of the Jumbo range.

** 5-5 ARM is fixed for first 5 years, with 2/6 caps it can’t go more than 2% above the start rate for the next 5 years. 2% cap for next 5 years – so a blended rate over 10 years is no more than 1% over the start rate.

FHA LOANS 3.5% down payment FHA Maximum varies by County

FHA APR reflects 3.5% down payment and the effect of mortgage insurance on the loan. Call for information on no-cost FHA streamlined Refinances

FHA 203K Rehab Loans

Call for Quote

VA Veterans Administration 0 Down Loans

Call for information on no-cost VA Streamlined Refinances

These are just a few of the mortgage programs and mortgage rates available. Which option is best for you depends on your own specific goals and needs. If you have any questions or want to go over your situation in depth, let me know how I can help.

Peter Thompson 630-479-6424

Illinois Mortgage Rates                   First time home buyer loans

Chicago Mortgage Company

Do you ever think “Ugh, I’d totally write a new blog post, if I just had something to say?” Or maybe, “I’m sick and tired of writer’s block but I don’t know what to do about it!”

We’ve all been there — those days when the light bulb seems dim, if not burned out. To give you a little creative push and get that writerly mojo flowing again, we’ve added a new service called Plinky.com.

Each weekday, Plinky provides a prompt — like a question or a challenge — and you type in an answer. To keep it interesting, prompts are a mixed bag of fun commands (“Write a haiku about the last meal you ate”) to more thoughtful questions (“What is your favorite summer memory?”)

To get started, sign up for a new account at Plinky. Then, add your WordPress.com blog to your Plinky account, which will let you share your answer. We’re excited to see what you’ll create, and we hope to feature some of the best Plinky answers on WordPress.com. But we can’t feature your Plinky posts without your help: You’ll need to add a “Plinky” tag to your blog post, so that it appears on the Plinky tag page.

Support instructions for using Plinky on your WordPress.com blog.

Grab your extra-large images and check out today’s new theme, Modularity Lite. If you want a photo blog or portfolio site our one-hundredth theme might be the perfect thing for you. Let’s take a look at it.

The Modularity Lite Theme

If you’re attaching large images (950 pixels by 425 pixels and up) to your posts you can turn on the optional home page slideshow in Appearance → Theme Options. Modularity Lite grabs the first large image attachment from your most recent posts and turns them into a dynamic, full-width slideshow.

Also available from the Theme Options page: a welcome message you can enable on the home page just above the slideshow and a checkbox for making Modularity Lite a full-width, no-sidebar theme.

Modularity Lite Theme Options

We’ve also made sure that Modularity Lite is really customizable. There’s a Custom Header (950 pixels by 200 pixels), Custom Background, and a fully-widgetized footer at the bottom of every page. Check out the Modularity Lite demo and take a closer look.

Designed by Graph Paper Press, Modularity Lite is now available for WordPress.com and, for self-hosted WordPress.org sites, from the WordPress.org Themes Directory.

Each season it is your well-maintained entryway that gracefully welcomes friends and family to your home. The fact that most passers by can see it readily provides plenty of incentive for homeowners to make this first impression a good one.

Clean and clear walkways, pretty landscaping and plenty of lighting will all enhance your home’s main feature, a gracious entrance. But here we will focus on the doorway itself.

Have you thought about replacing your front door? If is is poorly hung or has an improper fit, not only will you have a disappointing first impression, it could contribute to energy loss and security risks. In these cases, the door requires replacing. You may wish to consider a complete entry system, instead of just a door exchange. With the system, the door is pre-hung in its frame, with each of its components designed to work reliably together – your best bet when it comes to dependable energy efficiency and overall strength.

Your existing door may be in great shape, so a simple update may be all that is required. Painting will allow you to change the colour in the future, while staining a wood door will lend to a sophisticated, formal entrance.

In choosing a paint colour for the front door, it is important to decide on the overall look and feel you wish to achieve. Do you want to draw attention to the entrance as a bold focal point? Then choose a standout colour that contrasts (but is complimentary) to the exterior of the house.

If you prefer to have a discreet front door, then opt for a more subtle colour. Choose this option if your door is awkwardly placed so as to avoid disturbing the overall balance of your home.

Classic black makes a formal and grand statement. Navy blue and deep green work beautifully with terracotta brick exteriors, while stone or siding in grey looks best with a selection from the red family. Keep in mind that secondary doors and garages should not compete with the front door. For these areas, use an entirely different colour or one that blends closely with the exterior.

And don’t forget the hardware. As your top priority choose security over aesthetics. You want protection for any forced entry attacks. But there are several great options in the market today. Coordinate door knockers, kick-plates, house numbers, mail slots and light fixtures for a harmonious appearance.

An improved appearance pays dividends in enjoyments and will increase the resale value of your home. Buyers will spend some time waiting for their agent to open the lockbox to obtain the key for your home. You want them to be able to see a pretty door, that is well-maintained, giving them a preview of what to expect when they see the inside of your home. So go ahead and splurge a little. You never get a second chance to make a good first impression!

It’s Fed time again, and as expected, the Fed will keep short term rates at the same 0 –.25% range. The Fed minutes are always much anticipated and analysts try to read between the lines to see if there are any hidden meanings which would telegraph the Fed’s likelihood or timing of their raising rates sometime in the future. You don’t have to be a psychic or Fed expert to read their true meaning now, rates are low and they will stay low for a long time. This version was a little bleaker than previous, versions. High unemployment, lower housing wealth and tight credit are keeping a cap on growth, the statement said, and alluding to the European financial crisis, financial conditions have worsened.

All the Fed watchers are looking for signs of inflation, and the view here is that inflation is in the far distance, and not a threat of any kind, for now. This isn’t great news for the economy, but if you are thinking about purchasing a new home or refinancing your current mortgage, this means that rates for mortgages are likely to remain low. Mortgage rates aren’t directly controlled by the Fed. The Fed sets short term rates for the biggest banks. Mortgage rates are determined by activity in the mortgage backed securities markets, where the bonds trade up and down based largely on the fear of inflation. This news means that with the threat of inflation lessened mortgage bond holders are more likely to accept lower yields. Rates are at record lows now, and there is no guarantee that they will stay this low, but they will stay in a low range, until unemployment starts to drop and the economy improves.

Here is the full statement:

Information received since the Federal Open Market Committee met in April suggests that the economic recovery is proceeding and that the labor market is improving gradually. Household spending is increasing but remains constrained by high unemployment, modest income growth, lower housing wealth, and tight credit. Business spending on equipment and software has risen significantly; however, investment in nonresidential structures continues to be weak and employers remain reluctant to add to payrolls. Housing starts remain at a depressed level. Financial conditions have become less supportive of economic growth on balance, largely reflecting developments abroad. Bank lending has continued to contract in recent months. Nonetheless, the Committee anticipates a gradual return to higher levels of resource utilization in a context of price stability, although the pace of economic recovery is likely to be moderate for a time.

Prices of energy and other commodities have declined somewhat in recent months, and underlying inflation has trended lower. With substantial resource slack continuing to restrain cost pressures and longer-term inflation expectations stable, inflation is likely to be subdued for some time.

The Committee will maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at 0 to 1/4 percent and continues to anticipate that economic conditions, including low rates of resource utilization, subdued inflation trends, and stable inflation expectations, are likely to warrant exceptionally low levels of the federal funds rate for an extended period.

The Committee will continue to monitor the economic outlook and financial developments and will employ its policy tools as necessary to promote economic recovery and price stability.

Peter Thompson                              630-479-6424

Illinois Mortgage Rates                   First time home buyer loans

Chicago Mortgage Company

Mortgage rates are hitting record lows again. Yesterday after China announced that it was considering decoupling the Yuan from the dollar, it looked like the streak of low rates was about to turn. But this was only a head fake higher before rates resumed their march lower. The market decided that China’s move was more symbolic than anything, and that this might not be the major event it first appeared to be. Today existing home sales fell by 2.2%, worse than expected, and the stock market sold off again. The result is that mortgage rates are the lowest they have been in ages. This means that for those who qualify, refinancing is a hot bet. If you are buying a new home,this is an opportunity to lock in your loan at a rate that will make your parents jealous. The big question now is how long these low rates will last. If past history is a guide, it might not be very long. At the beginning of last year rates dropped, but the lowest rates weren’t around for long. If you can take advantage of a low, low mortgage rate through a refinance or new home purchase, it might not pay to wait.

Here are the current Chicago Illinois Home mortgage rates for an A+ (740 Fico or above), full doc single family home purchase or rate/term refinance on a 45 day rate lock, with 0 points, and no origination fee, best FHA rates assume a 660 Fico score, but loans are available with credit scores as low as 620. Mortgage rates in other states may be slightly different, give me a call and I will give you an accurate quote for your particular situation. The conventional and FHA rates are based on the highest conforming loan amounts, which give the best pricing. Again, there are many factors which affect mortgage rates and your ability to be approved for a loan. These rates may not fit your situation and this is just a sample of the programs that are out there. If you would like a quote for your personal situation, or to get pre-approved for a mortgage, give me a call or contact me (Illinois mortgage company) and I will take the time to find the rate and program that is best for you:

Conventional loans up to $417,000

For Jumbo loans over $417,000

*A better option may be to break your Jumbo loan into 2 parts a conventional loan to the limit of $417,000 and a HELOC or fixed second mortgage for the rest. The blended rate is usually much better than a single loan would be, especially for the lower end of the Jumbo range.

** 5-5 ARM is fixed for first 5 years, with 2/6 caps it can’t go more than 2% above the start rate for the next 5 years. 2% cap for next 5 years – so a blended rate over 10 years is no more than 1% over the start rate.

FHA LOANS 3.5% down payment FHA Maximum varies by County

FHA APR reflects 3.5% down payment and the effect of mortgage insurance on the loan. Call for information on no-cost FHA streamlined Refinances

FHA 203K Rehab Loans – Call for a personal Quote for your situation

VA Veterans Administration 0 Down Loans

Call for information on no-cost VA Streamlined Refinances

These are just a few of the mortgage programs and mortgage rates available. Which option is best for you depends on your own specific goals and needs. If you have any questions or want to go over your situation in depth, let me know how I can help.

Peter Thompson 630-479-6424

Illinois Mortgage Rates                   First time home buyer loans

Chicago Mortgage Company

Say hello to Koi, our newest theme. This light and colorful theme provides a beautiful framework for your WordPress.com site with delicate, hand-drawn illustrations and refined typography. The tasteful artwork featured in the header and footer are suggestive of koi, an ornamental fish often considered a symbol of love and friendship.

Example of Koi’s layout showing the lovely illustrations behind the header and navigation bar.

Enjoy the playful artwork and textured background, or customize the look with a custom background color and image, custom header image*, and custom navigation menu.

Add a background image and change the background color via the Custom Background menu.

Koi’s right-hand sidebar and three footer columns are ready for all your widgets. If no widgets are enabled in the footer widget area, it will not appear.

Example of Koi’s three footer widget areas and more of the design’s gorgeous artwork.

Designed by Nick La of N.Design Studio, Koi is now available for your WordPress.com site and is coming soon for self-hosted WordPress.org sites.

From time to time I am able to offer my buyer clients special privileges because of either my own relationship with a particular developer or because of my brokerage’s affiliation with one. This week I have a special offer from ART Condos. Art is a 150 suite boutique loft building on Dovercourt, one block south of Queen Street. Suites range in size from @500sf to 1650sf 2 storey three bedroom with a patio. Prices are from $227,990 and parking is $30,000.

ART condos in Queen West is very close to hitting their sales targets for starting construction. They only need about 17 more units sold. In order to expedite the last few sales, they are offering an exclusive to my clients and other clients of Remax Condos Plus. On Wednesday June 23 they are having an exclusive sales event.

Special incentives for buyers at this event

• Zero assignment fee
• $2500 cashback on closing for studios, one bedroom and one bedrooms and den
• $5000 cashback for 2 bedrooms, 2 bedrooms and den and 2 storey 2 bedrooms
• Deposit Structure for select units has been reduced to only 10% in 90 days + 5% at occupancy!

If you are interested in purchasing a unit at ART condos, this is a great opportunity to get in before construction begins. Contact me for more information.

The Globe and Mail had an article last week that suggested that the rental market was heating up as would-be buyers were leaving an overheated condo market in favour of renting. As a result, the rental market is now heating up considerably. The evidence for this hypothesis provided by the author was strictly anecdotal, so I decided to do some investigating on my own to see what was happening in the condo rental market downtown.

I polled some of my colleagues who work rentals at Remax Condos Plus because I rarely get involved with rentals so I am not on top of this market. Unfortunately there wasn’t much consensus. Some agents disagreed with the article completely – they said that supply is higher than ever in the rental market.  When there are over 100 rental units in a single building like Maple Leaf Square, and plenty of other new condos set to come online this year, it’s hard to call it a landlord’s market. However, some agents had stories of bidding wars such as one agent who mentioned they had a few rental listings at CASA (33 Charles) recently and all fetched multiple offers within days of listing for rent.

The fear for investors who are buying units in new developments is will rents continue to rise to catch up with rising property prices downtown? I had one person email me and lament about how Toronto is a lousy place to be a landlord essentially because rents are so ridiculously low compared to other major world cities.

The rental market is one that investors and buyers should keep an eye on as it does affect the condo (sales) market. So I’d like to hear from you: agents who read this blog and also those of you who are looking for rental properties or investors who are trying to rent out their properties at the moment. Would you characterize this market as a tenant’s market or a landlord’s market? What is happening on the street?

This month we passed an impressive milestone: 200,000,000 posts have been published on WordPress.com.

Does this number surprise us? Not at all. Because we’ve long known that you — our users — have an infinite amount of things to share with the world.  From posts about your struggles with life and death, your favorite hobbies or your simple yet touching thoughts of the day, you are who we have to thank for helping us become the success we are today.

Onward and upward. And if you’re curious to know more about our stats, you’ll probably enjoy this page. Happy blogging!

I’m a real estate salesperson, so I think it’s a given that my answer to this question is, “Yes”! But let me go a little further with my answer. The real estate market has always been a good, long term investment so whether you buy in an up or down market, if you hold onto your property long enough, you will see a return (and sometimes a substantial return) on your investment. Is that true of just about every investment? Likely, but I’m not a stock trader, so you’ll have to go elsewhere for that answer!

Today the market in the Durham Region is great. News reporters are going to tell you that the market statistics are down and the “bubble” has burst because they sell based on sensationalism. Do they think we can’t remember that they were saying the bubble had burst at the end of 2008? I don’t think there ever was a bubble and most real estate analysts will tell you the same thing. We have had a slow and steady increase in sales and prices within the Durham Region and any dips we saw at the beginning of 2009 have been regained. There are always going to be ups and downs in the market, just as in any business.

So should you buy a house now? Or for that matter, are you thinking “Should I sell my home“? Sure, maybe you will get a little less for your home this month than you would have received last month, but the house you buy is going to be worth less also, so it’ll all work out in the end. And if you are buying now, don’t worry that the house might have been $5,000 less if you waited another 30 days, instead, buy your own home, start paying your own mortgage and building up the equity in your house. In five years, you’ll wonder why you ever hesitated. Mortgage rates are still really low. Go to my website and see a banner/link to Kyle Erickson’s website for amazing mortgage rates. He has lenders that he saves just for my clients and you won’t believe the deal he can get for you!

So call and see what type of mortgage you qualify for, then call me and we’ll go find the home of your dreams!

FHA may be about to change again. In a vote of 406-4, the House of Representatives passed a bill that, if passed by the Senate, will increase the monthly mortgage insurance for FHA loans. Over the last 2 years FHA has gone from being a bit player in the housing market, to the main choice for most first time home buyers, and now makes up about 40% of the overall loan volume. Because FHA has increased market share so quickly, and as a result of all the stress in the housing market, loan defaults have become a real problem. Some critics of the program have said that the higher default rate is a result of FHA making bad loans. The truth is more complicated. FHA, though it is a government program, has been self sufficient since it started, and uses the mortgage insurance premium that it charges to cover any losses from bad loans. This mortgage insurance (MIP) is broken into 2 parts. One part of is Up-front mortgage insurance which is a lump sum that is financed into the loan. The other part is an annual premium that is paid monthly, just like conventional mortgage insurance. This mortgage insurance has always been enough to keep the program solvent, so unlike Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and all the big banks that make mortgages, FHA has stood on their own 2 feet and haven’t required a bail out to stay in business. But with the housing market still rocky, FHA management is moving to make sure they keep their reserve levels high, and this means raising their MIP.

Last year FHA raised their Up-front MIP requirement from 1.5% of the loan amount to 2.25% (again, financed into the loan). The new bill focuses on the monthly premium. This bill would allow FHA to increase the annual premium from the current .55% of the loan amount (divided by 12 and paid monthly) to a maximum of 1.5%. This nearly triples the amount they could collect, and if they put this in all at once, would be a major hardship for most borrowers. But it is more likely that they will tinker with the formula, lowering the Up-front premium and raising the annual, but not all the way to the limit. One combination that has been discussed, is lowering the Up-front MIP to 1% of the loan amount, and raising the annual to .90% (again, divided by 12). This approach gives a little on one side, while taking away on the other. An increase from the current .55% to .9% would result in about $30/mo on a $100,000 loan, while reducing the Up-front premium by $1,250. This may not be the intended result, but what this really does is make FHA more attractive for those who don’t plan on being in the property long term, and may make FHA a better alternative for some who would otherwise be able to finance with a conventional mortgage. I will have more analysis on this once we know how this will really shake out.

Nothing will happen until this bill passes through the Senate. No Senator has sponsored the bill yet, but based on the lopsided passage in the house, I have no doubt it will be coming soon. The higher payments will make it more expensive for some buyers, but this is a small price to pay to keep the FHA program on track. In order for the housing market to recover, FHA needs to stay healthy.

Peter Thompson 630-479-6424

Illinois Mortgage Rates                   First time home buyer loans

Chicago Mortgage Company

The Toronto Real Estate Pendulum Is Swinging The Other Way Now

Although sales of Toronto houses and condos were healthy in May, they dropped back to pre-2007 levels for the month.  The listing inventory hit above 25,000 for the first time since the fall of 2008.

This now offers plenty of choice for buyers – something we haven’t seen for over 18 months here in Toronto.

And… just like we encouraged buyers to jump in between October 2009 and March-April of 2009 (and some of you took our advice and took advantage of the market) because of the higher inventory and some great prices, we’re advocating that you do that again right now!

There are sellers out there who’ve already purchased and who are keen to sell.  There won’t be any fire sales but some negotiating can be had.

Watch the Toronto Real Estate Market Report For May video below and learn more about what’s happening in the market and what opportunities await.

Toronto Real Estate Home Sales In May Show Spring Market Is Over is a post from: Toronto Real Estate Updates

You know the resale condo market is slowing down when the mainstream media starts writing articles telling us that it is. By the time the MSM gets on the train, it has already left the station and is well on its way to its destination. Reader of this blog and clients of mine have already known that the market has peaked and has been slowing for quite some time already.

On the pre-construction side however, it’s a different story. Buyers and agents are still lining up for the latest and greatest pre-construction launches all over downtown (seems to be one just about every week). Demand is still far outstripping supply with projects like FIVE condos supposedly receiving several hundred worksheets in the first few hours post-launch, and other projects like The Berczy and King Edward Hotel practically selling out overnight.

This is all eerily similar to the pattern we saw the last time the market slowed down. The resale market started to show signs of cracking around June/July 2008, but the pre-construction market kept humming along until the fall of ‘08 when it too was affected. But prices if you recall, did not come down in pre-construction until around the spring of ‘09 when everyone was ‘relaunching’ their projects with reduced pricing and finally the momentum came back.

The resale market is much more sensitive to changes in the overall housing market than the pre-construction side. Individual sellers are much more inclined to reduce prices compared to slow moving developers who don’t do anything without talking about it for at least a month or two. The pre-construction market will slow this year, but developers will probably not notice it until the Fall.

Does this mean it is a bad time to buy pre-construction? Not necessarily. I believe there are good opportunities to buy in any market, you just have to know how to evaluate the opportunities and make smart buying decisions. One project that is a still a great buy for me remains DNA3. Questions or comments? Contact me.

The Taoist concept of “Wu Wei” involves knowing when to act and when not to act. It’s also the name and neat description of the design philosophy behind today’s new one-column theme. Let’s take a look at Wu Wei.

The Wu Wei theme

Wu Wei is a gorgeous theme but we’ve also made sure it’s packed with features for you. Starting from the top, beautiful, fully customizable, drop-down menus using the Menus feature in Appearance → Menus, and an optional Custom Header. You can add a header image below the text, and if you’re uploading your own logo here, choose to hide the text altogether.

Wu Wei's customizable menus

And, at the bottom, totally optional Widget areas in the footer of every Wu Wei-themed page of your site. To keep things simple, they’re turned off by default. Visit Appearance → Widgets and add your own Widgets to any of the three available areas to automatically turn the footer Widget area on.

Wu Wei's optional footer widgets

Wu Wei also comes with an alternate, dark color scheme.

The dark color scheme

Turning on the dark color scheme is simple. Just visit Appearance → Theme Options, check off the option to use the dark color scheme, and click the save button. Both the color schemes are beautiful so this might be a tough choice!

You also have complete control over the background for this theme in Appearance → Background. The choice of dark or light color schemes works really well with this.

Designed by Jeff Ngan, Wu Wei is now available for WordPress.com and, for self-hosted WordPress.org sites, from the WordPress.org Themes Directory.

Volatility in the markets is high again, but mortgage rates ended the week in the lowest range of the last year, at record low rates. Mortgage bonds were strong most of the week, but when the stock market staged a rally on Thursday, volatility hit hard and as bonds dropped, mortgage rates got hit hard. But the trend was back on track by Friday as low retail sales numbers came in much lower than expected, casting doubt on the strength of the recovery. Some of the other reports released were a little more mixed, but mortgage rates aren’t really moving based on economic reports now. The big mover in the interest rate market is the stock market. Stocks are at a crucial point now, and the question is whether the rally is pausing before making the next leg higher, or if the problems in Europe are an indicator of more trouble to come. Either way, for a quick read on what is happening with mortgage rates, look to the stock market. If stocks are improving rates are moving higher. I stocks are selling off, mortgage rates are likely moving lower. This has always been one factor in mortgage bond pricing, but now it is the biggest influence, by far.

At any rate, if you are in a position to take advantage of these rates, don’t delay. Last year when rates dropped to this level, a lot of potential borrowers waited on the sidelines convinced that rates would drop to 4.50%. It never happened. Even if mortgage bonds improve, the wholesale lenders who buy the mortgages in the mortgage aftermarket are hesitant to pass along the gains (which would mean a huge runoff in their servicing portfolio as home owners refinanced into lower rates) and they are more likely to sit back and make higher profits rather than passing the gains on. At some point rates will rise, the question is a matter of time. If you want to refinance your Chicago area mortgage or get a free mortgage pre qualification, let me know. This could be a great time to pull the trigger.

Here are the current Chicago Illinois Home mortgage rates for an A+ (740 Fico or above), full doc single family home purchase or rate/term refinance on a 45 day rate lock, with 0 points, and no origination fee, best FHA rates assume a 660 Fico score, but loans are available with credit scores as low as 620. Mortgage rates in other states may be slightly different, give me a call and I will give you an accurate quote for your particular situation. The conventional and FHA rates are based on the highest conforming loan amounts, which give the best pricing. Again, there are many factors which affect mortgage rates and your ability to be approved for a loan. These rates may not fit your situation and this is just a sample of the programs that are out there. If you would like a quote for your personal situation, or to get pre-approved for a mortgage, give me a call or contact me (Illinois mortgage company) and I will take the time to find the rate and program that is best for you:

Conventional loans up to $417,000

For Jumbo loans over $417,000

*(Another option is to break your Jumbo loan into 2 parts a conventional to the limit of $417,000 and a HELOC or fixed second mortgage for the rest. The blended rate is usually much better than a single loan would be.)

** (5-5 ARM is fixed for first 5 years, with 2/6 caps it can’t go more than 2% above the statr rate for the next 5 years. )

2% cap for next 5 years

FHA LOANS 3.5% down payment FHA Maximum varies by County

FHA APR reflects 3.5% down payment and the effect of mortgage insurance on the loan. Call for information on no-cost FHA streamlined Refinances

FHA 203K Rehab Loans

Call for Quote

VA Veterans Administration 0 Down Loans

Call for information on no-cost VA Streamlined Refinances

These are just a few of the mortgage programs and mortgage rates available. Which option is best for you depends on your own specific goals and needs. If you have any questions or want to go over your situation in depth, let me know how I can help.

Peter Thompson 630-479-6424

Illinois Mortgage Rates                   First time home buyer loans

Chicago Mortgage Company

As some of you noticed, including a number of major media organizations, WordPress.com had some unexpected downtime on Thursday evening. Whether you’re eating delicious BBQ, as I was, watching a marathon, or about to post your opus, downtime is an annoying interruption and we hate it.

This had nothing to do with our network providers, or data centers, or aliens, it was completely our fault. A single line, nay, a single character out-of-place, slipped by our normal review and testing and started overwriting settings when triggered. The team immediately took the site down to prevent further damage and clean up the mess that had been caused. All hands were called to deck.

First we determined that 11.2 million blogs were unaffected by the bug. So we brought those back up. For the remaining 50,000 or so, including some VIPs, we started restoring the lost settings using backups, audit trails, and logs. This was largely automated and we brought blogs back online as they were fixed, but a few final tricky ones were brought back one-by-one by hand because we wanted to make sure everything was in its right place.

For most folks (99%) your site was only unavailable for an hour, the rest came up a bit after that, and the tricky ones we worked on until the morning. Fortunately because of the time of day and the shorter duration, this had a smaller effect on traffic (about 3.9m) versus the last time (5.5m).

As a silver lining to this failing of the cloud, we learned a lot. We’ll be using our newfound experience to keep WP.com a safe, stable, and robust place to hang your hat and have your blog call home.

If you have any questions, notice any remaining wonkiness, or just want to say howdy, we’d be happy to hear from you.

July 1st is fast approaching and that means the HST will be here, in full force. There is plenty of news surrounding the implementation of this revised tax, but are you really prepared for it? How will it affect your home buying and selling experience?

The government has released general transition rules with regard to the HST and how it will apply to Realtors’® services. It is assumed that the commissions on a sale become due when the property is sold or leased and the portion that is subject to HST is determined to the extent, expressed as a percentage, that the services are performed on or after July 1, 2010. However, if 90% or more of the services are performed before July 1, 2010, the HST will not apply.

For example, a Realtors’® services are performed from June 1, 2010 to July 2, 2010 with the sale of the property closing on July 2, 2010. The Realtors’® commission becomes due at that time of closing. More than 90 per cent of the Realtors’® services were performed before July 1, 2010. In these circumstances, the GST at the rate of five per cent will apply to the REALTORS® services. In another example, a Realtors’® services are performed from May 1, 2010 to July 31, 2010 with the sale of the property closing on July 31, 2010. The Realtors’® commission becomes due at that time. In this case, two thirds of the services were performed from May 1, 2010 to June 30, 2010 and one third of the services were performed from July 1, 2010 to July 31, 2010. The Realtors’® will charge GST on two thirds of the amount charged for the services and HST on the remaining third.

HST highlights
• Starting July 1st, the HST will be in effect in Ontario.
• Purchasers of newly constructed homes for primary residences up to $400,000 would not, on average, be subject to an additional tax burden in view of the new housing rebate up to $24,000.
• There is a new rental housing rebate, similar to the enhanced new housing rebate, for new residential rental properties.
• For new homes constructed in full or in part prior to July 1, 2010 that are subject to the HST on or after July 1, 2010, a PST transitional housing rebate is available to provide relief in respect to the PST embedded in the home.
• HST will not be applicable to a used residence for re-sale.
• For those who sell their home in Ontario, there will be a 13 per cent tax payable on the real estate commission (an eight per cent increase on top of the current five per cent.).
• Lawyer’s fees will also be subject to the 13 per cent HST in Ontario, as will the cost of a Condominium Status Certificate, however the total cost of that status certificate will remain at $100.
• Moving costs, the cost of a home inspection and even home staging will increase to reflect the HST.

There will be some room to discuss whether you will owe HST on the commission paid when you buy or sell a home in Ontario. Each individual transaction will need to be reviewed and a decision made on the particular circumstances surrounding the sale or purchase. Stay tuned here, for the most up-to-date information.