Thank You!

Thank you to everyone who joined us this evening. It was our first time hosting the Sidney Chamber of Commerce and we really enjoyed it. It was wonderful meeting so many local business people.

Please don't hesitate to drop in anytime and say hello.

Cheers
Krista and Sherri
Lawless Brown Mortgage Brokers

Come Join Us!!

Want an Excellent Networking Opportunity?

Come join us for

the Peninsula Chamber of Commerce

Business after Business Mixer

that we are hosting on

May 21^st, 2009

Sidney Mortgage Depot

2446 Beacon Ave.

5-7pm

Come meet new people and catch up with old associates

In today’s economic times business connections are more important then ever.

Please RSVP

krista@lawlessbrown.com

250-656-0855

Appetizers and Beverages will be served

See you then

Arlene, Sherri and Krista

More Cash in Our Homes

Canadians have more Equity in their Houses than Americans, says Survey
By Garry Marr, Financial PostApril 23, 2009

Canadians continue to have more than two-thirds more equity in their home than Americans, according to a new survey.
The study for the Canadian Association of Accredited Mortgage Professionals shows Canadian homeowners have, on average, 72% equity in their house, compared with 43% for Americans.
"It is a very positive part of the Canadian housing story," said Jim Murphy, chief executive of Toronto-based CAAMP. "Canadians pay down their mortgages. Canadians are just more conservative than Americans."
The study also found that Canadians have dramatically reduced the amount of equity they are taking out of their home. A year ago 22% of Canadians had accessed the equity in their home through measures such as lines of credit. Today that is down to 15%.
"This speaks to the whole thing about people belt-tightening," said Mr. Murphy.
Despite the drop in prices in the Canadians marketplace, only 2% of Canadian mortgage holders have negative equity, in which the value of their mortgage is higher than the value of their home.
About the only new risk Canadians seem to be taking on is longer amortizations. While 83% of Canadians have an amortizations of 25 years or less, the number with 30-year and 35-year amortizations is rising. In the past six months, 46% of new mortgages have been for amortization of more than 25 years.
"I don't think it's a worry because [Canadians] are paying down their mortgages," said Will Dunning, chief economist with CAAMP, noting the percentage of Canadians in arrears on their mortgage is rising but the total is still 0.38% of all mortgage holders. "That's the middle of historical averages."
Mr. Dunning said the study also indicates that subprime mortgages are likely a very small percentage of the Canadian marketplace. Only 2% of all Canadian mortgages have interest rates of 8% or higher -- the low-water level for what would constitute the rate on a sub prime mortgage.
The survey did show that Canadians are also taking advantage of continued drops in interest rates by increasingly buying into variable rate products. CAAMP says 28% of Canadians have variable-rate products that are tied to prime. The number is rising, with 36% of new mortgage orientation in the past 12 months going into variablerate products.
With the Bank of Canada's decision to lower rates another 25 basis points and its commitment to not change rates for another year, Canadians are expected to continue to take advantage of a record-low prime rates, which are 2.25% at most financial institutions.

Krista and Sherri
www.lawlessbrown.com

The past???

So the question is.....is this the bottom? A hint of optimism is in the air as the market rises 20% over the past two weeks. It's contagious but again, is this the bottom? The doomsayers say no.

In Victoria, we are watching the housing market closely to see how it reacts. House sales have increased over the past couple of months which is a good sign. Canada's banking system is strong and our Prime Minister has been bragging about it in London at the Summit.

Let's hope that we have hit the bottom and the optimism stays...only the future will tell.

Krista and Sherri
www.lawlessbrown.com

Refinancing Victoria BC

If today's interest rates are 3/4% lower than your current interest rate, it may be a good time to re-evaluate your home mortgage. With Prime Rate at 3% the opportunity to free up extra money in your monthly budget by refinancing your home and consolidating outstanding loans is excellent.

by refinancing your existing home loan and accessing the additional equity value you caould lower your current monthly payment by conveniently consolidating outstanding debts. You could also give yourself extra financial breathing room in your monthly budget by eliminateing a second mortgage or car loan pamyent.

It's an easy way to use the equity in your home to get out of debt faster.

Let us help you de-stress in these tough economical times. Check out the special Refinancing Issue of our newsletter (February) You can sign up for free on our website.

Krista and Sherri
www.lawlessbrown.com

Victoria BC - Buyer's Market

http://photoshare.shaw.ca/messages/viewshow/12871972022-1233709284-84777/gallery/page/

The above is a great link to charts and graphs put out by the VREB. If you are more of a visual learner, these are perfect. Prices are down and it is a Buyer's Market!!

Call us
Krista and Sherri
www.lawlessbrown.com