Thanks to my amazing clients for putting trust in me!!  I've just been reconized as a Top Producer for the month of July 2013.  RE/MAX is one of the leading office in Victoria BC and continues to hold at lease 25% market share for all residental Real Estate sales.  Not to mention, Victoria just had the busiest July since 2003 when the market was red hot...  I'm honourd to be recononzied and I promise to contiune delivering top quality service to my outstanding clients!!

CBC News Posted: Jan 22, 2014 9:38 AM ET Last Updated: Jan 22, 2014 11:25 AM ET

The Bank of Canada kept its benchmark interest rate steady at one per cent today, continuing its longest stretch of inaction on record.

Canada's central bank last changed its target for the overnight rate in late 2010, when it was raised to its current level. The bank announces its latest policy decision on interest rates every six weeks, and the bank has now stood pat for 26 consecutive policy meetings.

'Markets are increasingly pricing in a rate cut'- CIBC

In a statement accompanying Wednesday's decision, the bank said it expects inflation to remain lower than previously anticipated for the next little while. It also said it expects a soft landing in the housing market.

The bank did, however, note that the economy fared better to finish 2013 than it was expecting — expanding by 2.5 per cent in the fourth quarter.

For the full year, the bank is projecting the economy grew by 1.8 per cent in 2013 and will pick up to 2.5 per cent in both 2014 and 2015.

The bank wasn't expected to raise or lower rates on Wednesday, but watchers are closely parsing the statement to gauge which direction the bank is heading in — a rate hike to cool inflation, or a rate cut to stimulate the economy.

The tone of the statement suggests the bank is in no hurry to raise rates any time soon. "With core inflation well below target, markets are increasingly pricing in a rate cut by the Bank of Canada," CIBC said in a commentary published Wednesday morning.

The loonie plunged in the immediate aftermath of the news, shedding more than half a cent to trade at 90.50 cents US.

After spending much of the past three years either just below par or slightly above its U.S. counterpart, the loonie has fallen precipitously in recent weeks. The loonie is now just above the 90 cent level, a threshold it hasn't passed under since July 2009.

While a negative in some ways, a lower loonie will help give a boost to Canadian exports. That could be enough to help expand the economy without the bank having the cut rates even lower than they already are.

"Suffice it to say that the bank is welcoming the weakening Canadian dollar with open arms, partly because it in turn reduces the pressure to consider trimming interest rates since the lower currency will begin to pump some life into inflation," BMO economist Doug Porter said in a note.

VICTORIA, BC–Greater Victoria real estate sales moderated in November following a brisk June-to-October market. According to the Victoria Real Estate Board (VREB) MLS® System, 412 properties sold compared to 366 in November 2012, an increase of 12.6 per cent.

“We saw market activity slow down after a very busy five months,” says Shelley Mann, VREB President. “While sales were higher than in November 2012, fewer sales than previous months indicate a pull back in consumer demand.”

Flat employment and weak economic growth are likely contributors to a moderating market. Mann also notes that active listings continued to decline, with 4,017 at the end November compared to 4,488 in November 2012. December and January are typically the slowest months for real estate sales.

For November 2013, the MLS® HPI benchmark price for the Greater Victoria single family benchmark home was $482,300 and its corresponding index value was 136.5.  (This represents a 36.5 per cent increase since January 2005, when the index was 100). This benchmark price decreased 0.72 per cent over the past month and decreased 3.11 per cent over the last year.

At the regional level, the benchmark price for the single family benchmark home in the Core municipalities was $548,600, an increase of 0.14 per cent over the previous month and a 1.65 per cent decrease over November 2012. In Westshore, the benchmark price for the single family benchmark home was $403,600, a decrease of 1.70 per cent over October 2013 and 5.94 per cent decrease over November 2012. The benchmark price for the single family benchmark home on the Peninsula was $508,000 for November, a decrease of 0.04 per cent over the previous month and a 2.57 per cent decrease year-over-year.

There was a total of 381 single family homes sold in November, an increase of 11 per cent over November 2012. November also saw the reporting of 99 condominium sales and 49 townhouse sales in Greater Victoria. Benchmark prices for the Greater Victoria condominium benchmark home and for the Greater Victoria townhouse benchmark home for November were $280,600 and $389,000 respectively.

Total Waterfront Single Family Dwellings sold:                        9, up 3 over November 2012

Total Non-waterfront Single Family Dwellings sold:          207, up 11 over November 2012

Single Family Dwellings sold over $1 million:                                             7 (1 over $2 million)

On November 1st, the VREB adopted the MLS® Home Price Index (MLS® HPI) to report residential property price trends. The methodology used by MLS® HPI has been endorsed by Statistics Canada, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, the Bank of Canada, Finance Canada and Central 1 Credit Union.

At the heart of the MLS® HPI is the concept of the “benchmark” home, a notional home that has the most common features of a typical home in a given area. The benchmark home is not meant to represent any actual house, condo or townhouse, but merely provides an identical example to track market changes. There are separate benchmark houses, condos and townhouses in each distinct area of the Greater Victoria region, enabling price tracking of very distinct markets.

The foreclosure process is a mystery to many people. There are many misconceptions about purchasing a foreclosure property. It is more complicated than making an offer on a home that is not in foreclosure. I want to shed some light on the process and what buyers can expect. Also, if you have found yourself in a situation where you are nearing foreclosure, this will help you figure out what to do to avoid a judicial sale or foreclosure.

Judicial process begins with a demand letter sent to the borrower which gives the borrower a short amount of time to pay off the mortgage. Once the demand letter is sent to the borrower a petition is filed in the BC Supreme Court which starts an action called the Order Nisi that gives a redemption time to the borrower. The redemption period, which is usually six months, is given to the borrower to redeem the mortgage. This can be done by the borrower attempting to sell the property.

After the Order Nisi, one of two things will happen. The petitioner will chose to have the property listed for sale by the court by way of a Judicial Sale through a Realtor. At this time, the lender will receive an order approving sale where the borrower will be responsible for any shortfalls between the borrowed amount of the mortgage and the sale amount.

The second option for the courts is an order of absolute foreclosure. If the redemption period has expired and if:
1. The property is worth the same amount as the mortgage debt or more,
2. The respondent borrower is judgment-proof (i.e. no assets or money to apply towards deficiency) or
3. There are no offers under a judicial sale; the lender can seek an absolute order of foreclosure, under which the lender becomes the new registered owner and all borrowers are wiped off title. No further action can be taken against the borrower after the court has granted the order absolute.

Once a judgment is placed against a property it is placed on the market with a Realtor. At this point a buyer can make an offer on this property. The purchase process for a foreclosed property is not like a property that is normally listed that is not under foreclosure. What happens is:
1. The buyer makes an offer to purchase the property and there is a subject period where the purchaser removes subjects such as home inspection, title search etc.
2. The subject free offer goes to court. Once in court the vendor’s lawyer presents the offer to the judge. (known as the Master in Foreclosure proceedings)
3. The Master asks if there are any other parties in the courtroom who want to submit an offer. If not, and the offer is market value, the Master will approve the sale. If there are competing offers the Master will instruct all parties including the original purchaser to leave the courtroom and resubmit their final subject free offer in a sealed, envelope to the vendor’s lawyer.
4. After all offers have been submitted the Master reviews the offers and approves the best offer.

All offers made at the court level must be subject free offers. As you can see, buying a foreclosed property is not as simple as many think. Even if you have an accepted offer on a foreclosed property, there is a high likelihood that there will be other offers once you reach the court proceedings.

I hope this helps!!

Please don't hesitate to drop me a line if you have any further questions about this process.