Looking at the 5-year fixed rates at ratesupermarket.ca, it appears that we’ve hit new lows in May. The lowest rate is now 3.54% with True North Mortgage lenders — down from the 3.69% I was seeing at the beginning of the month.

5-year bond yields have been hovering at the highest level it’s been since the start of the year, so you have to wonder if lenders aren’t going to start getting less competitive with each other once the busy Spring real estate season ends.

As of May 8, the GoC 5-year bond yield has jumped to 2.14%, while the 10-year is at 3.16%.

Government of Canada 5-year benchmark bond yield:

Government of Canada 10-year benchmark bond yield:

I can’t see mortgage lenders raising their rates until after the peak real estate season (spring) ends, but they will have to pretty soon after that.

5-year BoC bond yield is up to 2.1%, while the 10-year bond is up to 3.14%.

Will be interesting to see how long it takes lenders to raise their fixed mortgage rates.

4323 Shelbourne Street (MLS #261971). I mentioned this house in my post from a few days ago, citing it as an example of sellers in the low end trying to sell for way above assessed value. Looks like it just sold for even MORE.
- Assessed at $445,000
- Listed at $529,900
- Sold for $540,000

1582 Fremont Place (MLS #261888):
- Assessed at $501,000
- Listed at $599,800
- Sold for $620,000
To be fair, this was a very nicely renovated home. (Even if they forgot to install a stove fan in the brand new kitchen.)

I can only attribute this craziness to the “Spring bounce”…. March, April and May are traditionally the busiest months of the year for real estate, so I expect to see prices resume their decline in the summer.

The fact that 22% of U.S. homeowners are currently underwater on their mortgages should give all of us some pause. As much as I’d like to own a home, now just isn’t the time.

This market is still nuts.

1850 Fairburn Drive (MLS #261805)
Assessed value: $511,000
Listed at: $538,600
Sale Price: $572,000
Days on market: 7

To be fair, this is the first place I’ve seen in a long while that actually sold for above asking.

I’ve been bearish on real estate ever since I started thinking about homeownership back in the summer 2005… turns out I was a few years ahead of my time. Who knew that the real estate boom would last so long? Certainly not the bears of the day. My timing was a few years off.

Well, sort of. The U.S. housing market started its correction in 2006 (but by that time I wasn’t paying much attention to real estate, since I had long ago stopped condo-hunting). There were massive foreclosures in 2006 and onwards, and well, we all know the rest of the story. But what about Canada?

It’s been a different story in Vancouver and Victoria, where I live. Prices have come down, but not spectacular fashion like our cousins south of the border.

I’m fairly certain, though, that this will change in short order. Question is, when? I’m getting sick of renting and itching to get into the market. No longer a swinging single, I now have a fiancee and we’re thinking of starting a family, and we can easily with considerable hardship afford a SFH.

I’m 95% certain that prices won’t go up anytime soon… but how long will it take for prices to go down? Will prices go down?