Investment property near CONA, MUN and Marine Institute – 156 Higgins Line

March 7, 2010 · Filed Under First Time Buyers, New MLS Listings, St. John's East End, St. John's Investments, St. John's MLS listings and St. John's Real Estate · Comment 

Fraser and Stephen Winters have just listed 156 Higgins Line. An absolutely fantastic 2-apartment home located on the doorstep to Marine Institute, CONA and MUN. Lots of upgrades in recent years including roof, siding,vinyl windows and laminate flooring. 3 bedrooms in the main unit and 2 bedrooms in the basement apartment. Large open concept dining room adjacent to the living room. Master bedroom has a 2 piece ensuite. Large recroom in basement for the main unit living area. Conveniently locate on bus route. Home is situated on a large deep lot (land goes back further then back fence) a rare find in this area. Great investment property!  MLS Number: 151858  Asking price is $277,900.

Tags: , , , , ,

Protect, Maintain and Enhance the value of your home with HouseLogic

February 19, 2010 · Filed Under First Time Buyers, Home Maintenance, Real Estate Articles and Tips for Selling your Home · Comment 

Interested in ways to seal air leaks around the house to lower your heating bill?  How about saving energy with home lighting?  Planning on redoing the kitchen or bathroom?  Enter HouseLogic, a comprehensive website aimed to assist you in 100’s of home remodeling, energy saving tips.  Best of all….it’s FREE!

Earlier this week, the National Association of REALTORS (American version of CREA) launched a new website, entitled HouseLogic.  This web site is designed to help home owners make smart decisions to maintain, protect, and increase the value of their homes. HouseLogic will help consumers take responsible actions pertaining to what is likely the largest investment of their lives.

With content covering home improvement, maintenance, taxes, finance, insurance, and even ways you can get involved in and enrich your community, HouseLogic can help you increase and protect the value of your home by helping you make confident decisions.  (remember this is an American site so the taxes and finances, insurance may not be applicable here in Canada)

Create to-do lists, and set project reminders, get costs estimates on various renos and home improvements (in USD). A very informative website that has it all.  Be sure to check it out.

Tags: , , ,

Changes made to Canadian Mortgages

February 17, 2010 · Filed Under First Time Buyers and Real Estate Canada · 1 Comment 

April 19th is the deadline for the old mortgage rules.  After this, the new changes proposed by the Canadian government earlier this week will be in effect.  Personally I think the rules are a good move from the governments part and in the long run protect Canadians from taking on additional debt.  As well, for those thinking we are in a housing bubble it should assist in slowing the pace a little.

Starting April 19th, the new mortgage rules are as follows:

1) All new borrowers will have to meet standards for the 5 year fixed-rate mortgages even if they’re seeking a shorter, variable-rate loan.

2) The maximum amount Canadians can withdraw when refinancing is now 90% of the value of their homes down from the current 95 per cent.  It’s a good idea to personally cap this at 80% – if you go over 80%, CMHC fees are applicable.

3) For those interested in an investment property, you will be required to have a 20% down payment for government-backed mortgage insurance on speculative investment properties.

The third rule change seems to be the harshest of the three as there are a number of people interested in buying investment properties for the long term (ie for retirement). It’s a big price hike for a down payment on an investment property now.  An average 2-apartment home in St. John’s is around $250,000.  This means a purchaser would need $50,000 for the down payment.  Again, the 20% will help avoid your CHMC fees when purchasing an investment property.

What are your thoughts for the new upcoming changes in Canada’s mortgage rules?

Tags: , ,

New Listing in Pleasantville near Quidi Vidi Lake – 3 Arnold’s Loop

November 23, 2009 · Filed Under First Time Buyers, New MLS Listings, St. John's East End, St. John's MLS listings and St. John's Real Estate · 2 Comments 

3arnolds

Fraser and Stephen Winters just listed an extremely well looked after property located in Pleasantville, in the east end  St. John’s.  Three bedrooms, 1 and a half bathrooms. Hardwood floors throughout most of the home.  Property is heated with an electric hot water radiation system providing very low monthly heating bills.  Located within walking distance to Quidi Vidi Lake (walking trails) and downtown St. John’s.  The Metro Bus passes right in front of the property. Front and rear garden well maintained.  Ideal home as an investment property or for a first time buyer.  Asking price is $169,900.

Tags: , , , , ,

New listing near Avalon Mall, MUN and Health Sciences

July 7, 2009 · Filed Under First Time Buyers, New MLS Listings, St. John's Investments and St. John's MLS listings · 4 Comments 

25maclarenNew St. John’s MLS listing – 25 Maclaren Place. Two year old three bedroom home located in Grovesdale Park, near MUN, Health Sciences, and the Avalon Mall. Laminate flooring throughout most of home. Eat-in country style kitchen with patio door leading to pressure treated deck. Main floor laundry and bathroom combo. Large master bedroom with ensuite and walk-in closet. Still under 7 year Atlantic Home Warranty. Baby barn in fully landscaped, partially fenced back yard. Shows pride of ownership.  Could make for a great investment property due to the proximity to the university.  Call Stephen or Fraser Winters for more info.  Asking price $209,900.

Tags: , , ,

Healthy Demand for Housing in St. John’s

May 20, 2009 · Filed Under CMHC Reports, First Time Buyers and St. John's Real Estate · Comment 

CMHC released their Housing Starts Press Release for St. John’s yesterday.  Below is a snippet from the release.

ST. JOHN’S, May 19, 2009 – Despite global economic uncertainty, strong economic fundamentals will support demand for housing within the St. John’s region throughout 2009 and 2010, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s Housing Market Outlook – St. John’s report.

Housing starts are expected to end 2009 at 1,550 units, with 1,675 starts forecast for 2010. The resale or MLS® market will post 3,450 sales by the end of this year and reach the 3,575 level in 2010. The average MLS® house price is expected to end the year at $198,000 versus $187,571 in 2008 and increase to $204,000 in 2010.

“The current demand for housing within the St. John’s region is being driven by strong fundamentals such as a buoyant local economy, continued in-migration and solid employment, and is expected to continue throughout 2009 and 2010,” said Chris Janes, senior market analyst with CMHC in Newfoundland and Labrador. “Positive trends in demographic and economic fundamentals, paired with ongoing momentum spurred by recent major project announcements such as Hebron and the Vale Inco Hydromet, will continue to support the outlook for the St. John’s area housing market,” added Janes.

Tags: , , , , ,

The sky is not falling nor are St. John’s housing prices

March 5, 2009 · Filed Under CMHC Reports, First Time Buyers and St. John's Real Estate · 5 Comments 

chickenlittleCMHC held a seminar this week discussing the outlook for Newfoundland for 2009 with regards to economy and real estate market and prices.  As in most recent reports and news releases the message was the same: Newfoundland is expected to remain strong in 2009.

While most of Canada and the world are in doom and gloom, somehow Newfoundland is expected to escape the mayhem.  I know we are somewhat protected being on an island, but I can’t see St. John’s getting away virtually unscathed.  Then again it’s better to hear positive news then to hear the sky is falling on a daily basis.

In a quote from The Telegram’s article entitled “Local housing market, economy remain strong” Chris Janes was reported to say

“It’s still on the up and up locally in terms of our labour markets, economy, economic health overall, government’s fiscal situation, migration factors … and it’s just a lot of positive activity that’s hard not to be focused on,” Janes said following his address to a packed housing seminar in St. John’s Wednesday. “We still have very strong consumer spending, and that’s key to any province’s economic health and, right now in terms of all provinces in Canada, we have the strongest consumer spending of all.”

Where does this leave the St. John’s housing market……back to normal levels in my opinion.  Resale markets are not as “hyper” as they were last year and new homes will start to taper off to the point where we’ll see more and more “spec houses”.  If you remove last years 25% housing price increase, this year will be comparable to previous year before it…modest gains, balanced market, with the occasional multiple offer just to spice things up a little and keep it interesting.

Tags: , ,

Next Page »