Although the housing market in greater Victoria has cooled, B次元官网网址渢he sky is not fallingB次元官网网址� according to Carol Crabb, President of the Victoria Real Estate Board.

B次元官网网址淚t means that the first time home buyers and those with less than 20 per cent down for their home purchase may be impacted,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淪till, it doesnB次元官网网址檛 mean that the bottom has fallen out of the market or that people should forget about ever buying a home.B次元官网网址�

The slight decline of the market has come, at least in part, from changes in government lending regulations, and while some of that impact may have had the B次元官网网址渃ooling effectB次元官网网址� that the government desired, for some it means only that home ownership needs to be re-evaluated for the time being.

In light of a superheated real estate market in Toronto and Vancouver, the adjustments to the rules for government-backed insured mortgages were made to discourage B次元官网网址渦nwise borrowing.B次元官网网址� In Canada, mortgage loan insurance is mandatory when anyone wants to buy a house with a down payment of less than 20 per cent of the purchase price. The Canadian Mortgage Housing Corporation (CHMC), which provides mortgage loan insurance through the lenders, allows for a home purchase with a minimum down payment of five per cent but the changes in regulations now limit loans to a maximum amortization of 25 years, down from 30. This is the third reduction in amortization periods since 2008 when the maximum repayment period was set at 40 years.

As well, the most that Canadians can now borrow for a mortgage has dropped from 85 per cent of the homeB次元官网网址檚 value to 80 per cent.

In Victoria the changes seem to have resulted in fewer properties being sold. For example, in October of this year there were 373 sales from the Multiple Listing Service, down from 483 in the same month last year.

B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 always cautious about reading too much into the numbers,B次元官网网址� Crabb said. B次元官网网址淪ales and prices can vary considerably on a region to region basis.B次元官网网址�

Crabb stressed that, for those who can afford it, this may be a good time to get into the housing market. B次元官网网址淵ou have to look at it as a long term investment. The chief economist for the BCRA has predicted a levelling off of price and a slight bounce back of up to five per cent on home values in the next year, but again that varies from one area to the next. In some areas, the price hasnB次元官网网址檛 dropped at all.B次元官网网址�

She went on to say that while B次元官网网址渉ome flippers,B次元官网网址� those who purchase homes and resell after minor renovations, will probably not find their efforts worthwhile. B次元官网网址淚f youB次元官网网址檙e investing on the longterm, though, you should know that there has never been a 10-year period during which house values havenB次元官网网址檛 risen in Victoria.B次元官网网址�

She acknowledged that first time home owners may have to lower their sights a bit as a result of the new regulations, but stated that people are now looking at homes where they may have to B次元官网网址渞oll up their sleeves a little.B次元官网网址�

More information on the Victoria real estate scene can be found at vreb.org.