Sooke Real Estate, Living, and Community Blog
by Tim Ayres
What Do I Do If I Can’t Afford To Renew My Mortgage?
It seems that the times of historic-low interest rates are behind us – for the foreseeable future anyway. So what happens if your mortgage is due for renewal in 2023? Maybe you are one of the lucky ones to lock in a 5-year rate at 2.0% or less over the last two years, and you don’t have to worry about it yet, but there are plenty of homeowners who have a deadline looming this year. Let’s look at the numbers. If you have a $500,000 mortgage you took out 5 years ago at a rate of 3% (about the best…
5 Reasons To Go See Camelot This Weekend and Next
Hello (again) world. It’s been a long time since I posted anything on this blog, despite having it completely redesigned many months ago. What better reason to write than to promote the upcoming Sooke Harbour Players production of Camelot The Pantomime! Tickets are just $22 for adults, and $16 for seniors (65+) and youth (6-17). Kids under 5 are free. You can buy tickets online here (be sure to select the date you want first), with cash at Stick In The Mud Coffee House, or by calling Susan at 250-415-9410. Buy your tickets early to ensure you get to go…
Free Real Estate Seminar In Sooke: Buying Your First Home
Is 2016 The Year? Learn all about mortgages, real estate, and how to buy your first home Coming up Wednesday, January 27, 2016, you can spend a couple of hours with three of Sooke’s real estate and mortgage professionals learning about strategies you can use to get into your first home in 2016. The seminar is free, but you must pre-register, as there’s limited space. Join us as we explore buying your first home. From your very first searches to unlocking the door for the first time – it’s an exciting and very rewarding process that is easiest to accomplish with…
Sooke Real Estate In Review 2015
Overall, 2015 was a great year for real estate in Sooke. Sales were up markedly, and prices also increased across the region. I’ve compiled a few statistics, and also the top five most-and-least expensive single family homes in Sooke this year. Finally, I’ll talk about predictions for 2016. Read on… Sales up 30% Let’s talk sales volume first. In 2015, there were 391 sales of homes of all types (Single family dwellings, townhouses, condos, manufactured homes) in the Sooke region, excluding Port Renfrew and Jordan River. Focusing on the single family market (SFD), there were 298 sales. Compared to 2014, this…
Sooke Christmas Lights Map 2015
Last night, I piled the family in the car and went out in search of the best Christmas lights displays in Sooke. While I didn’t have time to drive every street in Sooke, I think I covered a lot of ground, from up Otter Point Road, over to Broomhill, down Whiffen Spit, and Sunriver Estates. I’d love to share what I found with you! Really, any given street in Sooke has wonderful Christmas light displays, but there are always a few that stand out. I didn’t have anything in particular I was looking for, and these aren’t ranked in any particular…
82% of Sooke Home Sales Unaffected By Federal Mortgage Insurance Rule Changes
This morning, federal finance minister Bill Morneau announced changes that his Liberal government is making to CMHC-backed mortgages in this country. The changes were hinted at by well known Canadian Mortgage Trends blogger Robert McLister back on December 1st. The actual changes aren’t quite what he had predicted, but are pretty close. The Short Version Current down payments required are 5% for homes up to $1 million New requirements: 10% on homes over $500,000 on the portion over $500,000 Down payments on homes below $500,000 not affected 82% of sales this year in Sooke would not be affected Rules go into…
Hallowe’en 2015 In Sooke
Happy October, and Happy Hallowe’en! The big night is almost here, and it’s nice that it is on a weekend so we can all enjoy it. I’m not sure the weather is going to cooperate for the little ghouls and ghosts trick-or-treating, but there are still lots of fun family activities going on. Read on… if you dare… The best neighbourhoods for trick-or-treating Sooke has lots of great neighbourhoods, and most folks will go round their immediate area, but for those of us in rural areas with only three or four homes in walking distance of little feet, we often…
Sooke Real Estate Update – Fall 2015
Sales up, listings down. Prices…? It has been a busy spring and summer market for real estate in Sooke and all over the greater Victoria region. In the overall Victoria Real Estate Board trading area, sales as of August 31 showed a 21.7% increase in number of sales for August 2015 over August 2014, and the highest number of single family sales in August since 2007. At the end of the month, there were 3688 active listings on the MLS® system, representing nearly 15% fewer than were available in August last year. All of this is pushing the overall market…
Sooke Real Estate Information Night – Come and Learn!
Get educated about buying and selling real estate. Hear from three local experts about buying your first home, moving up, and more! When: Thursday, March 26, 2015 at 7:00pm Where: Best Western Premier Prestige Oceanfront Resort, 6929 West Coast Road, Sooke [map – street view] I’ll be joined by Sooke’s dynamic mortgage team, Kerry Reid and Kari Stauble of DLC Modern Mortgage group. Our seminar will be a fun, interactive, and informative evening, arming you with the tools to bring your real estate goals within reach. Topics covered will include: Mortgages The application process What is a pre-approval and what…
A Return to a Seller’s Market in Greater Victoria?
Yesterday, the Victoria Real Estate Board released statistics for February 2015. While the rest of the country contended with a seemingly never-ending winter, the cherry blossoms were out early in Victoria and vicinity, and so, apparently, were the buyers. Our unseasonably warm February seems to have drawn out the home buyers earlier than usual. Sales were up 31.6% over the same month last year, and 54% up over January 2015. All told, there were 542 sales including 285 single family homes, the most in a February since 2008. In 2014, February saw 412 sales, and there were 351 in January…
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