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Okanagan Wildfires Impact on Real Estate

Okanagan Wildfires Impact on Real Estate Market 2023-24

Okanagan Wildfires Impact on Real Estate Market

Another summer has passed, and another summer has left an indelible mark on the BC Okanagan Valley as wildfires raged once again. While Penticton was spared, the Kelowna area was not so lucky. The persistent occurrence has left many prospective homebuyers and property investors asking about the impact on the real estate market. Below is a succinct look at everything they (you) need to know as we enter the tail-end of 2023 and ready for 2024 to come.

How BC Wildfires Have (or have not) Impacted Real Estate Investment in the BC Okanagan Valley

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Can You Break a 5-Year Fixed Mortgage? 

Can You Get Out of a 5-Year Fixed Mortgage?

Can You Get Out of a 5-Year Fixed Mortgage Penticton BC

Are you preparing to buy a home and considering a 5-year fixed rate mortgage? As someone who prefers the consistency and low risk of a fixed mortgage over a variable model, this seems to be the way to go. However, you may have heard that a number of new buyers are choosing short term (1- or 3-year fixed) options as a means to avoid paying near record-high fixed rates of 2023. The latter doesn’t sound ideal for your prefereces, but it has made you curious about what you should do if you get a 5-year fixed rate mortgage today, only to find that the cost of borrowing drops significantly in the next year or two. Can you get out of a 5-year fixed mortgage in BC? Below is a straightforward breakdown of what you need to know and do.

How to Proceed if You Want to Break a 5-Year Fixed Rate Mortgage in the BC Okanagan Valley

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Short Term Fixed Mortgage

Should You Consider a Short Term Fixed Rate Mortgage?

Short Term Fixed Mortgage Penticton BC Okanagan Valley

The Bank of Canada rolled back on their earlier indication that they would hold the prime rate steady through rest of the year by raising it on June 7/2023. If they don’t do it again on their July 12 announcement (dare they?) the very best buyers can hope for is that the prime rate sticks at  4.75%.

If you recall that variable rates are tied to the prime rate, and fixed rates are tethered to the Bank of Canada’s quantitative tightening policy, you’ll understand that both rates are about the highest they’ve been in more than a decade. Consequently, buyers all over the country are wondering what to do, Okanagan Valley prospects included.

Traditionally many buyers would take a wait-and-see approach. That’s no longer working for individuals, young couples, and family households. BC buyers are coming to terms with the fact that the real estate market won’t experience any dramatic shifts over the next year. Moreover, delaying homeownership is simply not an option any longer because the longer the wait the further away you get from building real wealth.

What should buyers (yourself included) do? One option that we think Okanagan Valley home hunters should explore, is a short term fixed mortgage. Below is a straightforward breakdown of why this may be the perfect solution for you, concluding with a clear call-to-action.

Why a Short Term Fixed Mortgage May be the Answer to High Interest Rates for Buyers in BC’s Okanagan Valley in 2023

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What to Do When Mortgage Rates Rise

What to Do When Mortgage Rates are High in BC

What to Do When Mortgage Rates are High BC

Canadian Mortgage Trends reports that BMO, CIBC, RBC and the National Bank have increased their posted fixed rates at the onset of June. The remainder of Canada’s Big 6 banks are likely to follow suit. If the next Bank of Canada announcement increases the prime rate, variable rates will also rise accordingly. This leads prospective homeowners in British Columbia to ask, “What to Do When Mortgage Rates are High?”. Below is a breakdown of what generally unfolds, and one answer that you should take to heart (and to the bank).

3 Things New Buyers do When Mortgage Rates Rise (and which one you should consider most)

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Is a Mortgage Broker Necessary?

Is a Mortgage Broker Necessary in BC?

Is a Mortgage Broker Necessary in BC

You’re ready to enter the real estate market. The next step is to connect to a mortgage broker, but you can’t help but wonder if doing so is indeed a prerequisite to buying a home. Doesn’t adding a middle-person to the mix muddy the water? It really depends upon your answers to four key questions. Have a look below and decide how you want to proceed.

4 Questions to Ask Yourself When Determining Whether or Not a Mortgage Broker is Necessary for Your Next Home Purchase

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Luxury Home Mortgage

Luxury Home Mortgage Broker Okanagan Valley BC

Luxury Home Mortgage Broker in the Okanagan Valley

While not reported in this recent Okanagan real estate news release, there was one story to come out of the Kelowna area that caught the attention of nearby media. Over the last two annum, a local real estate firm sold 6 houses in Kelowna over 2 years for a total of $55 million CAD. That’s an average price of $9.17 million per house. Those are numbers people are accustomed to seeing from Malibu to Maui, but not necessarily for the Okanagan Valley. Although, it’s hard to see why anyone would be surprised given that we’re in the best place to buy a home in BC if not the country. Dare we say continent?

Our Penticton office also receives its fair share of luxury home mortgage information requests. Buyers and investors from all over the world are interested in laying roots in the southern end of the Okanagan. If you’re among them, there’s only one place to turn for your luxury property mortgage – Carloni Mortgage Brokers. Here’s why.

Why Buyers and Investors Searching for a Luxury Home in the Okanagan Valley BC Turn to Carloni Mortgage Brokers

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No Houses for Sale in Your Area?

There-Are-No-Houses-for-Sale-in-My-Area-Penticton-Kelowna-BC

There Are No Houses for Sale in My Area!

The BC Southern Interior has a major problem, and there’s no way to sugar-coat it. The four-season resort community is considered by most everyone as the BEST place to live in the entire province. Even worse, is that experts recently stated that our towns are now rated the best for real estate investment. This is all very devastating.

Wait, what?

Isn’t this all GOOD news? Sure, but when you consider the impact of being one of the most attractive places to buy a home in the country, you’ll find that there is one side effect that new buyers abhor – limited inventory of houses. This is the predicament that you find yourself in. It’s why you jumped online, and instead of asking a question, you literally typed “There are no houses for sale in my area” into your search bar (sans an exclamation so as to not anger Google).

Thankfully you did, because we feel your pain. In fact, your exact statement is what has brought other clients into our Main Street Penticton office over recent years.

We have the answer you’re looking for.

Will we magically make new construction houses appear out of thin air? Imagine that (super lucrative). Unfortunately we do not have the power to make that happen. What we do have, is the ability to immediately increase YOUR buying power. In doing so, you can afford a property that you didn’t think that you were able to. How is this possible? Let’s review!

How Carloni Mortgage Brokers Can Help New Buyers Find a Home Despite Seemingly Limited Inventory

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Mortgage for Young Professionals

Mortgage for Young Professionals in BC

Mortgage for Young Professionals Penticton Kelowna BC

Ahh, to be young again, especially if one is a “young professional”. There’s nary a better time in life than to be on the cusp of budding success in a field that you’re passionate about. Embrace it, and live in the now. That said, being a forward-thinker is what has made you a rising star in the first place. As such, you have real estate investment on the mind. While you may be an independent go-getter, it’s important to partner with a seasoned pro when it comes to getting a home loan. Below is a breakdown of why working with a mortgage broker will ensure success for your first real estate purchase.

Why Rising Young Executives Should Work with a Mortgage Broker to Buy Their First Home

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Mortgage Memes

Best Mortgage Memes for 2023

Best Mortgage Memes

The new year is here. Typically, Carloni Mortgage Brokers would begin the annum by adding to our growing resource of helpful articles with yet anther insightful piece on the importance of working with a broker. You may have been expecting a 650-word editorial or press release along with a graph exhibiting 5-year trends. We thought we have a little more fun this time, by sharing some of the best mortgage memes to set the tone for 2023 and beyond. We could all use some lighthearted perspective after our country’s leader tried to tell us that it’s going to be a tough year. We don’t agree with his assessment, or at least not for those who know where to turn to bolster their financial decisions.

Whether buying or investing in real estate this year, or you’re an existing homeowner, we hope you enjoy (and share) these mortgage memes below.

*Feel free to share our images below via linked attrabition back to this article.

Top 8 Memes that Explain Why Buyers and Homeowners Need to Contact Carloni Mortgage Brokers Today

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Christmas Mortgage

A Christmas Carol Lesson for Home Buyers

Christmas Mortgage Penticton BC

It’s that time of the year when cable and streaming services are teeming with Holiday favorites. Within the dramas and comedies is one story that in addition to traditional life lessons, offers important takeaways for people who have been thinking about buying their very first property. Is it Home Alone? Perhaps National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation? Could it be Love Actually? Or is it one of the Hallmark Channel’s latest releases? While each of these include revelations that may be analogously applied to the home buying process, they don’t tackle the issue (and opportunity) quite like the ultimate classic – A Christmas Carol. Charles Dickens’ narrative with its three antagonizing specters function as a cautionary tale for anyone who sits on the fence about getting a mortgage. How? Let’s review!

How A Christmas Carol’s Ghosts of Past, Present, and Future Offer Valuable Lessons for Those Who Put Off Getting a Mortgage

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