October Reflection + Content
Happy November Team Ballas family. Fall is definitely here and the Blue Jays are now on vacation.
Contest
This month Team Ballas is having a special MOVEMBER CONTEST for all of our male clients thinking about growing a moustache for the month of November.
Team Ballas will have a great giveaway with a $200 value, given to the person with the best moustache/facial hair by the end of the month.
Don’t forget to take a before and after picture and email to jballas@royallepage.ca.
Statistics
Regarding the monthly statistics and sales for the month of October, we have seen an almost mirror image to what transpired in September. In fact Belleville, Brighton, Prince Edward County and, for the most part, Quinte West were fairly consistent in terms of both sales and months of inventory compared to September. Average sale price also remained relatively constant.
Rates
The bigger news came towards the end of October (October 29) when the Bank of Canada lowered their policy rate from 2.5% to 2.25% for the 2nd consecutive drop since September, citing effects from U.S trade actions on economy and inflation.
They also signaled this could be the last cut for a while but there is another rate announcement scheduled for December 10th.
This current cut will likely lower the Prime lending rate down to 4.45%, assisting with variable rate mortgages and lines of credit.
Also of interest is the fact that fixed rate mortgages can be had below 4% with many of the main lenders. While this is not be as low as the unprecedented rates we saw in the Covid period, the 4% is significantly lower than the AVERAGE MORTGAGE RATE over the last 10 years, which is actually 5.9%.
Moving forward, first-time Buyers will likely make up most of the demand entering the market.
Rentals
Here at TEAM BALLAS we have also seen a marked increase in rentals as home Sellers with secondary properties shift from Selling to renting.
The demand for rentals has increased significantly, likely due to: less consumer confidence, economic uncertainty and inflation. If you were ever considering an investment property then this may be a great time to discuss options with TEAM BALLAS.
There are certainly deals to be had and Buyers are typically negotiating great pricing on both investment and single family homes.
This coupled with lower interest rates make for an excellent opportunity to enter the market. Single family homes are commanding rental prices from mid $2000s to mid $3000s, depending on things such as size, location, bedrooms and baths. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions.
