“Sales soar as prospective buyers race to beat rising mortgage rates” – CBC stated yesterday in response to the release of monthly real estate figures from The Canadian Real Estate Association.

“Canadians continued to snap up housing in August, with home sales up 2.8 per cent from July and up 11.1 per cent from the previous year.

The Canadian Real Estate Association says the recent rise in mortgage rates caused people who already had mortgage approvals from their lenders to move their decisions forward.

Mortgage rates rose 0.2 percentage points the week of August 22, but many prospective buyers locked in rates with their banks, and the impact of higher rates is not expected to be felt until later in the fall.”

Part of the jump in numbers over the previous year is because of the drop last summer when Ottawa tightened the mortgage rules. That had a dampening effect last fall but by spring house sales had picked up.

The housing marketing was most active in the major cities; Victoria, Vancouver, Calgary, and Toronto.

“The average price of a home was up 8.1 per cent at $378,369, with price rises in Toronto and Vancouver driving most of the increase. The average price of a Vancouver house was $775,811 and in Toronto, it was $523,228.”

Source: www.cbc.ca – TD and RBC mortgage rates up, following other banks http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/td-and-rbc-mortgage-rates-up-following-other-banks-1.1383882

Darren Robinson is a Barrie mortgage broker, dedicated to offering the best mortgage strategies and provides personal assistance to help people qualify for difficult mortgages and loans. Call 705.737.6161