Earlier this week, The Bank of Canada today held its target for the overnight rate at 5%, with the Bank Rate at 5¼% and the deposit rate at 5%. That’s good news for Canadians and specifically new buyers who are entering the fall market. So now what! Well if you have been thinking about a home purchase this fall, a pause in a rate increase is a great time to start looking as it will give added incentive to the real estate market. The break in rate hikes adds confidence in the market for sellers, people who might be holding off putting their homes on the market will use this time to list their property, giving you access to inventory.

And if you are holding off and want to save a little more through this time, here are a few tips to deal with the interest hikes, lets hope this is all behind, but being prepared is key.

The key word here is DEBT. get rid of the debt and the future is bright, and when you are ready for that purchase, your bank account will be ready too.

Preparing for a change in Interest rates.

We
have officially crossed over Summer Solstice and entered the “dog days of
summer”.  Speaking of summer - pack up the family and head out for your
favorite scoop of ice cream. We have listed a couple of our own personal favorites
in the community to consider this weekend:



****No Open Houses this weekend but available for booked showings if needed.

“SLICKERS
ICE CREAM SHOP” –
If you haven’t tried “Campfire” ice cream you haven’t lived. A definite Moxam
family favorite!  They make small homemade batches every day to bring you the ideal
artisan ice cream experience.  With shops in both Bloomfield and in Picton you
have your choice of dining locations.

If
you like the Sunday drive idea, you definitely want to try out “WHATS YOUR
SCOOP” in Quinte West. Family run business at their own Farm Stand with a
wide selection of Kawartha Dairy flavors to choose from. I would highly
recommend the Chocolate Peanut Butter which is a McGinn family go-to.

For all the Sorbet Lovers out there…we have you covered! Get
over to the “OLD GREEN HOUSE ICE CREAM SHOP” in Wellington. And they
don’t stop at Sorbet…there is something decision on the menu to temp everyone
from specialty bowls, shakes and ice cream floats!

Spring showed up on time this year bringing a surge of warm and humid weather early in the season. When was the last time you remember having to turn the AC on in April/May?  To prove my point, the Rogers Centre opened its rooftop on Wednesday April 12, the earliest it has done so in a given year. That’s good news for our local hospitality market that enjoys the influx of visitors to our community and the wide range of outdoor venues.

Our home market in typical spring fashion -  like the weather, heated up early and fast.  We represented many clients who listed with us and also new clients migrating to the area. Prince Edward County and surrounding communities continue to be a good investment decision for both permanent housing and vacation properties alike. 

As we closed out May and the banks took the decision to hike interest rates, a more cautious scenario for buying and selling emerged. Due to this scenario, we can see the number of average selling days on the market increase. Houses in the 250-500K range are hovering around 55 days to sell vs 26 days a year ago. When you look at the 500-750K housing market, the number of days to sell decrease but still represent an increased selling avg YOY.

Good information to keep in mind when considering selling your home. The amount of time needed to keep your home organized and marketable is taking a little longer than what we have averaged in the past.

The longer days has refreshed us all and we look forward to meeting up with you all over the summer months. Whether its at the ice cream stand or the wineries…we always look forward to meeting up with our friends and colleagues from the community.

Faye and Rachel