Sales today are made from ENGAGING people with your WHY, and then as Seth Godin Says “Sell the Problem”.  Customers will not buy a solution from you to a problem they don’t think that they have.  The sale is made when our prospects (mortgage customers or Realtors) say I NEED you

WHY You, and WHY Now? from Greg Williamson on Vimeo.

Crafting a worthy vision is incredibly elusive, but it is absolutely imperative to get to the next level.  At it’s easiest one could say, “how can you get to the next level if you don’t know WHERE it is, or more importantly what it looks like?”.

Why is getting a vision so important really.  Some would say, “crafting a vision” is so over done.  I would say that if you are not driven, then you won’t live on purpose, and if you don’t live on purpose, then you will not be working a worthy vision, AND here is the kicker, if you are not working to a worthy vision then you are LOST.

Crafting a Vision from Greg Williamson on Vimeo.

It’s a bold move, for a country that’s still clearly reeling from the devastating hit to nearly every real estate market within its borders. And a recent CNN article draws attention to what one U.S. giant is doing to continue to try and curb the seemingly insurmountable number of foreclosures, and help Americans get back on their feet.

Have a read, as it gives some interesting food for thought as to the state (no pun intended) of where the major lenders are at right now. Ultimately, the threat of, “borrowers (being) more likely to walk away if their mortgages are underwater, meaning they owe more than the home is worth,” has prompted the Bank of America to not only re-think it’s damage control strategy, but also try a tactic seemingly unprecedented until this point.

And with, “nearly 25% of borrowers are underwater, according to First American CoreLogic, Bank of America is launching the program to entice more borrowers to participate in its foreclosure prevention efforts and to reduce the chance of re-default.”

Read through the better part of the article and these alarming stats jump out at you:

“The settlement called for Bank of America, which acquired Countrywide in July 2008, to modify troubled mortgages with up to $8.4 billion in interest rate and principal reductions for nearly 400,000 Countrywide customers.

The bank expects that 45,000 borrowers will qualify to have their loan balances reduced by a total of $3 billion under the program announced Wednesday. It is set to begin in May.”

Again, this may or may not be a surprise to some. But the numbers are still rather shocking.

What about the neighbour who has been dutifully paying his mortgage through all this?

What are your thoughts on this issue? Should the BOA re-think their strategy?

Interesting Globe and Mail article on the back-and-forth between Canadian consumers and residential realtors. The standoff continues, as the Federal Competition Bureau is ready to keep battling realtors on what consumers should and shouldn’t be entitled to when it comes to buying and selling homes.

On the one-hand, realtors say they’re not doing anything to prevent open competition in the market. On the other, consumers are pushing the national competition watchdog to allow for concessions when it comes to what’s paid and what’s included in a residential listing – both by the realtor and by the seller.

Have a read and see what you think.  When the feds do eventually provide a final ruling on this ongoing issue, it will certainly change the real estate business if the judgment caters to the supposed plight of the consumer.

What do you think? Who’s side are you on?

The loonie is once-again flirting with U.S. parity, Calgary’s average home price is up nearly 12% over this time last year, and inflation is on the rise. By now you’re probably aware of just how much your lender has raised their mortgage rate(s) and you’re deciding, ‘to lock-in, or not to lock-in?”

Well take a peek at this recent CTV News article for what you can expect in the near future. It’s been interesting keeping an eye on what’s happening in the Calgary market. A lot of product in the range of, say, between $275,000 – $500,000 has changed hands. Buyers are motivated by current conditions and the threat of mortgage rates, rules and guidelines changing. The market here is relatively busy (read: steady) as spring has sprung and buyers & sellers shake off the cobwebs, and wake-up from the hibernation brought on by the winter doldrums.

Nothing shocking you say? Well – yes and no. Yes, because spring is traditionally a busier time in virtually every market across the country. And no because depending on where you’re buying or selling, seeing double-digit increases (when it comes to average house prices) is almost surreal, considering what Canadians and North Americans just went through during the latter part of 2008 & nearly all of 2009.

Taking this article a bit further, already the talk is centering in more, now, on Canadians that have stretched themselves so thin, by maxing-out their mortgage amounts, that if these rates do keep climbing (based on federal and individual lending tactics) those who are a) not locked in at a low rate b) riding the variable ‘wave’ c) mortgaged to the max, may suddenly find themselves in hot water.

Again, the signs are there. Where exactly will we be in 6 months? 1 year? Time will tell. But…certainly expect inflation, coupled with government changes to the mortgage market and interest rates to greatly influence what you can actually afford. The days of record-low interest rates are now history. And as we progress, I think many of us will be regaling about the days when interest rates were oh, so, low…

What do you think? Send me your two-cents.

Came across an interesting article, recently, in the Financial Post. And if we are to entrust the sage wisdom of some of our most knowledgeable economic advisors – the days of the Bank of Canada posting a 0.25% interest rate, are just about over. Not a huge revelation, I know, but by the sounds of it, when the prime rate starts rising, it will happen fast. Noticeably fast.

The suggestion, now, is that it would be prudent for the central bank to raise the prime rate by 50 basis-points, from every scheduled rate announcement from July, 2010, onward. At the centre of this argument is the assumption that, ” the central bank needs to raise rates as aggressively in anticipation of the recovery as cut in response to the financial crisis. This would be in line with the Taylor rule, which dictates by how much a central bank should move its benchmark rate in response to inflation.”

Has our economy improved enough to warrant the Bank of Canada nudging the federal rate higher than 0.25% each announcement, from summer to fall of 2010? Well, time will certainly tell. But the indicators are there that we’re rebounding decently, as a whole. Slowly but surely.

I’m inclined to revisit the idea that we’ll start to see home buyers feeling like they’d better take advantage of the current rates, before the feds shake things up, and make it harder to qualify for financing. Already they’ve taken a few steps, and add a 50 basis-point hike into the mix, every few months, and the people who waited will be suddenly scrambling, or kicking themselves for not locking-in or renewing at today’s rates, sooner.

As usual, food for thought, and I know I’ll be keeping a close eye on how things shape out – especially come summer.

What do you think?

Akin to one of my recent posts, involving an article from the Financial Post, another article (from the same publication) is worth noting. And this one talks more about the condition and progress, if you will, of the Canadian economy.

Overall, it seems Canada’s economic train is chugging along fairly smoothly. Sure, we’d probably all like it to be even stronger than it is now, but hey – let’s remember where things were and then focus on where they are:

Sales are up, inventory is down, demand is steady (if not increasing) and spring is just around the corner. And it’s not just Calgary – the story is similar across just about every major Canadian centre right now, according to a recent press release by Canadian Newswire.

The release highlights an report from RE/MAX, which outlines some of the raw sales data, year-over-year, within Canada’s biggest cities. It also draws attention to the January 2010 numbers – citing stronger than expected sales activity, nationally, for the typically or traditionally slower month of January.

Rather than make it a marketing piece for RE/MAX, and also ensure we don’t take their word as gospel, it’s important to remember that we won’t know how strong the market will actually be this spring and summer – until we get there. The numbers within this report are certainly promising. And I agree, we”ll likely see pent-up demand not as strong as it has been, which means we will probably see a more steady growth as opposed to the rapid growth many markets saw last year.

And when the feds continue to tighten the noose, so to speak, regarding lending guidelines, we’ll likely see more Canadians, in urban markets, start to think a lot more seriously about getting off the fence. The same will hold true when lenders begin raising their rates, as the pendulum swings, and the central bank begins increasing it’s rate by 25 basis-points (or more), on a regular-basis.

But I like the idea that we’re certainly well-ahead of where we were last year at this time. Those numbers tell a significant story and those numbers also speak for themselves. They can’t be fudged.

According to the report, here are the cities with some of the most significant gains:

“The highest year-over-year sales gains were reported in Greater Vancouver (152 per cent), Kelowna (121 per cent), Greater Toronto (87 per cent), Victoria (69 per cent), Hamilton-Burlington (58 per cent), London-St. Thomas (55 per cent) and Calgary (47 per cent). Western Canadian cities dominated the list of centres with the highest increases in price appreciation. These included Victoria at 25.5 per cent, Kelowna at 22 per cent, Greater Vancouver at 19.5 per cent, and Winnipeg at 17 per cent. St. John’s (23 per cent) and Toronto (19 per cent) were also among the front-runners for price growth.”

I can’t necessarily speak for other cities, but what I’ve noticed here is that business is steady, in the market. There are definitely people buying, there is certainly reduced inventory, and buyers are still being picky. Offers are now closer to list than they were, say just months ago, but people also don’t appear to be listing for astronomically or ridiculously higher than what they should be – like they did in the ‘good old days’ of 2008. And average and median prices are creeping up slowly (mostly on the single-fam, detached, side) but we’re not seeing double-digit gains. Nor should we expect to.

Now we’re into March and I bet we’ll see this trend continue.  And like the article notes, “for every successful offer, there are those that will walk away empty-handed. They’re thrust back into the buyer pool and the process starts all over again. Some buyers are upping the ante, while others are considering alternate housing options. Still, purchasers remain cautious in their bids, with most careful not to max out debt service ratios.”

It will truly be interesting to see what happens coast-to-coast. And here’s hoping we’ve learned some valuable lessons from the past and we don’t keep getting in over our heads, biting off more than we can chew, and maxing ourselves out financially based on today’s rates, because mark my word, when rates do go up – those who’ve leveraged themselves poorly or maxed themselves out might be in for a rude awakening, when interest rates go up, prices go up and inflation sets in.

Thoughts? Comments? Insights? Tell me.

So, here we are in the midst of several signficant changes regarding Canada’s mortgage market. If you haven’t already heard, (see article from Canadian Press) Finance Minister Jim Flaherty says the government needs to take pre-emptive measures to ensure Canadians don’t get caught servicing too much debt, should housing prices cool-off.

The government keeps stressing there should be no reason for immediate or overdue concern about any sort of ‘housing bubble’ existing here in Canada. However, based on the latest moves by the feds I wouldn’t be surprised if you’re a little intrigued about the latest changes – all designed to be a ‘better safe than sorry’ approach.

The article notes these changes, which are set to take effect as of April 19/10:

In order to qualify for an insured mortgage, borrowers will have to meet the standards for a five-year fixed-rate mortgage even if the interest they are paying is less.

The government will also limit the amount Canadians can borrow on their homes from the current 95 per cent of the value to 90 per cent.

Housing speculators will now have to put down a 20 per cent down payment on properties they will not be living in, to qualify for a government-backed mortgage.

And surprisingly, these changes may have something to do with the fact that,  “the heads of our country’s six largest banks privately told Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney, in November, that they fear a potential collapse in house prices and the ensuing potential for economic damage,” as reported in The Globe and Mail, just days ago.

That article goes onto say, “The banks reportedly want Ottawa to mandate tighter rules on mortgages so that buyers will need a larger down payment – as much as 10 per cent. They also want Ottawa to reduce the maximum amortization period of a mortgage to 30 years from 35.”

So far, the latter hasn’t happened. But it’s interesting that we’re suddenly seeing some ‘preventative measures’ put into place – even though the feds still seem to insist we’re not in any sort of housing-bubble, and won’t be in the foreseeable future.

I’ll leave you to decide how much this latest information is, or is not, a contradiction of sorts. And somewhere in the middle, the consumer will be directly affected and will be making future buying decisions in the wake of these changes.

Certainly, it could be argued that we will see buyers and activity (depending on each market) either pick-up or alter as consumers decide whether to take advantage of current rates, prices and mortgage options – versus waiting until after the proposed April 19th deadline, which could certainly make it harder for many to qualify and hold with regards to investment properties, debt-ratios, and refinancing.

Overall, I certainly don’t think any of us should have been expecting things to stay status-quo for much longer. As we re-group and the Canadian economy continues to try and rebound, the dollar stays at or near parity with the U.S., housing markets stay strong, or perhaps they soften a bit, and as we move forward and inflation and interest rates eventually do begin rising – don’t expect it to truly get any easier to afford a home, in just about every market.

The next 6-8 months will definitely be interesting. Stay tuned.

Good, quick, blurb by senior economist Benjamin Tal, in his latest 2010 Economic Buzz. In it he talks about the Feds willingness to keep rates where they are, currently. And it looks as though we can expect rates to hold here – certainly for the short-term.

Basically, Tal reminds us that the Bank of Canada (BOC) likely won’t be raising rates until June of 2010 at the earliest. And if growth numbers, for our country, are slower than expected that rate hike might stall for a bit longer. Tal says CIBC World Markets is, “roughly in line with the Bank of Canada’s growth projection for the balance of this year,  (but) we’re not as optimistic about Canada’s ability to shrug off a likely slowing in US growth in 2010. If we’re right, it will take even longer than the Bank’s forecast to get back to full employment and target inflation. Therefore, if the US keeps rates on hold throughout 2010, it’ll be difficult for the Bank of Canada to move first, as long as the Canadian dollar is near parity.”

Interesting as this prediction comes just days before the Feds announced (Feb 16/10) several significant changes to the mortgage market – aimed at stabilizing the future mortage & housing market and off-setting or limiting any repurcussions of increased debt-loads owned by Canadians.