Christine Buemann Mortgage Broker

•TSX +31.86 to 11,746.07 •DOW +100.81 to 10,523.43 •Dollar +.24c to 96.76cUS •Oil +0.06 to $79.04 USD per barrel. •Gold -.40 to $1,186.60 per ounce •Canadian 5 yr bond yields +.01bps to 2.44. The spread (based on the MERIX 5 yr rate published rate of NEW 4.24%) remains above the comfort zone at 1.80. If the fall season is a slow one we may see the comfort zone shrink down to early spring levels of 150-155bps. This may be the only way fixed rates will go lower

The key to getting rid of debt is to commit to fixed, not declining, monthly payments. With your 19.75% credit card, if you were to pay off a debt of $30,000.00 at a fixed payment of $600 per month, you would pay the debt off in just under 9 years, and pay approximately $30, 000.00 in interest. Suppose you take out a home equity loan at 4% interest. If you pay it off at $600 per month, you will retire the debt in just under 4.5 years – 4.5 years sooner than with the credit card. But best of all, your interest cost will be reduced from $30,000.00 to $3,000.00. That's approximately $27,000.00 in your pocket with exactly the same monthly payments! Of course, your debt may not reside on one, but multiple credit cards. The practice of transferring all of your debt to a single loan is called debt consolidation. Here's how it works: Take out a single loan, and use the proceeds of the loan to pay off all your debt in full. Then, you pay off the loan in single monthly payments. If you

Real estate in Prince George is very affordable when compared to average British Columbia real estate prices, as well as average Canadian real estate prices. Single family homes start at about $150,000, and 2 to 3 bedroom homes on generous lots start at about $250,000. Comparing these prices to B.C. and Canadian averages makes Prince George quite affordable. If you want a monster house and a huge lot, prices start at around $400,000, try that in Kelowna or the Lower Mainland. In 1981 Prince George was the second largest city in B.C. with about 68,000 people. Today (2006 Census) Prince George is home to about 71,000 people. The population increase over about 25 years was only about 4.5 percent. This slow population increase contributes to the lower real estate prices. Prince George is located in the Regional District of Fraser-Fort George and the city is at the confluence of the Fraser and Nechako Rivers. Heritage, College Heights, Hart Highlands and St. Lawrence Heights are prime resid

Q1 2010 Total Housing Starts 18 MLS® Sales 221 MLS® Sales $ 246,895 Q1 2009 Total Housing Starts 8 MLS® Sales 192 MLS® Sales $ 233,724

Beacon scores are the score given to you by the credit collection companies, Equifax and Trans Union, and are built by grouping data into predictive characteristics in five categories. These scores are used by financial institutions and credit companies in order to determine your credit worthiness. Past Payment Performance = 35% • The fewer late payments, judgments, liens, or collections, the better. • Recent late payments weigh more than those made two years past. Credit Utilization = 30% • Low balances on several cards are better than high balances on a few cards. • Balance should be at or below 30% of the available credit. • Too many cards can be a detriment. Credit History = 15% • The longer accounts have been open and in good standing, the better. • Avoid ‘credit surfing.’ Opening new accounts and closing established accounts will negatively impact on a credit score. Types of Credit in Use = 10% • Finance company accounts score lower than traditional banking or retail accounts. •

Seasonally adjusted national home sales activity via the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) Systems of Canadian real estate Boards receded 8.2 per cent in June from the previous month. Led by lower activity in Toronto and Calgary, sales declined in almost 70 per cent of local markets. Tightened mortgage regulations and anticipated interest rate increases cooled sales activity throughout the second quarter, resulting in a decline of 13.3 per cent from near-record levels in the first quarter. As expected, these two national factors contributed to a widespread decline in activity, with transactions down in all but a dozen or so smaller markets. Actual (not seasonally adjusted) national sales activity was 19.7 per cent lower in June 2010 compared to last year, when activity almost reached a new record for the month. Actual sales activity in the second quarter stood 2.8 per cent below levels reported in the second quarter of 2009. For the year-to-date, transactions are up 13.6 per cent compar