Mr. Greg Pietras This is Me

 Web References

1. 1. Toronto a hot seller

   www.2020properties.com/article - [Cached]

   Published on: 2/23/2002   Last Visited: 8/2/2005

   Greg Pietras, a vice-president with Toronto investment firm IPC Securities, says while it may be a seller's market from a supply-and-demand perspective, it's a buyer's market in the sense that economic conditions -- low interest rates -- are rarely going to be so conducive to the purchase of a home.
   
   "It's an amazing time to buy because the cost of money is so cheap," he says. "If someone was thinking about buying a home a few months ago, they would now find that they could afford a more expensive home without increasing the cost of their monthly mortgage payments."
   
   While low interests rates encourage first-time buyers to jump into the marketplace, Mr. Pietras says, they also benefit homeowners who decide to refinance their existing mortgage.
   
   "I'm advising a number of my clients who have mortgages at rates significantly higher than those available today that they should talk to their bank about breaking the mortgage and refinancing."
   
   Breaking a mortgage typically requires an up-front payment equal to three months' interest, but Mr. Pietras says lower monthly payments will allow the homeowner to make that money back easily.