The Honourable Jim Flaherty, Minister of Finance, today announced a number of measured steps to support the long-term stability of Canada’s housing market and continue to encourage home ownership for Canadians.
“Canada’s housing market is healthy, stable and supported by our country’s solid economic fundamentals,” said Minister Flaherty. “However, a key lesson of the global financial [...]
With interest rates at a record low, a growing number of people are looking to purchase a home. Every homebuyer faces the age-old question of whether to choose a fixed or variable rate mortgage.
Doug Porter, Deputy Chief Economist, BMO Capital Markets. “Short-term rates are at historic lows and pressure is likely to build for higher [...]
Due to the fact that U.S economy is still staggering its way out of the recession, some local employees are facing lay-offs because of the substantial shrinkage in demand for their service and goods. Some first-time-owners who purchased their first nest five years ago at a rate much higher than the FED offers today are [...]
Home sales will continue at a brisk pace through the remainder of this year and into 2010. More sales combined with fewer active listings will push the average MLS® home price higher in 2010.1 Home starts will pick up over the next 15 months, but remain below levels recorded in recent years. The upturn in [...]
OTTAWA – October 15th, 2009 – National resale housing activity climbed to the highest level of any third quarter on record.
Actual (not seasonally adjusted) home sales via the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) Systems of Canadian real estate boards totalled 135,182 units in the third quarter of 2009, according to statistics released by The Canadian Real [...]
Afer a 2.5% decline in the year 2009, the Canadian economy should grow by around 2.1% next year. It’s another acknowledgment that recovery is on the up.
The Global forecast is positive too. After an average 1.1% contraction in 2009, the global economy should be back on track with 3.1% growth. IMF chief economist Olivier Blanchard [...]
The single most important factor to consider when selling a house is the home price tag: how much your house is worth. You don’t want to overprice the house because you will lose the freshness of the home’s appeal after the first two to three weeks of showings. After 21 days, demand and interest wane. [...]
New strata councils quickly or slowly come to realize that their property manager doesn’t actually take care of “everything”, that he or she is merely an agent hired to perform “some” of the duties of the strata council.
Council members will need to examine their management contract carefully to learn what they can reasonably expect of [...]
Not too many years ago, buying a condo was considered a compromise move. Condos are more affordable, particularly for first-time buyers who have a tough time breaking into the housing market. Until recently the cheap entry fee entitled you to apartment-style living, no yard to call your own and lusterless appreciation—not an attractive package to [...]
VANCOUVER, B.C. – May 4, 2009 – With more buyers and fewer homes for sale in recent months, the Greater Vancouver housing market has entered a more moderate and balanced state.
For the sixth consecutive month, new listings for detached, attached and apartment properties declined in Greater Vancouver, down 33.7 per cent to 4,649 in April [...]