Ever since the Federal government announced a new set of mortgage rules in February, misinformation has been spreading like wildfire. Don't buy the hype - acquiring a mortgage is still possible! Below are a few mortgage myths, debunked: 1. You can still purchase a property with 5% down. While the government did change the rules [...]
Posted Jun 10, 2010 By Robert Pugh EMC Business - Buying a home can be a very complex, and sometimes emotional experience. Some buyers find themselves getting caught up in the emotional side, and let their heart take over their head. Here are a few tips on how would-be buyers can stay grounded and avoid [...]
Island residential construction jumps 37%, signalling stronger economic conditions By Darrell Bellaart, The Daily News June 9, 2010 The house-building industry is back producing homes at a rate comparable pre-recession rates in 2008. The Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation, the federal agency that monitors the housing industry, is reporting solid year-over-year numbers in residential construction [...]
When the Bank of Canada raised its Bank Rate by 25 basis points to .75 per cent last Tuesday, there were already a few grumblings from Canadians in the housing sector and elsewhere who thought interest rates should remain at an effective rate of almost zero for time immemorial so they could continue to borrow [...]
Calgary may avoid real estate disaster, as strong crude prices and growing attention to the oil sands drives more interest in commercial space than brokers expected a month ago. Several city brokerage firms feared vacany rates would reach 20 per cent as early as this spring, but Calgary's vacancy rates actually fell during the first [...]
With more than 2/3 of Canadians now owning homes, it’s difficult to imagine a time when mortgages were not yet invented — and flush toilets were a luxury. In The Canadian home: from cave to electronic cocoon, Marc Denhez does a great job of recounting mortgage and real estate history in this fair land. Below [...]
We have recorded the two strongest consecutive trimesters in the last decade By L. IAN MACDONALD, Freelance June 2, 2010 The Canadian economy grew by 6.1 per cent in the first quarter, on top of 4.9-per-cent growth in the fourth quarter, the two strongest consecutive trimesters in the last decade. That news on Monday pretty [...]
Estate tax changes are coming to the US - and this can affect Canadians who own an investment or vacation property south of the border. The tax cuts enacted by the Bush administration are scheduled to expire at the end of 2010, and estate taxes are expected to revert to higher rates that applied in [...]
By mortgage brokers news After more than a year at a record low level, Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney raised the benchmark interest rate for the first time since 2007 by one-quarter percentage point to 0.5 per cent. This is the first time since 2007 that that rate has increased and the Bank of [...]
Despite the fact that a second home requires a higher down payment, almost half of Canadians are still considering buying a recreational property according to a nationwide survey of Canadian attitudes towards recreational property ownership conducted by Angus Reid and commissioned by Royal LePage Real Estate Services. Lifestyle is the number one reason cited from [...]