cmhc: OTTAWA TIGHTENS MORTGAGE RULES TO AVOID BUBBLE - 07/22/08 04:12 PM
The mortgage industry is cracking down, in a move that could help protect against a U.S.-style housing bubble, but will also make it tougher to borrow money to buy a home.
The Finance Department said Wednesday it will stop backing mortgages with amortization periods longer than 35 years as of Oct. 15.
… (0 comments)
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cmhc: Do changes to the Mortgage Financing Rules really spell doom and gloom for the market? Not Likely! - 07/11/08 07:00 PM
Yesterday the federal government announced some big changes coming in October 2008. I think these changes could have the most significant impact in Vancouver, given that it is likely the least affordable city in the country…however, having seen the cover story in the Vancouver Sun today, I think it is a … (0 comments)
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cmhc: New Insured-Mortgage Rules in Canada - 07/10/08 01:36 PM
No more 40 year mortgages and 100% financing!
On July 9 2008 the federal government announced that effective October 15 2008 government-backed mortgages (those with less than 20% down) through CMHC and the private mortgage insurers will have these restrictions;
No more 40 year amortizations. The maximum amortization period will now be 35 … (1 comments)
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cmhc: Government of Canada Moves to Protect, Strengthen Canadian Housing Market - 07/09/08 05:40 PM
The Government of Canada today announced adjustments to the rules for government guaranteed mortgages aimed at protecting and strengthening the Canadian housing market. The new measures include:
Fixing the maximum amortization period for new government-backed mortgages to 35 years;
Requiring a minimum down payment of five per cent for new government-backed … (0 comments)
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cmhc: Too Many Condos Coming on Stream, Too Few Buyers? - 06/30/08 10:31 PM
The June 2008 edition of CMHC’s “Housing Now” report for Calgary and area was issued on Sunday.
June 2008 Housing Now - http://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/odpub/esub/64167/64167_2008_M06.pdf
We have reached a new record of multi-family (apartment condos, townhouses and semi-attached homes) homes under construction. The total in May was 11,915, of which 9,432 were apartment-style … (3 comments)
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cmhc: Calgary Rental Market Report - Spring 2008 - 06/15/08 12:05 PM
CMHC published their Spring 2008 Rental Market Report on June 5.
The overall vacancy rate in Calgary in April 2008 is 2.0%, compared to 0.5% in April 2007. The breakdown:
Bachelor: 2.6%
1-Bedroom: 1.8%
2-bedroom: 2.2%
Average rents April 2007: bachelor:$608 1-bedroom:$848 2-bedroom:$1008 3+Bedroom:$939
Average rents April 2008: bachelor:$651 1-bedroom:$906 2-bedroom:$1081 3+bedroom:$1105
The full … (2 comments)
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cmhc: Will Canada's Housing Market Crash? - 06/07/08 11:42 PM
Yesterday, I wrote about the possibility of a Canadian mortgage crisis akin to the American mortgage crisis. It would have been less controversial to side with the CBC decision to cancel its renewal of "Hockey Night In Canada" theme song. To my brothers and sisters in The Great North: It was … (5 comments)
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cmhc: Renovation and Home Purchase Survey - 05/22/08 03:55 PM
The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation has released the results of its 2007 Renovation and Home Purchase Survey.
Across these 10 major centres, (estimated) renovation spending in 2007 was up $2 billion from the previous year, to $19.7B. That's an average of $12,800 per household!
In Toronto, we see intentions for … (0 comments)
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cmhc: Developer pulls out of project, again... - 03/03/08 01:17 AM
A few years ago the Bambu development on Vancouver Island was cancelled.When the plug was pulled on Riverbend last year, you might have thought that it would be big enough to get some real legislative changes made, especially after making national news: http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20070507/BC_homeowners_070507. Well now the Eden Group of Companies has cancelled 3 projects; big … (0 comments)
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cmhc: Residential Homes - Charlottetown, PEI, Canada - 02/09/08 08:56 AM
According to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) residential construction in the capital city of Charlotttown, Prince Edward Island for the month of January, 2008 has increased from the same time last year.
------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHARLOTTETOWN CA Single 12 11 9.1% 12 11 9.1% Multiple 2 0 - 2 0 - TOTAL 14 11 … (0 comments)
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cmhc: Canada Mortgage And Housing Corporation (CMHC) Helps Canadians Own Their Own Home - 01/31/08 07:58 PM
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) is the Government of Canada's national housing agency that helps Canadians gain access to a wide choice of affordable homes.
CMHC has been contributing to improving the living conditions for Canadians for over 50 years in a variety of ways. In the mortgage business, they are … (0 comments)
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cmhc: Price pressure in the existing home market is the sales-to-new-listings ratio - 01/31/08 04:42 PM
Sellers' market conditions across Canada continue, but the trend is moving towards more balanced markets, according to the recently released Canada Mortgage and Housing Report "Housing Now" January 2008
An indicator of price pressure in the existing home market is the sales-to-new-listings ratio. New listings are a gauge of the supply of … (1 comments)
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cmhc: Newfoundland Real Estate Outlook 2008 - 01/20/08 09:22 AM
The outlook for Newfoundland Real Estate for 2008 will be positively supported by a strong provincial economy, with the average MLS® price forecast to increase 6.4% to $157,500. REMAX is suggesting a 12% increase which would put the average price around the $170,000 mark. The expected increase in single detached and … (2 comments)
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cmhc: What you should know before you agree to buy a condo - 01/11/08 01:53 AM
This CBC Marketplace piece is a must see for any buyer considering a condo: http://www.cbc.ca/marketplace/2008/01/09/condo_crunch/ In 2001 I became distantly acquainted with Bob Aaron, a Toronto lawyer and homeowner champion. Bob says it like it is, "builders have sway, consumers don't" which just about says it all.Builders, developers (or sociopaths) or whatever … (10 comments)
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cmhc: Mortgage Calculator: How Much Can You Afford? - 01/03/08 02:19 PM
How much of a house you can afford depends on a number of factors. The most important are your gross household income, your down payment and the mortgage interest rate. Lenders will also consider your assets and liabilities. Your own lifestyle and debt comfort zone also come into play.
This calculation … (0 comments)
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cmhc: HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE! - 01/01/08 05:21 PM
I hope everyone has recovered from their night of celebrating our new year! I am excited to begin this year with the same momentum that 2007 brought. Winter is typically a quieter time of the year for real estate transactions, and this year, in-between sales, I am continuing my education to … (0 comments)
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cmhc: ONTARIO MULTI-FAMILY HOME STARTS COOL IN OCTOBER - 11/09/07 07:34 AM
Ontario home starts moved lower for the first time in four months in October. The Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate (SAAR) of urban* starts dropped to 54,200 units, down from 78,100 unit starts registered in September.
Residential construction was pulled lower largely by the multi-family home segment which includes semi-detached, town homes and … (0 comments)
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cmhc: Tipping the Scales to a more Balanced Market in St. John’s, NL – Third Quarter 2007 - 10/30/07 07:31 AM
The third quarter Multiple Listing Trends for Newfoundland are in. After a tumultuous beginning to the year, it looks like we are beginning to see the "balanced" market all Realtors hope for; a well priced home selling within a reasonable time frame to qualified buyers. Nirvana!
Residential sales were at record highs … (0 comments)
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cmhc: Buying Investment Properties With No Money Down - 10/26/07 05:02 PM
The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation has quietly changed the rules, allowing investors to buy investment properties with no money down -- albeit at a mortage insurance rate of 7.25%.
CMHC -- who commands 70% of the mortgage insurance market in Canada -- defends the change as ensuring the supply of … (0 comments)
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cmhc: Condos Condos Condos - 10/10/07 11:11 AM
The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation is reporting stronger than expected housing starts for September, with at least one analyst calling it a blip, as condos (and other multi-family dwellings) power the results. The robust demand for condos has been attributed to baby boomers and retirees downsizing, as well as, first-time … (0 comments)
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cmhc: August starts up - 09/11/07 09:57 AM
The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. reports housing starts were up (mildly) in August from July, but still behind last year's pace. Meanwhile, Statistics Canada reports new housing price growth continues to slow (from its August 2006 peak of 12.1%) with July posting a 7.7% increase over the previous year.
Source: … (0 comments)
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cmhc: Canada's housing market easing... - 08/15/07 10:18 AM
Economist forecasts from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) are for Canada's housing market to ease this year and next, despite high employment levels, income gains, and low mortgage interest rates. The expectation: fewer housing starts (except in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Quebec), slower growth in average price for resales (e.g., … (0 comments)
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cmhc: Renovation spending on the rise - 07/14/07 10:34 AM
Did you know, in 2006, Canadians spent about $43.5 billion on home renovations? Are you aware that this is more than the total spent on new residential construction?!
Ontario's share of the reno craze? $16.7 billion ... A figure to be surpassed with a forecast of $17.3 billion for 2007.
Renovation … (5 comments)
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cmhc: Home Sales Strong, LTT Bad, Record Investment, Not-So-Green Canadians - 07/11/07 09:44 PM
CREA is putting a more positive spin on CMHC's news release. Today's headlines read:
Home sales remain strong: CREA (National Post)
June a record month for Canadian home buying (Toronto Star)
South of the border, the headlines are similar:
Home sales, prices to slip more this year: NAR (National Post)
Reference: … (0 comments)
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cmhc: June Housing Construction Down But Not Out - 07/10/07 10:52 AM
The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation reports housing starts down from 235,200 in May to 225,500 units in June. In Ontario, housing starts are down from 70,000 in May to 56,400 in June. Nonetheless, the housing market is expected to remain healthy.
Today's headlines:
Housing Construction Cools (Toronto Star)
Housing starts … (0 comments)
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cmhc: Toronto Starts Higher in May - 06/25/07 10:47 AM
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
TORONTO STARTS HIGHER IN MAY
TORONTO, JUNE 8, 2007-
The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) has released preliminary housing starts data for May 2007. The seasonally-adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of starts increased to 38,000 compared to 32,500 in April. A higher annual rate of multiple-family home construction last month drove … (0 comments)
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cmhc: CMHC - ONTARIO RENTAL VACANCY RATES ARE AT HIGH LEVELS IN 2007 - 06/25/07 10:40 AM
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ONTARIO RENTAL VACANCY RATES ARE AT HIGH LEVELS IN 2007
Highlights:
• Ontario vacancy rates are at historically high levels.
• Vacancy rates highest for bachelor units.
• Vacancy rates exceed provincial average in Windsor, Thunder Bay, Hamilton and St.
Catharines-Niagara.
• Vacancy rates below provincial average in Sudbury, Ottawa, London and Barrie.
• Toronto and … (0 comments)
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cmhc: CMHC: Spring Vacancy Rates Low Across British Columbia - 06/06/07 01:33 PM
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation: Spring Vacancy Rates Low Across British Columbia <VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(June 6, 2007) - Apartment vacancy rates in more than half of British Columbia's cities and towns were below one per cent in April according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation's (CMHC's) Spring Rental Market Survey(1). … (0 comments)
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cmhc: It's Here....MLS Trends for the First Quarter 2007 - Newfoundland & Labrador Association of Realtors - 04/19/07 11:30 AM
The MLS Sales Activity Report for the Eastern Region of Newfoundland and Labrador is out and, drum roll please, looks like first quarter residential sales are up over the same time last year. Exhale.
Fortunately for buyers but unfortunately for sellers the market has remained flat during the quarter will little to … (0 comments)
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cmhc: Real Estate Prices, Sales Soar - 03/26/07 09:12 PM
After catching its breath over Christmas, the Vancouver Island real estate market is soaring again, especially south of the Malahat. New home construction is also climbing.
February data released by the Victoria and Vancouver Island Real Estate Boards show the number of units sold up substantially across virtually the whole island, … (0 comments)
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cmhc: CMHC Releases 2006 Consumer Survey - 03/11/07 11:04 AM
CMHC RELEASES 2006 MORTGAGE CONSUMER SURVEY
Vancouver Toronto March 7, 2006: Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation released their 2006 Mortgage Consumer Survey that tracks behaviour and trends of the mortgage borrowers. The survey is based on a national probability sample of 2,383 active mortgage consumers who have recently undertaken a mortgage transaction or are planning to do so.
CMHC indicated that the Canadian … (0 comments)
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cmhc: February St. John's Real Estate Market - 03/10/07 08:54 AM
St. John's housing starts were affected by weather in February, according to
preliminary data released by Canada Mortgage and Housing orporation
(CMHC). For the month of February, a total of 63 housing starts were
recorded across provincial urban centres, down nine per cent over
February of 2006. Within the St. John’s … (0 comments)
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cmhc: A Better Way To Shop For Your Mortgage - 03/03/07 12:24 PM
Okay, you've done your homework. You didn't simply accept your bank's posted mortgage rate. One question got you an immediate one percent reduction. You even shopped around at a couple of competing banks. Now, with pre-approval in hand, you're a mortgage savvy consumer ready to go house hunting.
But wait a minute. … (0 comments)
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cmhc: Canada new house prices level off in December - 02/11/07 12:17 PM
Average prices of new houses in Canada did not show a monthly increase in December for the first time since June 2000 as superheated markets in western Canada showed signs of cooling down.
Statistics Canada said on Thursday December's new home prices were up 10.7 percent from a year earlier, but … (0 comments)
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cmhc: Canada Mortgage Agency Says Home Starts to Drop Through 2008 - 02/11/07 12:12 PM
Canada's federal housing agency said home starts will decline this year because of higher prices and mortgage costs, and in 2008 will dip below 200,000 units for the first time in seven years. Construction of new homes will decline to 209,500 units this year from 227,395 in 2006, and then to … (0 comments)
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cmhc: :: Canada's Real Estate Market - New home starts to slow: CHMC :: - 02/08/07 03:45 PM
OTTAWA-New home construction will slow down this year and next but the decline will be a slow and steady one, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. said today.
Housing starts will moderate in 2007 to 209,500 from 227,395 units in 2006, the agency predicts in its Housing Market Outlook. "Construction activity will continue … (0 comments)
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cmhc: :: Canadian New Home Starts - 12 month Synopsis from CMHC :: - 02/04/07 02:05 PM
Housing Starts in 2006 Reach Their Second Highest Level in Nearly Two Decades Despite Cooling in December
OTTAWA — New home starts are estimated at 227,400 in 2006, surpassing the level in 2005, reaching their second highest level in nearly two decades. However, the seasonally adjusted annual rate1 of housing … (0 comments)
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cmhc: House prices ebb but remain strong - 12/16/06 01:48 PM
Some of the air has come out of the Calgary housing boom with prices for new homes suffering their first month-to-month drop in two years, and one of the steepest declines among more than two dozen Canadian cities. However, Calgary homeowners can relax, as the Statistics Canada report Monday also shows … (0 comments)
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cmhc: Housing Market Participants to Benefit from Major Enhancements to CMHC Information Products - 11/10/06 01:01 PM
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) today announced that the housing industry, consumers and policy makers will benefit from a new suite of enhanced surveys and analytical reports from its Market Analysis Centre (MAC). "Our clients rely on MAC's products for comprehensive and up-to-date housing market information. In an ever-changing market, … (0 comments)
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cmhc: CMHC predicts strong year for housing starts in ‘06, but decline in 2007? - 11/03/06 08:53 AM
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. says this should be another strong year for housing starts, but they are expected to decline in 2007.The agency predicts starts will reach 227,900 units in 2006, before decreasing to 210,900 units next year.But although residential construction will ease, 2007 will mark the sixth consecutive year … (0 comments)
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cmhc: Housing starts set for three-year slide - 11/02/06 09:03 AM
Housing starts will likely decline over the next three years, while the blistering pace of price increases is expected to slow, a housing report predicted Thursday.
Starts are seen dropping 7.5 per cent next year and another 10.9 per cent between 2007 and 2010, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. said.
Price … (0 comments)
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cmhc: Bank of Canada rapped housing agency on inflation - 10/30/06 01:12 PM
Bank of Canada Governor David Dodge rapped the government housing agency last summer for fueling inflation with new mortgage insurance products, according to a letter released by the central bank on Monday. Dodge wrote the letter to the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) on June 30, but later met with … (0 comments)
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cmhc: First time home buyers - 10/25/06 11:23 AM
When you are buying a home for the first time, the amount of new information in the marketplace can seem overwhelming. Since finance and real estate markets are changing constantly I will walk you through the process step by step to make sure nothing gets overlooked, including opportunities available only to … (0 comments)
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cmhc: New enhancements Welcome to Canada program - 10/17/06 10:03 AM
We are pleased to announce enhancements to our residential mortgage financing policies relating to the following:
· New immigrants taking up permanent residence in Canada up to 65% not qualified, 75% qualified and 95% insured. · Temporary residents who are in Canada on work visas … (0 comments)
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cmhc: Feds consider privatizing CMHC - 10/16/06 10:42 AM
The Harper government is "floating trial balloons" over the possible privatization of Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, according to published reports.
The Globe and Mail quotes one Bay Street source as saying the impetus for the move is coming directly from the office of Finance Minister Jim Flaherty.
Neither the minister's … (0 comments)
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cmhc: Housing starts reach new high (Prince George) - 10/12/06 08:53 AM
The Prince George homebuilding industry enjoyed its most productive third quarter since the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation began collecting statistics, says a CMHC market analyst."A total of 96 single-detached homes were started between July and September, the busiest third quarter on record going back to 1988," Andy Ni said Tuesday.This … (0 comments)
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cmhc: Cooling Canada housing boom may aid central bank - 10/11/06 08:13 PM
Back-to-back months of decline may not spell an end to Canada's housing boom, but they do take a bit of pressure off the Bank of Canada as it adjusts monetary policy to a slowing economy.
New home construction dropped 2.4 percent in September, missing economists' estimates for a gain, due to … (1 comments)
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cmhc: Housing Starts Stumble - 10/10/06 11:34 AM
Canadian housing starts fell 2.4 per cent in September as construction on condos and apartments hit its lowest level in more than two years, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. said Tuesday.
Starts unexpectedly fell to 211,300 units in September, on a seasonally-adjusted annual basis, from 216,600 units in August. Single-house construction rose … (0 comments)
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