National Mortgage Related News Archive

• Slowdown hands Carney pause
  Sep 01, 2010 — The 2 percent pace of expansion for the second quarter, reported Tuesday by Statistics Canada, gives the central bank more flexibility to hold off on interest rate increases in the months to come. The growth rate, which compares with a 5.8 percent clip in the previous three months, was slower than even the most pessimistic estimates, and reflects a widening gap between the country's imports and its sales abroad, as well as slower spending by consumers and governments.
  Source: Jeremy Torobin, Richard Blackwell, Report on Business
  
• Housing starts will slow: CMHC
  Aug 31, 2010 — The growth rate for housing construction will slow over the last six months of the year, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation said Tuesday in its second-quarter outlook. The federal agency, which bases its outlook starting in June, also forecast the rate of housing starts in 2011 will stabilize and grow at the same rate as the population.
  Source: News Staff, CBC
  
• Housing bubble threatens in six cities: Report
  Aug 31, 2010 — A perfect storm has created a housing bubble in Canada that could lead to a drop in property value of nearly 40% in some markets, according to a report by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. For the first time in 30 years, house price increases have climbed faster than historic comfort levels in Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Montreal and Ottawa, the think-tank said.
  Source: Stefania Moretti, Toronto Sun
  
• Boomers upsizing their downsizing plans
  Aug 31, 2010 — While some baby boomers have their sights on the simpler, "lock and leave" condo lifestyle, others are finding that life doesn't always work the way they planned, says Laura Parsons, area manager specialized sales for BMO Financial Group in Calgary.
  Source: Denise Deveau, The Gazette
  
• Economy sputters in second quarter
  Aug 31, 2010 — Economic growth slowed more in the second quarter than the Bank of Canada and most analysts had anticipated, as imports increased faster than exports, and spending by consumers and governments slowed.
  Source: Jeremy Torobin, Report on Business
  
• No housing bust here: CD Howe
  Aug 31, 2010 — Canada is unlikely to see a "massive wave of defaults" in the housing market as the market cools, the CD Howe Institute wrote in a report Wednesday. The report comes day after the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives released a report saying six Canadian cities, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Ottawa, Toronto and Montreal were due for a correction because prices have increased beyond what's justified by the broader economy.
  Source: Steve Ladurantaye, Report on Business
  
• TSX higher as financials rise ahead of earnings
  Aug 30, 2010 — The Toronto stock market racked up a modest gain Monday as financial stocks advanced ahead of another batch of earnings from the big banks and energy stocks were higher even as oil prices backed off following a string of recent gains.
  Source: Malcolm Morrison, Toronto Star
  
• How to AVOID mistakes
  Aug 29, 2010 — Applying for a mortgage and becoming a home buyer can seem overwhelming especially if it's your first time. I've put together a blueprint of the most common pitfalls and how to deal with them, so that you can feel confident and prepared to take the first steps towards homeownership!
  Source: Darren Sharko, Edmonton Sun
  
• Eco-footprint a consideration when buying
  Aug 28, 2010 — Purchasing a home involves making many decisions. How many bedrooms do you need? What neighbourhood do you want to live in? Should it be previously owned, brand new or custom-built? Here's one more thing to consider: is the home a "green" home? That is, does it have features that will save energy and water, reduce maintenance costs and waste, offer a healthy indoor environment and have a reduced impact on the earth?
  Source: Trevor Gloyn, Calgary Herald
  
• HST affects homeownership
  Aug 28, 2010 — As of July 1, Ontarians have been paying a harmonized sales tax rate of 13 per cent on a long list of goods and services that were previously exempt from the eight per cent provincial sales tax. While the impact of the tax is being felt by all Ontarians, the province's three million homeowners and the thousands who buy and sell a home every year have also been affected.
  Source: Anna Vozza, The Windsor Star
  
• ING sells off Canadian industrial property
  Aug 27, 2010 — ING Groep NV has sold its Canadian industrial real estate portfolio to KingSett Capital and Alberta Investment Management Corp. in a $2 billion deal. The industrial properties, warehouses and factory spaces for the most part, was owned by Summit REIT before the Dutch giant bought it six years ago for $2.1-billion cash. This deal may value the portfolio at roughly the same amount, but also includes the debt of the Canadian real estate holdings.
  Source: Steve Ladurantaye, Report on Business
  
• One day, we'll look back and thank Jim Flaherty
  Aug 27, 2010 — Some finance ministers travel with bodyguards, surround themselves with an entourage and inhale executive-class perks as freely as oxygen. It's the least they can ask, after all, as they save the world from economic doom. The dean of the Group of Seven club of economic chiefs begs to differ.
  Source: Kevin Carmichael, The Globe and Mail
  
• RBC Q3 profit down 18%
  Aug 26, 2010 — Royal Bank of Canada today reported third quarter earnings that fell significantly short of analyst estimates on tumbling trading revenue. Canada's largest bank and biggest player in capital markets had a profit of $1.3-billion, or 84 cents a share, down 18% from the same period last year. The disappointing result was driven largely by a 93% slump in trading revenue.
  Source: John Greenwood, Financial Post
  
• Calgary home prices starting to decline
  Aug 26, 2010 — A high inventory of homes for sale combined with a softening demand from potential homebuyers is starting to put downward pressure on Calgary MLS prices. Preliminary and unofficial data for August to date indicate prices are dropping in both the single-family and condominium market.
  Source: Mario Toneguzzi, Calgary Herald
  
• U.S. new home sales plunge
  Aug 25, 2010 — Sales of new U.S. homes dropped sharply last month to the slowest pace on record, the latest sign that the economic recovery is fading. The Commerce Department said Wednesday that new home sales fell 12.4 per cent in July from a month earlier to a seasonally adjusted annual sales pace of 276,600. That was the slowest pace on records dating back to 1963. The past three months have been the worst on record for new home sales.
  Source: The Associated Press, Report on Business
  
• Canadian home prices continue to rise
  Aug 25, 2010 — Canadian home prices are still on the rise even as sales fall as demand peters out, one factor that is making homes less and less affordable, according to a study by the Conference Board of Canada.
  Source: Sunny Freeman, Report on Business
  
• The four rules of the family CFO
  Aug 24, 2010 — In Your Life & Your Money, Scott Feher explains how to get your family to agree on a financial plan. Once you have a mission statement, you can start acting as your family's CFO. The job has many dimensions, of course, but there are four basic rules.
  Source: Scott Feher, Globe Investor
  
• BMO posts Q3 profits below expectations
  Aug 24, 2010 — Bank of Montreal today posted third quarter results that were below analyst expectations amid poor performance from its capital markets operations and rising loan loss provisions at its U.S. subsidiary. For the three months ended July 31, BMO had net income of $669-million, or $1.13 a share, up 20% from a year ago.
  Source: John Greenwood, Canada.com
  
• U.S. home sale dive roils markets
  Aug 24, 2010 — Sales of previously owned U.S. homes dropped more steeply than expected in July to their lowest pace in 15 years, an industry group said Tuesday, implying further loss of momentum in the economic recovery.
  Source: Reuters, The Financial Post
  
• Central bankers return to cautious ways
  Aug 24, 2010 — Central bankers, who pushed the boundaries of monetary policy in their fight against the financial crisis, are reverting back to their more cautious ways as they struggle to understand where the global economy is headed.
  Source: Kevin Carmichael, Report on Business
  
• Seven must-have real estate contract conditions
  Aug 23, 2010 — When you formally make an offer on a home you want to buy, you'll fill out a lot of paperwork specifying the terms of your offer. Aside from such obvious things as the address and purchase price of the property on which you're making an offer, there are some items you should be sure to include in your real estate purchase contract.
  Source: Amy Fontinelle, Globe Investor
  
• Investor focus moves to bank earnings
  Aug 23, 2010 — Investors will likely find few reasons to send stock markets higher this coming week as U.S. economic growth data at the end of the week will likely serve as a reminder of how conditions in the world's biggest economy are deteriorating. There are high hopes from a slew of earnings coming from the big Canadian banks. But while they're expected to hand in solid numbers, it could be a stretch for them to improve or even meet the results from the previous two quarters.
  Source: Malcolm Morrison, The Chronicle Herald
  
• Life insurance can provide tool for many things
  Aug 23, 2010 — Life insurance can be a tool to provide for everything from paying final expenses, retiring a mortgage, income replacement, to a tax sheltered investment, and everything in between. Life Insurance can provide individuals with piece of mind, whether it be protecting their family, estate planning or solving a tax problem. There are many uses for business owners whether it be protecting against the loss of a key person to funding buy-sell provisions of shareholder agreements. Often insurance is the least costly solution to a problem.
  Source: News Staff, Times Transcript
  
• Even experts dazed by mortgage confusion
  Aug 21, 2010 — Last year, mortgage rates were predicted to start rising this year, which resulted in higher than expected homes sales. But, fixed rates have been on the decrease for the past seven weeks, with Canada's major bank staking them down another 0.10% this week.
  Source: Myke Thomas, Calgary Sun
  
• HST bumps up Canadian inflation rate
  Aug 20, 2010 — Canada's annual rate of inflation climbed in July on higher energy costs and the introduction of new harmonized sales taxes in two provinces, but at a slow-enough pace to prompt traders to scale back expectations of a Bank of Canada rate hike in September.
  Source: Paul Vieira, Canada.com
  
• Rates change investors' fixed-income strategies
  Aug 20, 2010 — Facing rock-bottom interest rates and a sputtering North American economy, fixed-income investors are being forced to alter their portfolio strategies.
  Source: Tim Kiladze, Globe Investor
  
• Inflation in Calgary lags rest of Canada
  Aug 20, 2010 — Consumer prices rose at a slower rate in the Calgary census metropolitan area in July than they did in Alberta and the national average, says Statistics Canada. The national average was boosted by the introduction of the Harmonized Sales Tax in Ontario and British Columbia on July 1.
  Source: Mario Toneguzzi, Calgary Herald
  
• Canadian leading indicator slows in July
  Aug 19, 2010 — A key barometer of Canada's economic performance slowed in July, due mainly to declines in the housing sector, Statistics Canada said Thursday.
  Source: Financial Post, Canada.com
  
• Housing to drag on economy
  Aug 19, 2010 — Canada's economy will continue to churn out growth, but the pace is set to slow as the housing market cools and the U.S. economy falters, according to a Statistics Canada report released Thursday. The agency's leading economic indicator index, a monthly gauge of where the economy appears headed in the coming months, slowed to a 0.4 per cent increase in July, after a gain of 0.7 per cent in June. July's gain is the smallest recorded in 13 months and follows five steady months of increases closer to 1 per cent.
  Source: Sunny Freeman, Report on Business
  
• Central bank sees gains in new bank rules
  Aug 19, 2010 — Tougher rules for banks will bring economic benefits that dwarf the costs of forcing them to hold more capital, according to the latest salvos by central bankers and regulators in the debate about whether stricter standards might stifle the recovery.
  Source: Jeremy Torobin, Report on Business