Ottawa advised to tighten mortgage rules
February 12, 2010
The Canadian Press reported by Julian Beltrame, February 10, 2010.
OTTAWA — The federal government should avoid major surgery and make only minor adjustments to deal with fears of overheating in Canada’s housing market, a number of leading economists said Wednesday.
But some solutions being floated in advance of Flaherty’s March 4 budget — doubling the minimum down payment to 10 per cent, Read more
Metro Vancouver house prices hit new highs
February 11, 2010
Below is a segment of the report published by Jeff Nagel - Surrey North Delta Leader, February 10, 2010.
Metro Vancouver house prices hit new highs
Metro Vancouver home prices are now back in record territory, moving above the previous peak set in May of 2008.
Benchmark detached houses sold for $788,500 in January – up 20 per cent from a year ago and now two per cent above the high point that preceded the market downturn that bottomed out last March.
The rebound hasn’t played out consistently across the region. Read more
Is Canada’s housing market a bubble set to burst?
February 10, 2010
Below is a Toronto Sun article by STEFANIA MORETTI, QMI Agency published on 10th February, 2010.
Boom, backlog or bubble? There’s been much speculation about Canada’s housing market and whether it’s entering ‘bubble’ territory. That’s because bubbles inevitably pop.
Canada’s housing market staged a strong recovery from the financial meltdown, fueled by low interest rates, to return to record levels of activity in late 2009. That helped pull the overall economy out of recession.
The steep rise in prices and activity at a time when other areas of the economy, such as job creation, remain sluggish have raised fears of a bubble. Read more
Housing supply and demand reach closer alignment in January
February 3, 2010
Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver Housing Report - read full report here.
Diverse selection and favourable interest rates continue to drive demand in the Greater Vancouver housing market.
The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential property sales in Greater Vancouver totalled 1,923 in January 2010, an increase of 152.4 per cent compared to January 2009 when 762 sales were recorded and a 23.5 per cent decline compared to the 2,515 sales recorded in December 2009. Read more
Rental Condos & New Amendment To Strata Property Act
January 11, 2010
There has been a shortage of rental units for years in British Columbia. In order to address this, the Provincial Government recently passed legislation dealing with the rental provisions of the Strata Property Act (”SPA”).
Under the old section 143 of the SPA, a rental restriction bylaw passed by a Strata Corporation did not apply to that strata lot until the strata lot was conveyed by the first owner after the developer or until the date that the rental period disclosed in the RDS expired, whichever was earlier. Essentially the first owner was always able to rent out the strata unit until the expiration of the rental period disclosed in the RDS, but not subsequent owners. Read more
Real estate market expected to remain strong
January 8, 2010
Below is an article by DAVID PADDON, The Canadian Press, published Friday January 8th, 2010.
TORONTO - Canada’s residential real estate market is expected to remain unusually strong through the first half of this year after a strong finish to 2009, according to a survey published Thursday by Royal LePage.
The Royal LePage analysis is consistent with other recent reports on the state of the Canadian real estate market, which has rebounded over the past 12 months after sales dried up in late 2008 and hit a multi-year low in January 2009.
December jump in housing sales caps 2009 rebound
January 8, 2010
Below is a Vancouver Sun article by Derrick Penner, dated January 6, 2010.
Seller’s market in most Metro areas expected to continue until mid-2010
After plummeting to lows not seen since the 1980s, Lower Mainland real estate markets saw a rush in the second half of 2009 that pushed sales well above an economically challenged 2008 and prices back on an upward slope toward previous peaks. Read more
Slow start, strong finish for housing market in 2009
January 7, 2010
Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver Housing Report - read full report here.
VANCOUVER, B.C. – January 5, 2010 – After beginning the year at near record low sales levels,
buyers’ confidence in the Greater Vancouver housing market quickly returned, allowing for significant and sustained increases in the number of residential property sales for much of 2009. Read moreYou’ve been warned!
December 21, 2009
Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said in a interview released late on Sunday:
“The likely action we will take is to increase the size of the down payment from 5 per cent to a higher number, reduce the amortization — bring it down from 35 years to something less.”
Flaherty’s remarks echoed concerns voiced last week by Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney about households’ ability to pay down debt. Read the report here> Read more
Strong demand carries into late fall
December 3, 2009
Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver Housing Report - read full report here.
Home values continued to edge upward in November as demand in the Greater Vancouver housing market remains well above seasonal norms.
Over the last 12 months, the MLSLink® Housing Price Index (HPI) benchmark price for all residential properties in Greater Vancouver increased 12.4 per cent to $557,384 from $495,704 in November 2008. This price, however, remains down 1.9 per cent from the most recent high point in the market in May 2008 when the residential benchmark price sat at $568,411.!–more–>
“This unseasonably high level of demand can be attributed in large part to low interest rates, but it also speaks to the diverse range of housing options available in Greater Vancouver,” Scott Russell, Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) president said. “Prospective homebuyers today have more options at different price levels than ever before.”
The REBGV reports that residential property sales in November were the third highest volume ever recorded in Greater Vancouver for that month. Sales in the region totalled 3,083 in November 2009, an increase of 252.7 per cent compared to November 2008 when 874 sales were recorded and a 16.8 per cent decrease compared to the 3,704 sales recorded in October 2009.
“We are experiencing a brisker than normal market for this time of year, although we have begun to see a reduction in the number of homes listed for sale, which is normal as we head into the holiday season,” Russell said.
New listings for detached, attached and apartment properties in Greater Vancouver totalled 3,653 in November 2009. This represents a 21.3 per cent increase compared to November 2008 when 3,012 new units were listed, and a 26.6 per cent decline compared to October 2009 when 4,977 properties were listed on the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in Greater Vancouver.
At 11,039, the total number of property listings on the MLS® decreased 8.6 per cent in November compared to last month and declined 39 per cent from this time last year.
In contrast to this year, note that November 2008 was the lowest selling November in Greater Vancouver in 27 years.
Sales of detached properties increased 261.5 per cent to 1,164 from the 322 detached sales recorded during the same period in 2008. The benchmark price, as calculated by the MLSLink Housing Price Index®, for detached properties increased 13.6 per cent from November 2008 to $757,209.
Sales of apartment properties in November 2009 increased 240.5 per cent to 1,396 compared to 410 sales in November 2008. The benchmark price of an apartment property increased 11.6 per cent from November 2008 to $381,945.
Attached property sales in November 2009 are up 268.3 per cent to 523, compared with the 142 sales in November 2008. The benchmark price of an attached unit increased 10.2 per cent between Novembers 2008 and 2009 to $469,686.
