The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives has just released a report titled 'Canada's Housing Bubble: An Accident Waiting to Happen'. The author is David MacDonald and he studied housing trends in the country's 6 biggest markets: Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal. Among other data, he compares provincial median household income and ...
Posted by Jeff Gingerich
on August 31, 2010
Federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty announced the following changes to insured mortgages effective April 19, 2010:
1. Properties that are not owner-occupied now require a 20% downpayment.
2. Owners wanting to refinance their existing insured mortgage will be limited to 90% loan-to-value versus the current 95%.
3. Borrowers wanting a variable rate mortgage will now ...
Posted by Jeff Gingerich
on February 16, 2010
There has been a great deal of talk in the mainstream media recently surrounding the possibility that Canada is in a housing bubble. First, what is a housing bubble? According to Answers.com, a housing bubble is "a run-up in prices fuelled by demand, speculation, and a belief that recent history is an infallible forecast of the future." It begins with an increase in demand ...
Posted by Jeff Gingerich
on January 2, 2010