Canada's housing industry is thrilled with the government's new budget, which provides up to $7.8 billion in tax relief and funding for everything from home renovations to housing for low-income seniors. From First Nations housing to first-time buyers' incentives, there's something for almost everyone.
The Conservative government came through on its election promise to help first-time buyers with ...
Posted by Sean Kavanagh
on March 7, 2009
Guess which country, alone in the industrialized world, has not faced a single bank failure, calls for bailouts or government intervention in the financial or mortgage sectors. Yup, it's Canada. In 2008, the World Economic Forum ranked Canada's banking system the healthiest in the world. America's ranked 40th, Britain's 44th.
Canada has done more than survive this financial crisis. The country is ...
Posted by Sean Kavanagh
on February 22, 2009
Market Watch
2,670 Resale Housing Transactions in January
Toronto Real Estate Board Members reported 2,670 sales in January from the 5,075 sales reported in the first month of 2008. Of these, 1,106 transactions took place in the City of Toronto compared to 2,128 in January 2008. In the surrounding "905" area, 1,564 sales were recorded, from 2,947 last year.
The GTA housing market has not been ...
Posted by Sean Kavanagh
on February 17, 2009
Interest Rate Watch as of Friday, February 14, 2009
Term Rate
6 Months 5.20% 1 Year 3.89% 2 Years 3.99% 3 Years 3.75% 4 Years 4.19% 5 Years 4.19% 7 Years 5.90% 10 Years 6.35% ...
Posted by Sean Kavanagh
on February 17, 2009
If you're thinking about that refurbished kitchen, or putting in an extra bathroom or a new deck, now is the time to act, because your friends in Ottawa want to help with the bills! The recent federal budget offered a new renovation tax credit of up to $1,350 toward a wide variety of home improvements, from a new roof to a new lawn.
The one-year program, which is forecast to cost the federal government ...
Posted by Sean Kavanagh
on February 3, 2009
Interest Rate Watch
If you read my previous post on the government's $30 billion dollar stimulus package, you would know that we are experiencing some of the lowest interest rates in recent times.
Click here to read about the interesting things the government is doing to help stimulate our economy.
Term Rate
6 Months 5.20% 1 Year 3.50% 2 Years 4.59% ...
Posted by Sean Kavanagh
on January 29, 2009
The government continues to lower its borrowing rates to stimulate the economy, but we can only expect an upturn once we start spending, according to Benjamin Tal, senior economist for CIBC. The public, however, isn't spending because of their fears in the economy. It appears we are now caught up in the old classic chicken and egg scenario! We don't spend due to the economy, but the economy won't ...
Posted by Sean Kavanagh
on January 28, 2009
According to latest figures from the Canadian Real Estate Association, house prices across Canada have dropped 11 per cent since the peak in May of $316,896, down to $280,880 in November, The drop is weighed more heavily in markets that experienced drastic upswings in property values.
Benjamin Tal, a CIBC World Markets economist said that "it was back to reality in 2008", referring to the unrealistic ...
Posted by Sean Kavanagh
on January 6, 2009
"How quickly the tables turned!" is the response of most economists when faced with the question about the current Canadian real estate market. Experts have seen markets swing from a seller's market to a buyer's market before, but not quite this quickly.
CIBC World Markets economist Benjamin Tal said we have moved from a seller's market to a buyer's market "in a matter of months." Tal continues ...
Posted by Sean Kavanagh
on January 4, 2009
For all those first time buyers or those who have been waiting for the right time to move into a bigger household, now is your time. With housing prices dropping and interest rates at record lows, now is the time to consider purchasing a home. House prices across Canada fell nearly 10 per cent and sales slipped 42 per cent in November compared with the same month last year, a drop the Canadian Real ...
Posted by Sean Kavanagh
on December 21, 2008