RBC: Toronto and Vancouver housing affordability still at high-stress levels

RBC: Toronto and Vancouver housing affordability still at high-stress levels The fourth quarter of 2016 saw Canadian housing costs remain at overheated levels despite the imposition of various federal and provincial measures to address the prevalent issue of home affordability, according to a fresh report released by RBC Economics Research last week. In the latest […]

5 COMMON MISTAKES TO AVOID WHEN SHOPPING FOR A MORTGAGE

5 COMMON MISTAKES TO AVOID WHEN SHOPPING FOR A MORTGAGE 5 Common Mistakes To Avoid When Shopping For a MortgageAvoid these 5 common mistakes, and you will have no problem getting your mortgage faster, more efficiently, and with a clear understanding of the process: 1. Thinking banks are the first and best place to go […]

Sales of Canadian homes worth over $1M grew substantially last year and will again in 2015

bTORONTO — Sales of homes worth over $1 million increased in four major Canadian real estate markets last year, according to a report released by Sotheby’s International Realty on Wednesday. The Toronto area saw year-over-year sales growth of 38 per cent, while sales of Vancouver’s high-end homes rose by 25 per cent from the previous […]

Oil prices are making housing forecasts a tough call in Alberta

Plunging oil prices have made it almost too difficult to predict what will happen in the Calgary housing market, according to a new real estate forecast. As Vancouver home prices surge out of reach, businesses worry how to retain staff Business groups are raising the alarm about Vancouver’s ability to attract and retain the talent […]

Toronto house prices’ heady gains expected to continue into 2015

Canada’s largest housing market continues to show price gains which the Toronto Real Estate Board says will continue into 2015. The board said the average sale price in November was $577,936, a 7.4% increase from a year ago. Year-to-date prices are up 8.4% to an average of $567,198. Related Great news coming if you’re renewing […]

CMHC admits ‘data gap’ in foreign ownership of Canadian real estate

The president of Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. acknowledges there may be a “data gap” when it comes to the degree of foreign ownership in the marketplace, as debate swirls over whether overseas buyers are inflating house prices in markets like Vancouver and Toronto. Tracking foreign buyers in Canada’s housing boom: Can we do it? […]

No matter what statistics show, Canada’s housing boom is about to end, experts say

It might be hard to convince some Canadians the end of the housing boom is near based on new statistics from the Canadian Real Estate Association which show prices still rising.   Marriages, of course, get into trouble for all kinds of reasons, and rarely are they simple ones, but divorce lawyers and those in […]

Could targeted land transfer taxes cool Canada’s hottest markets?

Ontario’s real estate association has launched an ad campaign to explain why they believe land transfer taxes hurt the economy. But in a hot housing market, could the tax be used to cool particular regions, such as Toronto and Vancouver? Officials in Ottawa have made it clear they see no need to cool the market […]

What to do when there’s more value in your house than your marriage

He’s a one-percenter. He’s got the high-powered job, a vacation property and a $1.5-million detached home in the heart of midtown Toronto. About a decade ago, he and his wife were fortunate enough to get their foot into the housing market when it was still relatively sane — paying roughly half what the place is […]

It’s taxes versus a mortgage for the self-employed

Eighty of mortgage broker Dustan Woodhouse’s clients who were approved for a mortgage in 2011 wouldn’t have qualified for the same mortgage today. In the summer of 2012, Canada’s financial regulator introduced Guideline B-20 as a way of tightening up the banks’ approval processes. Part of B-20 requires banks to examine incomes more closely, but […]

Next Page »