TORONTO – According to new figures from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), nationwide housing starts experienced an unexpected boost last month – fuelled largely by condominium development across the GTA. The CMHC’s report issued October 8, and entitled September 2015 Housing Starts in Canada, reveals that the country’s seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) […]
First-Time Buyers Driving Property Markets: CAAMP
TORONTO – A new survey-based report, issued by the Canadian Association of Accredited Mortgage Professionals, has revealed new insights on the decision-making process, as well as financial parameters, of home buyers across the country. Completed in June 2015, A Profile of Home Buying in Canada was based on a survey of more than 800 Canadians, […]
Mortgage Primes Lowered as Bank of Canada Trims Overnight Rate
TORONTO – Mortgage-seeking Canadians caught a bit of a break on July 15, as the Bank of Canada announced it was lowering its overnight rate target by ¼ of a percentage point, to 0.5 per cent. The first of Canada’s major banks to follow suit was TD, who initially reduced their prime rate to 2.75 […]
Remembering “Noble & Wolf V. Alley”
Federal government honours landmark ruling against discrimination in real estate LONDON – Long regarded as one of the Canadian real estate industry’s most memorable milestones, the story of the Supreme Court’s landmark Noble and Wolf v. Alley decision was honoured with a timely re-telling on April 14th – as the ruling was formally recognized by […]
CMHC to Increase Insurance Premiums for Some Mortgages
TORONTO – Effective June 1, 2015, home buyers planning to shell out a down-payment of 10 per cent or less will be facing slightly higher premiums on their insurance from the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). The increase, which applies to insured mortgages for “residential housing of one and two units,” will see those […]
“Lower Borrowing Costs” Spurring February Sales Boost: TREB
TORONTO – Through the first half of February, the GTA’s temperatures may have been chilly but its real estate market certainly wasn’t – with a total of 3,120 transactions reflecting a 14.9 per cent year-over-year increase in sales activity. The impressive total was revealed by the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB)’s Mid-Month Resale Housing Figures […]
BoC’s Key Interest Cut Spurs Banks to Lower Prime Rates
EDITOR’S NOTE: This article, originally published on January 27th, was updated on January 28th to reflect new developments in this ongoing story. TORONTO – For Canadian home buyers and mortgage holders, the Bank of Canada’s move to lower the key overnight interest rate on January 21 most likely came as a surprise – and led many […]
Market Update: CREA Reports Hottest Spring Market in Years
New home sales help fuel strong rebound after long winter GREATER TORONTO – After one of the longest and coldest Canadian winters in recent memory, low interest rates and plenty of home-building activity have inspired a red-hot sales surge for Canadian real estate – one that has economists boosting their forecasts for the country’s housing […]
CMHC Eliminates Two Mortgage Insurance Programs
OTTAWA – Some Canadians may have a harder time insuring their mortgages from June forward, as the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) is moving to discontinue two of its longstanding mortgage insurance access programs. Effective May 30th, the Second Home and Self-Employed Without 3rd Party Income Validation mortgage insurance programs will no longer be […]