Experts are calling for a bit of a mixed bag in Canadian real estate for 2012. Housing market prognosticators say next year will be marked by bursts of growth in certain hot regional markets throughout the country combined with a cooling trend in other areas, namely that of robust markets such as Toronto. Look for mixed market signals in Canadian real estate as a market theme in 2012 as cities like Halifax and Edmonton and Calgary will begin to feel a marked increase in demand for real estate ... Full Article...

TORONTO (Reuters) - The upward trend in Canada's housing market will carry into 2012 as consumers take advantage of low interest rates and improving regional economies boost home-buying activity, one of Canada's biggest real estate brokerages said on Tuesday. A report by Re/Max said activity so far this year "defied conventional logic," notching a strong performance despite concerns over the European debt crisis and its impact on the global economy. The outlook said that 23 of the 26 markets un ... Full Article...

In the mid-1970s a then-hip, but now aging, rock group named Supertramp released a breakthrough album called "Crisis? What crisis?" — a title that echoes the current state of Canadian real estate. For months, experts have been saying that spillover effects from the tough global economy will eventually hit the housing market here, as in many other international cities. Yet while that may happen, we're still waiting. "There was no shortage of headline news in October about global financial ... Full Article...

Edmonton, December 5, 2011: There were no surprises in the month-end Multiple Listing Service® sales figures for the month of November released by the REALTORS® Association of Edmonton today. The all-residential average* sales price of $321,135 was up less than one percent from last month and last November. Single family detached homes sold on average for $365,734 which is marginally higher than last November and last month. Condominium average price ($227,901) was up 2.3% month-over-month (fro ... Full Article...

When Australian real estate agent Ian Adams thinks about how to market a home, the first thing is he wonders about is whether the girls in his video should be topless or just mostly topless. The managing partner at Neo Property stopped using print advertising a few years ago, opting instead to spend upwards of $15,000 per property to film cheeky online videos featuring dwarf rappers, SWAT teams and mostly naked men and women lounging around in the luxury homes he sells. Its most popular ad feat ... Full Article...

The Fitch Ratings agency said today that the Canadian economy looks to be heading for slower-than-expected growth and at risk of shocks from the euro zone, while jobs are being lost, after a strong 2010 boosted by higher commodity prices and government stimulus measures. "Still, the Canadian government's demonstrated ability to put forth a credible long-term fiscal consolidation plan provides critical support for the country's triple-A rating," Fitch said in a statement. "The government's commi ... Full Article...

The Bank of Canada will continue to take a loose approach to meeting its 2-per-cent inflation target because of the deteriorating global outlook and a European debt crisis that is “barely contained,” Governor Mark Carney says. In his first remarks on inflation-control since the federal government renewed the central bank’s mandate earlier this month, Mr. Carney defended his “flexible” approach, which has seen him keep interest rates at 1 per cent for more than a ye ... Full Article...

The beleaguered U.S. economy is suddenly a ray of light in the global malaise caused by the European debt crisis. A monthly employment survey by the government found that a net 278,000 Americans found jobs in November, dropping the unemployment rate to 8.6 per cent – the lowest since March of 2009 – from 9 per cent the previous month. The Labour Department’s latest jobless data represent a clear break from a summer of lacklustre data that left many economists worried that the ... Full Article...

It's the perfect market for REITs. Occupancy rates are are high, interest rates are low and current property owners want to cash out. That confluence of forces has set the market for acquisitions on fire over the past year, all of which continued on Thursday. The big story was that Dundee REIT (D.UN-T32.69----%) got its hands on Blackstone's Canadian portfolio, but Allied Properties (AP.UN-T23.980.050.21%) also announced $180-million in acquisitions and TransGlobe Apartment REIT (TGA.UN-T11.35- ... Full Article...

Real estate is for optimists, if the recent gains among real estate investment trusts is any indication. As a group, U.S. REITs have risen 170 per cent from their lows in early 2009. Canadian REITs have done almost as well, rising more than 120 per cent. And neither of those returns factors in dividend payments.The gains come as the economic recovery from the last financial crisis remains on shaky ground. U.S. unemployment is 9 per cent, consumer confidence is weak, the housing market is still ... Full Article...

The Canadian Real Estate Market is beginning warrant a welcome and much-missed adjective: Normal. According to recent numbers released by CREA, sales activity increased for the third month in a row, nation-wide, in October 2010.Taking into account seasonal adjustments, national home sales activity via the MLS systems increased 4.6% in October 2010. This rise is a continuation of similar increases made in August and September. Led by Toronto and Vancouver, activity has now reached 13.3% above ... Full Article...

The Canadian Housing Market seems to be planted fairly firmly in balanced territory, and BMO Economics feels that this is in large part to a continuation of a low interest rate environment. "Low mortgage rates are offsetting weaker consumer confidence and cooling job growth," said Robert Kavcic, Economist, and BMO Capital Markets. "Relatively stable sales and price trends are likely in the year ahead." Regina’s housing market is heating up and leading the way in activity, while the red-h ... Full Article...

Canadian Investors are holding steady in the midst of volatility, according to a new poll from CIBC. The poll, taken over a ten day period in which the TSX shed nearly 1000 points,  shows that over half of Canadians are sticking to the buy and hold mentality despite market turbulence, although many indicate that they are having more sleepless nights and the markets plunge and surge alternatively. “51 per cent of Canadians say they remain calm when their investments are “51 per cent ... Full Article...

The rate at which Canadians have been racking up new mortgage debt has slowed in recent months, lending credence to the theory that the country’s housing market will hold up, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. suggests. The crown corporation released its third-quarter financial results Tuesday, offering a new glimpse into the country’s mortgage market.“The level of household debt remains a concern but there are encouraging signals,” it said. The growth of mortgage debt ha ... Full Article...

Here’s one way to tackle the red-hot Canadian housing market: Get someone to buy you a home. That someone would be your parents. According to a new survey from TD Canada Trust, 10% of Canadians are considering buying a condominium for their adult children. A year ago, only 5% of parents thought about buying the kids a condo. “It could be something that the parents are looking at as a long-term source of income, letting their children live it in for now,” says Chris Wisniewsk ... Full Article...

OTTAWA - The Bank of Canada today announced that it is raising its target for the overnight rate by one-quarter of one percentage point to 1/2 per cent. The Bank Rate is correspondingly raised to 3/4 per cent and the deposit rate is kept at 1/4 per cent, thus re-establishing the normal operating band of 50 basis points for the overnight rate. The global economic recovery is proceeding but is increasingly uneven across countries, with strong momentum in emerging market economies, some consol ... Full Article...

Thirty-two of 40 forecasters polled by Reuters expected the Bank of Canada to raise rates by 25 basis points on June 1 to 0.50 percent. Canada's 12 primary securities dealers were unanimous in that view. Eight of 40 saw rates staying on hold next week. The poll was conducted between May 24 and May 27. Yields on overnight index swaps, which trade based on expectations for the key central bank rate, suggested investors see a 77 percent chance the policy rate will rise to around 0.50 percent on Ju ... Full Article...

Re/Max of Western Canada’s silent and live auctions at the annual Breakfast of Champions, held during the company’s 27th Annual Conference in Edmonton recently, raised $52,962 to support Children’s Miracle Network member hospitals. “Re/Max affiliates have truly embraced this worthy cause,” says Marie Sheppy, senior co-ordinator, corporate affairs (Children’s Miracle Network liaison). “This is especially evident when we gather annually to celebrate our s ... Full Article...

Although Canadian institutional and private real estate investors think the market has yet to reach its lowest point, they are cautiously optimistic that a fast recovery is on the horizon and are honing their expansion strategies, says Colliers International’s 2010 Global Investor Sentiment Survey. Two out of three Canadian investors indicated they are considering further acquisitions over the next 12 months, mirroring the global trend. The global survey of more than 240 major real estate ... Full Article...

A survey by the Canadian Association of Accredited Mortgage Professionals (CAAMP) says Canadians appear well prepared to face the new phase of the residential mortgage market, in which interest rates are rising and house activity is expected to ease. The survey found: · Consumer concern about rising rates is offset by increasing home equity. · Many mortgages were renegotiated at lower rates; amortization periods are declining. · Many Canadians have used cost savings from low rates to pay more t ... Full Article...

Canada’s resale home market will move towards balanced conditions over the next two years as MLS sales ease and inventory levels increase, says Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.’s (CMHC) second quarter Housing Market Outlook, Canada Edition. In late 2009 and early 2010, sales activity included some pent-up demand from early 2009, the federal agency says. Once this demand is exhausted, and as mortgage rates gradually rise, the pace of activity in the resale market will ease. As a res ... Full Article...

Optimism in Edmonton market The Calgary Herald – Saturday, March 7, 2009 It's the sweet smell of optimism. At a time when single-family home builders in the Edmonton area are fighting a lack of consumer interest--along with competition from resale housing--CMHC expects a slight increase in construction starts later this year. "Provided new home inventories decline in the months ahead, we remain optimistic that a modest uptick in single-detached starts should occur during the second half ... Full Article...

Banks begin to decline federal aid in first sign of recovery - Globe and Mail, March 17, 2009 Credit conditions easing, banks no longer struggling to raise funds to make loans. Canadian banks are turning down some of the funding that the government is making available to them, a sign that they are recuperating from the financial crisis. The banks have stopped selling the government the full amount of mortgages they could under Ottawa's $125-billion mortgage purchase program, the centre piece ... Full Article...

Increase in home sales brings hope The Calgary Sun – Tuesday, March 3, 2009 A bright ray of optimism has pierced the leaden clouds that were hanging over Calgary's real estate market early this year. Sales of single-family homes increased 50% to 825 units in February compared to January, show figures released by the Calgary Real Estate Board. Condominium sales rose 52% to 334 units during the same period. But despite the more brisk pace, activity and prices in Calgary's real estate marke ... Full Article...

Local housing prices continue to slide while sales rise The average price of most types of residential property slipped down a notch in February after a short rally in January. Sales numbers climbed across the 1,000-unit threshold for the first time since October but are still below the same month sales for last year. “It is a typical pattern that sales activity picks up as we move into spring,” said Charlie Ponde, president of the REALTORS® Association. “Listing activity al ... Full Article...

MISSISSAUGA First-time homebuyers are being lured into the real estate market by falling prices, lower interest rates, more selection and new government incentives, a new report says. Preliminary figures show house sales were up in February, after a terrible January, driven by more first-time buyers entering the market, the ReMax real estate company said yesterday. ReMax said lower prices and record low lending rates are prompting many first-time buyers to "get off the fence, out of rental, a ... Full Article...

Homebuyers winners in council tax fight; Land Transfer Tax Defeated The Calgary Herald – Saturday, February 28, 2009 Calgary city council has narrowly defeated a proposal that would have seen a land transfer tax imposed on everyone selling their home. In a letter to the mayor and aldermen prior to the recent vote by council, the Calgary Real Estate Board and the Alberta Real Estate Association called the tax unfair. "It is essentially a home buyers’ tax and singles out a select grou ... Full Article...

Increase in home sales brings hope The Calgary Sun – Tuesday, March 3, 2009 A bright ray of optimism has pierced the leaden clouds that were hanging over Calgary's real estate market early this year. Sales of single-family homes increased 50% to 825 units in February compared to January, show figures released by the Calgary Real Estate Board. Condominium sales rose 52% to 334 units during the same period. But despite the more brisk pace, activity and prices in Calgary's real estate marke ... Full Article...

New Risk Based Score Breaks the Trust of Consumers Equifax, Experian and Transunion have begun limited marketing of a new consumer credit scoring algorithm to Risk Based Lenders. According to David Rubinger of Equifax, the planned nationwide rollout to Risk Based Lenders is scheduled for July, and will be followed, approximately 9 months later, with the public disclosure of these scores to consumers. An algorithm is a mathematical formula that is written to assign value to specific data in or ... Full Article...