A verbal contract of any kind is theoretically binding in Canada, but can be extremely difficult to prove as a) existing and b) containing all the terms and conditions set out in the verbal agreement. However home purchases, or the transfer of any interest in a property may be required to be in writing depending [...]
There were two articles in the Globe and Mail newspaper recently discussing the Baby Boom Generation. One was an article by Rob Carrick. Rob discusses the size of the Baby Boom Generation (born in the years 1946 and 1965), plus their affect on the housing market. The other article was written by Chris Atchison. Chris [...]
In: International Real Estate News|Real Estate News|Toronto Real Estate
14 Oct 2011On Saturday October 15th, there will be a demonstration in down town Toronto. The gathering will be in the name of the recent “Occupy” movement that has staged protest rallies in cities throughout the United States. Today several Toronto Unions have thrown their support behind the movement. There will be buses of union workers coming [...]
In: International Real Estate News|Mortgage News|Real Estate News
11 Oct 2011There was an article in the Globe and Mail today discussing a recent report by TD Bank. The report indicates that more Canadians are carrying debt into retirement. The report also states that the amount of debt for Canadians aged 45-65 is increasing. Quotes from TD Bank representatives state that this comes as a “surprise” [...]
Has anyone heard of the consumer confidence surveys that are announced on new radio stations and written about in the business section of the newspaper? I used to think “who cares”. Is it a big deal if some consumer confidence survey says that people are more or less confident than they were 3 months ago? [...]
When a buyer is looking for a home, it is really easy to be seduced by granite countertops and new hardwood floors. Most homes are staged to look like they are perfect for a buyer. They aim to get that “wow” reaction because sellers know that first impressions count. However, as a buyer, you need [...]
Today, the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation released their financial information. There were legally required to do so. This is progress! Canadians should be proud that we now have this level of statistics from Canada’s largest insurer of home mortgages and home equity lines of credit. Here are some highlights: – HELOCS has dropped by [...]
In: International Real Estate News|Mortgage News|Real Estate News
28 Aug 2011This week has been a busy week for Canadian Banks. It started with Royal Bank’s announcement that they are raising their variable rate mortgage rate by 20 basis points (1/5th of 1%). The week continued with the Bank of Montreal reporting that profit increased by 8%, followed by National Bank reporting that they increased their [...]
In: Real Estate News
22 Jul 2011A recent report in the Globe and Mail, by Real Estate Reporter, Steve Ladurantaye, claims that the Canadian Real Estate Association is preparing to allow access to their database containing sold prices and days on the market information. Does this means that Canadian will soon see “Zillow” type websites? Zillow is an American real estate [...]
The Bank of Canada decided not to raise interest rates on Tuesday. They kept their overnight rate at 1%. On Wednesday the BoC spoke more about the state of the Canadian economy. The newspapers and economist dissected the works of Mark Carney and determined that he removed the word “eventually” from his comments about when [...]
In: Real Estate News
12 Jul 2011The big day! If anyone has bought and sold a home on the same day, you probably do not remember specifically what happened, but you probably remember that it was stressful and a hassle. It involves real estate lawyers, banks releasing funds, registering mortgages, arranging insurance, picking up keys…and that’s just for the home. You [...]
Some American friends were visiting us in Toronto. We took this opportunity to discuss the difference between the Canadian and US Real Estate Markets. We discovered some very interesting assumptions about both markets. The American housing market has lost close to 30% of it’s value over the course of the last 3 years. The American [...]
In: Real Estate News
16 Jun 2011Do Real Estate Agents Have Access To Special Real Estate Information, Hot New Listings, and Sold Prices? Some of the comments we hear from the general public include: “Real estate agents have access to the new listings first. You have to be working with an agent or you will lose out on ‘hot new listings’” [...]
There are many factors that affect the price of housing. Supply, demand, jobs, geography, demographics, advertising, peer pressure, Government regulations (CMHC) and interest rates all affect house prices in their own way. Clearly interest rates have a definite impact on the price of homes. You could speculate that interest rates are the most important factor [...]
In: Real Estate News
26 May 2011Like we previously mentioned, it is very hard to predict when a bubble will burst. The housing market in Canada may or may not be in a real estate bubble. If so, it might never “burst” or it might simply drop to the highs of a few years ago. The most drastic scenario is that [...]
In: Real Estate News
10 May 2011Garry Marr (one of our favourite real estate reporters!) recently reported that the Canadian Real Estate Association has raised their forecast for Canadian Home Sales. Gary juxtaposes this “raised housing forecast” against the data from the US, which shows that American home values fell by 3%, and that “American home values have fallen 29.5% from [...]
In: Real Estate News
21 Jan 2011Perhaps you have seen the newspaper ads or the internet banners that say “Foreclosure Properties”, “Power of sales in Canada”, or “buy distressed properties”…perhaps if you “sign up” or “provide your contact information”, you will get access to thousands of powers of sales and get “great deals”? If you see these ads, we suggest that [...]
Facebook just passed 500 million “friends” and PropertySold.ca just passed $500 million in Real Estate Sold. This is a great milestone for us! $500 Million is the total value of all the property sold on our website to date. Since we launched in 2004, we have consistently strived to become Canada’s Most Visited Real Estate [...]
In: Real Estate News
17 Jan 2011The new mortgage rules just announced, state that the new maximum amortization will be 30 years, instead of 35 years. What does this mean for affordability and home prices in Canada Example: Let’s take an example of a family that makes $100,000 a year and has a $30,000 down payment. When they purchase a home, [...]
Big news just announced in the housing market is that Finance Minister, Jim Flaherty just announced the following changes to the mortgage rules in Canada: * Mortgage amortization periods will be reduced from 35 years to 30 years. * The maximum amount Canadians can borrow to refinance their mortgages will be lowered from 90 per [...]
In: Real Estate News
14 Jan 2011The Canadian Real Estate Association just released their 2010 Real Estate Stats. Here are some of the highlights: 447,010 homes sold in Canada in 2010. This was down by 3.9% from 2009. The average home price in Canada rose by 5.8% in 2010 to $339,030. Here are similar real estate statistics for Canadian Major Markets [...]
Real estate news in Canada including buy and sell information, local market updates, guides, tips for Canadians in the real estate market.