No housing or mortgage crisis in Canada, according to the finance minister….. but academic calls the market “lacklustre” and says that’s significant…..and is shorter always better for mortgage amortizations?
It’s Official - No Housing Crisis in Canada
Finance Minister Joe Oliver says there is no impending housing or mortgage crisis in Canada. Speaking in an interview with CTV News, Oliver said the government has stepped in to cool the market a number of times and is watching the situation but doesn’t “think we’re confronting a crisis at this point.” Read the full story.
….But Academic Points To Lacklustre Market
Despite rising house prices, and a rise in month to month figures, house sales are still down year over year (April figures) and the gains are skewed by the red hot figures from the major markets. Real estate expert John Andrew from Queen’s University says the year over year drop in sales is “fairly significant” and that even after a long winter there hasn’t been the pick-up many were expecting. Read the full story.
Positivity Boosts Mortgage Companies
With more positive noises emerging regarding the likelihood (or not) of a housing bubble, it means good news for some of our biggest mortgage companies, as buyers err on the side of “no bubble.” Home Capital and Genworth have both seen activity rise and Home Capital, in particular, is seeing gains in the uninsured mortgage market from immigrants and others who don’t qualify for a standard product. Read the full story.
Wind Drops for Calgary Energy Project
Calgary residents hoping to benefit either financially or environmentally from a $200 million wind farm at Hand Hills will have to wait a few more years. The original completion date was set for the end of this year but the Alberta Utilities Commission has now approved an extension of four years to December 2018. The facility is due to be built on 3,000 hectares of land near Delia and will provide energy to the provincial power grid. Read the full story.
The Long & Short of Mortgage Amortizations
It’s usually assumed that short is best when it comes to mortgage amortizations but is that always true? On the face of it purchasers will often want to have the shortest term they can afford and professional advice very often agrees with this, but Robert McLister from intelliMortage Inc. looks at another point of view. Read the full story
More Evidence of Growing Hotels Market
We reported previously that more companies are looking to purchase hotel property and now one of the largest investment companies in the world, Brookfield Asset Management, is also entering the sector. Having previously focused on offices and shopping malls, Brookfield has now acquired Thayer Lodging Group which have made $2.5 billion USD in hotel purchases since its inception in the late 80s. The hotel market south of the border saw sales of $22 billion USD last year. Read the full story.
