Nice no non-sense house for sale in Vaughan. Good sized house for someone who is looking for a low priced Detached
with a one bedroom apartment, with a separate entrance. This house also has a pool with good components and landscaping
professionally done. A must see.
John Rossi
Remax West Realty Inc.,Brokerage
416-578-7675
grossi@trebnet.com
http://www.VaughanHomeSales.com
Woh, this was not written by me. Although some very interesting views. Check it out for yourselves.
ANDREW COYNE: Obama’s banking reforms would make the U.S. and Canadian systems even less alike than they are at present by Andrew Coyne on Monday, February 8, 2010 8:10am – 28 Comments
For all their growing closeness on other matters, such as global warming, Barack Obama and Stephen Harper could not be further apart on the issue of how to reform banking regulations, in the wake of the worst financial crisis in 75 years. A week after unveiling tough new rules that would limit the size and scope of banks’ activities-and two weeks after hitting them with a hefty new tax-the President took at least a dozen swipes at “banks” or “bankers” in his state of the union speech. Over and over again, he reminded his listeners of the banks’ part in the crisis, of how they had to be bailed out at public expense, and of how, once the worst had passed, they had quickly reverted to their old ways.
The next day, Harper took the stage at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, to deliver a very different message. While some reform was in order, he allowed, “Canada believes that financial sector regulation . . . must not be excessive.” He understood how, “in situations very different than Canada’s,” public anger over the failure and subsequent bailout of the banks had fuelled “demands for tough or even retaliatory measures.” But Canada “will not go down the path of excessive, arbitrary, or punitive regulation of its financial sector.” Canada would go its own way, its banking system would remain a haven of relative freedom, whatever certain other countries might choose to do.
The odd thing about this parting of the ways is that some of Obama’s closest advisers and acolytes seem to think they are copying the Canadian model. By forcing banks to get out of the riskier types of trading and capping their size, they imagine themselves to be replicating the safe, stolid commercial banks that have lately made Canada famous.
The former chairman of the Federal Reserve, Paul Volcker, on whose recommendations the President’s reforms are based, has spoken of his fondness for the Canadian system, with its supposed focus on the traditional business of banks, taking deposits and making loans. The influential columnist Paul Krugman wrote this week in praise of Canada’s “boring” banks.
But in fact Obama’s reforms would make the two systems even less alike than they are now. Canada’s banks haven’t been kept small and dispersed: they’re massive, at least relative to their home market. And far from being restricted to plain-vanilla commercial banking, since the 1980s they have been permitted to enter most other areas of financial services, notably investment banking. We’re the exact opposite of the model Obama is pushing.
If Obama really wanted to copy the Canadian model-and there are many reasons he should-the first thing he’d have to do is consolidate financial regulation under a single, national regulator, in place of the hodgepodge of state and federal agencies that now make the rules. Depending on its composition, a U.S. financial conglomerate might find itself or its subsidiaries regulated by some or all of the Federal Reserve, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Office of Thrift Supervision, the National Credit Union Administration and a couple of others besides-and that’s just at the federal level. Whereas Canada has OSFI: the federal Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions, with the power to regulate the whole entity, subsidiaries and all.
He’d have to abolish the Community Reinvestment Act, with its detailed instructions to banks on the proportion of mortgage loans that should be made available to lower-income borrowers. Likewise, he’d have to wind up Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the big national public-private enterprises, with their similar mandates to make home ownership more “affordable” through their activities in the secondary mortgage market. There is simply no equivalent for either in Canada: the mortgage insurance provided through the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. backstops the banks, not their customers.
Canada’s regulatory approach is undoubtedly simpler than America’s, and probably smarter. But it is not noticeably tighter. It sets limits on banks’ leverage ratios, requires them to be adequately capitalized, but avoids the sort of micromanaging in which U.S. federal and state governments have habitually indulged since the days of Andrew Jackson. Indeed, far from confining the banks, Canadian policy has erred on the side of coddling them, for example protecting them from foreign takeover bids, or even domestic ones, to the detriment of competition. Before Canada’s bankers became everybody’s heroes, they were the object of consistent criticism over their high costs and complacent business practices, and not without cause.
This isn’t to say the President’s proposals are without merit. On the contrary, there is a certain logic to them. If the purpose is to avoid making policy hostage to banks that are “too big to fail,” thus exposing the system to “moral hazard” (where banks, knowing they will be bailed out if they take on too much risk, are encouraged to do just that), there are two obvious ways to go about it: either prevent banks from becoming too big, or prevent them from failing. The President’s plan would do a bit of both, wrapping the larger deposit-taking institutions in a web of regulation while ensuring the riskier investment-banking sorts of institutions never become large enough that their failure would pose a systemic risk. (See: Lehman Brothers.)
But there are other ways of addressing this problem, and Canada’s is one of them.
John Rossi
Sales Representative
RE/MAX WEST REALTY INC.
http://www.Vaughanhomesales.com
416-578-7675
The ruckus and rumors states that New clump downs new rules concerning mortgages, at least 10% down, and the speculations go on and on. So what gives? Check out this story and thoughts giving by the Canadian Real Estate Association(CREA).Written by
CREA forecasts record home market this year Garry Marr, Financial Post Published: Monday, February 08, 2010
Canadian real estate sales and prices are poised to set records this year, according to a new forecast that is bound to reignite calls in some quarters for tighter lending rules.
The Canadian Real Estate Association, which represents 100 boards across the country, said Monday it expects existing-home sales to reach 527,300, a 13.3% increase from a year ago and a 1.2% increase from the record high set in 2007.
The new-home market appears to be picking up steam, too. Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. said there were 186,300 starts in January on a seasonally adjusted annualized basis, the highest level of new construction since October 2008.
Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney has warned about rising levels of household debt, which is reaching record levels. Finance Minister Jim Flaherty has suggested he is prepared to tighten mortgage requirements and continues to monitor the market.
“One of the legitimate concerns of the Finance Minister might be if you make qualifying for mortgage default insurance prematurely restrictive that it will quell housing activity even as erosion in affordability continues,” said Gregory Klump, chief economist with CREA.
There are have been some rumblings that the government is considering new rules that would require buyers who need mortgage insurance to have at least 10% down and amortize their mortgage over just 25 years instead of the current 35 years.
Anybody with less than a 20% downpayment must get mortgage insurance, if they are borrowing from a financial institution governed by the Bank Act.
Mr. Klump’s group contends the market is going to correct on its own in the second half of 2010. CREA has called for sales to drop 7.1% in 2011. The group says that while prices will rise by 5.4% in 2010, to a record high of $337,500, they will drop by 1.5% in 2011.
That view of the housing market is not out of step with some economists, who say that once interest rates rise and inventory levels increase, price increases will shrink.
Year-over-year price increases in some markets, such as Toronto, have been around 20% for the past few months.
“There is still a sense of urgency to get into the market. The market will continue to be strong over the next few months,” said Benjamin Tal, senior economist with CIBC World Markets, adding he could see new construction also touching 200,000 starts before beginning to fall.
Part of that urgency in the housing sector is being driven by the introduction of the harmonized sales tax in Ontario and British Columbia on July 1. The tax would apply to real estate services and could increase the cost of buying a home by a few thousand dollars.
“It’s a factor fuelling a higher level of activity in Ontario and British Columbia,” Mr. Klump said. “What’s more Canadian than avoiding taxes?”
Elton Ash, vice-president of Re/Max of Western Canada, said he thinks the forecast put out Monday was a little optimistic for 2010, specifically the 4.2% price increase for British Columbia. “But I also think the market will be better in 2011 [than CREA].”Mr. Ash is actually in favour of some measures to cool the market, like reducing the amortization period back to 25 years. But he wonders whether increasing the downpayment will take some people out of the housing market.”I think leaving it at 5% would be okay,” Mr. Ash said
John Rossi
Sales Representative
RE/MAX WEST REALTY INC.
http://www.rossiduo.com
http://www.Vaughanhomesales.com
416-578-7675
Apparently now sign of a bubble according to Finance Minister Jim Flaherty. So which way are we going here. No concern over the housing market at this point. Bank heads care to differ. So which way do we go if we are thinking of buying or selling a home in Ontario? You will find this article interesting, written by:
Bill Curry and Kevin CarmichaelI
QALUIT – From Monday’s Globe and Mail Published on Monday, Feb. 08, 2010 12:00AM EST Last updated on Monday, Feb. 08, 2010 8:40AM EST
Finance Minister Jim Flaherty appears to have no immediate plans to tighten Canadian mortgage rules despite the advice of senior bankers concerned about surging home prices.
Mr. Flaherty said he sees no evidence of a housing bubble in Canada.
Easy access to risky mortgages was at the heart of the global financial collapse. Some are calling on Canada to err on the side of caution in ensuring the economy is protected from an American-style wave of mortgage defaults by homeowners.
The Globe and Mail reported Saturday that the heads of the country’s six largest banks privately told Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney in November that they fear a potential collapse in house prices and the ensuing potential for economic damage.
The banks reportedly want Ottawa to mandate tighter rules on mortgages so that buyers will need a larger down payment – as much as 10 per cent. They also want Ottawa to reduce the maximum amortization period of a mortgage to 30 years from 35.
Investor Education:
• Should I buy a home now, or wait and save more money?
• Understanding house prices
• Is it better to buy a home, or choose some other investment? Charlie’s story • What makes buying a home different from other investments?
• What are some renovations that add value to my home?
• Deciding on a mortgage
But in an interview with journalists following this weekend’s G7 finance minister’s summit, Mr. Flaherty indicated that he is not concerned that home prices are too high.
“In terms of Canada, we’ve been watching and monitoring carefully and we continue to do that. There are certain tools available to the government if we choose to use some or all of them. As you know, we did so in 2008, and we’re continuing to watch. Right now, there is no compelling evidence of a housing bubble in Canada. There are some signals in the market that are concerning,” he said.
Tightening mortgage rules could prove a challenging move politically as it could negatively affect the value of Canadian homes.
Mr. Carney declined to confirm whether the bank chiefs appealed to him to curb mortgage lending. “We don’t comment on private conversations we have,” Mr. Carney told reporters on Saturday after the G7 meeting.
The central bank has no immediate worry about a housing bubble.
However, Mr. Carney reiterated that households should be cautious about taking on home loans at current rates, which will inevitably rise.
“We’ve alerted to this issue, the broader issue of household debt,” Mr. Carney said. “We want to ensure people manage their affairs recognizing that the current situation with interest rates is extraordinary and extraordinary won’t persist.”
More on mortgages
• Protecting a mortgage: Marissa and Marcello’s story • Three ways to create income from a reverse mortgage • Should I buy a home now, or wait and save more money?
• What does it really cost to borrow?
• Ready to sign on the dotted line?
• Getting the best mortgage rate
Both Mr. Carney and Mr. Flaherty have been urging consumers to act cautiously when buying homes for several months now.
“We are in regular, constructive discussions, as we always are with other agencies, including the Department of Finance, and obviously the Minister of Finance and I consult on a very regular basis on a wide variety of issues.”
John Rossi
Sales Representative
RE/MAX WEST REALTY INC.
http://www.rossiduo.com
http://www.Vaughanhomesales.com
416-578-7675
The big Banks are talking about cooling off the market. Can you imagine, what do we do cool off the Housing Market, and give a new road to economic slow down? Give me a break. If people can afford and interest rates are good. What’s the problem. For some this may be the only and last time to get into the market. Affordablity is the issue, not trying to slow down the housing market. Big heads are afraid we will end up like our brother across the border. Here is a little insite into the situation Written by
Boyd Erman and Tara Perkins
From Saturday’s Globe and Mail Published on Saturday, Feb. 06, 2010 12:00AM EST Last updated on Monday, Feb. 08, 2010 8:05AM EST
Canada’s top bankers are pushing the government to clamp down on the mortgage market to cool off the rise in home prices.
The heads of the country’s six largest banks have privately told policy makers that they fear the wide-ranging economic fallout of a U.S. style binge-and-collapse in housing. To head off any chance of that happening, they are willing to accept tighter rules on mortgages that would slow the real estate market, even though it would mean forgoing some short-term profits from giving out ever bigger mortgages as home prices jump.
The chief executives of the Big Six made their point last November, when they met with Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney. The country’s top commercial bankers, who between them control more than three-quarters of the country’s $940-billion mortgage market, said then that they wanted the government to look at far-reaching options, such as raising the minimum down payment to as much as 10 per cent and shortening the maximum amortization period to 30 years.
Mr. Carney didn’t disagree, according to people familiar with the November talks.”We’re talking about being pre-emptive here,” said a senior bank executive who spoke on condition of anonymity. “We’re not in a bubble yet, or a credit crisis.”
Changing the rules would be a relatively simple, sensible, proactive thing to do, said a top executive at a second major bank.
However, the real key is convincing Finance Minister Jim Flaherty.
The government, not the central bank, sets regulations on the length of amortizations and the size of down payments, and bankers realize that no politician will score points with voters by making it more difficult for Canadians to buy homes.
Mr. Flaherty publicly mused in December about acting if a bubble appeared “in the future,” but with house prices rocketing higher in recent months, those pushing for change don’t want him to wait.
The average resale price of a home in Canada was $337,410 in December, according to data from the Canadian Real Estate Association. That was 19 per cent higher than in December, 2008, and sales activity has also increased sharply.
With more signs each month that gains in house prices are accelerating, there are indications the government is considering a move.
In recent months, the Department of Finance has canvassed the mortgage industry for ideas on whether tighter mortgage rules are needed, and if so, what would be appropriate. Government officials have held a number of meetings and discussions on the topic in the last two months.
That has led to pushback from some in the mortgage industry who argue that stiffer amortization and down payment rules for all buyers could undermine the housing sector and hurt Canadians by causing the values of their homes to drop.
Some of those opponents of big changes have suggested to the government that it consider more targeted rule changes, if Ottawa feels that something needs to be done.
That could mean only tightening up the requirements for people with weak credit scores, or for people who are buying an investment property rather than a home to live in.
Mr. Flaherty will not say whether he will act. He reiterated his view there is “no clear evidence now of a housing bubble in Canada.”
That view is shared by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp., which said in an e-mailed statement that while some analysts and commentators say there’s a house price bubble forming, “it is not clear that this perspective is supported by the facts.”
Nevertheless, Mr. Flaherty is “actively monitoring the housing market and a variety of issues in that context,” the minister said in an e-mailed response to questions.”. I have policy tools available to take action to counter negative trends. I have used some of them before and can use some or all of them again.”One of the most powerful tools would be what the banks suggested: tightening the criteria for getting a home loan that’s insured by one of the country’s mortgage insurers – a sector dominated by government-owned CMHC.
The federal government already did so in 2008, eliminating no-down-payment mortgages.
In almost all cases, a home buyer in Canada who is placing a down payment of less than 20 per cent of the home price must have the mortgage insured.
Getting mortgage insurance from CMHC or one of its competitors now requires a 5 per cent down payment, and the maximum amortization period is 35 years.
CMHC sells an estimated 75 per cent of mortgage insurance in Canada.
Thanks to rising home prices and surging sales, CMHC has about $480-billion of insurance in force.
As a result, the company has become “the rule maker, in the mortgage market, said Peter Routledge, an analyst at Moody’s Investors Service who recently wrote a report suggesting the government look at shortening amortizations and raising down payments to protect the banking system. “To the extent that the rule makers in the mortgage industry inject a little conservatism, I don’t think the banks would look at that as a bad thing,” Mr. Routledge said.
In fact, that’s exactly what the bank CEOs urged when they gathered on Nov. 25 with Mr. Carney in Toronto’s financial district, where the central bank has an office.
While some of the bank executives were more vocal than others, none disputed the idea that it would be wise for Ottawa to take action, according to people familiar with the discussions.
Higher required down payments and shorter amortizations would curb housing prices by cutting the amount most Canadians could bid for a house.
Such changes would also mean smaller mortgages and lower interest payments over the life of the loan – in other words, less money for the banks.
Canadian mortgages account for 40 per cent of the loans of the six largest banks, and comprise the biggest chunk of their portfolios.
The bankers’ effort is all the more notable given the unique structure of the Canadian mortgage business. Banks get the profits from mortgages with their decades of interest payments, but have little risk of direct loss because of mortgage insurance.
Consumers cover the premiums and, because most mortgage insurance is underwritten by CMHC, the federal government ultimately takes the risk.
It’s not the potential of big losses on mortgages that scares banks, says Mr. Routledge of Moody’s. But if there were a spike in foreclosures in Canada, as has happened in the United States, consumers would likely struggle to make payments on other loans that aren’t insured, such as credit card debt. Such a situation would also likely cause a big economic slowdown. “Imagine instead of a few hundred people in Toronto in any particular month being foreclosed upon, it’s a few thousand,” said Mr. Routledge. “The impact on the broader economy and the overall level of consumer confidence is significant in the U.S.”
Mr. Carney, who said again this week that he too believes there’s no bubble, has raised concerns about the level of debt that consumers are taking on.
He has said that interest rates are likely to rise in coming years, and warned that banks should not be lulled into complacency by the fact that mortgages are insured.
But a number of voices in the mortgage industry caution that a dramatic change to the rules could put too much of a damper on the market, and possibly be more damaging to the economy than the problem Ottawa is trying to avoid.
Much of the population’s net worth is tied up in their houses, and the concern is that if tighter rules caused home prices to fall, consumers would rein in their spending.
“Some people talk about 10 per cent down payments, and we would have serious concerns with that,” said Jim Murphy, head of the Canadian Association of Accredited Mortgage Professionals.
CMHC has already increased its vigilance when it comes to approving insurance, said mortgage planner Robert McLister. “These days, if a deal remotely smells funny, or an appraisal is slightly unrealistic, it’s shot down without hesitation. There is such an aversion to defaults in our market.”
Should the government decline to move, the banks could always try to tighten lending standards on their own. But that might not have the desired impact because are many other providers of mortgages.
“Even though we’re in an oligopoly, every mortgage has a dozen bidders on it,” said Mr. Routledge.
***The tale of Canada’s housing marketResidential mortgage debt as a percentage of personal disposable income has been rising since the early 1980s.
But thanks to lower mortgage rates, the debt service ratio – a measure of how well Canadians can afford their monthly interest payments – was trending downwards until a couple years ago.
And since the banks losses on mortgages in Canada are so small as to be insignificant, they have steadily continued to dole out more in mortgages each and every year.
Meanwhile, the country enjoyed unusually strong growth in home prices this decade. After a brief drop in late 2008, house prices resumed their upward trajectory, catching bankers and economists off guard and separating Canada’s housing market greatly from the experience in the U.S.
John Rossi
Sales Representative
RE/MAX WEST REALTY INC.
http://www.rossiduo.com
http://www.Vaughanhomesales.com
416-578-7675
Recent activities in the Ontario market have been realistic and to most parts rather unbeilvable. Can you imagine searching for a home and being unable to find something. Search at your affordable price point and a few months later having to revise you price upward. Well for some it may be possible but for others, well it just may push them out of the market even though interest rates are still very attractive. Here are some exerpts of the market in Ontario as written by PHRED DVORAK:
John Rossi
Sales Representative
RE/MAX WEST REALTY INC.
http://www.rossiduo.com
http://www.Vaughanhomesales.com
416-578-7675
By PHRED DVORAK
TORONTO-Dominic Carrasco first tried to sell his studio apartment here in January 2009. The only offers the 42-year-old massage therapist got were well below the 166,900 Canadian dollars he’d paid for it five years earlier. Last month, Mr. Carrasco tried again. The condominium was snapped up by the woman in charge of posting the information to the real-estate listing site, for C$209,900, or US$196,003, 40% more than the highest bid last year. “I couldn’t believe it,” says Mr. Carrasco, who says he’s both relieved and unsettled by his change in fortune. “If my condo can go up that much in one year, it doesn’t make sense.”
As the U.S. struggles to get out of its housing slump, its neighbor to the north faces a different challenge: Canada’s housing recovery has been so rapid that some here are worrying about a bubble.
Last Wednesday, a housing-price index for Canada’s six biggest cities posted its seventh straight monthly gain, showing home prices in November are now back to their prerecession peak. Another broader measure shows the average home price in 2009 hitting a record. Home building has picked up too, with housing starts in December jumping to their highest level since October 2008. Economists expect that growth to continue when January figures are released Monday.
Canada’s finance officials say they’re watching home prices carefully. The finance minister in December outlined steps he can take to cool things down, if needed. The central bank last month said it is watching the booming market with “vigilance, but not alarm. “Some observers foresee trouble. “It’s a mania. It’s going to end badly,” says Garth Turner, a former cabinet member who just published a book predicting that prices of real estate and other assets will fall.
Several other nations have taken action over concerns that their real-estate markets are heating up too quickly. In China, a housing boom has been lifting property prices at a 20% annual rate, helping fuel economic expansion of more than 8% in 2009. As evidence of a Chinese real-estate bubble mounts, the government there has tightened controls on bank lending. In South Korea, record-low interest rates led to frenzied home buying, and the government last year lowered the maximum amount that would-be homeowners can borrow.
In Canada, nearly 40% of gross domestic product historically is generated by exports, mainly to the U.S., where economic weakness persists. To stimulate its economy, the government has focused on the domestic slice. In an effort to boost internal consumption, it has kept a key interest rate near zero-resulting in exceptionally low mortgages rates-and has offered various financial incentives and tax credits.Consumers have responded.
Average home prices in Canada have risen 23% from their trough in January 2009. Home-sales volumes are up 70% over the same period.
Canada never had the kind of bubble created by risky “subprime” home loans that the U.S. had, thanks in part to conservative lending practices. The S&P Case-Shiller index-a U.S. index of home prices in 20 cities-more than doubled between January 2000 and late 2006, then fell 33% during the economic slump.
In Canada, a similar home-price index of six major cities rose 90% between 2000 and mid-2008, but fell only 9% during the slump.Not everyone agrees that Canada’s recent price increases are cause for concern. Bubble skeptics say they aren’t yet seeing other symptoms of froth such as speculative buying, looser lending standards or a run-up in land prices. Canada’s central bank and finance ministry say there isn’t currently any reason for alarm.
But some economists who are concerned point out that home prices are rising far faster than other measures of economic health. The 2009 price increase of more than 20% came as personal income in Canada fell nearly 1% and total employment was 1.4% lower than the year earlier. In a December report, the Bank of Canada warned that household debt-largely mortgages-was 1.42 times disposable income during the second quarter of 2009, a record high.
Another possible danger: Because Canadian banks typically reset adjustable-rate mortgages every few years, those who are buying now at low rates will likely see increases soon. Toronto-Dominion Bank forecasts suggest that the rate to which many Canadian mortgages are pegged, the prime rate, could nearly double by the end of 2011. The Bank of Canada warned in its December report that if interest rates increase as expected, by mid-2012 about 9% of Canadian households could have so much debt that they’d be “financially vulnerable.””This is exactly what happened in the U.S., when affordability had moved way out of whack with prices,” says David Rosenberg, an economist who witnessed America’s housing bubble at Merrill Lynch in New York, and now sees similar trends up north from his post at Toronto-based wealth-management firm Gluskin Sheff.
The Canadian housing market’s roller-coaster ride began in September 2008 with the collapse of Lehman Brothers in the U.S. and the freeze in global credit markets.
Brad Lamb says his Toronto real-estate firm noticed a drop in buyers. Sales volume plummeted and the company lost money, he says. Heather Holmes, one of his top agents, says that at one point she was handling 17 sellers at the same time, but had only a trickle of offers, at well below asking prices. To supplement income, she started handling rentals. “There was a lot of fear,” she recalls.
Vaughn Gray, one of her clients, had agreed to buy a one-bedroom apartment the week Lehman collapsed. As he was completing the paperwork, his mortgage agent called with a request to increase his down payment to 15% of the condo’s value, from the 5% they’d discussed earlier. Mr. Gray couldn’t produce the cash, and the deal fell through. “It was heartbreaking,” recalls Mr. Gray, a concierge at a clothing retailer.
By December 2008, the average home price in Toronto was 9% below the year-earlier level, and sales volume was down 50%, the Toronto Real Estate Board reportedBut Canada’s housing slump didn’t last long. In October 2008, the Bank of Canada made the first of a series of rate cuts that eventually lowered the target for its key overnight lending rate to 0.25%, which in turn reduced banks’ prime rate-the basis for calculating variable-mortgage rates in Canada-to 2.25% by April 2009.
In Canada, nearly all mortgages have rates that adjust at least every few years. Currently, rates on some loans have fallen to 2% or lower.Canada never saw the wave of foreclosures that the U.S. did, and the balance sheets of Canadian banks stayed strong.
As the global credit crunch began to ease at the end of 2008, Canada’s big lenders, which handle the bulk of residential mortgages, started to market more aggressively.
Toronto-Dominion Bank boosted its mortgage sales force by 10%, says Tim Hockey, head of the Canadian banking operations. Don Peard, the Royal Bank of Canada’s mortgage chief for Alberta, told his sales people to double the number of calls they made seeking mortgage referrals from real-estate agents and home builders.Home sales started to rise again in February 2009. By midyear, Ms. Holmes, the Toronto real-estate agent, was seeing the kinds of bidding wars that were common in 2007.”It’s all the people that would have bought during the slowdown,” she says. In September, she says, one condominium she handled had 15 offers-her personal record.The low interest rates and the eagerness of banks to lend attracted buyers such as Cindy Gerard of Red Deer, Alberta, who invests in residential real estate to supplement the money her husband earns as a welding inspector for the oil-and-gas industry.
Ms. Gerard has been buying and renting out apartments for years. In 2009, she went into overdrive, buying six units in six months, with mortgages at rates ranging from 2.45% to 3.95%. She says she “maxed out” on the last mortgage, which pushed the family’s ratio of debt service to income into the mid-40% range-above the level many Canadian lenders are comfortable with.
Ms. Gerard says she bought all the properties for below the asking prices. “Money is growing on trees these days, lending rates are so low,” Ms. Gerard wrote in December in an online forum for real-estate investors. “There are loads of properties to choose from, and the banks want to lend!”
Nevertheless, with housing prices rising, recent buyers are finding deals harder to come by. Ms. Holmes, the agent, explains that a few years ago monthly mortgage payments on downtown Toronto condos were far enough below rents that investors could count on making a profit. Now, she says, new investors are more commonly just breaking even.
Bryce Wilson, an elementary-school teacher in Toronto who bought two condominiums in December, says a 20% drop in the value of his mutual funds prompted him to shift money into real estate. He’s planning to rent out one property-a one-bedroom apartment in a new condo building-for C$1,500 a month, netting him C$360 a month after mortgage and maintenance fees. He says he is prepared for his 2% mortgage rate to rise. “I’ve budgeted for the rate doubling,” he says.
Economists at Toronto-Dominion Bank say they think current home prices are about 12% above where they should be based on income and interest trends-not enough for a bubble, they say, so long as future price increases are slowed by home building and rising mortgage rates.
Mr. Hockey, Toronto-Dominion’s domestic banking chief, says housing prices are “of interest but not a concern.” If the situation worsens, he says, the bank will consider steps like raising the hurdles for borrowers.
The government is mulling action too. Finance Minister Jim Flaherty has said that if it’s warranted, he would consider tightening the terms for home buyers seeking government-insured loans, shortening maximum mortgage lengths from their current 35 years, or raising minimum down payments from the current 5%.
But Canada’s central bankers appear reluctant to take any steps that would hurt the economy. In a Jan. 11 speech, a representative of the Bank of Canada said: “If the Bank were to raise interest rates to cool the housing market now…we would, in essence, be dousing the entire Canadian economy with cold water, just as it emerges from recession.”
For now, the housing boom shows no sign of abating. Gray, the Toronto concierge whose home deal fell through at the end of 2008, is looking again for a condo, although he’s had to increase his budget to around C$350,000, from C$250,000. Ms. Gerard, the housewife in Red Deer, says she hopes to buy a seventh unit in a few months-after she pays down enough of her credit-card debt to qualify for another mortgage.
Mr. Carrasco, the Toronto massage therapist whose condo rose in value by 40% in one year, says he’s glad he sold when he did think we’re in a housing bubble,” he says. “I’m going to put stuff in storage, rent cheap and buy again when prices come down.”
Hello everyone, my name is Giovanni Rossi. Everyone calls me John. So what right. I agree. You’re here because we both share the same sediments. We love Vaughan. As far as I’m concerned we live or would like to live in one of the most desirable areas anywhere. Here is a little information of the world’s best past to live, in my opinion.
Vaughan is made up of:
|
Ethnic Origin |
Population |
Percent |
| Italian | 79,835 | 43.96% |
| Jewish | 33,705 | 16.90% |
| Canadian | 18,950 | 10.43% |
| English | 9,345 | 5.14% |
| East Indian | 8,930 | 4.91% |
| Chinese | 7,435 | 4.09% |
| Russian | 6,490 | 3.36% |
| Polish | 5,855 | 3.22% |
| Irish | 5,635 | 3.10% |
| Other | 3580 | 1.97% |
Statistics Canada reported that Vaughan is one of southern Ontario’s fastest growing cities. In the last four years the population has grown Thirty Seven percent.
Some Features and Attractions
Transportation
Since traffic on the roads of Vaughan continues to increase, York Region Transit, put Viva buses into motion. The Viva buses only stop for people to get on and get off at Viva stations. At every Viva station you will find there will be a ticket vending machine, there will be a clock to tell you when the next bus will stop there.
Hello everyone, my name is Giovanni Rossi. Everyone calls me John. So what right. I agree. You’re here because we both share the same sediments. We love Vaughan. As far as I’m concerned we live or would like to live in one of the most desirable areas anywhere. Here is a little information of the world’s best past to live, in my opinion.
Vaughan is made up of:
•Woodbridge, Ontario, North to South – Teston to Steeles, East/West – Hwy 400 to Hwy 50
•Maple, Ontario, North to South – King Vaughan Line to Rutherford, East to West – Bathurst to Hwy 400
•Thornhill, Ontario, North to South – Rutherford to Steeles, East to West – Yonge to Dufferin
•Concord, Ontario, North to South – Rutherford to Steeles, East to West – Dufferin to Hwy 400
•Kleinburg, Ontario, North to South – Major Mac to Kirby, East to West – Pine Valley to Hwy 50
Ethnic Origin
Population
Percent
Italian
79,835
43.96%
Jewish
33,705
16.90%
Canadian
18,950
10.43%
English
9,345
5.14%
East Indian
8,930
4.91%
Chinese
7,435
4.09%
Russian
6,490
3.36%
Polish
5,855
3.22%
Irish
5,635
3.10%
Other
3580
1.97%
Vaughan boundaries
Statistics Canada reported that Vaughan is one of southern Ontario’s fastest growing cities. In the last four years the population has grown Thirty Seven percent.
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Some Features and Attractions
•Baitul Islam Mosque, Canadian Head quarters of Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and one of the largest mosque in Canada.
•Boyd Conservation Area, park located between Woodbridge and Kleinburg.
•Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame and Museum
•Canada’s Wonderland, Canada’s largest amusement park located in Maple.
•McMichael Canadian Art Collection, located in Kleinburg.
•Thornhill Town Centre, Vaughan’s unique town centre located in Thornhill.
•Vaughan Mills, a huge mall with something for everyone, was constructed in Vaughan in 2004.
Transportation
Since traffic on the roads of Vaughan continues to increase, York Region Transit, put Viva buses into motion. The Viva buses only stop for people to get on and get off at Viva stations. At every Viva station you will find there will be a ticket vending machine, there will be a clock to tell you when the next bus will stop there.
John Rossi's Blog 