April 2013 Canadian Economic Fundamentals

[Ally]

Was this house a grow op?




Would you think twice about buying a home if it had been burglarized three times in the last year? What if it had been used as a meth lab? A new report promises a historic snapshot of a home, including illegal activities and past insurance claims.




It`s the equivalent of a vehicle history report, but it`s for any resale home or condo in municipalities across Canada, explains Alex Weiner, president of Home Verified, the company that produces the report. It costs $70 and the current owner must provide consent.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Why the latest housing numbers have been met with relief




The thing to remember about housing booms is that they seldom end well.




Everyone wants the landing to be soft. Often it`s not. Starts fall, or go flat. Employment stagnates. And the result is a drag on economic growth that can last for years.




That`s why there was considerable relief Tuesday with news that housing starts for March rose 0.4 per cent to an annualized rate of 184,000. Economists were bracing for a drop to 175,000. February starts were also revised up to 183,000.



Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Are you average? This is what first time home buyers look like in Canada




The average first-time home buyer in Canada is 29 years old and expects to be able to put down a down payment of $48,000 on a $300,000 home, according to a recent poll by the Bank of Montreal.




But the study, released Tuesday, also found that price expectations vary widely, depending on where the home buyer lives.



Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

OPEC joins U.S. in lowering oil demand growth forecast




OPEC on Wednesday trimmed its forecast for global growth in oil demand in 2013, becoming the second of the world`s closely watched oil forecasters this week to predict weaker consumption.




The move by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries in a monthly report follows a similar downward revision to oil demand growth in 2013 by the U.S. Energy Information Administration on Tuesday.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Playing it safe puts the economy at risk





It has been said that the early bird gets the worm. While that may be true for birds, rodents know that the second mouse gets the cheese. Be it out of wisdom or simple laziness, sometimes it pays to be late to the game. Occasionally sitting back and letting the situation unfold is a better plan than immediate action.






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[Ally]

Keystone approval called a 'key watermark' for economic development in the U.S.




EDMONTON - If President Barack Obama is serious about reigniting economic growth, creating jobs and ramping up exports, approving the Keystone XL pipeline should be a slam dunk.




That`s the view of many senior U.S. execs, who view TransCanada`s proposed pipeline as a key catalyst for getting the sputtering U.S. economy back in gear





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

How low can Canadian mortgage rates go?




Mortgage Expert and CTO of Canada`s leading mortgage brokerage, Marcus Arkan recently shared his forecast of mortgage rates in the month of April. Mr. Arkan`s analysis came after the government pressurized one of the lenders to reverse their mortgage rate back to 3.09 after it was lowered to 2.89 last month.




According to Mr. Arkan, while the government is not in favor of lower mortgage rates, constant interference and meddling may not be very appropriate. As reported by one of the news sources, Mr. Flaherty personally called BMO to complain about their five-year fixed mortgage rate that was also lowered to 2.99 in March.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Why people perceive some cities as safer than others




Why do people feel safer in some cities than others? Is it a function of actual crime or of other factors that shape the way we perceive cities?




Crime, especially violent crime, varies considerably across U.S. cities and metro areas (as well as within them), with some posting record lows last year and other surging to record or near-record highs. But, a wide range of studies suggest that perceptions of safety are conditioned by other obvious and less obvious factors that effectively signal community safety. The infamous "broken windows" theory outlined by James Q. Wilson and George L. Kelling (in a 1982 issue of The Atlantic) suggests a close connection between neighborhood conditions and actual crime as well as perceptions of it. "Social psychologists and police officers tend to agree that if a window in a building is broken and is left unrepaired, all the rest of the windows will soon be broken," they wrote. "This is as true in nice neighborhoods as in rundown ones."





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[Ally]

Redford: Keystone XL an environmentally sound way to enhance energy security




Like the people who live in the Canadian province of Alberta, President Barack Obama wants to balance strong environmental policy, clean technology development, energy security and jobs for the middle class and returning war veterans.




The United States imports more oil from Canada than it does from Mexico and Saudi Arabia combined. And for every dollar of oil the U.S. imports from Canada, 90 cents goes back to the U.S. economy through the Canadian import of goods produced in the U.S. This compares to 33 cents for Saudi Arabia and 46 cents for Venezuela.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Cost efficient and profitable




or much of the past decade, the Canadian economy has expanded faster than any other G-7 country.While the commodities boom contributed to this growth, sound public policy played an even bigger role. A decade of budget surpluses and debt-reduction initiatives afforded Canada the ability to implement policies to stimulate the economy.

• Today, Canada has the lowest net debt-to-GDP ratio in the G-7

• and a concrete plan to return to a budget surplus by 2015-16. Canada is well positioned to continue the pro-business strategies that support long-term economic growth and competitiveness, and help the country attract global investors.

Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

IMF cuts outlook for Canadian economy




The International Monetary Fund has cut its outlook for Canada`s economy, and is advising the Bank of Canada to leave interest rates low until a recovery is entrenched.




Canada`s gross domestic product will expand 1.5 per cent in 2013, a downgrade from January, when the IMF predicted the country`s GDP would increase 1.8 per cent. That would be the weakest growth since 2008, when Canada slid into recession, and the second consecutive year of growth of less than 2 per cent.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Finding a home just got a little easier with this new Royal LePage website





Leading creative agency, Plastic Mobile, teamed up with Royal LePage Real Estate Services, one of Canada`s leading providers of services to residential real estate brokerages, to greatly improve the online real estate search experience by creating http://www.royallepage.ca, a website that`s accessible to anyone, anywhere, from any device.



`The new Royal LePage website is to real estate what wireless networks were to desktop computing. It will open doors for both REALTORSTM and consumers to conveniently and readily access information from any and everywhere that they are,` said Melody Adhami, President and COO of Plastic Mobile.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Smaller cities share pain from new mortgage rules




Ottawa's efforts to cool the housing market amid fears of rapid overheating in cities such as Toronto and Vancouver are causing steep sales declines in areas that had been relatively healthy, economists say.





The number of homes that changed hands in the Halifax-Dartmouth area during March was 36-per-cent lower than a year ago, sales in Sudbury fell 33.5 per cent, in downward pressure on savings accounts is starting to lift and in Regina 23.5 per cent.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Home sales up 2.4% in March




Canada's housing market continues to show signs of slowing from the torrid pace set in recent years, but is also defying the worst fears of an imminent collapse.




The Canadian Real Estate Association reported Monday that existing home sales in the 26 municipal markets it tracks rose a seasonally adjusted 2.4 per cent in March over the previous month, but were down 15.3 per cent from last year.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

To get a mortgage, you'll need a stellar credit rating




When you begin shopping around for a mortgage the importance of your credit history and score becomes evident.





Your credit score is an important item that will determine what interest your mortgage agent will be able to offer you. It should be a priority because it can save you thousands of dollars. If you take care of your credit, your credit will take care of you! Whether you have had credit for a long time or are completely new and just beginning, the reality is that you will have to at some time or another prove that you are a low enough risk for lenders to lend to.



Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

March home resales end slide, prices stable, in further sign of soft landing




OTTAWA ` Canada's housing market continues to show signs of slowing from the torrid pace set in recent years, but also defying the worst fears of an imminent collapse.




The Canadian Real Estate Association reported Monday that existing home sales in the 26 municipal markets it tracks rose a seasonally adjusted 2.4 per cent in March over the previous month, but were down 15.3 per cent from last year.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

At Bank of Canada, all eyes on housing market




When Finance Minister Jim Flaherty tightened home lending standards last year, Bay Street economists shrugged.




It wasn`t the first time Mr. Flaherty had attempted to deflate the housing bubble. Nor was it the second or third. That was enough history to suggest a cycle.




On all previous occasions, sales immediately jumped as buyers rushed to beat the new restrictions. In the next phase, demand cratered when the stricter lending conditions kicked in. Finally, sales popped back up once potential buyers realized that interest rates still were at once-in-a-lifetime levels.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Home resales slow, down 15.3% over last year




OTTAWA -- Canada's housing market continue to show signs of slowing from the torrid pace set in recent years, but also defying the worst fears of an imminent collapse.




The Canadian Real Estate Association reported Monday that existing home sales in the 26 municipal markets it tracks rose a seasonally adjusted 2.4 per cent in March over the previous month, but were down 15.3 per cent from last year.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Rurals not enjoying as much job growth




It`s not exactly what you would classify as bad news for the province.




In fact, the recent job numbers are actually alarmingly good ` especially when you compare them with what`s been going on in the rest of country when it comes to job creation.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Despite Competition Bureau loss, web real estate data flowing more freely




While the Competition Bureau fought its losing battle to force the Toronto Real Estate Board to enable more online competition, the industry has been opening up the flow of information, rendering the dispute less relevant, dominant players in the sector argue.




The federal bureau filed its case with the Competition Tribunal in May, 2011, after a lengthy investigation into the industry. The bureau accused the country`s largest real estate board, which represents more than 35,000 agents, of anti-competitive practices, alleging that the Toronto Real Estate Board was retaining a stranglehold on certain data about house sales, making it more difficult for new Web-based entrants to compete.



Read the full article here.