March 2013 Canadian Economic Fundamentals

[Ally]

Where do mortgage rates go from here?



They can`t go lower, can they? And what if mortgage rates start to climb? Could that be the last straw for the housing market?





It`s tough to make a pan-Canadian call on where real estate will land in 2013. The Prairie provinces seemed posed to avoid the downturn, but sales are starting to fall in many markets with a price dip happening already or predicted to be on the horizon.







Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

How to score the best deal on your mortgage




Sean Morphy and his wife got a very competitive mortgage rate when they made the jump to home ownership a little over a year ago but it took a long-term relationship with a mortgage professional to get them there.




`Our advisor was a family friend so we trusted him,` says Morphy. `He was able to get us a four-year fixed rate at 2.99% which we were very happy with. We did look at other options but this was the best rate that we could find at the time.`





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Rates keeping market afloat




They can't go lower, can they? And what if mortgage rates start to climb, could that be the last straw for the housing market?




It's tough to make a pan-Canadian call on where real estate will land in 2013.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Number of head offices dipped in Canada




The number of main head offices in the country ebbed in recent years, although more Canadians are working at them, especially in Alberta.




Canada had 22 fewer main offices in 2011 from a year earlier, for a total of 2,843. That`s not a huge change from 2010, when there were 2,865 head offices, but a provincial breakdown shows a decline for Ontario in both the number of head offices and the number of workers in them.


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[Ally]

BMO returning controversial mortgage rate to previous level




The bank (TSX:BMO) says the posted rate for a fixed five-year mortgage will return to 3.09 per cent, where it was before BMO lowered it to 2.99 per cent.




Finance Minister Jim Flaherty had called Bank of Montreal to express his disapproval of its decision to offer the special low rate starting on March 4.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Walkability steps into the spotlight for investors





`The city of Calgary has seen inner-city neighbourhood real estate prices skyrocket in recent years as people become fed up with long commute times from outer suburbs,` writes REIN in a recent commentary. `Between 2000 and 2012, the 10 communities that saw the largest spikes in average home prices were in the city`s core and surrounding neighbourhoods.`




Of these 10 neighbourhoods, the average home price increased between 205-260 per cent, something the Calgary Real Estate




Board is crediting in no small way to the pedestrian lifestyle they encourage.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Lumber sector enters 'super cycle' as U.S. housing recovery gains steam




Lumber and forest-product stocks have been on a huge tear over the past year as the U.S. housing market recovers, but there is still more room for prices to rise thanks to the emergence of a `super cycle` in the underlying commodity, say analysts.




`Although it is a cyclical area and we have seen forestry stocks appreciate greatly in the past 12 months due to the recovery in the U.S. housing market, demand is greater than supply, which should push areas of the sector higher,` said Arthur Salzer, chief executive at Northland Wealth Management Inc. in Markham, Ont.





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[Ally]

2013 federal budget insights




We`ve now seen some of the provinces come through with their budgets and as a general rule there are certainly financial concerns, dealt with by tax increases (direct or indirect) and spending cuts. With the federal budget (on the first day of the real March Madness games) we are faced with much of the same ` but a few tidbits for real estate investors and other business owners. Others have focused on the various funding elements that make up the most of the budget, but we want to take a look at the various tax elements which we thought more of our clients would be interested in.





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[Ally]

Local job market prospects negative in most markets





The Conference Board of Canada`s Help-Wanted Index posted a strong increase in January, while the Metro Help-Wanted Index showed positive job prospects for most of Canada`s census metropolitan areas. This suggested that the February labour force survey report would bring good news. And, indeed, the Canadian economy created 51,000 jobs in February. But this result was unexpected, given that overall economic growth has been weak in recent months`and it is likely that February`s job gains will prove to be unsustainable. In fact, the Help-Wanted Index fell in February, while the Metro-Help Wanted Index showed negative prospects for most CMAs.







Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Canadian first time homebuyers poised to stand tall






TORONTO, March 26, 2013 `Four-in-10 Canadians (40 per cent) planning to enter the housing market over the next two years will be first-time homebuyers, according to the 20th Annual RBC Home Ownership Poll.




The majority of Canadians are taking a wait-and-see approach to home purchases, with 15 per cent likely to buy in the next two years, down from 27 per cent last year. The 12-percentage-point drop is the biggest year-over-year fall in overall buying intention as tracked by this annual poll.





Read the full article here.