Discover Real Estate Ltd.
201, 7909 Flint Road SE, Calgary, AB
P: 403.233.0703
F: 403.476.5014
Calgary MLS® Report - Wednesday June 30, 2010 - Experts: Predicted Housing Bubble Largely a Myth
In light of news that Canadian resale home volume is down and price hikes are slowing, it appears that any housing bubble is as real as the Loch Ness Monster. The prospect of grossly inflated housing prices hounded real estate experts for the past several months, not long after people were terrified by a suspected collapse in the market.
In hindsight, sales took a deep but temporary drop after the recession in the fall of 2008. When people realized that the lowest interest rates in years represented a spectacular buying opportunity, the market rebounded quickly. Tempered by a slight rise in rates, the housing market is reverting back to more normative levels. Sales experienced a 9.5-percent decrease in May. Although home prices increased by 8.4 percent versus May 2009, the increase leveled off from March’s peak growth of 16 percent.
Much of the success in the Canadian real estate market is due to the stability of Canada’s banks, which remained more impervious to economic damage than those of the U.S. Homebuyers reacted predictably when rates fell: They started buying homes and inventory grew. Now, that the market has slowed a bit, it is exhibiting a response that is typical following a modest rate increase.
The decrease in sales is also attributable to a soon-to-be-imposed tax on real estate sales in British Columbia and Ontario. These provinces represent some of the most active markets, with some of the most significant price increases having occurred in Toronto and Vancouver. Montreal has not been subjected to the larger price hikes, and market experts expect a modest home price decline of three to four percent.
Calgary MLS® Report - Monday June 7, 2010 - Calgary - Great Place to Put Your Money Into Residential Real Estate
The Real Estate Investment Network just released a report that named Calgary the best place in all of Canada to put money in residential real estate. A couple of years ago Calgary was experiencing a booming economy and the resulting increase in real estate prices. Then came the recession and things seems to slow to an almost halt. During the recession, the real estate prices corrected to make housing more affordable.
The economy is improving, people are moving to Calgary and housing is still affordable, putting it at number one on the survey list. Other Canadian cities that had top rankings are Edmonton and Red Deer in Alberta, the Kitchener-Waterloo-Cambridge area in Ontario, Maple Ridge and Surrey in British Columbia, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan and Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Forecasters predict that Calgary’s favourable, stable growth should continue throughout 2010 and that the province will see its economy experiencing a growth spurt. The city should escape the over-inflated pricing seen during prior positive economic periods.
Calgary MLS® Report - Wednesday May 19, 2010 - Bank of Montreal Fights Back Over $30 Million Mortgage Scheme
The Bank of Montreal lost more than $30 million in “strawbuyer” mortgages during Calgary’s real estate boom and is fighting back. It is suing hundreds of people, including several real estate agents, bank employees, mortgage brokers and lawyers. One of those lawyers is Devinder Shory, a local MP from Calgary Northeast.
Some politicians wanted Shory to sit on council as an independent while the investigation and/or prosecution continues. But BMO said the charges against Story were for negligence, not fraud. Even so, Shory is planning an extensive defence.
The way strawbuying works is that an unsuspecting party is asked to sign a mortgage on a property for an up front fee. Usually those working in such schemes approach immigrants that are looking to get into the housing market and usually have no credit to get a conventional mortgage. The mortgage papers are signed by the victim and the schemers take off with the money, leaving the duped signee to pay for the mortgage. These mortgages are usually taken out for much more than the property is worth, using inflated appraisals.
BMO’s blanket search warrant that allowed the search of residences of a number of Albertans allegedly involved netted some interesting finds. One children’s style back pack was filled with mortgage applications. Another briefcase was filled with cash, both US and Canadian cheques and travel documents. Cell phones, computers and suitcases full of documents were seized. Bank accounts and assets were frozen in some instances.
Saturday May 1, 2010 - Luxury Sales Recovering Steadily
Tuesday April 20, 2010 - Spring Brings Bright Colours Into Canadian Home Décor
Friday April 12, 2010 - CREA President Defends MLS Against Aitken Comments
Saturday March 20, 2010 - Police in Alberta Getting New Tools To Use In The Fight Against Crime
Tuesday March 2, 2010 - Real Estate Sales Strong for Calgary in February
Monday February 15, 2010 - The Local Housing Market Is Solid
Friday February 5, 2010 - Albertans Want to Go Green and Want a New Building Code to Prove It
Tuesday January 26, 2010 - Economists See Modest Growth
Monday January 11, 2010 - Real Estate Sales Trend Strong into Year End
Monday December 14, 2009 - Market Great Outlook by Re/Max
Wednesday December 9, 2009 - Prices Predicted To Rise 5% Next Year
Thursday November 26, 2009 - CHMC Sees Strength in 2010
Wednesday November 18, 2009 - Staging to Sell in Tough Real Estate Market
Friday November 6, 2009 - Values are Climbing in Cochrane
Monday November 2, 2009 - Calgary Market Sales Rebound
Monday October 19, 2009 - Calgary Prices Rise Slightly in Third Quarter
Tuesday September 29, 2009 - Canadian Housing Market Still Healthy
Friday September 18, 2009 - West’s Economy Back on Track
Monday September 3, 2009 - Calgary Home Prices in 2010
Monday July 6, 2009 - High Speed Transportation Project Impacts Alberta Economy
Saturday June 20, 2009 - Real estate recovering, economists say
