Canadian Commercial and Residential Real Estate News

Big banks compete on low mortgage rates - If you've been shopping around for a mortgage lately, you might've noticed that some offers from the country's biggest banks are looking especially attractive. Canadians have been handed a golden opportunity to snag mortgages at rock-bottom rates, but highly competitive lending is pushing overly optimistic opportunities on people who might not understand what they're getting themselves into.
Globe and Mail, Sep 30, 2009

There's more to a mortgage than a low rate - Homeowners and buyers are in a rather enviable position these days. Interest rates are at historic lows and the cost of borrowing for a home is about as low as it can get. That's great news. But it's not the only thing homeowners and purchasers need to think about their mortgage. There are a number of other features to consider before signing up for a mortgage.
CBC, Sep 30, 2009

Global housing recovery is underway: Scotia Economics - Global real estate markets are showing tentative but growing signs of stabilization, according to the Global Real Estate Trends report released today by Scotia Economics. "Real home prices increased in a number of major developed economies in the second quarter of 2009, including Canada, Australia and the United States," said Adrienne Warren, Senior Economist, Scotia Economics.
Canada News Wire, Oct 01, 2009 Globe and Mail, Oct 01, 2009 CBC, Oct 01, 2009 Toronto Star, Oct 01, 2009

Solar subsidy plan's content rules burn local homeowners - Tim Short knew the province was getting ready to launch a program that paid a rich premium for solar electricity, so he eagerly went ahead earlier this month and installed solar panels on the roof of his home. Like many homeowners and organizations throughout the province, including the City of Toronto, Short figured he could get the physical work out of the way and fill out the paperwork later.
Toronto Star, Sep 30, 2009

Rooftop riches mount with solar panels - How well-positioned is your roof? It's a timely question for home and business owners because a roof outfitted with solar panels can generate enough clean electricity to provide power for your building and recharge your electric vehicles. And if it's located in Ontario, it can also turn a profit. Energy self-sufficiency is not pie-in-the sky speculation. It is prevalent in Europe.
Montreal Gazette, Oct 01, 2009

How to inspect your home inspector - Just out of curiosity, I went on the Internet to see what a homeowner might find if they were looking there for a home inspector. I found a few. I also found just about as many ads for how to become one. We all know that’s how you become a qualified professional ― on the Internet! That shouldn’t surprise anyone. The truth is, the home inspection industry in Canada is unregulated.
Canada.com, Oct 01, 2009

Prepaying mortgages without a penalty - Mike Konczal says that all mortgages should be prepayable without penalty. He’s right ― but in fact he doesn’t go far enough. As Tyler Cowen notes, it would be even better if mortgages could be prepaid at a discount when mortgage rates rise ― or property prices fall. The result would be a sharp rise in mortgage prepayments.
Reuters, Sep 28, 2009

Condos a hot commodity in P.E.I. - Country homes and cottages have been pushed aside by urban condominiums as the hot property on Prince Edward Island. Dozens of condos have been built in the Charlottetown area recently, and construction is not expected to stop soon. Condos are generally running between $140,000 and $700,000, and the more expensive ones are selling the best.
CBC, Sep 25, 2009

Students shopping for a house or condo market should be cautious, advisers say - When Spero Zaharopoulos took the unusual step for a university student of sinking more than $200,000 into a Toronto apartment last month, it wasn't just because he needed somewhere to live - he was also looking for a good investment. Zaharopoulos, an urban planning student at Ryerson University, bought a $255,000 bachelor apartment in the downtown core.
CBC, Sep 28, 2009

Your new home for only $23M - Paul Miklas dreams big. Some would say unfashionably big for these economic times. His homes unabashedly announce that you have arrived － and everyone else can damn well take a back seat. A global financial meltdown has meant some high rollers have been selling off their mansions in Muskoka and monster homes in the city. But the Toronto developer is unrepentant.
Toronto Star, Sep 30, 2009

Sweden's SAS blow up wrong house on training exercise - An elite Swedish military unit has been left red-faced after blowing up the wrong house on a training exercise. The K3 force, who regard themselves a the SAS of Scandinavia, virtually destroyed a holiday home 750 feet away from their intended target. The owner of the holiday home returned to find it a smoking ruin, with windows and doorframes blown out, scorch marks on all the walls and most of the furniture destroyed.
Daily Co.Uk, Sep 30, 2009

Worst over in real estate market: Re/Max report - remax.com - The worst is over in the Canadian residential housing market, according to a new industry report that forecasts growth in the sector in the fourth quarter of the year. According to the Re/Max Bricks and Mortar Report, sales have increased in more than half of the 11 markets surveyed for the report, and values have surpassed "record-breaking" 2008 levels in seven of the markets.
Canada.com, Sep 25, 2009 Toronto Star, Sep 25, 2009 CBC, Sep 25, 2009

Toronto home sales are strong, but experts remain guarded - Sales and home prices are on the rise in Toronto, at least compared with the rather testing times during this period last year. Home resales in the GTA in the first two weeks of September were up 23% compared with the same two weeks last year. According to the Toronto Real Estate Board, realtors in the GTA reported 3,361 sales in the first two weeks of this month.
Canada.com, Oct 01, 2009 Globe and Mail, Oct 01, 2009 Globe and Mail (second article), Oct 01, 2009

New home prices rise in July: StatsCan - Contractors selling prices increased 0.3 per cent in July, the first national increase since last September. Statistics Canada reports that prices increased the most in Vancouver (by 1.2 per cent), followed by Hamilton (1.1) and Windsor and Calgary (0.5 each). The largest monthly decrease in new-housing prices was recorded in Victoria, where they dropped 3.5 per cent.
CBC, Sep 25, 2009

Home prices head north in Calgary: Teranet/National Bank - The latest report on Canadian housing prices echoes the findings of local data that suggest a rebound in home sales and prices in the Calgary market. Released Wednesday, the Teranet-National Bank house price index shows home prices in Calgary edged up one per cent in July, the first monthly gain following 12 consecutive months of decline. Home prices were still well off pre-recession highs by 14.6 per cent.
Calgary Herald, Oct 01, 2009

California dreaming of a housing recovery - No state has fallen as far as California has in the current global recession. Hundreds of thousands have lost their houses to foreclosure while Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger grapples with a crippling US$24-billion deficit that has threatened to bankrupt the state. James Doti, one of Mr. Schwarzenegger's economic advisors, was in Toronto on Thursday to discuss issues plaguing the state. Read more: http://www.nationalpost.com/story.html?id=2029496#ixzz0SPa5npP8
National Post, Sep 28, 2009

Building Blocks: Haggling over your first mortgage - Building Blocks, a special web series geared towards educating young Canadian families about various personal finance topics, launches today on the globe investor personal finance site. Check out this story on the do’s and don’ts of negotiating your first mortgage, as well as a video where Canada’s banking ombudsman provides tips on what to look for before you sign on that dotted mortgage line.
Globe and Mail, Sep 30, 2009

Are you keeping up with the Joneses, debt? - The big question is whether or not we learned anything from the past year. Remember the fear, the doubts, the insecurities? Were the promises to save more, spend and invest more prudently, plan better, get out of debt, all a waste of time? Do we now blithely go about our business with a continuing binge of unsustainable spending and indebtedness that impoverishes us both financially and spiritually?
National Post, Sep 28, 2009

Fannie Mae Mortgage Defaults Climb to Record in July - Fannie Mae, the mortgage-finance company under government control, said that defaults rose to a record in July. The size of its portfolio of residential assets was little changed last month. Mortgages at least 90 days late or in foreclosure among the single-family loans that Fannie Mae owns or guarantees rose to 4.17 percent in July, from 3.94 percent in June and 1.45 percent a year earlier.
Bloomberg, Sep 30, 2009

Mike Holmes: This room leaves me cold - Most older homes have a cold room or root cellar in the basement - usually you'll find it under the front porch. These basement rooms were designed for storing food and preserves, so they're not insulated. Often they have a vent to the outside to allow cool air in and ventilate the space. Cold rooms provide an energy-efficient way to preserve food. It's a lot cheaper than running a fridge, right?
National Post, Sep 28, 2009

Old fridges can freeze savings - With energy house audits, tax credits, grants, rebates and incentives, it pays to go green. According to Statistics Canada, the average Canadian household spends more than $1,000 each year on utility bills, so it makes sense to take advantage of incentives and choose energy efficient products. So why do some Canadians insist on keeping old inefficient appliances, like a fridge in the garage?
Toronto Star, Sep 25, 2009

Jane Says Look Up - Passionate people are known to be persnickety. The grammarian cringes at the misplaced apostrophe, the maitre d' is miffed over stains on the silverware. For Jane Lockhart, it's ceilings, ceilings, ceilings. Why let a ceiling go untouched like a wallflower in the wings, she implores, when it can upstage even fancy-pants furniture? Boring white ceilings are an epidemic.
National Post, Sep 28, 2009

Arren Williams: The beauty of a bare light bulb - Yes, we know they're not energy efficient, but there is a certain charming glow that you can only get from an old school styled light bulb. Victorian carbon filament bulbs first saw the light (pardon the pun) back in the 1890's and are still available through Rejuvenation; the go-to online retailer of period lighting.
National Post, Sep 28, 2009

Water-main troubles recede in Ottawa - If you heard a really loud “Oops” the other day, it came from Ottawa City Hall. Talk about a blooper. But at least Sylvie Bigras’ headache, due to a flood in her basement and a bungling city bureaucracy, is finally going away, and that’s a good thing. The media chief of the Canadian Olympic Committee has had to put up with a lot of stress and inconvenience over the past 10 months.
Ottawa Citizen, Sep 30, 2009

Get ready for colder weather - It is now time to pull out those favourite sweaters from the back of the closet and dust off those wool blankets, because cool, wintry days are just about upon us. Seal any gaps or cracks by installing weather stripping and caulking at the bottom of the door and on the sides to block off air.
House Hunting, Sep 30, 2009

How will HST affect you? - A recent TD Economics report concluded that consumers will bear the brunt of the Ontario and British Columbia governments' plans to harmonize their provincial sales taxes with the federal goods and services tax. Businesses will be the big winners, as the combined tax reduces their costs by a total of $6.9-billion in Ontario and British Columbia, said Toronto-Dominion Bank chief economist Don Drummond.
Globe and Mail, Sep 30, 2009

Sears introduces time guarantee for tax credit - Sears Canada announced today the launch of installation time guarantees for the federal government's Home Renovation Tax Credit (HRTC) program for residential renovations and improvements. Sears is the only national retailer to announce installation guarantees that ensure qualifying home renovations will be completed in time to meet the eligibility period requirement of the HRTC program.
Canada News Wire, Oct 01, 2009

Best Ontario home builders honoured - The Ontario Home Builders' Association honoured its best last week at its annual awards gala. The top category winners for 2009 are: Ontario Home Builder of the Year Tridel. OHBA says the award is presented to the company that demonstrates the highest levels of performance based on surveys from home buyers along with stringent judging criteria.
National Post, Sep 25, 2009

Arctic green homes can be built in 5 days - Nunavut officials learned from an Ottawa company this week how to put together an energy-efficient house in just five days. The federal government bought 140 of the modular homes produced by Ottawa-based Kott Group to serve as social housing after they are assembled up north next summer. Currently, more than 1,400 families are on the waiting list for public housing in the territory.
CBC, Sep 28, 2009

Major Toronto Developer to Provide Web Based Home Owner Manuals - Conasys Inc, a provider of electronic customer service solutions, announced today that one of Toronto's premium developers, Cresford Developments, has adopted Conasys' on-line Home Information Packages system which will replace the traditional printed Home Owner Manuals they have provided homeowners until now.
Canada News Wire, Sep 30, 2009

Schoolhouse rock. Living in the country. - Like the song says: "Rock ‘n' Roll is here to stay." That's true, too, for Kenneth Welsh, who has owned a country home for 20 years and intends to stay a while, immersed in the muse of nature and music. Practicing jazz riffs on his treasured trumpet in the upper-floor studio of his two-storey converted rural schoolhouse, this is where Mr. Welsh plays his favourite Cole Porter numbers.
National Post, Sep 25, 2009

Ontario's 'Sunshine Coast' draws retirees - Bob Simons doesn't hesitate a moment when asked why he and wife Judy decided to leave their 4,000-square-foot Barrie-area home to begin a new life in Kingsville, west of Leamington, on Ontario's "Sunshine Coast." Moving to Florida or Arizona was not an option for the couple, now in their early 60s. They wanted to stay in Canada, partly because they didn't want to give up the ophthalmology supplies home business.
Toronto Star, Sep 28, 2009

Edmonton LRT plan embraces vision of revitalizing neighbourhoods - "The LRT is not just about moving people," says Bob Boutilier, the general manager of the city's transportation department. "It's about building a city." And with that philosophy in mind, city transportation planners have spent the last couple of weeks hosting well-attended open houses to explain their vision for a new kind of rapid-transit system.
Edmonton Journal, Oct 01, 2009

Real estate agents are divided over disclosure form - One of the most controversial issues facing the real estate community is the use of the Seller Property Information Statement (SPIS), which is often provided by sellers to buyers to disclose various issues about a house being offered for sale. In numerous columns, I have been critical of the form because it is complex, ambiguous, misleading and technical.
Move Smartly, Sep 28, 2009

Learn how to love your home rather than list it - Some mornings you wake up, survey your space and can't help but wonder what happened. Not only is it no longer your dream home, but you don't even really like it anymore. Should you sell? Renovate? Go back to bed and hide under the covers? Homeowners facing this dilemma are put in the spotlight in the new season of Love it or List it, Mondays at 9 p.m. and Thursdays at 11 p.m. on the W Network.
Toronto Star, Sep 28, 2009

Rona TV show highlights green building - The premier of the new 10-episode reality TV series, My RONA Home, by home building retailer, RONA Inc., will air this Sunday on Citytv and have a focus on high-performance green houses. The show will follow two Calgary families competing to design, construct and decorate homes-- beginning at the foundation -- that will meet Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification.
National Post, Sep 30, 2009

Ceiling paint sales benefit breast cancer research - Fall is a good time to paint because it's still warm enough to keep the windows open. If you're the type of person who was never able to colour inside the lines, then painting a ceiling might present a challenge. Not to worry. Sico's Flat for Ceilings latex paint rolls on pink and dries to white, showing you areas you've already painted.
Toronto Star, Sep 25, 2009

Board cannot reveal information relating to the tenant - Police were called to a leased unit and had to Taser a tenant. An owner who was upset by the incident suggested it would be a good idea if owners knew the identity of persons who lease units in our complex. The board received a legal opinion that a lease forms part of the condominium corporation's file for the owner of each leased unit and cannot be seen by other owners.
Toronto Star, Sep 28, 2009