My little bungalow has increased in value by better than 3X over the last 9 years. A 5-10% market correction is a light breeze.

Hmm, maybe the cottage the wife wants to buy near kettle lakes will get a bit cheaper.

The housing in Alberta was/is ridiculous. A very small shack goes for upwards o $200k in small villages. The duplicate, neighboring house to one my friend bought is going for triple what he paid but a few years ago.

oldfarthenry: Tell that to the asshole tax-assessor who keeps jacking up the value of my house!

Oh, I bloody love that. My parents couldn't dream of selling their previous house for even half of the value that was used to tax them. And it's generally the same for most people in the area except very recent homeowners.

unyon: Bob_Laublaw: My little bungalow has increased in value by better than 3X over the last 9 years. A 5-10% market correction is a light breeze.

Same. My little bungalow near downtown Calgary already retreated 15% from the 2007 highs, but is still at 3x what I bought it for in '96. My theory of Calgary is this- When Canada does well, Calgary does well. When other places in Canada struggle, Calgary does better. That net migration pressure is always good for housing.

That told me right there all I needed to know. :)

While I miss Calgary (or any metropolis, actually), having 11 acres for about 10k an acre does soothe the pain.

What saved kanada's housing market/economy? 10% down and no mortgages being given to people who can't afford mortgage payments.

The U.S. version was "your house purchase value will go up 70 grand in the next 6 months, so here is your mortgage you unemployed corksucker, and here is your second mortgage for the down-payment".

Bubble? What bubble? I don't see any bubble.

Ivo Shandor: Bubble? What bubble? I don't see any bubble.
[img85.imageshack.us image 640x494]

Don't expect the values to correct themselves in Hongcouver anytime soon either.

I can't see the bubble bursting unless there's a major correction in oil and I can't see that happening for a long time. Canada just needs to keep its debt in check and not overbuild and they'll be fine.

Canadian homeowners sound exactly like the smug American homeowners in 2006.

It's different there, you see.

so the WHOLE Canadian market? Calgary and Vancouver markets are the same as NS and PEI's? That's really useful info!!
Are you serious that there are perhaps too many condos being built in Toronto? Wow, I have never heard of this!!

...and your source is Bank of America Merrill Lynch... that must be why this was the most useless POS I have ever read

So what is that in real dollars?

costermonger: Funk Brothers: not overbuild

Seems to be the problem, as per TFA. Speculative building.

Well at least they're not building 3,000 feet skyscrapers and building brand new cities from scratch to populate a million residents.

Funk Brothers: I can't see the bubble bursting unless there's a major correction in oil and I can't see that happening for a long time. Canada just needs to keep its debt in check and not overbuild and they'll be fine.

It doesn't matter, when the jobs go away, the house payments will as well.

Rev.K: There were still zero down arrangements in Canada and 40-year mortgages were available for a number of years, though they aren't anymore.

The difference here is that the credit checks and other background work was actually done.

Zero down mortgages are still available. The difference here is that they're insured by CMHC. How is that different than privatized profits and socialized loss? At my income I can get a $370,000 mortgage with zero down. I can even get more than 5% cash back from some lenders, meaning I can furnish the place, too.

The lender doesn't care, because if I default, CMHC pays, no?

D135: so the WHOLE Canadian market? Calgary and Vancouver markets are the same as NS and PEI's? That's really useful info!!
Are you serious that there are perhaps too many condos being built in Toronto? Wow, I have never heard of this!!

...and your source is Bank of America Merrill Lynch... that must be why this was the most useless POS I have ever read

Toronto has too many condo buildings?

Next you'll tell me that the QEW and 401 have too many cars.

Only 10 percent correction? Look at the cost to purchase vs the cost to rent. Also examine the fragility of affordability if there is a worldwide slowdown and loss of jobs in Canada.

HGTV had a renovation show based in Toronto and the homeowners had purchases a 1-bedroom house for $500k.

Investors fight to back out of Trump tower:
http://www.thestar.com/business/article/1103497-investors-fight-to-ba c k-out-of-trump-tower

A number of condo purchasers - including Irish investors who reportedly bought a whole floor of the five-star project being built by Talon International Development Inc. - have tried to back out of deals inked pre-recession.

Recently a U.S. buyer - citing two years of delays in the 60-storey project and "financial difficulties" - won the right from the Ontario Court of Appeal to renege on his $709,000 condo/hotel suite purchase at the landmark Bay and Adelaide property.

The company is fighting back:
"We have absolutely no intention of giving money back. And we are going to enforce the agreements to the fullest," says Talon chief executive Val Levitan.

Canada, Australia, and China's real estate bubbles are all in the process of popping.

Just to put things in perspective, they are right now where we were around 2007.

daveinsurgent: Zero down mortgages are still available. The difference here is that they're insured by CMHC. How is that different than privatized profits and socialized loss? At my income I can get a $370,000 mortgage with zero down. I can even get more than 5% cash back from some lenders, meaning I can furnish the place, too.

The lender doesn't care, because if I default, CMHC pays, no?

Actually no, CMHC dropped 100% financing in 2008. The maximum amortization is 35 years (down from 40) and they tightened up the credit score and debt-service ratios.

http://www.canadianmortgagetrends.com/canadian_mortgage_trends/2008/0 7 /cmhc-drops-100.html

Mrtraveler01: D135: so the WHOLE Canadian market? Calgary and Vancouver markets are the same as NS and PEI's? That's really useful info!!
Are you serious that there are perhaps too many condos being built in Toronto? Wow, I have never heard of this!!

...and your source is Bank of America Merrill Lynch... that must be why this was the most useless POS I have ever read

Toronto has too many condo buildings?

Next you'll tell me that the QEW and 401 have too many cars.

Related Fun Fact: Toronto also has too many bike lanes and too much public transit

Ivo Shandor: Bubble? What bubble? I don't see any bubble.


I'm going short on those MJ futures, growhouse expansion in Van City is staggering!!

D135: Mrtraveler01: D135: so the WHOLE Canadian market? Calgary and Vancouver markets are the same as NS and PEI's? That's really useful info!!
Are you serious that there are perhaps too many condos being built in Toronto? Wow, I have never heard of this!!

...and your source is Bank of America Merrill Lynch... that must be why this was the most useless POS I have ever read

Toronto has too many condo buildings?

Next you'll tell me that the QEW and 401 have too many cars.

Related Fun Fact: Toronto also has too many bike lanes and too much public transit

Says the guy that lives in Barrie. Why would you think your opinion on that is relevant?

I'd like to see the real estate market take a hit. In the last 7 years the value of my house has increased 50% and my property taxes have skyrocketed as a result. And I just live in a little shiatty townhouse :(

Thank you GTA for building way too many shoebox condos! Lol

I work at Queen and Ossington, near liberty village, and these condos are popping up everywhere going for like 500k. I get that it's in a trendy neighborhood downtown but my god! Move to the northern part and it's like 300k for a 3 bedroom house with a yard.

Right now it's simply cheaper to rent, maybe if the market takes a hit I can buy a house.

jdawg3k: daveinsurgent: Zero down mortgages are still available. The difference here is that they're insured by CMHC. How is that different than privatized profits and socialized loss? At my income I can get a $370,000 mortgage with zero down. I can even get more than 5% cash back from some lenders, meaning I can furnish the place, too.

The lender doesn't care, because if I default, CMHC pays, no?

Actually no, CMHC dropped 100% financing in 2008. The maximum amortization is 35 years (down from 40) and they tightened up the credit score and debt-service ratios.

http://www.canadianmortgagetrends.com/canadian_mortgage_trends/2008/0 7 /cmhc-drops-100.html

You're absolutely right, but this is being skirted with "cash back" mortgages. Read up. I was in the process of doing this, because although I have 10K in my RRSP that I can access as a first time homebuyer, I was going to use that to kill my credit cards. I'm now thinking I should wait and see what happens to prices.

Travis_Bickle: D135: Mrtraveler01: D135: so the WHOLE Canadian market? Calgary and Vancouver markets are the same as NS and PEI's? That's really useful info!!
Are you serious that there are perhaps too many condos being built in Toronto? Wow, I have never heard of this!!

...and your source is Bank of America Merrill Lynch... that must be why this was the most useless POS I have ever read

Toronto has too many condo buildings?

Next you'll tell me that the QEW and 401 have too many cars.

Related Fun Fact: Toronto also has too many bike lanes and too much public transit

Says the guy that lives in Barrie. Why would you think your opinion on that is relevant?

Rob Ford supporter... It's ok, you'll get over it

We don't have interest only mortgages. We don't have lowball introductory rate mortgages that reset after 3 years. The banks can't securitize and sell off mortgages they hold, and they do at least cursory credit checks.

That doesn't mean the markets can't level off or contract, they will eventually. But the odds of a US style collapse in the housing market are vanishingly small. Toronto went through a boom and "bust" in the late 1980s early 1990s. All that happened was stagnation in prices until 200 or so.

Locally, the unemployment rate is around 4.2% and the vacancy rate is around 1%. Regina's population went from 185k to 215k in the last few years. So yeah, prices are climbing.