CMHC mortgage insurance business shrinks again

CMHC mortgage insurance business shrinks again

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp., the Crown corporation that controls about half of the mortgage default insurance market in the country, continues to shrink its business. CMHC released its third quarter results Tuesday which show that as of Sept., 30, 2016, the Crown Corp.’s total insurance-in-force was $514 billion, down $9 billion from the previous quarter.

Financial Post

Watchdog warns rising mortgage debt puts lenders at risk

The country’s banking watchdog says lenders need to be more vigilant than ever as mortgage debt rises. Jeremy Rudin, Canada’s superintendent of financial institutions said it is the job of the federal regulator that he heads “to get out in front of the risks” encountered by lenders and mortgage insurers.

Globe and Mail

What Canadians want in a national housing strategy

Nov. 22 was National Housing Day in Canada, and the federal government used that as a platform to release a report titled “What We Heard,”. Jean-Yves Duclos, the federal minister responsible for the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) shared report highlights with CMHC president and chief executive officer Evan Siddall during a unique Facebook Live event.

Property Biz Canada – Calgary Herald

Why do Canada’s renters get such a bad rap?

The last socially encouraged form of intolerance is directed at people who rent instead of owning a home. If house prices keep rising, we’ll need to get over this narrow-mindedness. Canada’s home-ownership rate was 69 per cent in the latest national household survey from Statistics Canada (for 2011), up from just more than 60 per cent in 1971.

Globe and Mail

Landlords grim as Calgary vacancy rate rises

Close to 40 per cent of Calgary’s available rental listings are unoccupied which says the weak market has become a major source of financial stress for small, private landlords according to Hope Street Real Estate Corporation which directly manages the tenancies of 3,600 landlords in Alberta.

Calgary Herald

Toronto condo builders can’t keep pace with demand

With Vancouver’s real estate market in retreat, industry pundits are wondering how long the Toronto market’s strength will persevere.  Tales from the downtown condo market still feature ferocious bullies and intense battles in the final quarter of 2016.

Globe and Mail

TREB raising concerns over proposed tax change

The Toronto Real Estate Board is raising concerns over proposed Toronto Land Transfer Tax changes.  This TLTT proposal contradicts recent Provincial government Land Transfer Tax changes intended to help make housing more affordable.

Marketwired

Toronto convicts first Airbnb owner over zoning violation

The company that owns a Willowdale house that was the scene of a shooting earlier this year has pleaded guilty to a single zoning bylaw violation. This is the first conviction for the city’s municipal and licensing department in the booming area of short-term vacation rentals such as Airbnb and VRBO.

Toronto Star

Tadao Ando, and the problem of architecture that’s too good

A building in central Manchester, England, is about to be torn down. It is a public pavilion in a public square. It was built with much celebration by the famous Japanese architect Tadao Ando, only 14 years ago. To have such a highbrow star creating public space at the centre of a city is a great coup for any community.

Globe and Mail

Property manager vs. asset manager: Have the roles merged?

The property manager’s job description is evolving … and the evolution hasn’t gone unnoticed. Recently, in an Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM) white paper, “Asset & Property Management: A Shifting Dynamic,” John Salustri suggested that “the lines between asset management and property management are blurred.” 

Multifamily Executive

Top U.S. markets for expected rent growth in 2017

California once again dominates the list of rent-growth leaders for the coming year, with more than half of the top markets, but it may come as a slight surprise to some. Oakland tops the list, with San Francisco and San Jose still in the top 10.

Multifamily Executive

As demolitions rise, Vancouver moves to protect its old character homes

It has been three years since the City of Vancouver decided to step in and protect its remaining character housing, and finally, consultations with the public have begun. House demolitions in the city have been on the rise – an average increase of 80 per cent, between 2009 and 2015 alone – according to city data.

Globe and Mail

Homeowners unprepared for job loss, emergency

An emergency fund is meant to be there in times of need, but a new survey suggests nearly half of Canadian homeowners would be ill prepared for a personal financial dilemma such as job loss. Manulife Bank found that 24 per cent of those surveyed in a poll don’t know how much is in their emergency fund.

Globe and Mail

Options for Homes has delivered 3,025 affordable homes

Options for Homes is Canada’s largest non-profit home ownership housing developer, and has delivered 3025 homes locally — 525 this year and next. Over 6000 households, ready for home ownership, are currently waiting to buy a quality home through Options.

Marketwired

EXIT Realty pledges half million to Habitat for Humanity

EXIT Realty Corp. International recently announced a $500,000 pledge to Habitat for Humanity International. The announcement was made during the company’s Annual International Convention held at the Atlantis Resort, Paradise Island, Bahamas and brings the company’s total pledges to-date to $3.5 million.

Marketwired

Market Conditions

B.C.’s high rental market renders seniors homeless

The high cost of housing in Metro Vancouver and Victoria is rendering some seniors homeless for first time in their lives, while others are being forced to leave their communities to find affordable rents. Seniors on low, fixed incomes are particularly vulnerable to the combination of Metro’s high rents and low vacancy rates.

Vancouver Sun

Vancouver’s high cost of living could tech sector growth

Vancouver has the most expensive average rental apartment costs of Canada’s top-10 technology markets, while ranking in the middle of the pack when it comes to average tech salaries, according to a new report by CBRE. In the second quarter of this year, the average annual rental cost of a Vancouver apartment was $15,214, or $1,268 a month.

Vancouver Sun

Canada’s vacancy rate rises; Vancouver, Toronto rentals still hot

Canada’s rental vacancy rate edged up in 2016 as the supply of apartments increased, but rental housing was harder to find in Vancouver and Toronto, where a long housing boom has driven real estate investment and a condo building boom. Canada’s vacancy rate increased to 3.4 per cent in October from 3.3 per cent a year earlier.

Globe and Mail

Mortgage and Finance

Rising interest rates ignite U.S. mortgage activity

A measure of U.S. mortgage application activity rose last week, led by a spike in requests for loans to buy homes, as mortgage rates climbed to their highest since January, data from the Mortgage Bankers Association showed on Wednesday.

Globe and Mail

Real estate a bright spot in Canadian banks earnings

As investors adjust to the impact of low oil prices on the loan books of Canada’s banks, sector-watchers are beginning to look at the housing market and heavily leveraged consumers as the next potential areas of concern for the country’s biggest lenders but one analyst sees residential real estate as a potential bright spot.

Financial Post

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