Posts Tagged ‘affordability’
Posted by Norm Fisher on April 9, 2012
Housing affordability in Canada showed modest improvements for the second consecutive quarter as 2011 drew to a close, according to RBC’s latest Housing and Affordability study released last week. Nationally, income gains combined with “modest declines” in house prices helped to “dial back the deterioration that occurred last spring.” In Saskatchewan, most housing types saw [...]
Posted by Norm Fisher on March 31, 2012
We were warned earlier in the year that the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) would be backing fewer Canadian home loans moving forward, but little seems to have changed on the ground. Now, the new federal budget is planning for greater oversight of the federal crown corporation, which was founded to provide insurance on [...]
Posted by Norm Fisher on March 22, 2012
The government’s plan to reduce corporate income tax on profits generated through the development of new rental properties are being met with praise from the real estate industry. The 2012-13 provincial budget will provide a ten percent tax break to builders who construct multi-family projects of eight or more units over the next ten years. [...]
Posted by Norm Fisher on January 23, 2012
Housing affordability in Canada saw its greatest deterioration in years according to the 8th Annual Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey: 2012. Demographia’s estimates suggest that Canadian home buyers can expect to pay 4.5 times the country’s median income to purchase a home priced at the median,* a number which the survey authors consider “seriously unaffordable”. [...]
Posted by Norm Fisher on November 28, 2011
RBC’s third quarter Housing Trends and Affordability study showed “modest improvements” in housing affordability for Canadians as global financial markets continued to face uncertainty and interest rates crept lower. The following is an excerpt from the report on Saskatchewan: Although RBC’s affordability measures for Saskatchewan continue to be above their long-term averages, widespread improvement was [...]
Posted by Norm Fisher on October 13, 2011
From the Star Phoenix website today: “The Saskatchewan Party says a new tax credit for first-time homebuyers would make home ownership a little more affordable. On the campaign trail in Regina on Thursday, Premier Brad Wall pledged to introduce a non-refundable income tax credit to all first-time homebuyers that would result in an income tax [...]
Posted by Norm Fisher on July 13, 2011
Subdued job and income growth, rising interest rates, the recent tightening in borrowing rules for insured mortgages and fewer first time buyers will set the stage for a decline in housing unit sales in most regions of Canada through 2012 and 2013, according to a report released by TD Economics today. TD is predicting a [...]
Posted by Norm Fisher on July 10, 2011
The Royal LePage House Price Survey for the second quarter of 2011 has just been released. Here is the media release for the Saskatoon area. Second-quarter house prices in Saskatoon experienced little change over the same period last year, according to the Royal LePage House Price Survey released today. Second quarter sales volumes remain stable [...]
Posted by Norm Fisher on February 25, 2011
Lower borrowing costs in the final quarter of 2010 helped drive a “modest” improvement to housing affordability for Canadians, even though house prices saw small increases across most of the nation during that time, a new report from RBC Economics states. The slight improvements are likely short lived as interest rates have recently started to [...]
Posted by Norm Fisher on February 12, 2011
City council, this week, approved a new program that would provide down payment assistance to middle income renters. The objective of the program is to free up units in our low vacancy rental market while opening the door to home ownership for some who have the financial capability of servicing a mortgage but have not [...]
Posted by Norm Fisher on February 5, 2011
Amidst a rising chorus of “soft landing” predictions for Canada’s housing markets, one Canadian economist, David Madani is singing a different tune that may or may not be music to your ears. Madani, in a report released this week titled, “Canada Economics Focus, house prices likely to fall for several years” says rising interest rates [...]
