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MLS from record levels but remained strong in August 2007, according to statistics released by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA). Seasonally adjusted national MLS 29,717 units in August 2007, down 5.3 per cent from July when monthly sales hit the second highest level on record. While MLS markets, the national monthly decline was largely the result of fewer sales in August in Toronto, Montreal, Edmonton and Vancouver. The month-over-month decline in seasonally adjusted sales in August also re activity levels from the record levels seen in recent months. August 2007 marked the eighth highest monthly MLS record for seasonally adjusted activity in Canada’s major markets. Seasonally adjusted transactions posted the third highest… Read Full Post

CBC News - The current housing boom is “unsustainable” because prices in 14 of 15 major Canadian markets are above their long-term trends, the Bank of Nova Scotia economics departmentsaid in a report Thursday.With the exception of St. John’s, N.L., price  levels have risen above the historic rate ofincrease over a nine-year boom, the longest since the end of the Second World War. “There is growing evidence of overvaluation in home prices in some parts of thecountry,” the report said, and “the further domestic home prices climb above underlying economic fundamentals, the greater the risk of an eventual correction.” In nine of the 15 markets, prices are within a few percentage points of the long-term trend. But in six western cities, the… Read Full Post

ROMA LUCIW

Globe and Mail Update

Canada

Figures from the 2006 census, released Wednesday by Statistics Canada, show that more than two-thirds - 68.4 per cent - of all Canadian households owned the place they lived in, the highest since this information was first collected in 1961.

Willa Rea, a Statscan housing analyst, said the rate has climbed more sharply since 1996. “Low interest rates have been the main driving factor of home ownership,” she said, noting that mortgages have plummeted from above 18 per cent in the early 1980s to around 5 per cent in the early 2000s.

Canada's housing market has been booming in recent years, with sales and prices soaring across the country. But that does not appear to have dented demand for homes. Previous data…

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By Joe Samson, Calgary REALTOR®

I am sure that you’ve heard about the late night infomercial that claims to teach you everything you need to know to become a millionaire through flipping homes. It seems that everyone knows someone in the Calgary real estate market who has some experience in renovating and selling a house for a profit.

Flipping a house consists of buying a home in need of repairs improve the home as quickly and financially most effective way as possible. The majority of first time home flipping experiences have dreams of making incredible amounts of money in a very short painless experience but it is never that easy. Home renovating TV shows are becoming quite popular among viewers. Some of my favourite ones are where they set a target…

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Calgary, September 4, 2007 - Calgary's total MLS® month end inventory for the month of August 2007 was 9,634, showing the highest level recorded this year, according to figures released by the Calgary Real Estate Board (CREB®).

Single family Calgary metro new listings added for the month of August totaled, 2,837, a 9.75 per cent increase over the 2,585 new listings added in August 2006. This is an increase of 11.34 per cent over the 2,548 new listings added in July 2007.

Single family Calgary metro properties changing hands in August were 1,314, a decrease of 2.01 per cent from the 1,341 recorded in August 2006 and a decrease of 12.10 per cent from the 1,495 sales recorded last month.

The median price of a single family Calgary metro home in August…

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Housing starts in the Calgary area continue to decline compared to last-year’s record-breaking performance. According to data released
Tuesday by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, single-family starts in the Calgary Census Metropolitan Area were down 31 per
cent in August compared to August 2006. At the same time, multiple family starts, which include semi-detached units, rows and apartments,
were up 50.1 per cent. Combining the two categories, total housing starts were down by four per cent in August compared to last year. For the
year, single-family housing starts are down by 27.3 per cent for the fi rst eight months of 2007 compared to the fi rst eight months of 2006 while
the total housing starts have declined by 21.5 per cent. Read Full Post

OTTAWA, August 15, 2007 — Housing starts will moderate in 2007, reaching 220,000 units, a decrease of 3.2 per cent from 2006, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s (CMHC) third quarter Housing Market Outlook, Canada Edition report. Residential construction will continue to decline in 2008 to 207,200 units, yet will mark seven consecutive years in which housing starts exceed 200,000 units.

“Despite high employment levels, income gains and low mortgage rates, housing starts will trend downwards in 2007,” said Bob Dugan, Chief Economist at CMHC. “The slight pull back in housing starts this year and next will be mainly due to the continued growth in house prices coupled with modest increases in mortgage rates. The level of new home…

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OTTAWA (CP) - Statistics Canada says the annual inflation rate was 2.2 per cent in July, the same as in June, amid higher housing costs.

Analysts said Tuesday's report will give the Bank of Canada breathing room for its September decision on interest rates. In the current credit crunch, a lending rate increase has become much less likely.

As markets digested the data, the Canadian dollar slipped more than half a cent at the opening. It was at 94.29 cents US after rising 0.65 of a U.S. cent on Monday.

Douglas Porter of BMO Economics said the central bank will like the inflation data.

"This benign result is clearly good news for the Bank of Canada and will give them greater comfort as they wait on the sidelines for the storm to pass at the Sept. 5…

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