I wanted to share a press release from Re/Max Ontario Atlantic with my readers…enjoy:

Mississauga, ON (March 11, 2009) ‐‐ A report released today by RE/MAX confirms that entry‐level purchasers are now the engine driving home‐buying activity in almost every major centre in Canada.
The 2009 RE/MAX First‐Time Buyers Report, highlighting first‐time buying activity in 32 residential housing markets across Canada, found that improved affordability is prompting many first‐time buyers to get off the fence, out of the rental, and into the market. While a sense of caution still prevails, more and more first timers are finding it hard to pass up the chance to become homeowners in today’s buyer‐centric real estate  climate. Increased inventory and longer days on market coupled with the lowest lending rates ever are presenting opportunities that have not been seen in almost a decade.

“While the current economic crisis has caused some first‐time buyers to either take it slowly or apply the brakes, home ownership remains a top priority for those who are able to take advantage of reduced carrying costs, rock bottom interest rates and lower house prices,” explains Michael Polzler, Executive Vice President and Regional Director, RE/MAX Ontario‐Atlantic Canada. “Affordability has greatly improved and buyers are firmly in the drivers’ seat in just about every market we surveyed. The new reality is that homeownership remains well within reach for most first‐time buyers.”

Although the year got off to a slow start, February home sales were well ahead of those reported in January. The upward trending is expected to continue as more and more first‐time buyers enter the market in the weeks ahead. The flurry of activity in the lower‐end may also serve to kick‐start sales in the mid‐to‐upper end of the market, which have, as expected, been relatively sluggish in recent months. While inventory and days on market was up virtually across the board, it’s noteworthy that several markets reported tighter conditions in the lower end of the market, where demand and buyer activity remains quite healthy.

“Canadian markets from coast‐to‐coast are ripe for a reawakening as the weather warms up,” says Elton Ash, Regional Executive Vice President, RE/MAX of Western Canada. “First‐time buyers seem more acclimatized to economic factors, even though the barrage of bad news continues to flow. Those who are secure in their jobs, have accumulated good down payments, and have acceptable credit ratings are continuing to venture forward, undeterred by tighter lending criteria.”

According to the RE/MAX Report, buyers are clearly in control in most Canadian markets. Of the 32 markets surveyed, 22 (69 per cent) remain firmly in buyer’s market territory. These include Vancouver, Surrey, Port Coquitlam, Chilliwack, Kelowna, Victoria, Edmonton, Calgary, Saskatoon, Regina, Ottawa, Peterborough, London‐St. Thomas, Niagara Falls, Mississauga, Metro Toronto, Northern GTA, Kingston, Windsor, Hamilton‐Burlington. Barrie, and Halifax‐Dartmouth. Ten (31 per cent) report more balanced conditions: Winnipeg, Kitchener‐Waterloo, Sudbury, North Bay, St. Catharines, Saint John, Moncton, Fredericton, St. John’s, and Charlottetown.

Forty per cent of markets offered single‐detached homes priced under $200,000, including Charlottetown, Saint John, Moncton, Peterborough, Niagara Falls, St. Catharines, Windsor, Fredericton, Halifax‐Dartmouth, London, North Bay, Kingston, Saskatoon and Winnipeg. More than two‐thirds (71 per cent) offered condominiums starting under $200,000, (Moncton, Fredericton, Halifax‐Dartmouth, Sudbury, North Bay, Peterborough, Mississauga, Burlington, Niagara Falls, St. Catharines, Kitchener‐Waterloo, London, Windsor, Surrey, Chilliwack, Victoria, Kelowna, Edmonton, Saskatoon, Regina, and Winnipeg).

The most affordable markets for detached homes, based on starting prices are: Moncton ($115,000), Charlottetown ($120,000), and Saint John ($130,000) in Eastern Canada; Windsor ($75,000), Niagara Falls ($119,000), and St. Catharines ($125,000) in Ontario; Winnipeg ($185,000), Saskatoon ($190,000), and Regina ($210,000) in Western Canada.

RE/MAX is Canada’s leading real estate organization with over 17,000 sales associates situated throughout its more than 670 independently‐owned and operated offices across the country. The RE/MAX franchise network, now in its 36th year, is a global real estate system operating in more than 70 countries. Over 6,800 independently‐owned offices engage nearly 100,000 member sales associates who lead the industry in professional designations, experience and production while providing real estate services in resident, commercial, referral, and asset management. For more information, visit: www.remax.ca

I haven’t been able to hit the blog in about a week…and for a good reason.  I’ve been super busy with buyers coming out of hibernation and taking  a ride on the real estate roller coaster.  For those of you still sleeping, open those news papers and read the headlines (they’re getting better).  The Bank of Canada once again lowered it’s over night lending rate to .5%.  Shortly after this move  emails were buzzing with mortgage brokers sending me their banks newly posted rates.  One broker from TD Canada Trust had sent one advertising their variable rate at 2.5%!!!

“You don’t have to buy this month, but you should definitely prepare yourself to be in a position to buy in the next 6 months” – Me (Mark Savel, Sales Rep and ABR with Re/Max Realtron Realty)

Speak with mortgage brokers about financing options, Realtors about location and get all your cards in order because there’s some definite deals to be had in the next couple of months!!!

Happy Buying

My glass is always half full (unless it’s a Friday night, then it’s empty). Jokes aside, I was sent an insightful and optimistic article that discusses  the differences between the American and Canadian Banking systems. It was sent to me by Inna Averboukh, a manager for TD Canada Trust in the Residential Mortgages department. The article, written by Fareed Zakaria, left me with a positive view of the Canadian Banking System and I hope it leaves you with the same.

Enjoy

NEWSWEEK – Published Feb 2009, by Fareed Zakaria

Guess which country, alone in the industrialized world, has not faced a single bank failure, calls for bailouts or government intervention in the financial or mortgage sectors. Yup, it’s Canada. In 2008, the World Economic Forum ranked Canada’s banking system the healthiest in the world. America’s ranked 40th, Britain’s 44th.

Canada has done more than survive this financial crisis. The country is positively thriving in it. Canadian banks are well capitalized and poised to take advantage of opportunities that American and European banks cannot seize. The Toronto Dominion Bank, for example, was the 15th-largest bank in North America one year ago. Now it is the fifth-largest. It hasn’t grown in size; the others have all shrunk.

So what accounts for the genius of the Canadians? Common sense. Over the past 15 years, as the United States and Europe loosened regulations on their financial industries, the Canadians refused to follow suit, seeing the old rules as useful shock absorbers. Canadian banks are typically leveraged at 18 to 1-compared with U.S. banks at 26 to 1 and European banks at a frightening 61 to 1. Partly this reflects Canada’s more risk-averse business culture, but it is also a product of old-fashioned rules on banking.

Canada has also been shielded from the worst aspects of this crisis because its housing prices have not fluctuated as wildly as those in the United States. Home prices are down 25 percent in the United States, but only half as much in Canada. Why? Well, the Canadian tax code does not provide the massive incentive for overconsumption that the U.S. code does: interest on your mortgage isn’t deductible up north. In addition, home loans in the United States are “non-recourse,” which basically means that if you go belly up on a bad mortgage, it’s mostly the bank’s problem. In Canada, it’s yours. Ah, but you’ve heard American politicians wax eloquent on the need for these expensive programs-interest deductibility alone costs the federal government $100 billion a year-because they allow the average Joe to fulfill the American Dream of owning a home. Sixty-eight percent of Americans own their own homes. And the rate of Canadian homeownership?
It’s 68.4 percent.

Canada has been remarkably responsible over the past decade or so. It has had 12 years of budget surpluses, and can now spend money to fuel a recovery from a strong position. The government has restructured the national pension system, placing it on a firm fiscal footing, unlike our own insolvent Social Security. Its health-care system is cheaper than America’s by far (accounting for 9.7 percent of GDP, versus 15.2 percent here), and yet does better on all major indexes. Life expectancy in Canada is 81 years, versus 78 in the United States; “healthy life expectancy” is 72 years, versus 69. American car companies have moved so many jobs to Canada to take advantage of lower health-care costs that since 2004, Ontario and not Michigan has been North America’s largest car-producing region.

I could go on. The U.S. currently has a brain-dead immigration system. We issue a small number of work visas and green cards, turning away from our shores thousands of talented students who want to stay and work here. Canada, by contrast, has no limit on the number of skilled migrants who can move to the country. They can apply on their own for a Canadian Skilled Worker Visa, which allows them to become perfectly legal “permanent residents” in Canada-no need for a sponsoring employer, or even a job. Visas are awarded based on education level, work experience, age and language abilities. If a prospective immigrant earns 67 points out of 100 total (holding a Ph.D. is worth 25 points, for instance), he or she can become a full-time, legal resident of Canada.

Companies are noticing. In 2007 Microsoft, frustrated by its inability to hire foreign graduate students in the United States, decided to open a research center in Vancouver. The company’s announcement noted that it would staff the center with “highly skilled people affected by immigration issues in the U.S.” So the brightest Chinese and Indian software engineers are attracted to the United States, trained by American universities, then thrown out of the country and picked up by Canada-where most of them will work, innovate and pay taxes for the rest of their lives.

If President Obama is looking for smart government, there is much he, and all of us, could learn from our quiet-OK, sometimes boring-neighbor to the north. Meanwhile, in the councils of the financial world, Canada is pushing for new rules for financial institutions that would reflect its approach. This strikes me as, well, a worthwhile Canadian initiative.

If you’d like more info from Inna, or have any mortgage related quesitons, click here to contact her.

I’ve always been fascinated by the detail and quality that’s been put into Toronto’s historic gems.  From the grand coloumns at union station to the red brick Flatiron Building on Front St, Toronto truly does have it all!

For all those who share my passion comes an event not to be missed.  Heritage Toronto will be hosting it’s first ever photo exhibition with captivating shots by Shadow Collective.  The event will be held at the Gladstone Hotel from February 17th to the 22nd, 09.  The exhibit will be open from 12-5 daily. Photography prints will be available for purchase so don’t forget your wallet!

The show hopes to shed light on some of Toronto’s unknown Hertiage sites.  For more information on the event click here, and for sneak peek at some of the photographers work click here.

See you at the exhibit.