New Rules for Canadian Mortgages

You’ve probably read about the new regulations regarding Canadian mortgages for buyers/ investors and home owners wanting to re-finance. In case you haven’t been following, here is the scoop.

Three changes will come in effect on April 19:

1. Qualification: All borrowers will need to meet standards for five-year fixed-rate mortgages regardless of whether they’re seeking a loan with a lower rate and shorter term.
2. Refinancing: The government is lowering the maximum amount Canadians can withdraw when refinancing a home to 90% of its value, from the current 95%.
3. Speculation: It will be required a 20% down payment for government-backed mortgage insurance on “speculative” investment properties. As opposed to 5% down-payment for investments not occupied by the owner.

I’ve posted a list of articles written by the media. You can also check out The Canadian Mortgage Trends for an interesting and detailed post.

Housing performance expected to accelerate in 2010

The year isn’t over yet, but you can definitely expect new Market forecast coming this month, telling us how the year did so far and what to expect for 2010. This is the first we’re publishing here. The report was done by RE/MAX. More reports coming soon.

As economic stability returns to Canadian markets, housing performance expected to accelerate in 2010.
The RE/MAX Housing Market Outlook for 2010 examined residential real estate trends in 23 markets. The report found that sales are forecast to recover in almost all major centres by year-end 2009

“Canadians continue to demonstrate their commitment to homeownership – regardless of the economic climate,” says Sylvain Dansereau, Executive Vice President, RE/MAX Quebec.
“No where in Canada is that more evident than in Quebec. The province, with one of highest percentage of renters in the country, is well-poised for an escalation in homeownership levels as renters enter the market en masse to take advantage of ideal market conditions. Prices remain well under the national average, making ownership more attainable and leaving more room for appreciation that’s been long overdue.”

More on the Market Outlook Nationwide:

• Approximately 465,000 homes are expected to change hands nationally in 2009, a 7% increase over one year ago.
• Canadian housing values are forecast to close the year at $318,000, up 5% from $303,594 in 2008.
• By year-end 2010, the number of homes sold is predicted to climb another 2% to 475,000 units.
• The average price of a home is also expected to experience an uptick, rising 2% to $325,000 – the highest level in Canadian history.

Canadian Home Buyers Savvy and Optimistic

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s (CMHC) 2009 Mortgage Consumer Survey results were released last week, and indicate that nearly 90% of recent home purchasers across the country believe that home ownership is a good long-term investment and that almost 70% think that now is a good time to purchase a home in their community.

Buyers are knowledgeable about the mortgage process and their lender’s assessment of eligibility. For example, 86% are of the view that the level of total housing and other monthly payments should generally not exceed 40% of gross household income, which is in line with generally accepted mortgage lending practices.

Recent buyers are prudent mortgage managers.
According to the survey, 75% of purchasers have a goal to be mortgage free sooner than their original amortization. In fact, 20% of recent purchasers report having made a lump sum payment to their mortgage. Read more >>

CMHC: National rental vacancy rate slightly higher

According to this article, the CMCH found a slight increase on rental vacancy. It’s just 0.1% increase from last year, not a lot really. Montreal doesn’t appear in the list of cities with high vacancy rates. Also, the rental prices for 2 bedroom apartments have also increased accordingly. Here are the details:

The average rental apartment vacancy rate in Canada’s 35 major centres increased slightly to 2.7 per cent in April 2009, from 2.6 per cent in April 2008, according to the spring Rental Market Survey(2) released today by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).

“Completions of condominiums, which continue to attract renter households looking to move into homeownership are decreasing demand for rental housing. Also, some of the completed condos compete with rental units if they were purchased by investors who then rent them out. These two factors have put upward pressure on the vacancy rate,” said Bob Dugan, Chief Economist at CMHC’s Market Analysis Centre. “However, this has been balanced by higher levels of demand for rental housing.”

Major centres with the lowest vacancy rates
Québec City 0.6 %, Regina 0.7 %, Winnipeg 0.9 %, Saguenay 1.1 %, Trois-Rivières 1.1 %.

Major centres with the highest vacancy rates
Windsor 15.5 %, St. Catharines-Niagara 5.3 %, and Abbotsford 4.8%.

Average Monthly Rentals
“The highest average monthly rents for two-bedroom apartments in new and existing structures were in Vancouver ($1,154), Calgary ($1,106), Toronto ($1,093), Edmonton ($1,059), and Victoria ($1,043). Of all the major centres, these five were the only ones with average rents at or above $1,000. The lowest average monthly rents for two-bedroom apartments in new and existing structures were in Saguenay ($494), and Trois-Rivières ($512).

Overall, the average rent for two-bedroom apartments in existing structures across Canada’s 35 major centres increased 2.9 per cent between April 2008 and April 2009.”

Source: CHMC via Newswire

Important factors for first-time homebuyers: Affordability and job security

According to a report released today by Royal LePage Real Estate Services, Canadians who are considering purchasing their first home are primarily motivated by lower home prices and very low interest rates, but some require confidence in the economy and their employment prospects before they will enter the market.

• 86% of potential first-time buyers say low interest rates make them more likely to purchase a home;
• 81% cite lower housing prices as a motivating factor;
• 76 % cite job security;
• and 64% say a stable economy is an important factor in their decision to buy.

Potential buyers were asked to rank their top incentives for purchasing a first property. These are the top four incentives found, in this order:

1. Lower home prices
2. Lower interest rates
3. First-Time Home Buyers’ Tax Credit.
4. The recently introduced Home Renovation Tax Credit for 2009 was cited by 42 per cent of potential first-time buyers as either ‘very likely’ or ’somewhat likely’ to impact their purchasing decision.

“Our survey demonstrates how important affordability factors such as interest rates and house prices are in stimulating demand.” Said Phil Soper, president and chief executive of Royal LePage Real Estate Services.

Across the country, potential first-time homebuyers agreed that affordability was their top consideration, however the survey also revealed differences amongst buyers in various regions of Canada. Read more >>

Home re-sale market shows signs of recovery

Canada’s housing market shows every sign of having bounced back from its recessionary bottom, with both the number and price of homes rising for the third straight month in April.

The Canadian Real Estate Association said homes sales soared 11.2 per cent on a seasonally adjusted basis from March, the biggest jump in five years, and with 34,838 units trading hands, the highest level in seven months.

Meanwhile, the national average sale price of homes listed by realtors also rose in April to $306,366 in April.

But while encouraging, the report noted that both sales activity and prices remain at levels lower than a year ago, indicating the housing market has yet to fully recover to pre-recession levels.

The average home resale price is down 3.2 per cent from a year ago and down almost 10 per cent from the peak of $324,000 reached in December 2007.

Economists with Scotia Capital pointed out in a note to clients that the resale housing market does little to increase gross domestic product since it involves paper transactions, and that new home construction remains week.

Source: Canadian Press. Read the complete article

A New Energy Tax Targets Home Sellers in Ontario

In Ontario: a new tax is being implemented to home sellers. As if they didn’t have enough taxes to pay already. Let’s just hope this new bill doesn’t reach us in Quebec anytime soon. Here is the complete article from the Canadian newswire:

The McGuinty government today gave third and final reading to Bill 150, the Green Energy Act, which, when implemented, will impose significant new costs on home sellers in Ontario. The new tax comes in the form of an energy audit fee that must be paid by home sellers prior to a single family home being sold.

The new audit fee is only applicable on single-detached, semi-detached, houses, townhouses and fourplexes. Owners of high-rise condominiums, and all other forms of non-residential real estate, are exempt from the energy audit provision.

“Single family home sellers are being unfairly targeted by home energy audits,” explained Ms. Aunger, President of the Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA). “If the benefits of going green are shared by all Ontarians, then why has the provincial government targeted single family home sellers to pay the costs?”

This is the third tax aimed specifically at real estate transactions in the last three years.

First, the government of Ontario passed the City of Toronto Act, which allowed the city to impose the first ever municipal land transfer tax in Canada.

Earlier this spring, the Minister of Finance announced that the provincial sales tax would be harmonized with the goods and services tax, resulting in thousands of dollars in increased taxes on resale transactions and tens of thousands of dollars in additional tax on new homes in Ontario.

Finally, energy audits could cost home sellers additional thousands in lost equity.
“Dalton McGuinty is using Ontario homeowners as his own ATM,” said Ms. Aunger. “Public policy should promote homeownership – not raise costs for homebuyers and erode equity of home sellers.”

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