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Tuesday Morning: Housing Market and Subprime on the news

Deya Bautista — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 13:34:49 +0000

Good morning, Montreal.
Here is a list of Real Estate market, subprime mortgage and Commercial Real Estate investment news.

Soft landing predicted for real estate [Montreal Gazette]
Economists say they’re expecting a soft landing for the Canadian real estate market despite a new study that concludes house prices in Montreal and other major Canadian cities are overvalued by as much as 25 per cent.
Housing market rebounds, Ontario leads way [Reuters.ca]
Housing starts rebounded in August, beating expectations, but some economists cautioned against reading too much into the number since it followed a weak reading in July.
CIBC chief says corner being turned on subprime [Calgary Herald]
The top executive at Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce shied away from predicting when the bank would stop taking structured-credit charges, but he hinted the worst of its subprime mortgage troubles could be over.
CREIT Buys 8 Canadian Tire Properties for $137M [Commercial Property News]
Canadian Real Estate Investment Trust (CREIT) has acquired a portfolio of eight retail properties from Canadian Tire for C$137.3 million. Canadian Tire has leased each of the eight properties back under 15-year triple-net leases at current market rental rates, with escalating contractual rents over the term. The properties have all been either significantly renovated or expanded within three years by Canadian Tire.

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Posted By: Deya Bautista - Real Estate Broker working as part of the McGill Immobilier team. Specializing in high end condos in downtown and Old Montreal. For buying or selling contact Deya at: 514.917.7889 http://montrealrealestateblog.com/

Old Montreal: Pedestrian only in the summertime.

Deya Bautista — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 16:56:30 +0000

Photo: Payton Chung

The administration of Mayor Gérald Tremblay announced last friday, their plans to make sections of St. Paul and Notre Dame Sts. pedestrian-only each day in the summertime.

Starting from June 15 to September 15th, Rue St. Paul, between Bonsecours Market and St. Laurent Blvd., would be closed to vehicles between 11 a.m. and 6 a.m. every summer. Also Notre Dame, in front of Notre Dame Basilica, at Place d’Armes, would be closed to vehicles during the same hours and months.

Read the full article at the Montreal Gazette.

Quebec housing starts up significantly in February

Deya Bautista — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 13:54:51 +0000

According to the latest monthly starts survey conducted by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), residential construction registered a strong increase this past month in centres with 10,000 or more inhabitants across Quebec. In fact, 2,810 housing units were started in February, or 50 per cent more than during the same period a year earlier.

The dynamics were different, however, depending on the centres. Starts rose by 51 per cent in the census metropolitan areas (CMAs) but fell by 6 per cent in the smaller agglomerations (50,000 to 99,999 inhabitants). The Montréal area stood out by being the engine of this growth. In fact, foundations were laid for 2,167 new dwellings there in February 2008, compared to 1,262 in February 2007, for an increase of 72 per cent. Housing starts went up less significantly in Saguenay (+56 per cent) and Trois-Rivières (+ 21 per cent), while they declined in Québec (-32 per cent), Sherbrooke (-10 per cent) and Gatineau (-3 per cent).

Just like in January, multi-family housing starts supported the strong growth observed this past month across Quebec. These starts increased by 67 per cent (from 1,243 units in February 2007 to 2,082 in February 2008), for a gain that was four times greater than the increase in single-detached home starts. “Thanks to the vigorous activity in the retirement home segment, which accounts for 60 per cent of all rental housing starts, the number of units of this type that got under way in February more than tripled over last year,” said Kevin Hughes, Regional Economist at CMHC.

As well, multiple housing starts rose by 68 per cent across all CMAs. However, while such starts were up in Saguenay (+100 per cent), Montréal (+ 95 per cent) and Trois-Rivières (+15 per cent), declines were recorded in Québec (-39 per cent), Sherbrooke (-35 per cent) and Gatineau (-21 per cent). The smaller agglomerations, for their part, registered a decrease of 9 per cent in multi-family housing starts.

The survey also revealed that single-detached housing starts rose by 16 per cent in February 2008 (728 new units, versus 628 a year earlier). In fact, starts of this type increased in all CMAs, except Québec (-24 per cent). The Sherbrooke CMA led the pack, as single-detached home starts doubled there, followed by Trois-Rivières (+42 per cent), Gatineau (+25 per cent), Montréal (+20 per cent) and Saguenay (+20 per cent). In the smaller agglomerations, however, starts of this type remained stable.

“Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) has been Canada’s national housing agency for more than 60 years. CMHC is committed to helping Canadians access a wide choice of quality, affordable homes, while making vibrant, healthy communities and cities a reality across the country. For more information, visit www.cmhc.ca or call 1-800-668-2642.”

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Interest rate cut will help Canadian home owners and buyers

Deya Bautista — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 22:58:24 +0000

The interest rate cut announced today by the Bank of Canada will help Canadian home owners and buyers, according to The Canadian Real Estate Association. The Bank of Canada cut its benchmark overnight lending rate by one-half of one percentage point to 3 1/2 per cent on March 4th, and signaled further cuts in the near future. The trend-setting Bank rate, which is set 0.25 percentage points above the overnight lending rate, now stands at 3.75 per cent.

“The threat of inflation is being eclipsed by concerns about slower economic growth, so the Bank of Canada cut its trend-setting bank rate to boost growth,” said CREA Chief Economist Gregory Klump. “Financial market turmoil will remain a downside risk to growth for some time. This means the Bank will probably continue lowering interest rates.”

Lower lending rates will help offset the effect of tightening credit conditions and allow homeowners to obtain better mortgage terms. This will also benefit Canadian homeowners dealing with variable rate mortgages.

“The Bank of Canada today acknowledged that the U.S. economic slowdown was likely to be deeper and more prolonged than it projected less than six weeks ago,” said CREA President Ann Bosley. “When the Bank decided to lower interest rates today, the advertised five-year conventional mortgage rate stood at 7.29 per cent. This is less than one per cent above where it stood at
the beginning of last year. Competition among mortgage lenders remains stiff, which continues to help many borrowers negotiate discounts from advertised rates.”

Declining interest rates and a rebound in economic growth are factored into the CREA MLS(R) 2008 market forecast. “MLS(R) sales activity will stay strong and reach the second highest level on record this year. Residential MLS(R) prices are also expected to continue rising. Additional cuts to mortgage interest rates are good news for housing affordability and Canadian housing demand,” Klump added.

Interest rates news headlines

Deya Bautista — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 15:16:38 +0000

Scotiabank Forum Predicts Another Healthy Year Ahead For Canadian Real Estate Markets (Exchange Morning Post)
TORONTO – Canadian real estate markets remain remarkably buoyant, especially in light of the deepening housing downturn in the United States and the generally softening conditions in most other advanced economies globally, according to experts who presented today at Scotiabank’s Canadian Real Estate Outlook and Trends Forum 2008.
>>> Read complete article
Bank of Canada sets interest rate, Tuesday. (Globe and Mail)
Bank of Canada makes its interest rate announcement. Economists expect the target for the key overnight rate to be set at 3.75 per cent, down from 4 per cent.
>>> Read complete article
Interest-rate cut expected, question is how much. (Financial Post)
OTTAWA — It’s no longer a question of to cut or not to cut for the Bank of Canada, but of how low will it go. Canadians will find out Tuesday.
>>> Read complete article

Subprime mortgage news update

Deya Bautista — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 15:30:03 +0000

Canada economy to slow, risks to downside – IMF (Reuters)
Canadian economic growth will slow to 1.8 percent this year and there is a risk of an even sharper downturn as weakness in the U.S. economy spreads beyond the housing sector, the International Monetary Fund said in a report on Monday.
After growing about 2.5 percent in 2007, Canada’s healthy economy and fiscal standing will help it withstand the global turbulence but external risks will pose a challenge. >> read more
…….
Canadian institutions expected to make writedowns (Exec Canada)
Some of Canada’s five biggest banks are expected to report headline-catching writedowns when they announce first-quarter earnings. The banks have so far escaped with remarkably little damage from the credit market turmoil. >> read more
…….
Storm clouds threaten to rain on bank profits (Globe and Mail)
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce said in January that it will take $2.46-billion (U.S.) in pretax writedowns for the two months ended Dec. 31 because of its exposure to the U.S. subprime mortgage market. >> read more

…….
UPDATE IMF lowers growth projections for Canada on back of US economic downturn (Forbes)
Canada’s growth will likely decelerate further in 2008 and 2009 as a result of the sharp downturn in the US economy, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) reported. >> read more

Today’s Headlines: Interest Rates and Subprime Mortgage

Deya Bautista — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 18:05:57 +0000

Bank of Canada’s Carney ponders degree of rate cut – (Reuters) The Bank of Canada has to weigh strong domestic demand against the spillover effects of the slowing U.S. economy when deciding how much to cut interest rates next month, Governor Mark Carney said on Monday. Carney used his first speech since becoming central bank chief on February 1 to convey that he is keeping his options open, suggesting he could potentially reduce the bank’s overnight rate by 50 basis points, as most market players expect.

>> Read the complete article on reuters.ca

U.S. credit woes seep across the border (Globe & Mail)
American subprime shemozzle is beginning to squeeze mortgage and funding availability in Canada.

“Canadian chartered banks have been the main source of financing for real estate projects, but they have got caught up in the U.S. subprime mess and have had to write off those investments. Now, they have returned to what is known as balance sheet lending – or traditional mortgage financing. To maintain government-mandated equilibrium between a bank’s equity and its loans outstanding, the banks have had to both call in loans and cancel commitments for new ones, industry observers say.”

“Intense competition for funds has both increased interest rates on mortgages and created a demand for higher cash-to-mortgage ratios, says David Bowden, president of real estate broker Colliers International Canada in Toronto.”

“The credit crunch is having its greatest effect in smaller centres, says Sheila Botting, senior managing director of Canada for the capital markets group at Cushman & Wakefield Lepage Inc.”

>>Read the complete article on Globe and Mail

Rate cuts likely to trump inflation fears (Globe & Mail)
The inflation watch is under way this week in Canada and the United States, but investors are betting the U.S. Federal Reserve Board will to continue to cut regulated interest rates despite price pressures, while the Bank of Canada is expected to play some catch up.It’s anticipated that domestic inflation data scheduled for release today will provide plenty of leeway for the Bank of Canada to lower its target overnight rate on March 4.>> Read the complete article on Globe and Mail

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