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Canadian Housing Bubble Does Not Include Edmonton

As fears of a housing bubble rise again in Canada The Edmonton Journal set us straight the other day in an article commented about by "RoadRager" on this blog. The author, Gary Lampier took stats from a number of different reports and concluded that there is no bubble in Edmonton, although there very well may [...]

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Canadians Paying off Mortgages Quickly

A new study by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) shows that Canadians are well informed about mortgage options and intend to pay down their mortgages quickly. A recent survey polled 2500 active mortgage users in Canada and turned up some interesting results:
89% looked online for mortgage info
84% researched mortgage terms and conditions before [...]

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And the rates go marching on

Long expected.  Several banks announced thew will raise their long term rates today. Long term mortgage rates are affected by bond yields and not the prime rate set by the Bank of Canada.  This is likely just the beginning of trend that should continue into 2011.  The Globe and Mail reported that the TD bank and [...]

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CREA and the Competition Bureau – No Comment

We feel an explanation is required as to why we have not discussed the issues CREA is having with the Competition Bureau. Its not like we haven't been asked by numerous people to comment, including the media.  The answer is simple, we don't want to get in the middle of a massive battle between two [...]

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Marketing your home, or your agent?

When working with sellers we frequently get asked about certain aspects of our home marketing plan that seem to be missing. The simple answer is – we market our listings, not ourselves. We believe that personal advertising is not part of the marketing plan for a home. Here are some examples:Neighbourhood flyers – do "just [...]

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New Mortgage Rules to Prevent Bubble

Fears of a housing bubble in some areas of the country have moved the Canadian government to tighten up lending rules in Canada. We applaud the changes, although we're not sure the fears of a bubble were completely warranted. That said, the changes make a lot of sense and probably always should have been in [...]

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Edmonton Housing Outlook from CMHC in 25 Minutes or Less

Richard Goatcher from Canada Mortgage and Housing Coporation (CMHC) was given 25 minutes to forecast the housing market in Edmonton for 2010. Here is the short of it…Employment growth will return in 2010, they predict job growth of slightly more than 5000. The predict a gradual improvement in unemployment, but the 12 year average will [...]

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Are Canadian Home Buyers Over Confident?

Headlines boasting "Canadian home sales increased by 73%" were in almost every newspaper across the country today as the Canadian Real Estate Association released the national housing sales numbers for November today. That is a huge increase, but you also have to keep in mind that last November was one of the worst months for [...]

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Beware the IRS Boogieman – Part 2

In a recent poston the “IRS Boogieman”,  It seems I stirred the pot.  It is not my intention to frighten people away from buying American property.  My intent is to get people to think about doing some additional research before they buy property south of the border.The IRS requirements if you buy in the U.S. [...]

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Beware of the IRS Boogieman

Everybody’s doing it.  Its the latest "it". Btw it ain’t sex I'm talking about… "it’s", going down south and buying a piece of Americana.  It’s seriously become almost as big as the Spice Girls.  Well almost.  We’ve posted on here before about things you’ll want to consider when buying property in the US including a couple [...]

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