A suite built above the garage of a South Surrey home. Photograph by: PNG, PNG METRO VANCOUVER – After decades of debate, Surrey has decided to permit homeowners to have one secondary suite in all single-family homes in the city, following an Ipsos Reid telephone poll in which 63 per cent of those surveyed supported […]

1. What is the home buyers’ tax credit (HBTC)? For 2009 and subsequent years, the HBTC is a new non-refundable tax credit, based on an amount of $5,000, for certain home buyers that acquire a qualifying home after January 27, 2009 (i.e., generally means that the closing is after this date). 2. How is the […]

Have you ever forgotten to pay a bill on time, missed the due date or misplaced a bill? If you have, you are not alone. These are the top three reasons that Canadians give for why they have missed paying their bills, according to the TD Canada Trust Everyday Banking Poll.    Canadians may be […]

Canadians back away from borrowing Owe Canada. It’s not our anthem any more. Crazy borrowings on lines of credit? History. The gotta-buy-now housing market? Toast. Credit card debt? Slowing down, too. Many months ago, it was fashionable to question how Canada’s profligate borrowers would hold up when interest rates began to rise. Today, after the […]

OTTAWA, July 20 /CNW Telbec/ – The Bank of Canada today announced that it is raising its target for the overnight rate by one-quarter of one percentage point to 3/4 per cent. The Bank Rate is correspondingly 1 per cent and the deposit rate is 1/2 per cent. The global economic recovery is proceeding but […]

Housing sales fall sharply in June Steve Ladurantaye Real Estate Reporter Globe and Mail  The spring housing market  ended with a gasp in June, as residential housing sales fell sharply across the country and the average resale price moved lower after months of record setting gains.     The Canadian Real Estate Association said the […]

 Recession-battered Canadians growing more conservative with savings By Sunny Freeman, The Canadian Press TORONTO – Recession-battered Canadians are growing more conservative with their money and turning away from high risk investments to the safety of savings accounts — a trend that banks are cashing in on, industry insiders say. Canadians this year have opened about […]

Upbeat survey may pave way for interest rate hike By Julian Beltrame OTTAWA — Canadian firms are giving the recovery a vote of confidence in a key quarterly survey, paving the way for the Bank of Canada’s expected interest rate hike next week. The central bank’s quarterly survey, released Monday, showed firms were concerned about […]

Canadian economy adds 93,200 jobs in June; loonie jumps after employment report By Julian Beltrame, The Canadian Press OTTAWA – Canada enjoyed another big month for employment in June, churning out a whopping 93,200 new jobs — almost all in Ontario and Quebec and all in the services sector. The strong performance brings the jobless […]

Royal LePage Expects Slower Market | Wednesday, 7 July 2010 The residential sector will slow down in the second half of 2010 thanks to “front-loaded” sales in the first half of the year. The Royal LePage House Price Survey and Market Survey Forecast, released today, predicts that, by the end of 2010, home appreciation will […]