25 May

Canadian home prices up

General

Posted by: Kimberly Walker

Tuesday, 25 May 2010 Owning a home in Canada, except in Alberta, has become even more expensive, according to the latest housing report just release by RBC Economics Research. The report says the costs of owning a home rose for the third straight quarter across all housing segments in the first quarter of 2010. “Although […]

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25 May

New rules cuff some mortgages to banks

General

Posted by: Kimberly Walker

New rules cuff some mortgages to banks Garry Marr, Financial Post  A headlock would be the wrestling term to describe the hold Canadian banks will have on some consumers because of new, more strict mortgage rules. We are already seeing the impact of the changes that came into effect on April 19, but were put […]

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21 May

Is that it for parity? By Andrew Flynn, The Canadian Press

General

Posted by: Kimberly Walker

TORONTO – The loonie has been living up to its name in recent weeks, swooping crazily from just above parity with the U.S. greenback to well below as it navigates a violently turbulent global economy. The Canadian dollar’s latest move was a 2.12-cent retreat, as panicky currency traders looked for somewhere safe to park their […]

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20 May

Canadian Dollar falls against US Dollar

General

Posted by: Kimberly Walker

Thursday, 20th May All eyes were on the Canadian Dollar (CAD) on April 6th as it hit parity against the US Dollar (USD). However the run seems to be over as commodity prices drop off and the CAD falls to 0.9350.   Historically, commodity prices drive the CAD, no real surprise for this export led […]

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20 May

Selling Your Home With No Realtor – Save Thousands In Commission

General

Posted by: Kimberly Walker

Private sellers shaking up real estate industry Steve Ladurantaye Globe and Mail  Gordon Ives is the sort of customer who keeps real estate agents awake at night: a former customer.   Last year, after several years of trying to sell his Charlottetown home through an agent, the retired banker decided to change tack and find […]

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19 May

Friday’s inflation rate expected to open door to interest rate hikes: economists

General

Posted by: Kimberly Walker

Friday’s inflation rate expected to open door to interest rate hikes: economists  By Julian Beltrame, The Canadian Press OTTAWA – Canadians likely have only two weeks left to enjoy historically low interest rates. With global markets beginning to stabilize following the recent fears over a Greek debt default, economists say the pieces are falling into […]

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11 May

Time to lock in that mortgage rate?

General

Posted by: Kimberly Walker

Andrew Allentuck, Financial Post  Published: Thursday, May 06, 2010 Taking on a mortgage is a big commitment. Every buyer who uses a mortgage has the choice of floating or going with a fixed rate that often costs a couple of percentage points higher per year. Today, for example, one can get variable rates at an average […]

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10 May

NORTH AMERICAN & INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS

General

Posted by: Kimberly Walker

At this time it is important to put the Greek situation in perspective. Will we be talking about Greece 12 months from now? Clearly, no one can predict how the stock and bond markets will react in the coming weeks to developments in Europe. After all, as we all know, in this kind of situation […]

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10 May

Prudence Paying Off For Canadian Mortgage Borrowers

General

Posted by: Kimberly Walker

Spring 2010 Prudence is paying off for Canadian mortgage holdersCanadian Association of Accredited Mortgage Professionals releases spring survey report on residential mortgage market Toronto, ON (May 10, 2010) – Canadians appear well prepared to face the new phase of the residential mortgage market, where interest rates are rising and house activity is easing off, according […]

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6 May

Bank of Montreal alleges huge mortgage fraud

General

Posted by: Kimberly Walker

By Charles Rusnell, CBC News This house in the Bearspaw district of Calgary was bought for nearly $900,000 and in three years, its value was inflated to $2.3 million, a profit of $1.4 million for the alleged fraudsters. (CBC) The Bank of Montreal is suing hundreds of people in Alberta, including lawyers, mortgage brokers and […]

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