As stock markets around the world have taken a fall with the economic recession, one market that remains strong is Israeli real estate. The Park Hyatt Hotel was host to Israeli real estate firms including Azorim, Gindi Holdings, Dimri Building & Development, Pollock Real Estate and Ashdar Building Company a few weeks ago when they flew into Toronto to deliver a presentation to potential investors.

It was the first time they’d done so directly, according to Ainnat Lifshitz, director of marketing and sales of Bayit4U, the company that coordinated the event. Alongside the real estate developers were bank representatives and lawyers who “give a panoramic view of Israel and cover all aspects of real estate,” she said.

Residential properties in Israel were under the spotlight as they’ve performed well in recent months. According to Lifshitz, demand for homes in Israel was up 14.6 percent in April 2009, compared to the same period in 2008.

http://www.canadasisrael.ca/2009/07/israeli-house-for-sale-in-toronto/

reviewed by Moishe Alexander, CFC canadian funding corp CEO

According to Calvin Lindberg, President of CREA, “We are caught in a cycle where consumer confidence has been eroded because of job losses, and consumer confidence is an essential ingredient for housing sales activity.” However, it must be recognized that life goes on, and people will always need to upsize, downsize and move homes for any number of reasons. Because of the current market climate, sellers must acknowledge that it’s more important than ever to emphasize and maximize the positive features in their sales presentation.

Mr. Lindberg makes a practical observation about today’s real estate market by noting that: The essential selling ingredients in today’s market are realistic pricing, marketing and preparation. The se crucial points are where an experienced real estate sales representative makes all the difference.

As your real estate representative, I have my finger on the pulse of both countrywide housing trends and local real estate activity. I invite you to call me for help with all your real estate needs.

http://www.free-press-release.com/news/200907/1246980126.html

reviewed by Moishe Alexander, CFC CEO

PEI is a great location for the novice investor to get started. Properties are generally less expensive and while they have risen over the years and continue to do so, the up and down movement is not so great and therefore PEI real estate offers an investment scenario more suited to the beginner. However with land prices throughout Canada on the rise again, and I notice a larger recent rise in home prices here, you can be sure that you will still have a solid investment.

Real estate offers much greater potential to make money than many other forms of investment and does not generally require the services of managers as in the case of mutual funds. You will want to carefully research your market potential and you will, in the case of PEI, first of all decide whether you will be buying residential properties to rent year round or cottages which rent at much higher rates but only for the summer.

It is important when deciding what to invest in here on PEI to determine the amount of money you have on hand and what you can afford to invest for the “long-haul”, say anything up to ten years. Some investors get caught in the liquidity crunch and need to get their money out of the investment in a hurry. This means selling early and at a disadvantage and can result in losses.

If you feel this might apply to you then you should probably refrain from getting into the cottage market. The properties cost much more, are harder to re-sell in a hurry and require more work to rent. Small family rental homes provide year round income, require less maintenance having residents year round, and are generally easier to sell should you need to.

If you own your own home now then you are already a PEI real estate investor. If you have a sizeable equity built up in your home you can use this equity to smooth the mortgage application. Most investors are going to buy several if not numerous properties as they build their real estate portfolio and they are going to have to use that portfolio as financial leverage to acquire the next property. So you will probably start with your own home now!

The cities of Charlottetown and Summerside on the island offer a good selection of current single, duplex and triplex home rentals. Of course you can purchase some of the larger character homes and convert these to apartments. It is a good idea to look for homes that are in need of repair. Some owners will sell just because they don’t have the cash or desire to fix up a rental and it is getting to the point where it will need fixing to be rentable.

If this is the case make sure that you do your home-work and know the condition of the home and the cost to repair. Bring in a home inspector and make sure that you get quotes from reputable contractors on the work recommended.

Also ensure the neighborhood is suitable – however the island neighborhoods are generally good, the “bad neighborhoods aren’t really “Bad”.

Do your research and you will be growing your income through a steady stream of rental payments and your real estate portfolio will be bringing you that much closer to retirement.

http://real-estate-direct.com/real-estate-resource/investment-in-pei-real-estate/

brought by Noishe Alexander, CFC CEO

The Zombie Subdivision. The living dead of real estate.

The Wilmington Star out of North Carolina had an interesting article on the phenomenon. Wilmington

and the surrounding area had a huge boom as people were leaving the northeast and moving to the ocean. Property values soared. Development was rampant. In Brunswick county, between Wilmington and Myrtle Beach, huge golf communities were planned and permitted. In 2005 and 2006. Ready to open just when the bottom fell out of the market.

These empty tracts, the shell is ready but there is no life, are the prime examples of zombie subdivisions.

It’s clear now to developers, bankers and real estate agencies that the planned development in Brunswick didn’t fit the market.

“What we saw from an appraisal and real estate point of view was that we really peaked about the third quarter of 2005,” said Tom Shoaf, a broker with Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty. “But by then, the permits had been pulled for a lot these projects and stuff was getting in the ground, so they were past the point of no return.”

In the end, these developments will probably get moving again – though maybe not for the next couple of years, officials say.

“I foresee a slow, steady growth,” Brunswick County Assistant Attorney Jana Berg said.

But the homes will likely be cheaper, smaller and come with fewer perks.

reported by Moishe Alexander, CFC CEO

http://www.therealestatebloggers.com/2009/05/27/zombie-subdivisions-the-living-dead-of-the-real-estate-market/

Welcome to the HomeZilla Real Estate Trends. As in previous months, we list the most searched provinces, top 10 most searched cities and top 10 most searched amenities.

HomeZilla’s Most Searched Provinces

1			Ontario
2			British Columbia
3	(+1)		Nova Scotia
4	(-1)		Alberta
5			Manitoba
6	(+1)		New Brunswick
7	(-1)		Quebec
8	(+2)		Newfoundland
9	(-1)		Saskatchewan
10	(-1)		Prince Edward Island

HomeZilla’s Most Searched Cities

1			Toronto
2	(+1)		Ottawa
3	(+1)		Mississauga
4	(-2)		Vancouver
5	(-)		Quesnel
6	(-)		Oshawa
7	(-2)		Calgary
8			Brampton
9	(-)		Winnipeg
10	(-)		Whitby

HomeZilla’s Most Searched Amenities

1			Schools
2	(-)		elementary schools
3	(-1)		grocery stores
4	(+3)		child care services
5	(-1)		coffee shops
6	(-)		high schools
7	(+2)		banks
8	(-3)		pubs
9	(-6)		parks
10	(-)		jr high schools

We hope you enjoy these March 2009 real estate trends and we look forward to your feedback!

Interesting report added by Moishe Alexander, CFC CEO

OTTAWA – June 15th, 2009 – National resale housing market activity returned to pre-recession levels in May 2009. The rebound in activity is being led by an increase in transactions in some of the most expensive markets in the country, which is skewing the national average price upward.

According to statistics released by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), actual (not seasonally adjusted) home sales via the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) of Canadian real estate boards totaled 49,521 units in May 2009. This is less than one per cent below activity in the same month one year ago. Year-over-year declines have been shrinking since the beginning of the year.

The seasonal increase in activity continues to be stronger than normal. As a result, seasonally adjusted home sales rose eight per cent to 37,649 units in May compared to April. This marks the fourth consecutive monthly increase in seasonally adjusted activity. Seasonally adjusted activity in May was 43 per cent above where it stood in January 2009.

Seasonally adjusted sales were up on a monthly basis in about 70 per cent of local markets. Monthly activity gains in Toronto (nine per cent), Calgary (25 per cent), Montreal (10 per cent), Vancouver (eight per cent), and Edmonton (12 per cent) contributed most to the overall increase in monthly activity.

The national MLS® residential average sale price in May 2009 reached the highest monthly level on record. At $319,757, it was up fourth tenths of a percentage point from the previous record set in May 2008. Over the past four months, the national MLS® residential average price has recovered 16.4 per cent from the low in January. The average price for MLS® home sales climbed to new heights nationally, and in Saskatchewan, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia. New records were posted in only 15 per cent of local markets in May, none of which are among the most active or expensive. The strong rebound in sales activity, not price, in Canada’s most expensive markets is driving up average prices nationally and in some provinces, just as a sharp decline in activity in these markets pushed average prices lower in late 2008.

The supply of homes coming onto the MLS® market continued to decelerate in May. Seasonally adjusted MLS® residential new listings edged lower by eight tenths of a percentage point to 65,070 units, the lowest level since December 2005. Seasonally adjusted new residential listings in May were 19 per cent below the peak reached one year ago.

With the number of sales rising strongly and new listings trending downward, the balance between supply and demand is firming up in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, and Quebec. This resulted in national sales activity as a percentage of new listings reaching the highest point since December 2007. Residential dollar volume for MLS® sales climbed 10 per cent from the previous month to reach $11.4 billion in May. This is more than 50 per cent above the low of $7.5 billion reported last January.

“Sales activity is now closer to the pre-recession peak than it is to the recent low point reached last January,” says Regina Broker Dale Ripplinger, President of The Canadian Real Estate Association. “Strengthening consumer confidence, low interest rates, and improved affordability are drawing buyers to the housing market across Canada,” he added.

“Fueled by a string of monthly increases in activity, the number of transactions in May reached the highest point since July 2008,” said CREA Chief Economist Gregory Klump. “Inventory levels are still high in many markets, but fewer new listings and rising sales activity suggests that the selection of homes available for sale may shrink as the year progresses. The supply of homes up for sale needs to be drawn down further before average price increases become more widespread among local markets.”

PLEASE NOTE: The information contained in this news release combines both major market and national MLS® sales information from the previous month. The Canadian Real Estate Association has previously released these separately.

CREA cautions that average price information can be useful in establishing trends over time, but does not indicate actual prices in centres comprised of widely divergent neighborhoods or account for price differential between geographic areas. Statistical information contained in this report includes all housing types.

MLS® is a co-operative marketing system used only by Canada’s real estate Boards to ensure maximum exposure of properties listed for sale.

The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) is one of Canada’s largest single-industry trade associations, representing more than 96,000 REALTORS® working through more than 100 real estate Boards and Associations. Further information can be found at www.crea.ca

“Good news for the market in ON”, – Moishe Alexander, CFC CEO

A record-breaking number of homes were sold in Ottawa last month, up 3.9 per cent from May 2008, and for more money.

The Ottawa Real Estate Board said 1,969 residential properties were sold in May, compared to 1,896 a year ago. The May figure is a 19-per-cent increase from a month ago.

The average sale price of homes sold last month was $312,045, an increase of 5.3 per cent from May 2008.

Ottawa Real Estate Board president Rick Snell said the news is wonderful considering Canada’s turbulent economic climate.

“And it’s great for the Ottawa economy,” he said, “because every time there’s a sale, it generates all kinds of business throughout the Ottawa economy. People move, they buy furniture, they buy appliances, they decorate, they renovate.”

The fact that Ottawans enjoy the benefits of living in a real estate bubble is not news. With stable government employment and a highly educated population enjoying steady incomes for the most part, the city’s May figures don’t surprise the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).

“We have a very stable market in Ottawa,” CMHC senior Ottawa market analyst Sandra Pérez Torres said Wednesday. “Year-to-date employment shows positive numbers. We have, until April 2009, a 0.1 per cent increase, so despite the fact that some sectors have decreases from last year — such as in trade, manufacturing, transportation — public administration and services are picking up the slack.”

“Even construction employment has increased significantly from last year.”

Pérez Torres said consumers are also continuing to take advantage of low interest rates.

“There are other, smaller regions in Ontario like Thunder Bay, for example, which is showing positive numbers as well. But in general, when we compare with the bigger picture, Ottawa is one of the best ones, showing a very, very positive outlook.”

The May numbers are in keeping with 2009 Ottawa real estate market projections released in December, in which RE/MAX and CMHC predicted a slight rise in prices and no drastic decline in home sales.

Ottawa is becoming more of a sellers’ market, Pérez Torres added. The trend began in April, and she predicts it will continue over the summer. Traditionally, Snell said, the market peaks in May and June before beginning a gradual decline into the fall.

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/Business/merry+month+Ottawa+home+sellers/1660731/story.html

presented by Moishe Alexander, CFC CEO

For the second month in a row, the Canadian housing market has recorded an increasing number of sales in most areas around the country.

“Conditions in the resale housing market have improved markedly this Spring,” according to TREB President Maureen O’Neill. “Home purchases have increased as households have taken advantage of low interest rates and slightly lower home prices.”

While April sales remained lower than last year, the housing market gained momentum on a month-over-month basis.

Paul Penner, President of the Fraser Valley real estate board, says current conditions have created one of the best buying opportunities in years. “REALTORS® have successfully communicated to their sellers to be more realistic with their prices, which is why we’ve seen a 29% increase in sales from March to April.”

Penner also attributes the increase to all-time historically low interest rates and still relatively high inventory for Fraser Valley, although it is dropping rapidly.

Below is a brief summary of sales activities in some areas across the country:

British Columbia
Surrey, May 4, 2009: The Fraser Valley real estate market continued to show signs of rebalancing in April with the number of sales increasing for the third month in a row while the volume of available properties stayed constant. Benchmark prices for detached homes and condominiums also showed increases over the last three months.

In April, there were 1,293 sales processed on the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board’s Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®), reflecting a 28% decrease compared to the 1,787 sales in April of last year, however, a 29% increase over March sales. At the same time, the Board received 44% fewer new listings compared to one year ago, 2,477 in contrast to 4,458 in April 2008, helping to stabilize the number of active listings in the Fraser Valley at 9,855.

The Housing Price Index (HPI) benchmark price of Fraser Valley townhouses decreased 11.6% from $333,982 in April 2008 to $295,078 in April 2009. That decrease, however, slowed to 0.1% during the last three months. The benchmark price of apartments also decreased year-over-year by 11.4% going from $260,037 in April of last year to $230,337 in April 2009. Similar to detached homes, the benchmark price for apartments has increased by 4.4% over the last three months.

Ontario

Toronto, May 6, 2009: Greater Toronto REALTORS® reported 8,107 sales in April, down 7% from April 2008. While April sales remained lower than last year, the housing market gained momentum on a month-over-month basis. The seasonally adjusted annual rate of sales in April, at 80,900, was up 26% from March and up two-thirds compared to January’s ten-year low.

The average price for April transactions was $385,641, down 3% from last year.

Ottawa, May 5, 2009: Members of the Ottawa Real Estate Board sold 1,594 residential properties in April through the Board’s Multiple Listing Service® system compared with 1,560 in April 2008, an increase of 2.2%. There were 1,162 sales in March 2009.

The average price of residential properties, including condominiums, sold in April in the Ottawa area was $298,150, an increase of 1% over April 2008. The average price for a condominium-class property was $216,502, an increase of 2.8% over April 2008. The average price of a residential-class property was $318,900, an increase of 0.7% over April 2008.

Alberta

Calgary, May 1, 2009: Sales activity of single family Calgary metro homes was 1,290 in the month of April 2009, showing an increase of 19% from 1,086 sales in March 2009. This was a decrease of 5% from April 2008, when single family home sales were 1,363. The number of condominium sales for the month of April 2009 was 579, an increase of 30% from the 446 condominium transactions recorded in March 2009, and a decrease of 0.3% from April 2008, when 581 condominiums changed hands.

The average price of a single family Calgary metro home in April 2009 was $426,311, showing an increase of 1% from March 2009, when the average price was $420,354, and showing a decrease of 10% from April 2008, when the average price was $474,564. The average price of a Calgary metro condominium was $277,953, showing a 2% decrease from March 2009, when the average price was $284,056, and a decrease of 11% over last year, when the average price was $312,586. Average price information can be useful in establishing trends over time, but does not indicate actual prices in centres comprised of widely divergent neighbourhoods, or account for price differentials between geographical areas.

Saskatchewan

Saskatoon, May 1, 2009: April’s real estate market continued to correct with fewer listings being taken easing higher than normal inventory levels. Saskatoon REALTORS® assisted 353 buyers to find their dream home, a decrease of15% from April 2008 when 413 units were sold.

REALTORS® placed 694 properties on the market in April, a decrease of 23% from 2008 when 896 homes were listed for sale. Buyers had 1499 properties to select from, down substantially from a market high of 1,748 homes for sale in September 2008.

The average selling price for April was $275,455, down from April 2008 when the average price was $306,031.

Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia, April 17, 2009: Though Nova Scotia’s March real estate sales activity was down 15% from last March, it was still the highest level of housing sales activity in the province in five months, as reported by the Nova Scotia Association of REALTORS®. In January 2009, the year-over-year decline was 32%.

The value of all residential transactions recorded through the MLS® system in Nova Scotia totalled $130.5 million in March 2009, a 16% decrease from year-ago levels. The total value of all MLS® sales activity in Nova Scotia was $137.4 million, a year-over-year decline of 17% from March 2008.

The average price for MLS® home sales in Nova Scotia was down slightly in March 2009 compared to levels one year earlier. Edging down 1% from March 2008, the provincial average price for home sales was $188,651.

The MLS® average price rose by 1.6% in Halifax-Dartmouth, to $229,548. The small decrease in provincial average price was the result of fewer sales in this region, where homes are priced higher than in other markets across the province. Sales activity was down by 19% year-over-year in Halifax-Dartmouth, compared to the 15% provincial decline. This resulted in fewer transactions at the higher end of the price spectrum being included in the calculation of the provincial average price.

http://www.whistler-realestate.com/Blog/Canadian-Real-Estate-Market-Watch-for-May

]]> http://moishe-alexander-cmhc.com/2009/06/canadian-real-estate-market-watch-for-may/feed/ 0 http://moishe-alexander-cmhc.com/2009/06/canadian-real-estate-falls-as-mortgage-rates-rise/ http://moishe-alexander-cmhc.com/2009/06/canadian-real-estate-falls-as-mortgage-rates-rise/#comments Tue, 16 Jun 2009 18:26:16 +0000 admin http://moishe-alexander-cmhc.com/?p=131 The U.S. isn’t the only country facing increasing mortgage rates. Several Canadian banks have increased their posted mortgage rates by .2% as housing value decreases are accelerating. For more on this, see the following article from Property Wire.

Residential property prices are continuing to fall and now there are fears that increases in mortgage rates could put off a lot of investors, especially first time buyers.

Canadian home prices fell 5.8% in March from the same month a year earlier, a faster pace of decline than in February, according to the latest published figures from the Teranet-National Bank National Composite House Price Index. It also shows that prices were down 8.5% nationally from the peak in August last year.

Western Canadian home prices were hardest-hit, with Vancouver leading with a 9.6% decline in March from a year earlier, while Calgary saw prices fall 8.4%, and Toronto saw a 6.9% slide. Halifax reported the smallest decline at 0.8%.

Montreal and Ottawa bucked the trend in March with property prices rising 2.9% and 1%, respectively. The index also showed home prices fell 4.1% year-over-year in February.

Analysts were confident that first time buyers were the key to recovery in the market but now Canada’s biggest banks are putting up key mortgage rates. Royal Bank of Canada, Bank of Montreal, Toronto-Dominion Bank, the Bank of Nova Scotia and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce are all increasing their posted rates on five-year, fixed-rate mortgages by 0.2% to 5.45%.

Paula Roberts, a mortgage broker with Mortgage Intelligence, said she hopes that buyers will not be put off by the new rates. She explained that the rises are coming from ‘abnormally low’ levels and there are still have plenty of opportunity to take advantage of lower borrowing costs because not all lenders will pass on the increases.

But there are fears that rates will go up even further as the government is concerned about inflation.

‘Certainly there is the recognition that interest rates are going to have to go up both because of the need to rein some of this monetary stimulus in once the economy gains traction and the level of debt that is being issued by governments,’ said Toronto-Dominion economist Grant Bishop.

And Canadians are borrowing less according to a report from Statistics Canada. ‘Net new mortgage borrowing contracted during the first three months of 2009, as investment in residential construction and activity in the resale housing market continued to decline,’ it said.

Note from Moishe Alexander, CFC CEO
This article has been reposted from PropertyWire. View the article on PropertyWire’s international real estate news website here.

The Toronto Real Estate Board has just released its May statistics. Both sales and prices are up.

There were 9,589 sales in the GTA in May 2009. That’s about 2% higher than May 2008.

The height of the market in terms of price was actually April 2008, when the average price of a single family home in the GTA reached $398,687. In May, the average price climbed back to $395,609; that’s just 0.77% less than the all time high. In fact, it may not be statistically significant.

This certainly dispels the notion that it’s a buyers market and prices are going to drop by 50%. That was just pure speculation by some optimistic, would-be buyers who failed to follow the monthly trends. It was also a popular topic in the media.

This is a full and complete recovery. There has been a transition from a buyers’ market, earlier in the year, to a balanced market, which is where we find ourselves now.

There are several factors that contribute to the recovery:

o Interest rates are at 50 year lows
o The Bank of Canada prime rate sits at 0.25%
o There is a reasonable supply of product
o Buyers have returned to the marketplace
o There is a good deal of consumer optimism
o The stock markets have rebounded about 50% from their lows

If this trend continues, you will also find that market prices will increase. This will be due to:

o better product availability, and
o the true cost of ownership.

In a buyers’ market, sellers with good product just don’t enter the marketplace unless they have to. If they can wait, they will wait. So, rarely is there a good property that buyers’ will stretch for. However, in a balanced market or a sellers’ market, buyers will stretch their finances to acquire premium products.

Also, the true cost of ownership has dropped. While the prices are now the same as last year, mortgage rates have declined by 40% to 50%. Effectively, if you were to fully mortgage a property, the long term cost has declined measurably. So, a $500,000 property today costs a lot less than a $500,000 property one year ago.

If you have a job, and you can borrow money, this is the time to buy!

Brian Madigan LL.B., Realtor is an author and commentator on real estate matters, Royal LePage Innovators Realty
905-796-8888

http://ontariorealestatesource.blogspot.com/2009/06/toronto-total-market-recovery.html

It was a reporot from Moishe Alexander, CFC CEO