Canadian interest rates are the lowest in 5,000 years

While folk are debating solutions for our  problems, blaming foreign money and our immigration programs as the main culprits such as this article – Toronto, don’t let Vancouver’s housing crisis become yours. Whereby Josh Gordon, an assistant professor at the Simon Fraser University School of Public Policy writes about (and invited a lot of heated arguments): –

  • Concern about foreign capital is xenophobic or racist
  • Rising prices are all about low interest rates
  • There is no data
  • The problem is all about supply
  • We want foreign “investment”

Canada created history again.

According to HuffPost,

Canadian Home Prices Growing Faster Than All But 2 Countries: Knight Frank

Huffington Post Canada

Bank of America Merrill Lynch noted just months ago that interest rates are the lowest they’ve been in 5,000 years.

historic interest rates(Chart: BofA Merrill Lynch)

The Bank of Canada’s benchmark interest rate sits at 0.5 per cent after Governor Stephen Poloz said it wouldn’t change in a July announcement.

Full story here.

What a ‘bricks and mortar’ fact, eh?

I love cheap money too, but at what cost?

Please make sure our loonies do not keep falling in value … It’s not funny to see inflation and taxes keep going up as a result.

Why?

Well, my name is Joe. I don’t make any “real” money from the appreciation in real estate prices. But I gotta pay for everything … The City just slammed a tax bill on my face … a whopping 30% increase (about 8% annually). How do you like that?

Meanwhile, real estate is still  the most happening business (inspite of Foreign Buyer Tax that virtually brought the Vancouver market toher knees recently).

The Toronto real estate market is flying higher still,

Toronto is now Canada’s hottest real estate market

blogTO (blog)
toronto housing market Toronto and Vancouver are two of Canada’s biggest cities, and also the countries two hottestreal estate markets. But according to an economist at TD Bank, the Toronto market is now out-scorching Vancouver’s. As TD Bank’s Diana …
Vancouver housing market set to enter a correction with prices falling at least 10%: National Bank 
Bursting the real estate bubble. Plus other letters to the editor 
Greater Toronto Area home sales, prices continue to soar in August 
Toronto Home Sales and Prices Rise, Contrasting Vancouver Slump 

Revenue Canada has been very busy … Not sure if this is a publicity stunt?

Canada Revenue Agency probes tax loopholes in real estate speculation

CBC.ca
Lebouthillier said that between April of last year and June 2016, the CRA had conducted 2,500 audits related to real estatein British Columbia and Ontario, and levied some $11.6 million in penalties to tax filers who were subsequently found to have …
CRA launches review of BC real estate speculators 
Canada Revenue Agency to investigate BC real estatespeculators 

So is politicians of all stripes,

Anti- watchdog found ‘significant’ lapses at nearly 500 Canadian real estate firms: data

Financial Post
Canada’s anti-money laundering agency conducted on-site examinations of more than 800 real estate companies over four-and-a-half years and found “significant” or “very significant” deficiencies during 60 per cent of those visits, new data …

British Columbia authorities target property investors

Property Community 
The authorities have confiscated undeclared cash from an array of foreign investors and many expect a tightening of regulations in the short term. This is not the first time that the Canadian real estate market has been seen as a “parking place” for …

And our Finance Minister wants you to know he is not sleeping on the job,

Expect tougher mortgage rules by November

MoneySense
For months, Federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau and the government-owned mortgage insurer, Canada Mortgage & Housing Corp.
Get ready for tougher mortgage rules 

While the future sounded scary if prices of our real estate do not keep rising just like how M-Theorists postulate about the universe ie. our universe will keep expanding forever … Because it’s gonna be very painful should there be a housing crash”. For example, million of Canadian couldn’t even afford a slight increase in mortgage payment …

Almost a million Canadians couldn’t handle a 1-point interest rate rise, TransUnion says

CBC.ca 
“It is unfortunate almost a million Canadianswould struggle if mortgage interest rates increased even a small amount,” said Jeffrey Schwartz, executive director of Consolidated Credit Counseling Services of Canada. “I know cutting back on expenses may …
One million Canadians at risk of payment shock if interest rates rise 
Rise in interest rates could cause trouble for some Canadians: report 
Nearly One Million Canadians May Struggle When Interest Rates Rise 

 

At the same time, developers are playing God by restricting supply?

In August, Canadian Jobs Swung Up but Housing Starts Continued Down

Daily Commercial News 
But first, there’s the second major data release to be mentioned and it features new home starts as calculated by CanadaMortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). Residential groundbreakings nationwide in August fell to 183,000 units seasonally …

Canadas housing starts drop in August, likely to remain supported near 200k in months ahead

EconoTimes 
Canada’s housing starts dropped in August, missing the market expectations. This is the second straight monthly decline.

And the Lanlords are certainly not helping either,

Vancouver facing ‘unprecedented’ rental crisis:housing advocates

CTV News 
Finding a new place to live could be difficult for many in search of affordable homes. According to Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation figures, the average rent for a two-bedroom apartment in Vancouver was more than $1,600 last October.

Bidding wars heat up Toronto’s rental market

CityNews 
Looking for that perfect rental property to move into? Get ready for war. What was once unthinkable is now a reality in the City of Toronto, with bidding wars for residential rentals happening in all corners of the city. As both a real–estate agent and …

Dark windows illuminate problems in Vancouver’s real estate market

The Globe and Mail 
The rapidly rising cost of rental units inCanada’s largest cities, along with vacancy rates near zero, mean it’s increasingly difficult for people who rely on rental units to find – and keep – their housing. Like the real estate market, rental prices …

Poor renters.

What now?

I gotta take a break somewhere in the woods … Wiseman says: “When there is a crisis, there are always opportunities”. Now, the billion dollar question is … What “opportunities”? Do you know?

Please contact me if you do – I’d be very grateful because I am one of those “drowning” folks number in the million. I absolutely needed to make a few more bucks … Thank you in advance.

Image result for drowning in wqater blogspot.comImage Source

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