• Mark Carney, Governor of the Bank of Canada, says: “further monetary stimulus is likely to be required in the near term.” That appears to mean a 1/4% to 1/2% cut in interest rates is coming this Tuesday.
• Canadian home prices have almost doubled since 1997. That’s a 7.1% annualized gain.
• According to Genworth, more Canadians are worried about high monthly payments than high interest rates.
• Canadian debt delinquencies have dropped 21% since 2005.
• Vancity, Canada’s largest credit union, saw a 9% jump in membership last year to 388,000. Unfortunately their profits fell 37%. Vancity says ABCP losses and low margins in its mortgage/loan business are to blame.
• It’s better to sell your house for $279,135 than $279,000–say Cornel Researchers. Story from The Star
• Office vacancies in Canada’s major cities are at a 22-year low of 4.7%.
• Equitable Trust’s mortgage business grew 26% in 2007. The company will expend beyond Ontario and Alberta this year.
• Ontario’s new mortgage broker/agent license fee is $482.  That covers two years.  It will rise to $550 in 2010.
• BC has increased the exemption on its property transfer tax from $375,000 to $425,000. This applies to first-time homebuyers only. (The average home in BC is $470,000.)  BC also got rid of a rule requiring first-time homebuyers to have at least a 70% loan-to-value mortgage to qualify for the exemption.
• “By 2010, Canadians will have $1-trillion in outstanding mortgage credit.” – Jim Murphy, CAAMP CEO
• 362,934 homes were sold in Canada in 2007. That’s up 8% from 2007. But things may be slowing.
• JP Morgan economist, Ted Carmichael, puts the odds of recession in Canada at 45%.
• Virgin Bank is coming to Canada.