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More on the new CMHC Mortgage Rules for Real Estate

My friend Jeff Zabel with Mortgage Alliance Canada’s Mortgage Choice in Kitchener Waterloo just sent me some more info on CMHC’s new mortgage regulations for homeowners and property investors: 1)  All changes are effective April 19, 2010 with exception to change # 7 & 8 2)  Qualifying rate – For loans with fixed term of less than 5 years and for all Variable rate mortgages,... [Read more]

How profitable can investing in Kitchener Waterloo Real Estate be?

I just got this email from a client, who bought his first real estate investment property in 2008. He now owns 4 rental properties in Kitchener Waterloo, including student rentals, single family homes, and a future development site (currently rented). Hi Ben, I hope this message finds you and Sarah well and enjoying married life. I’m sold on the value of Real Estate investing. We are generating... [Read more]

New Home Construction is up in Kitchener Waterloo

Canada’s Mortgage and Housing Corporation, CMHC, released their report on housing starts (the number of new homes starting construction) for the area containing Kitchener Waterloo, Cambridge, Woolwich and North Dumfries, Ontario.  Housing starts are up: Housing Starts for Kitchener Waterloo Real Estate Construction began on 168 homes, up from the 103 units started in the same month last year. This... [Read more]

Commercial and Investment Real Estate Market Heating Up

What a gorgeous day in Kitchener Waterloo – it’s sunny, warm(ish), and dry!  Earlier this week we looked at the strength in the investment, student (Student Rental Market Update – Waterloo, Ontario) and commercial real estate (Commercial Real Estate Market Update – Kitchener Waterloo & Cambridge) markets in Kitchener Waterloo, Ontario.  It’s not just KW – the commercial real estate... [Read more]

Market Update: Real Estate selling fast in Kitchener Waterloo

“I can’t believe this sold in 2 days – the market is crazy these days!” – a client who wanted to invest in a condo this weekend (2nd unit in this complex that sold inside 3 days too) Homes and condo’s are moving very quickly in KW these days – our clients are involved in a multiple offer situations fairly regularly on smaller properties (condos, 5 bedroom student rental houses... [Read more]

CMHC Mortgage Regulations to Restrict Real Estate Investment

I’ve been hearing rumours recently that CMHC was changing their financing criteria for real estate investment properties. Over the last couple of weeks,we’re heard about raising the minimum downpayment (New Mortgage Rules for Real Estate Investment in Canada) that an investor would need to put down on a rental property (that wasn’t owner-occupied, meaning the owner or a close relative was living... [Read more]

Paying off the mortgage: The Forgotten Return in Real Estate Investing

The following article is written by my friend & client (and real estate investor) Darryl Kraemer, that originally appeared at his site DarrylKraemer.com  It is interesting how many times you are reading an article in a magazine or a newspaper, or when you are reading a book on Real Estate Investing, and the author focuses on one of two ways to get a return on your investment: Cash Flow (the... [Read more]

Student Rental Market Update – Waterloo, Ontario

We looked at commercial real estate sales in February & a lot of our clients focus on student rental properties in Waterloo; let’s have a look at some recent transactions: 3 properties on Bricker Avenue, directly across from Wilfrid Laurier University (WLU) sold for $8,450,000. There were 143 beds in the 3 properties, and per room revenues were lower than other comparably located properties. A... [Read more]

Tight Real Estate Market in Kitchener Waterloo

Property listings are down 33% at the end of January, compared to last January – there are less homes available for sale, and we have more demand from buyers and investors.  Many people are trying to take advantage of historically low mortgage interest rates, and others want to buy and invest before the mortgage changes coming in April We’re seeing some properties selling for $10,000+ above... [Read more]

Canada Olympic Team Makes History in Vancouver 2010

Taking a short break from Real Estate –a quick one, I promise – I want to draw attention to the amazing day our Canadian athletes had in Vancouver today. I once joked that I preferred watching American coverage of the Olympics over Canadian television because it seemed like all the US channels showed was never ending stream of American athletes winning medals, and ours was a little more… tame. ... [Read more]

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