The day is upon us. Many of our clients have been waiting for this since 2008, when the tap of money for student rental properties seemingly dried up. CMHC stopped insuring loans on this asset, and when CMHC gets out of the game, banks tighten up their available financing terms and start looking for much [...]
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Kitchener Waterloo named in “Areas Set to Boom” by Canadian Real Estate mag
The recent issue of Canadian Real Estate magazine has a profile of Kitchener Waterloo, Ontario in the cover story on Areas set to boom. There is a lot of great content in it. CRE-Feb
Canadian Real Estate Market Growth Based on Demand
An interesting article on the national real estate market in Canada appeared in the Kitchener Record this morning. While 2009’s market ended the year very strong, economists caution people from thinking we may be in or entering a ‘bubble’ like we saw in the US market. Record home sales capping 2009 due to supply and [...]
What is the Bank of Canada doing with mortgage rates?
Many people are speculating that the Bank of Canada will be raising rates. While the consensus amongst those I speak to is that rates have nowhere to go but up (and we are closing on a loan with a 2.4% interest rate on friday, so that’s a pretty solid perspective), the question seems to be [...]
2009 Kitchener Waterloo Investment Real Estate Market Update
2009 was an interesting year to be buying, selling, and brokering investment real estate. The turbulence in the global credit markets put a halt on a lot of lending, especially mortgages for student housing. When CMHC stopped insuring loans on ‘student housing,’ many lending institutions and banks stopped lending against those assets, since without CMHC [...]
Commentary on the Canadian Real Estate Market
Keller Williams released our monthly This Month in Real Estate report today, and there is some terrific information in it: All around signs appear to be brighter than they were this time last year – banks are profitable, confidence is up, employment is on the upswing lately, and the housing market is moving. Ottawa’s Centre [...]
2009 Market Update – Kitchener Waterloo Residential Sales
This morning we looked at the strong sales the KW Real Estate market saw in 2009, with sales up from last year and 2nd only to 2007’s record sales volume. In this video, I look at the year that was, in terms of residential sales volume, and what segments of the market saw the most [...]
GST Rebates & Investing in New Construction Rental Property
In January, a number of our clients are closing on new construction rental properties, mainly in Cambridge Ontario’s Maple Grove community (355 Fisher Mills Road, north of 401, at Hespeller Rd). A few of these clients are new Real Estate Investors, and were not aware that you could apply for a GST Residential Rental Property [...]
Waterloo Vacancy Among Canada’s Lowest
Waterloo’s vacancy rate is among the lowest among Canada’s real estate rental markets, according to a recent Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) report (which we covered here: Vacancy rate in Waterloo falls to 1%), “thanks to a crush of high-tech workers and university students looking for short-term housing.” (via The Record) The one-per-cent vacancy [...]
Kitchener Waterloo’s Centre Block Condo Development Moving Forward
(image of proposed Centre Block development from City of Kitchener) The Kitchener Waterloo Record is reporting that the long awaited Centre Block development in downtown Kitchener is moving forward: A Brampton-based developer says he will sign an agreement next month with the City of Kitchener for a project that will add 385 condos to the [...]
