Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) released today its third quarter financial report as well as complementary Mortgage Loan Insurance, Securitization, and Covered Bonds Supplements.

CMHC provides mortgage loan insurance and securitization guarantee programs to facilitate access to mortgage financing and to contribute to the stability of the financial system. Consistent with our mandate, CMHC is present in all markets and through all economic cycles. During the third quarter, CMHC provided mortgage loan insurance for over 80,000 units across the...

Commercial sales in the Lower Mainland registered a fiveyear third-quarter high between July and September of 2015 thanks to increased demand for land and office and retail properties, according to data from Commercial Edge, a commercial real estate system operated by the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV).

There were 550 commercial real estate sales in the Lower Mainland in the third quarter (Q3) 2015. This is a 16.8 per cent increase compared to the 471 sales recorded in Q3 2014, a 13.2 per cent increase from the 486 sales recorded in Q3 2013, and a 14.8 per...

Canada's housing market churned out another strong month in October with average resale prices rising more than 8 per cent. It was the second-best October on record in nearly six years, led by soaring property values in Toronto and Vancouver, prompting some housing analysts to abandon their long-held predictions for a soft landing and instead issue warnings about the risks of a sharp price correction.

Average resale home prices soared an annualized 15.6 per cent in the Greater Vancouver Area to $947,334, the Canadian Real Estate Association Reported. Prices jumped 7.6 per cent in the Greater Toronto...

According to statistics released today by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), national home sales increased in October 2015 from the previous month.

Highlights:

• National home sales rose by 1.8% from September to October.
• Actual (not seasonally adjusted) activity was little changed (+0.1%) compared to October 2014.
• The number of newly listed homes was up 0.9% from September to October.
• The Canadian housing market remains balanced overall.
• The MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) rose 6.7% year-over-year in October.
• The national average sale price rose 8.3% on a year-over-year basis in October;...

The Bank of Canada is putting innovative thinking at the heart of its corporate strategy through an ambitious research agenda and initiatives to engage people outside the Bank, Senior Deputy Governor Carolyn Wilkins said today.

“Confident as we are in how we do things now, the Bank keeps its eyes on the future,” she said in a speech to the Rotman School of Management and the Munk School of Global Affairs.

As part of its strategic plan, the Bank’s research agenda is centred on critical issues that arose from the global financial crisis. Bank researchers are analyzing innovative...

The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) reports that a total of 8,725 residential unit sales were recorded by the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in October, up 14.1 per cent from the same month last year. Total sales dollar volume was $5.8 billion, up 32.3 per cent compared to the previous year. The average MLS® residential price in the province rose to $667,480, up 16 per cent from October 2014.

“Consumer demand continued at a heightened pace in October,” said Brendon Ogmundson, BCREA Economist. “Market conditions have diverged significantly in...

Buying your first home is an exciting time but it also comes with many questions, concerns and in some cases, nerves. With that in mind, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) released today its 2015 First-Time Homebuyers Survey (#FirstTimeBuyers) coinciding with the fifth anniversary of Financial Literacy Month (#FLM2015).

“For many Canadians, buying their first home is the single, largest purchase they have ever made.” says Nathalie Fredette, Vice- President, Client Relationship Management. “Our aim is to provide mortgage brokers,...

The chief executive officer of the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. says foreign buyers may be playing a role in overvaluation in the Vancouver and Toronto housing markets and says the federal agency is seeking new data on real estate ownership.

Foreign buyers may be contributing to an overvaluation of residential real estate, especially in the luxury segment, Siddall said....

The 21st annual REALTORS Care® Blanket Drive kicks off on November 16. The program is the Lower Mainland’s largest and longest-running blanket drive.

Each year, the REALTORS Care® Blanket Drive provides warm clothing and blankets to more than 19,000 Lower Mainland residents in need.

From November 16 to 23, volunteer Realtors across the region will work with their clients to coordinate donations of blankets and warm winter clothing for those most in need. The donations are then sorted and delivered to charities in the same community in which they were collected.

“Every community...

The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) released its 2015 Fourth Quarter Housing Forecast Update today.

Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) residential sales in the province are projected to surpass 100,000 units this year. This level ofhome sales will be the third strongest on record and mark the first year since 2007 that BC home sales exceed the ten year
average.

After climbing 15 per cent in 2014 and nearly 20 per cent this year, BC MLS® residential sales are forecast to decline 7 per cent to 93,700 units in 2016. “Less latent pent-up demand...

The trend measure of housing starts in Canada was 206,089 units in October compared to 202,793 in September, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). The trend is a six-month moving average of the monthly seasonally adjusted annual rates (SAAR) of housing starts.

“New condominium and rental starts continued to push the trend higher in October,” said Bob Dugan, CMHC’s Chief Economist. “Rental starts across urban centres are poised to reach their highest level since 1992 due to low vacancy rates in recent years.”

CMHC uses the trend measure as a complement...

Home buyers remain active across Metro Vancouver despite a reduced supply of homes for sale. The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential property sales in *Metro Vancouver reached 3,646 on the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in October 2015.

This represents a 19.3 per cent increase compared to the 3,057 sales recorded in October 2014, and a 9 per cent increase compared to the 3,345 sales in September 2015. Last month’s sales were 36.2 per cent above the 10-year sales average for the month.

“Home sales are more than one-third...

Canada’s 35 larger centres saw the average vacancy rate in privately initiated purpose-built rental apartments increase to 3.3 per cent in October 2015, from 2.8 per cent in October 2014, according to preliminary data from the fall Rental Market Survey released today by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).

“The rise in the national vacancy rate was due to lower net migration in regions most affected by low oil prices as well as an increase in the supply of purpose-built rental apartment units,” said Bob Dugan, Chief Economist at CMHC.

Overall, the average rent for t...