Buyers Beware

, ,

Today, Canada’s housing market took a strange turn that isn’t sitting quite right with some, and appeases others. The changes that took place were that the CMHC (Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation), who oversee and insure the vast majority of Canadian mortgages, has lowered the maximum amortization period from 30 years, to 25 years.

Now, this is being done to “ensure Canadians aren’t taking on more debt than they can afford“; however little to the CMHC’s concerns, this change will be seriously detrimental to new home buyers, and especially young ones. This decreased cap on amortization periods will do nothing but increase mortgage payments for new buyers, and become a large market deterrent, especially when you consider that 40 per cent of new mortgages last year were amortized over 30 years. Despite the government’s attempt to bring things back to the way they were in 2006 (a 25 year maximum amortization was in place before the Conservative government took over in 2006 and extended these periods to 40 years, and have since been shrinking back) it doesn’t seem that this may be the right approach to stabilize Canada’s barely recovering housing market. The Canadian real estate is only very recently beginning to recover, but this doesn’t mean that it’s stable, or recovered, so introducing more buying deterrents seems to be an unwise move…

What are your thoughts on this situation? Is this a good or bad decision to be made? Will the housing market continue to recover despite this deterring situation? Join the conversation with us on Twitter.

photo courtesy of twicepix

/by

Canada Gets Dubbed ‘Fossil of the Day’

,

While we’re on the topic of Canada’s ranking amongst the world’s nations, Canada is back in the spotlight. Only this time, instead of being a leader, it is a great, big loser. Given the not-so-honourable title of “Fossil of the Day” at the Rio+20 talks, thousands of world delegates are putting our nation in the spotlight for ‘standing in the way of a just and sustainable future.’ This award comes out the summit’s analysis of countries who are hindering more than helping the overall environmental goal.

Canada’s award comes out of the discovery of “deleting wording for funding for developing countries, weakening language on fossil-fuel subsidies, and causing confusion on policies related to oceans and fisheries.” But our country is second to receive it, after the United States.

So what’s wrong with North America? Featuring two globally influential countries, this continent needs to get its act together for the environment’s sake. With two of the biggest industrial powerhouses dragging their feet, it seems any progress the world makes will be undone.

Photo courtesy of brewbooks

/by

Canada’s Housing Market Ranks 2nd

,

Canada’s housing market is one of the top dogs in the world, according to a report released by Scotiabank on Global Real Estate Trends. Although the market demand is getting cooler, it is still outperforming among industrialized nations. The shift is being attributed to income growth, as well as stricter mortgage insurance rules.

Global property markets are shown to be in distress, particularly in European countries suffering from recession. Specifically, Ireland’s prices dropped 18.9%, while Spain experiences a 9.1% fall.

Photo courtesy of palindrome6996

/by

The Problem With Fridays

,

In most offices, or workplaces in general (referring to those that stick to a more typical M-F 9-5 model) start to dwindle down on their productivity the closer Friday approaches, and by the time Friday afternoon rolls around, everybody starts daydreaming about their weekend, socializing, or deferring tasks until “early next week”, instead of tackling them right then and there. Let us give you a simple yet effective tip on how to maximize your work week that may come as quite a shock: stop making a big deal out of Friday!

Yes, that’s right, we are encouraging all of you to adopt the following strategy and implement this approach to your work week. Now, we aren’t just referring to the concept of staying productive on your Friday, but dealing with the entire notion of Fridays as a whole. Friday is the most glorified work day of any and every work week, filled with eagerness, rainbows an unicorns, and the notion of the ever-impending weekend. The problem with making “Friday” such a big deal, is that it not only detracts from your productivity later on in the week, but also makes your weeks feel twice as long as a result of longing and desperately wishing that Friday would come quicker.

Stop making Friday something to work towards, or more special than every other day of your work week, and instead take your days one at a time, with no distractions leading you to pause and just wish that all of your work would go away and that Friday were here. This is a waste of your time, your co-workers’, and especially your employers. Making a big deal out of Friday does nothing but create a yearning sense of emptiness which is completely unnecessary and uncalled for. Why not just take your work week at a confident pace, deal with your tasks accordingly, and work hard the whole way through your Friday so that your Monday can be that much easier…it’s a full-circle whether you like it or not.

/by

Cali Goes Solar

, ,

California, being the environmentally progressive state that it is, has approved a new set of building guidelines making it mandatory for all newly built houses to have roofs that are solar-ready roofs. These new construction standards not only encourage positive environmental changes, but also made stricter guidelines for window and housing insulation for the same environmentally conscious reasons, pushing new housing in California to turn over a greener leaf.

For clarity’s sake, no, not all new houses are required to don solar panels (although, that doesn’t seem like an awful idea), but to be ready for solar panel installation, should the owner decide to go down this path. To be fair, though this is not directly forcing positive environmental change down residents’ throats, this is a very big step in the right direction, not only for California, but for the rest of the world, in terms of energy efficiency and sustainability. What are your thoughts on this new construction guideline? Should more encouraged modifications be made to the housing industry, auto industry, any industry? Share your thoughts with us on Twitter.

photo courtesy of Richard Masoner

/by

Pre-Fab: Fab or Fad?

, ,

Real estate seems to be changing with the influx of pre-built homes hitting the market. Sitting outside the Scotiabank plaza in the parking lot sits a pre-built home waiting for interested passerby to peruse the property.

During the hockey season when the Senators were in full swing, thousands of game attendees would spot the home, look in windows and size-up the property. This was all part of a marketing scheme designed to raise awareness of the eco-conscious company, Bonneville Homes, and pre-fabricated homes in general. In a matter of days, the pieces of the pre-fitted home were assembled together and ready to go, blowing the normal lead time for house builds right out of the water. This quick process combined with the architectural design of open multi-use spaces is a step towards effective and efficient all in one.

Via Ottawa Citizen

Photo courtesy of Bludgeoner86

/by

Truth Be Told

, ,

Last week we made the presumption that the real estate industry is on it’s way to recovery, and it turns out that it is…but at what cost? In our previous article we pointed out that Realtors had seen their first increase in salary in over 9 years, with a 2.3% increase. Now, reports are in fact stating that the housing market has been shaping up since the beginning of the year, indicating the reasoning behind that salary increase.

However, another report released by NAR has some heads turning, as it’s claiming that 15.7 million homes were underwater, with only one out of 10 underwater home owners making any headway. Let’s look at this a bit critically now, and examine why it is that the property market is rebuilding itself, while people are drowning in debt? This seems rather paradoxical, doesn’t it?

This is why we are asking at who’s cost is the property market repairing itself. Obviously Realtors are beginning to reap the benefits of this new-found stability in the market, but what about the 15.7 million home owners who are seeing no relief? Maybe it’s due to Realtors not leading buyers to smarter purchases?  For instance, an example of why many homes are in debt is the “nicest home on the block” theory, where homeowners literally own the nicest house on their block, and are unable to sell them due to their price range being outside of the appeal for the neighbourhood and the buyer. One tip we picked up, is that it’s in fact smarter to buy the worst house on the best block. This way, as the home receives repairs and renovations, there will be nothing but profit gains, as opposed to renovating a house on a sub-par block, resulting in too expensive of a property for the area, and a dead-end for sellers. What other tips can you think of to aid this underwater housing market? Join the conversation with us on Twitter.

photo courtesy of http://www.fotopedia.com/items/flickr-5817484473

/by

Wages Are Up, Prices Are Down

, ,

The National Association of Realtors have released results of a survey revealing interesting details. The survey’s results concluded that in 2011 there was a 2.3% increase in average salary amongst Realtors; the first increase seen in nine years. Yes, that’s right. 9 years. Now, this seems rather strange since real estate has been doing nothing but plummeting and ebbing it’s way through the past decade, with no sights for improvement on the horizon. However, this increase in salary could be a great indicator that maybe real estate as a national industry is finally starting to recuperate, and that not all hope is lost for those pursuing the career path of a real estate agent. In fact, the poll also revealed that more than 9 out of 10 Realtors surveyed said they planned on remaining in their profession for at least two more years.

In combination with reports of real estate being on the recovery in the United States, as well as the Canadian market’s “soaring” in prices and sales (with the exception of Vancouver, who for over 5 months have seen a steady decline in sales and price), are we about to see the market recover? Let us know your thoughts on Twitter.

 

photo courtesy of Colin_K

/by

The Greenest Building in the World?

, , ,

The new Center for Sustainable Landscapes is set for unveiling on May 23rd in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia. As one of the earth’s first certified living buildings, it is designed to be self sustainable and has earned nods from the three highest green standards: The Living Building Challenge, LEED® Platinum, and SITES Certification for landscapes.

Photo courtesy of pixietart

/by

Micro-lofts: Could you live in 226 square feet?

, ,

Would you live in a pint-sized apartment just to live in an ideal location? As a follow-up to our ‘Live in a Shoebox’ blog, we found a story about a man living in a 226 sq. ft. apartment in the heart of Vancouver’s downtown core. An apartment for $800 a month seems like a steal in this area, but could you make a comfortable nest in this little space?

‘Micro-lofts’ are being hailed as a solution to Vancouver’s housing problem, enabling the city to offer a greater variety of choices to homebuyers and renters. More of these buildings are anticipated to pop up in the city, and spread elsewhere in BC.

Particularly popular among younger residents, these tiny spaces warrant a different type of attitude towards living. The majority of those who occupy these apartments enjoy what the city has to offer as a living space, not just the confines of their homes. In other words, homebodies and hermits need not apply. Residents would likely also need to prioritize the space, requiring discipline when furnishing and decorating the home. As much as it can be exciting to bring home beautiful pieces of art or gadgets to spruce up a space, in less than 300 sq. feet, less is more. We can see a micro-loft potentially becoming claustrophobic at times, but when you live most of your life out of the house, who needs all that space anyway?

Photo courtesy of lovelihood

/by