I found this article today in the Globe and Mail commenting on Federal government plans to make lending more difficult again in order to curb an increase in debt levels. Among the discussions that are supported by the banks are to make mortgage borrowing more difficult. (more…)

If recent news reports about our collective appetite for credit are any indication, Canadians may wake up in the new year with a doozy of a post-holiday debt hangover.

As new or future homeowners, make it your resolution in 2011 to commit to a long-term program of debt and expense reduction. Pay yourself with the savings, either through lump sum payments on high interest lines of credit, your mortgage or your retirement fund.

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By some reports, including those by Statistics Canada and TD Canada Trust released this week, real estate speculators hoping to take advantage of a housing market crash may be waiting a long time.

Housing sales activity weakened in the latter half of 2010, but home prices didn’t tank like some feared after the boom earlier in the year. Statistics Canada figures released today show that indexed new housing prices across Canada rose for the third consecutive month in October, albeit modestly. Leading the way was Saskatoon, driven by lower unemployment and higher labour costs than in other Canadian cities. Calgary was among those markets that saw a dip in prices.

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I came across this article today on the Canadian News Wire that talks about Canadian debt levels and Canadians comfort level with their debt situations.

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The Vancouver Sun is now reporting on the newest housing sales statistics for the month of September…and guess what? Sales increased in September from the month before. The article states that there is more balance in the market now due to less properties for sale and a further decrease in mortgage interest rates has also helped.

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I have been reading the content of my website recently and I feel many of the things I write are helpful to new or experienced owners or real estate and much of it is positive information about the real estate market and encouraging of others to buy a home or use home equity to refinance your mortgage to improve your financial situation.

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Evidence of strength in the Vancouver housing market recently has been reported by the Vancouver Sun. The increase in housing starts, which is basically the the building of new homes, has increased across all of Canada in August of 2010 compared to August of 2009, and Vancouver is regarded as the 5th hottest market for housing of 27 markets across Canada.

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As stated in this article in the Vancouver Sun, the Canadian Real Estate Association has come out with new data for August showing home sales had increased 4.1% from July. This appears to indicate that the market is fairly stable for properties and sales, despite the numerous mortgage lending restrictions imposed upon the market over the past year in an attempt to protect the real estate market.

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There was an article today from the Financial Post about one of the major banks decreasing their interest rates. It is great free advertising for them, and I can only wish that a national newspaper would give me free press every time I had a mortgage lender that lowered interest rates, as all of my mortgage lenders have also done.

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