Canadian home prices in January were up 0.4% from the previous month, according to the Teranet-National Bank National Composite House Price Index™ released today. It was the 2nd consecutive monthly rise. The composite index was up 3.9% from the previous January.
In Calgary, the index was down 1% from the previous month. It was the 5th decline in 6 months. Year-over-year, prices were down 3.4%. Again, Calgary was the only city tracked that was showing an annual decrease.
The report states that:
Relative to the average, conditions in Calgary were better for buyers and conditions in Vancouver better for sellers, a finding consistent with the movement of the Teranet-National Bank indices for these markets. The Toronto market is no longer tightening. Between January 17, when the federal minister of finance announced that the maximum amortization period for an insured mortgage would be reduced to 30 years from 35 years, and March 18, the announced effective date, the resale market may have been influenced by the prospect of this change.
Source: www.housepriceindex.ca (click to enlarge)
Source: www.housepriceindex.ca (click to enlarge)
Defendants in massive mortgage lawsuit blame BMO for letting fraud happen – Calgary Herald, March 30 2011
In a spat that would sound familiar to those who followed the U.S. housing meltdown, defendants in a massive Calgary-based civil lawsuit have pinned blame for a multimillion-dollar mortgage fraud loss squarely on the bank that issued the loans.
“The plaintiff was eager to loan money in a heated real estate market. As high ratio mortgage loans were fully insured, the plaintiff took no care whatsoever in approving loans or supervising those who had the authority to approve mortgage loans,” reads a joint statement of defence.
Read the entire article here
Hi Mike,
Thanks for all your hard work in providing these stats. I especially appreciate and look forward to your updates on the Investor Quick Flips. Have you been tracking them for a while, and are they trending up or down?
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Mike Fotiou says: You gave me an idea for a new post. Will be up shortly.