Sales rebounding for recreational properties after cold winter, late spring + MORE Jun 25th

Some comments I made about the changing lending landscape.  Click on the link below. The article was good and shed some light on just how much the federal government has tightened the Mortgage rules in Canada.  But the article excluded one very important fact. Yes, I agree that the govt has gone overboard with their […]

Mortgage broker volumes inched 1.9% higher in the first quarter, according to data from D+H. That data also showed that non-deposit-taking lenders have taken the lead back from banks in broker volume. Read More

TORONTO – Realtor group Remax says young families and near and recent retirees are driving the majority of recreational property sales across the country.
Remax says sales are rebounding after a late spring and is forecasting a modest increase in sales and prices for cottages, cabins, vacation condos and camps throughout the rest of the year.
The national realtor group says Canada’s strong residential real estate market in urban centres has had a spillover effect on recreational property sales with homeowners using equity gains in their homes to buy a second property.
Remax also says buyers are purchasing properties from where they can work throughout the summer and use all-year round.
It says while some potential buyers may have been discouraged by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s recent decision to eliminate insurance on second mortgages, there has been little to no impact on sales from the change.
Remax also says a weaker Canadian dollar has prompted buyers to remain in Canada rather than buying south of the border…

Finally, some good news on the Canadian debt front – the latest numbers from Statistics Canada find that Canadian credit levels are shrinking, while household net worth is growing.
The Daily Report, outlining the National Balance Sheet and Financial Flow Accounts (say that five times fast) for the first quarter of 2013, found national wealth clocks in at $7.8 trillion – a $115-billion increase, which is mainly due to an increase in real estate values.
According to the report:
Canadians are richer: Household net worth is $222,600, an increase of 2.5 per cent from Q4 2013.
Homes are worth more: Real estate values increased by 2 per cent.
Mortgage debt is slowing: Total mortgage debt clocks in at $1.1 trillion – a 0.6 per cent increase. This is the slowest rate of mortgage debt growth since 2009.
Canadians have less debt: The national debt-to-income ratio is now 163.2 per cent – down from 163.9 per cent last year.
Canadians own more of their homes: Owner equity in real estate is 69…

WASHINGTON – The government is considering whether to sue banks and other mortgage servicers to recover its losses from alleged insurance kickbacks that may have cost government-controlled mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac hundreds of millions of dollars, according to an internal report.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency, which is responsible for guarding Fannie and Freddie’s finances, told its inspector general’s office that it will consider filing the lawsuits and will make a formal decision over the next year.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which have been under the FHFA’s conservatorship since 2008, lost an estimated $168 million from the fees in 2012 alone, according to the report by the FHFA’s inspector general. The FHFA didn’t accept the inspector general’s estimate of damages, but the agency’s official response to the report said it “does not object” to the recommendation that it consider suing.
Banks and other mortgage servicers that might be subject to such lawsuits did not immediately respond to phone calls and email messages seeking comment on the threat of litigation…