Canadian Funding Corp Reviews CMHC Affordable Housing Reports

Seniors in Balcarres are enjoying an enhanced quality of life, following a $188,000 renovation of their building.

“The Government of Canada is proud to have contributed approximately $131,000 in funding for this project,” said Andrew Scheer, Member of Parliament for Regina – Qu’Appelle, on behalf of the Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development and Minister Responsible for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). “These renovated apartments will provide quality, affordable housing for seniors and benefit the economic and social well-being of the Balcarres community.”

“Repairing rental properties not only helps to build strong, healthy neighbourhoods but, most importantly, improves the quality of life for tenants in need of stable, quality, affordable housing,” said Glen Hart, MLA for Last Mountain – Touchwood, on behalf of Social Services Minister and Minister Responsible for Saskatchewan Housing Corporation, Donna Harpauer. “Our government is committed to putting vulnerable people first in this province, and affordable housing is an important part of that.”

Funding was provided by the Rental Residential Rehabilitation Assistance Program (Rental RRAP), which is cost-shared by the federal and provincial governments. Rental RRAP provided approximately $174,000 for the project (approximately $131,000 from the federal government, with about $43,000 from the Province). An additional $14,000 in funding was provided by the provincial Saskatchewan Home Energy Improvement Program (SHEIP).

Rental RRAP provides financial assistance to rental property owners who provide affordable accommodation to low-income tenants and whose properties need major repairs.

The renovations to heating, electrical, structural, and fire safety systems were completed by Balcarres and District Senior Housing Corporation.

Located at 413 Lisgar Street, the project is an apartment building consisting of 14 one-bedroom suites.

In 2008, the Government of Canada committed more than $1.9 billion over five years to improve and build new affordable housing and to help the homeless. Canada’s Economic Action Plan builds on this with an additional one-time investment of more than $2 billion over two years in new and existing social housing, plus up to $2 billion in loans to municipalities for housing-related infrastructure.

In Saskatchewan, the amendment to the Canada – Saskatchewan Affordable Housing Program Agreement, and the amendment to the Renovation Program Agreement signed in May 2009, brought federal housing support to $84 million, while the province is contributing a further $77 million for the combined investment of over $161 million.

Canada’s housing market has become so much more grounded since the ugly property bust of the last recession that this time around it is one of the most resilient sectors of the economic downturn.The lessons learned from the housing bust of the early 1990s helped prevent Canada from being tempted down the subprime path that devastated the United States and, combined with record low interest rates and government stimulus, has caused the impact of the latest slump to be less severe and relatively short lived, figures released Tuesday underscore.”The turnaround in Canadian housing this year might be the single most surprising turnabout we’ve seen in any economic indicator I can think of,” said Douglas Porter, deputy chief economist at BMO Capital Markets. “The fact we saw a little bit of a rebound isn’t a total shock, but the extent of it is nothing short of amazing.”Sales of existing homes in June were up a seasonally adjusted 8.7 per cent from the previous month, marking a fifth straight increase, Canadian Real Estate Association figures showed. Sales were 17.9 per cent higher than a year earlier. Resales activity rocketed along at a record pace in the second quarter, surging by 31.5 per cent from the first quarter of 2009.Porter said the results were “galaxies away” from the yearly decline of about 40 per cent registered at the start of the year.Millan Mulraine, an economics strategist at TD Securities, said record-low mortgage rates were a key difference between the housing bust of the 1990s — when interest rates were on the increase — and now. The ’90s housing downturn, the recovery from which took a decade, resulted in Canada introducing tighter lending standards, which helped prevent house prices becoming too overblown prior to U.S. subprime crisis.Mulraine said that while house prices, sales and construction suffered along with the rest of the recession-struck economy this time around, the market’s relatively stable condition and the relative health of Canada’s banking sector created an opportunity for homebuyers to take advantage of record low interest rates, more affordable prices and government stimulus. The rise in sales activity as well as a drop in new listings have caused the inventory of unsold homes to fall to 4.2 months of supply, the lowest level since August 2007 and well below the peak of 12.8 months hit at the beginning of the year. “Inventory levels are still high in many markets, but fewer new listings and rising sales activity suggests that the selection of homes available for sale may shrink as the year progresses,” said Gregory Klump, chief economist at CREA. “The supply of homes up for sale needs to be drawn down further before average price increases become more widespread among local markets.”The average price of homes sold in June was up 1.7 per cent from a year earlier, skewed higher by rising demand in some of the country’s most expensive markets like Toronto and Vancouver.Klump said monthly sales activity would likely not continue on an unbroken rise, but activity in the second half of this year would “meet or surpass” the results of the first half. Other sectors of the housing market have also registered improvements. Figures from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation showed last week the seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts rose eight per cent to 140,700 in June, while Statistics Canada building permits figures showed that construction intentions rose 14.8 per cent in May.

http://www.calgaryherald.com/Canadian+housing+market+withstands+recession/1796829/story.html

brought by Moishe ALexander, CFC canadian funding corp CEO

Canada has of course also been going through a real estate crisis, just as the United States has. However, it’s perhaps worth noting that the Edmonton banks are once again beginning to offer mortgages. Of course, it is only to be expected that they are now a little more cautious than before with regards to the way they view a property as well as the borrower. Nonetheless, this is an ideal time to apply for a mortgage given that the interest rates are incredibly low. Furthermore, it is said that the housing market has by all accounts bottomed out, so if this is the first time you’re contemplating purchasing a property, you’ve come along at just the right time in order to get the lowest possible price, together with the lowest interest rates.

Surprisingly enough, even though the government phased out 100% loans, providing you have a good credit history, you can still obtain 95% financing. What this means is; apart from attorney fees, you will only be required to make a down payment of 5%.

Government guaranteed mortgages are still out there too for Edmonton mortgages. A few of the rules have changed, but they are not deal breakers by any means. For instance, the maximum amortization period has changed slightly moving down from 40 years to 35 years. Government backed mortgages will now require that a 5% down payment needs to be paid now, and there is a minimum credit score requirement now.

These steps have essentially been taken in order to safeguard Canadian citizens from witnessing the same mess as is being seen by U.S. citizens. Unlike the current feeling in the United States, the housing bubble in Canada has not yet burst so to speak, particularly in Edmonton because of conservative mortgage lending in the past.

The Canada Mortgage Housing Corporation (CMHC) mortgages offer many flexible financing tools and options, such as extended amortization periods, and the single advance plan as well as progress advances are available. Also do not ever forget that those mortgages offer portability for your next home should you have to move! Also, remember that you will be given a break for purchasing an energy efficient home in Edmonton.

Other good news circulating in the mortgage market is that as from June, 2009 residential starts actually saw an increase for the second consecutive month, whereas in the United States, residential housing starts are all but non-existent.

The Canada Mortgage Housing Corporation recently reported that the overall vacancy rate regarding senior housing in standard units has remained steady at 5.9% since the beginning of the year. Additionally, the average rent for a standard retirement home unit has remained at approximately $2,334 per month in Alberta.

We do however have one thing in common with our southern neighbors in that we also have access to hard money lenders in Edmonton. In fact, it is common knowledge that these lenders have been freeing up a considerable amount of cash in recent times and as a result, mortgages are now available but they come with a loan to value ratio of approximately 70/30 which of course is quite expensive, both in terms of interest and points. For this reason, unless you have been refused a mortgage by the banks, you would be well advised to avoid such private lenders altogether.

http://firstforextrading.com/mortgages-in-edmonton-3643

brought by Moishe Alexander, CFC canadian funding corp CEO