News

An increasing number of Canadians are now passing family cottages on to children. But there are several challenges associated with cottage ownership that aren’t all sunshine and canoe trips, warn experts.

A particularly bleak winter season may have deferred many house purchases, but the warming market and the still-low mortgage rates have prompted the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) to essentially maintain its earlier housing forecast for 2014.

Missing paperwork and tardy replies are becoming more common and Realtors are in danger of losing clients – especially property investors – because of it.

Good news for agents with investor clients in western Canada: the vacancy rate in Canmore, Alta., has dropped to zero per cent.

Mortgage rates are getting even lower, as Bank of Nova Scotia becomes the latest lender to push the envelope, offering a five-year fixed rate of 2.97 per cent.

Condos that investors rent out privately are adding to Canada’s shortage of affordable housing, according to a report by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

The Real Estate Council of Ontario indicated that home buyers are increasingly OK with participating in bidding wars.

Canadian housing starts hit a seven-month high in May, increasing 0.8 per cent over April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 198,324 starts, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp (CMHC).

Negotiating doesn’t come naturally to a lot of people. It’s scary, daunting and intimidating. But with a bit of research and insider knowledge, you too can score a great deal using the tactics that the industry’s top agents use.

One Calgary-based Realtor says soon-to-be-implemented service agreements meant to better protect buyers may actually tie them to dishonest buying agents.