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In Canada’s housing market here’s what $500 K buys: A lake in Edmonton … a condo in Toronto – Consult with Bruce Coleman, Vancouver Mortgage Broker

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The Canadian Real Estate Association has predicted that the national average price for a home will be $391,000 this year.

But it’s hard to compare how far your buck will go in Canadian cities using that figure, since the average prices at year’s end are so very different: $785,574 in Vancouver and $320,693 in Montreal, for instance. So we’ve found a round figure in the middle and asked, what could approximately $500,000 have bought homebuyers in various markets across the country?

EDMONTON

Shaughn Butts/Edmonton Journal$499,900 in Edmonton will get you two-and-a-half storey, three-bedroom show home, with double detached garage and 2.5 baths.

The place: Two-and-a-half storey, three-bedroom show home, with double detached garage and 2.5 baths

List price: $499,900

Square footage: 1,901

Taxes: $3,400

Monthly fees: HOA $300/month

Where: Late stage of an established development in city’s southeast, south of the ring road. Forty minutes to downtown, 10 minutes to the airport, and five minutes to a residents-only recreational lake.

Top features: Loft-den, bonus room with Juliet balcony, hardwood, gas fireplace, all appliances, deck and landscaping included. As a bonus, all the furnishings are included. HOA fee includes access to a 32-acre freshwater lake with sandy beach, dock, tennis courts and all-season clubhouse.

Contact: Madeline Sarafinchin, Jayman Realty (Edm) Inc.; 780-913-6595

MONTREAL

HandoutThis four-bedroom bungalow in a western suburb of Montreal comes with a salt-water pool.

The place: Four-bedroom bungalow with two baths, built in 1959

List price: $492,500

Square footage: 1,442

Where: The Beaurepaire area of Beaconsfield, a western suburb of Montreal. Not far from Lac St. Louis and a commuter train station.

Top features: Comfortable bright living room with wood fireplace opening to dining area. Fully renovated three years ago, with spacious and modern kitchen with granite counter tops. Unique south-facing den adjacent to master bedroom. Fenced yard with new salt-water pool on a lot of 9,122 square feet. Extra-large basement family room with fourth bedroom, laundry room and workshop.

Taxes: $4,746

Monthly Fees: N/A

Contact: G. Shepherd Abbey, Abbey & Olivier Real Estate Agency; cell: 514-951-6008; office: 514-694-7866; shep@abbeyandolivier.ca

 OTTAWA

handoutIn the east-end suburb of Orleans, separated by a 20- to 25-minute highway drive from downtown Ottawa.

The place: Two-storey single family home with four bedrooms and four bathrooms

List price: $499,900

Square footage: 3,200

Where: In the east-end suburb of Orleans, separated by a 20- to 25-minute highway drive from downtown Ottawa. This home is a short walk to shopping, cafés, parks, schools and public transit.

Top features: Classic crown moulding and gleaming hardwood floors run throughout the main level of this Naismith model by Minto. The kitchen is open to the family room to allow ease of flow when guests come to visit. An elegant curved hardwood staircase leads to the upper landing. Homeowners can spread out with two spacious ensuite bathrooms and three walk-in closets. The backyard is fully fenced with no rear neighbours.

Taxes: $4,879

Monthly Fees: N/A

Contact: Jason Pilon, Keller Williams Ottawa Realty, Jason@PilonHamilton.com, PilonHamilton.com; 613-845-0271

REGINA

HandoutThis two-storey split in Regina has13 rooms, including three bedrooms and three bathrooms.

The place: A two-storey split with 13 rooms, including three bedrooms and three bathrooms

List price: $519,900

Square footage: 2,090

Where: Situated in a well-established, well-treed neighbourhood in southeast Regina, close to schools, parks and shopping. Only a few minutes drive from downtown. Backing green space.

Top features: A spacious family home, built in 1984, featuring many updates and upgrades, including a modern, eat-in kitchen with granite countertops, and heated slate flooring through the kitchen, dining area and hallway. A garden door leads to the deck overlooking a beautifully landscaped yard with patio, pond and flower beds. The over-sized garage is insulated and drywalled.

Taxes: $3,263

Monthly Fees: N/A

Contact: Leanne Tourney, Re/Max Joyce Tourney Realty; 306-791-7666

HandoutFormer show home with all the bells and whistles: hardwood floors, kitchen island and walk-in pantry, central air, central vac, four bathrooms and a fully finished basement.

SASKATOON

The place: Two-storey, four bedrooms, four bathrooms

List price: $504,900

Square footage: 3,975

Where: Premium Stonebridge location in the south end of the city. New development full of young families, close to shopping, parks and leisure facilities. Quick access to freeway means that downtown Saskatoon is only a short drive away.

Top features: Former show home with all the bells and whistles: hardwood floors, kitchen island and walk-in pantry, central air, central vac, four bathrooms and a fully finished basement. Open concept. Main-floor laundry.

Taxes: $3,975

Monthly Fees: N/A

Contact: Listed by Manning Luo, Re/Max Saskatoon; 306-242-6000; manning@saskatoonrealestates.ca

TORONTO

HandoutFor around $500,000 in Toronto you can get a two-bedroom townhouse and have to pay $503 per month in fees.

The place: Two-bedroom, two-storey loft townhouse with one bathroom and one parking space

List price: $489,900

Square footage: 806

Taxes: $2,802.21 in 2013

Monthly fee: Maintenance/HOA of $503 per month

Where: Excellent downtown-west location in the trendy Niagara neighbourhood, with transit, cafés and restaurants nearby. Walking distance to the 37-acre, uber-popular family- and pet-friendly Trinity Bellwoods Park.

Top features: Exposed concrete feature walls, floor-to-ceiling windows, custom kitchen, gas hookup for barbecue on its garden patio.

Contact: Brad Lamb, Brad J. Lamb Realty Inc.; 416-368-5262; brad@torontocondos.com

Faith Wilson GroupThis one-bedroom condo at “The Grafton”, a heritage conversion building in Yaletown in Vancouver goes for $475,000.

VANCOUVER

The place: 1-bedroom, 1-bathroom condo in The Grafton

List price: $483,000

Square footage: 850

Where: Situated in a prime Yaletown neighbourhood in the heart of downtown, with trendy eateries, entertainment, sports venues and shopping on the doorstep, as well as the seawall and myriad transportation options.

Top features: A New York-style home that merges original heritage features — exposed brickwork and wood beams — with a modern open-concept interior. Features include hardwood floors, expansive windows and a functional floor plan, a gas fireplace, custom kitchen, master bedroom with walk-in closet, five-piece ensuite, storage locker and parking stall.

Taxes: $2,000

Monthly fees: $431 per month

Contact: Faith Wilson at Faith Wilson Group; 604-224-5277; toll-free: 1-855-760-6886

WINDSOR

Postmedia NewsIn Windsor you can get a four-bedroom, house with games room and office above garage, hardwood floors throughout, maple staircase and designer granite kitchen.

The place: Executive two-storey, four bedrooms, master ensuite bathroom, 2.5-car garage. Located in the suburb of Lakeshore

List price: $499,900

Square footage: 3,300

Taxes: $5,200

Where: Situated in a two-year-old subdivision, 20 minutes from downtown Windsor. Just minutes away from four golf courses and Lake St. Clair.

Top features: A games room and office above garage, hardwood floors throughout, maple staircase and designer granite kitchen, large fenced yard, covered porch and fenced, in-ground pool.

Contact: Larry Pickle, Re/Max Preferred; 519-944-5955

Canadian snowbirds’ dream of U.S. vacation home fading fast – Ask a Vancouver Mortgage Broker

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The hundreds of thousands of Canadian snowbirds who flock to the United States are being hit by a falling loonie that should see their purchasing of U.S. winter homes start to slow, says a new report.

It’s not going to be any sort of collapse, which is good news for Florida, the number one draw of Canadians where 3.5 million of us spend $4.4-billion annually.

“Make no mistake, the depreciation of the Canadian dollar will have an impact on Canadian stays in snowbird destinations such as Florida, but less than one might expect,” says Derek Burleton, deputy chief economist with Toronto-Dominion Bank, in a report.

Mr. Burleton’s real estate remarks are part of a broader report on the impact of a falling loonie on trips to the United States that are worth about $22.3-billion annually to the American economy based on 23.5 million Canadian visits.

For snowbirds looking to buy, TD says affordability has been impacted not just by the decline of the loonie against the greenback, but also increasing U.S. home prices.

What you need to know before, and after, buying a condo- ask Bruce Coleman, Vancouver Mortgage Broker

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What you need to know before, and after, buying a condo

Canada’s housing starts fell twice as fast as expected, raising concern about GDP growth – Ask a Vancouver Mortgage Broker

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Canadian housing starts fell twice as fast as economists expected in January, led by a drop in multiple-unit projects.

‘Housing no longer looks to be a source of growth’ for the economy, says CIBC economist Avery Shenfeld.
Getty Images

Work on new homes fell 3.7% to a 180,248-unit annualized pace, the third straight decline, Ottawa-based Canada Mortgage & Housing Corp. said Monday. Permits for dwellings such as apartments and condominiums fell 6.0% to 102,289 units and single-family homes rose from the lowest since July 2009 in January, gaining 3.4% to 60,869 units.

Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz expects a “soft landing” for the housing market after consumer spending and record debt accumulation led the world’s 11th economy out of the 2008 global financial crisis. CMHC said Monday’s figures are in line with its prediction that builders will slow new construction to avoid an inventory glut.

“Housing no longer looks to be a source of growth,” for the economy, said Avery Shenfeld, chief economist at CIBC World Markets in Toronto, in a note to clients.

The Bank of Canada’s growth outlook calls for increasing exports and business spending to take over from consumers.

“A slower pace of construction activity to start the year is consistent with the wider theme of domestic fatigue that will inevitably put more pressure on net exports to drive the next stage of Canada’s economic recovery,” said Connor McDonald, economist at Toronto-Dominion Bank, in a client note.

Canada’s dollar was 0.2% weaker after the report, trading for C$1.1048 per U.S. dollar at 9:14 a.m. in Toronto. One Canadian dollar bought 90.51 U.S. cents

Economists surveyed by Bloomberg had forecast a decline to 185,000 from the revised December reading of 187,144.

Bloomberg.com

TFSA or RRSP? Here’s how to decide – Consult with Bruce Coleman, Vancouver Mortgage Broker

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NOREEN RASBACH-  The Globe and Mail

Kuly Gill is every financial planner’s dream. The Calgary lawyer, in his 30s, owns a house, drives an older car and forgoes some annual vacations to save more for retirement. “I live cheap and put everything away,” he says.

His investment strategy is simple: Contribute the full amount allowed each year to a tax-free savings account (TFSA) and any other retirement savings into RRSPs. His portfolio is 100-per-cent equities, mostly blue chip, dividend-paying stocks.

In the TFSA versus RRSP debate, Mr. Gill has made a clear choice – TFSAs first. But as any financial expert will tell you, most Canadians are less certain about which tax-sheltered vehicle to choose if they can’t afford to contribute the maximum allowable amount to both.

Mr. Gill cites the rule used by many financial planners as a rough guideline: If your income (and therefore your tax rate) is greater now than you expect it to be during retirement, go with the RRSP; if it’s lower, go with the TFSA.

“If everything works out as I want it to, I expect to have a lot of income in the future,” Mr. Gill says.

However, for most young people, says David Chilton, author of The Wealthy Barber Returns, that’s an almost impossible guideline. “It involves a lot of guesswork,” he says. Who knows at 30 or 40 years old how much money they will have 25 or 35 years later, or what the tax system will be like decades from now?

Mr. Chilton, not surprisingly, takes a behavioural approach to the decision. If you’re going to put money in a registered retirement savings plan and “blow the refund on something stupid,” then a major advantage of the RRSP – the immediate tax benefit – is lost, he says. Similarly, because you can withdraw money from a TFSA at any time and put it back later, you may be tempted to raid your plan.

“A lot of people think the flexibility [of a TFSA] is an advantage, but I see it as a great disadvantage,” Mr. Chilton says.

Gordon Pape, the author of a slew of books on Canadian retirement planning, says there are other considerations when choosing between an RRSP and a TFSA. If you have a high salary and a blue-chip pension plan, such as a government pension, the TFSA may be the better bet. That’s because the pension, combined with Old Age Security and the Canada Pension Plan, could push your income high enough to prompt clawbacks of the government supports. RRSP withdrawals are considered income; TFSA withdrawals aren’t.

The same principle applies if you have a low income – RRSP withdrawals could affect whether or not you receive the Guaranteed Income Supplement.

However, Mr. Pape says that for most people, RRSPs make the most sense. Most people don’t have larger incomes when they retire, plus they can invest the tax refund they get immediately and benefit in the long-term from compound interest. “You have to look at the magic of compounding – the more years you have for your money to compound in a tax-sheltered environment, the more you’re going to have at the end of the day,” he says.

In the end, it’s the investments you make that matter the most, says Jon Palfrey, the Vancouver-based senior vice-president of Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd.

TFSAs and RRSPs are tools that can hold a variety of investments, but investors should follow a few important rules: First, he says, avoid any investment that is wildly speculative. “Don’t swing for the fences. You don’t get any benefit from a loss if [the investments] go down. Nothing can be offset.”

Mr. Palfrey’s second rule: Don’t put in cash – or GICs. “If you’re making less than 1 per cent on your GIC, the sheltering benefit is not meaningful.”

There are other investment decisions that apply to both. Mr. Palfrey says that if investors also have non-registered accounts, they should make sure to put bonds in a tax-sheltered account because of their high tax rates.

There are, however, two major differences between the two investment tools. The first involves U.S. stocks: If you hold a dividend-paying U.S. stock in your RRSP, you do not have to pay withholding tax on those dividends, Mr. Palfrey says. You would have to pay the tax (about 15 per cent) if the same stock was in your TFSA.

The second involves an investor’s age. As Mr. Pape points out, “you can’t have an RRSP after the age of 71, but you can have a TFSA for the rest of your life.”

For investors who complain about having to convert RRSPs to RRIFs at age 71 – and then being forced to take out a minimum each year after – TFSAs can be great alternatives.

———–

RRSP vs. TFSA: the basics

Taxes

• RRSP contributions are tax deductible (which means you get a tax refund), but you pay tax when you withdraw from the RRSP.
• TFSA contributions are not tax deductible, but withdrawals are tax-free.

Contribution limits

• For RRSPs, 18 per cent of your previous year’s income, to a maximum of $24,270 in 2014 (less any pension adjustment).
• For TFSAs, $5,500 in 2014. If you haven’t put money in a TFSA since they were introduced in 2009, your cumulative limit is now $31,000.

Age limits:

• You can’t make contributions to RRSPs after the year in which you turn 71.
• No age limits for TFSAs.

CMHC: Canadian housing starts and prices to stabilize in 2014 as demand slows

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TORONTO — Canada’s federal housing agency nudged up its forecast for housing starts and prices in 2014 and said sales and construction will be steady to higher in 2015 as an improving economy tempers the impact of rising mortgage rates.

The view from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp suggests the nation’s once-roaring housing market is settling into a soft landing, with construction moderating to more sustainable levels and sales and prices ticking slowly higher.

The CMHC said on Thursday housing starts will be in a range of 176,600 and 199,800 in 2014, with a point forecast, or most likely outcome, of 187,300 units, relatively unchanged from 187,923 units in 2013. That is up slightly from CMHC’s October estimate of 184,700 starts.

The agency said there will be 163,200 to 206,600 units started in 2015, with a point forecast of 184,900.

Both forecasts represent a sharp slowdown from the 214,827 starts of 2012, when the market was at record highs and the government intervened to tighten mortgage lending rules.

Canada sidestepped the worst of the financial crisis of the last decade because it avoided the real estate excesses of its U.S. neighbor, and a post-recession housing boom helped it recover more quickly than its Group of Seven peers.

But the housing market began to cool in mid-2012 after the country’s Conservative government, worried about a potential property bubble, tightened mortgage rules. Demand fueled a strong rebound in 2013, and economists are largely predicting a softer but stable market this year.

The CMHC forecasts see homebuilding and sales leveling off, with prices continuing to notch small gains.

CMHC said existing home sales will range from 436,000 to 497,000 in 2014, with a point forecast of 466,500 units. That’s down slightly from October’s forecast of 468,200 but up from 457,485 in 2013.

For 2015, it expects a move up to a range of 443,400 to 506,000, with an increase in the point forecast to 474,700.

Price gains are expected to slow in 2014 and 2015. CMHC’s point forecast for the average price calls for a 2.1% gain to $390,400 in 2014, and a 1.7% gain to $397,100 in 2015.

© Thomson Reuters 2014

BoC Decision: Pleasantville for Variable Mortgagors – Consult with Bruce Coleman, Vancouver Mortgage Broker

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Recent changes in Canadian mortgage rates – Consult with Bruce Coleman, Vancouver Mortgage Broker

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TD fourth big bank to quietly reduce some mortgage rates – Ask Bruce Coleman, Vancouver Mortgage Broker,

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TORONTO — The Canadian Press

Not the Time for a 10-year Fixed – Consult with Bruce Coleman, Vancouver Mortgage Broker

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