MORTGAGE INSURANCE NEWS

CMHC could be pulled out of mortgage insurance business, Flaherty says
By Garry Marr
Financial Post Apr 27, 2012

Finance Minister Jim Flaherty would consider taking Canada Mortgage Housing Corp. out of the mortgage default insurance business he told the National Post’s editorial board.

“Over time, I don’t think it’s essential that a government financial institution provide mortgage insurance in Canada. I think what’s key is that mortgage insurance is available at a reasonable cost in Canada. I think there is a role to regulate but whether we, the Canadian people, have to be the owners and shareholders of a financial institution to do this is a question. I don’t think it’s essential in the long run.”

He offered no timetable on when the government could get out of mortgage default insurance business, just offering it up as a possibility. “We have a list of Crowns, Crown agencies that are being reviewed,” said Mr. Flaherty.

In a wide-ranging discussion on the housing market, he said he has no plans to increase CMHC’s current $600-billion loan limit, ruled out any possibility of regulating foreign real estate investment and made it clear his focus is on the governance of Crown corp. which controls about 75% of the mortgage default insurance business in the country.

“For some time now I’ve had concerns about the large commercial role that CMHC now plays. CMHC has become a significant Canadian financial institution. As you know, historically it was created with a mandate post-war to advance housing in Canada. It’s become much more that.”

The finance minister moved this week to tighten control of CMHC, placing it under the authority of the country’s banking regulator, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions. Previously, it fell under the watch of the Department of Human Resources and Skills Development.

The shift comes with CMHC closing in on the $600-billion limit the government has for how much of its portfolio will be backstopped by the taxpayer. Three years ago it was $450-billion.

By law, consumers must buy mortgage default insurance if they have less than a 20% down payment on a home and are borrowing from a federally regulated financial institution.

But CMHC has not been insuring just those loans, it has agreed to step in and insure loans — with the premiums paid by financial institutions — for lower-ratio mortgages, or what is called “portfolio” or “bulk insurance.”

He said the head of OFSI will now have the power to look at the books of CMHC the way she looks at the books of other private financial institutions in Canada. Already, the government has placed the deputy minister of finance on the board of CMHC.

“We have quite a bit of information about what the banks do and don’t do. [Superintendent] Julie Dickson had to go to some of them in the last year and say ‘you must ensure that your board policies on residential lending mortgages are carried through,” he said. “She’s quite a strict supervisor which is good for our country.”

OSFI has already been looking into CMHC and established one of the key issues for the organization is governance. “OFSI are certainly of the view there are necessary governance improvements we can do,” said Mr. Flaherty.

He made it clear there are no plans to extend CMHC’s $600-billion limit. “For a while,” said Mr. Flaherty, about how long the Crown corporation would have to exist under that limit. It was at $541-billion at the end of the third quarter of last year but business has slowed as the agency culled its portfolio business.

Mr. Flaherty’s own opinion on the housing market is that has been fuelled by low interest rates which he says he does not control. “Cheap money,” he said, noting he did talk to the banks about being unhappy about their mortgage rate wars earlier this year which had reduced the rate on a five-year closed mortgage to below 3% — an all-time low.

As to whether the market has been in part fueled by foreign buyers, as many in the real estate industry have suggested, Mr. Flaherty said his government will not get involved in that aspect of the market. “No,” he said, pausing to emphasize the point. “I don’t think there is [a role]. They key in housing from my point of view is to get the best information on housing.”

SAY NO TO WAR

Most Canadians would balk at bidding war
Sheila Dabu Nonato
Postmedia News Apr 19, 2012

About a quarter of Canadians say they are willing to enter into a “bidding war” in Canada’s housing market and pay up to 120% of the asking price, according to a BMO report released Thursday.

The BMO Buying Report said Canadian respondents in the Prairies, Ontario and Alberta are more willing to enter into a bidding war than those in Quebec and Atlantic Canada.

In the survey, 22% of Canadians said they were willing to enter into a bidding war when making an offer on a home.

“Of those prepared to fight, half would pay up to 110% of the asking price, while a quarter would be willing to bid up to 120%,” the report said.

Those surveyed in Manitoba/Saskatchewan ranked first in eagerness to enter into a mortgage bidding war (32%). They were followed by respondents in: Ontario (28%), Alberta (25%), B.C. (23%), Atlantic Canada (13%) and Quebec (10%).

The study also noted that 52% of Canadians surveyed said they’re willing to pay between 100 and 110% of the asking price, with Quebec ranking first at 62%. It was followed by: Alberta and B.C. (53%), Ontario (51%), Manitoba/Saskatchewan (48%) and Atlantic Canada (44%).

Meanwhile, 27% of Canadians said they would pay between 100 to 120%, with the highest in Atlantic Canada (33%), then Ontario and B.C. (30%), Quebec (25%), Manitoba/Saskatchewan (22%) and Alberta (17%).

John Pasalis, broker owner of Realosophy Realty Inc., a Toronto-area real estate brokerage, cautioned that the bidding wars may not be as lucrative as they seem.

“One thing to keep in mind is the houses that are getting pretty crazy bidding wars are underpriced anywhere from five to 10%,” he said. “The list prices aren’t always an indication of what they’re actually worth.”

Pasalis said his company has seen “multiple offers almost non-stop for years now,”including as much as 10 or more buyers bidding on a house.

“You just get these spikes and valleys in the market where things get a little bit more heated and demand starts outstripping supply as things get faster,” he explained.

However, the mortgage wars may backfire on owners if the bank’s appraisal of the home is lower than what a buyer pays for the home, he said.

To avoid this, Pasalis cautioned that homeowners need to know the actual market value of the property they want to buy as opposed to its listing price.

Nationally, the average home sale price is $369,677, the report said. The average home prices across Canada are “rising modestly,” it said, except in Toronto ($504,117) and Vancouver ($761,742).

“Toronto prices have risen 11% over the past year, while Vancouver’s have fallen 3%,” said Doug Porter, deputy chief economist for BMO Capital Markets.

The survey was completed online by Leger Marketing from March 19-22 with a sample of 1,000 Canadian home or condo owners. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.1%, 19 times out of 20.

Photo By: Kamilerner

VIC PARK TO GET NEW PARK

Parking lot to be transformed into Victoria Park park
Project includes courtyard and ‘memory screens’ for projecting videos and historic images
By Annalise Klingbeil
Calgary Herald April 25, 2012

A small southeast parking lot is set to become a new community park in a once-neglected neighbourhood that is desperate for green space.

The City of Calgary held a public open house Monday at a Macleod Trail noodle house to discuss the proposed East Victoria Park redevelopment with citizens.

The site, currently being used as a parking lot, is located above the C-Train tunnel along Macleod Trail between 11th and 12th avenues S.E.

“East Victoria Park is a new up-and-coming area. It’s already deficient in park space,” said Michelle Reid, project manager with the City of Calgary parks department.

The open house was an opportunity for citizens to weigh in on the preliminary concept plan. Gathering citizen feedback is an important step when creating new parks, said Reid.

“They’re the ultimate end users and we want to make sure that we give them a space that they can embrace and actively use,” said Reid.

The proposed redevelopment includes a courtyard that can accommodate small events and gatherings, with lots of open lawn area, perfect for picnics, and “memory screens” which can be used to project videos at night and historic images during the day.

The park will enhance the quality of life for Calgarians who live and work in the area, said Deron Miller, principal at Scatlif+Miller+Murray, the landscape architect and planning firm behind the project.

“This place will become an urban oasis,” said Miller.

At Monday’s open house, citizens were invited to fill out a survey about the redevelopment, which asked questions about design, landscaping, the central open space and moving the Enoch Sales house onto the site, provided funds are available.

It has been proposed that the Enoch Sales house, one of the last remaining historic houses in Victoria Park, be incorporated into the redevelopment as a cafe.

Citizen feedback surrounding the proposed green space, which is about 3,000 square metres in size, has been mainly positive, said Reid.

“One of the things that people are always a little bit worried about is who is going to be using this, how is it going to be used,” she said.

Reid said all users will be welcome at the park, but undesirable uses will not be welcome.

Calgarians who live and work in East Victoria Park will have to wait a few years to enjoy the new park. The current parking lot lease expires in June 2013 and construction of the green space is set to begin in July, said Reid.

TO BE GREEN WITH ENVY

'Urban oasis' slated for St. Patrick's Island
Development plan includes boardwalks, $25M bridge
By Jason Markusoff
Calgary Herald April 26, 2012

Overgrown with weedy brush and nothing inviting beyond a few metal benches and cracked pathways, St. Patrick's Island has long been the ugly sibling of the Calgary Zoo's St. George's Island and the festival-friendly Prince's Island.

Its Cinderella conversion will come at the hands of the redevelopment agency that controls East Village, and will follow a similar pattern of the nearby RiverWalk: clear it out, spruce it up and watch 'em come.

Landscape architects from Denver and New York were announced Wednesday to convert a haven for rough sleepers and drug dealers into a paradise of boardwalks, food concessions, skating and family picnics.

"We're quite confident we can create a place where people and kids can safely touch the river, put their toes in the water," said Mark Johnson of Colorado-based Civitas. "So that you can have the kind of adventure play you get in the mountains right in the core of the city."

Although the redesign is aimed at maintaining a natural feel on the island, the big first step will be razing invasive species of shrubbery and trees that have provided cover for the sleeping homeless.

It will have better "visual access" and much better lighting, Johnson said.

"Being on an island comes with the connotation that you're getting away a little bit - that you're not in the heart of things, that you're a little isolated and that's special," Johnson said.

"Well, today, as soon as the leaves come out, you cross the bridge and you get on the island, you don't realize you're on an island, because you're enclosed in the woods. So we'd like to do some opening."

Civitas has overhauled a riverside stretch in Denver while partner W Architecture of New York did the same with part of Harlem along the East River.

But the head of Calgary Municipal Land Corp. said the redesign will do more than take cues from nature.

"One of the key pieces of feedback we got from Calgarians is don't overlandscape the setting. Yes, we want it to be attractive and we want to pull people down to it, but we still want it to feel like it's an urban oasis," Michael Brown said.

A lagoon will be restored between St. Patrick's and St. George's islands, for wading and winter skating. Next to it will be an amphitheatre for a couple of hundred spectators, as well as food concessions.

An open event space will mark the centre of the island, and its west tip will be crowned by a $25million pedestrian bridge connecting to both Memorial Drive and East Village.

It will be built by Graham Construction - the same firm that delivered the Peace Bridge nearly 11/2 years behind schedule.

However, a different team within the Calgary-based infrastructure giant will deliver this unnamed bridge, a simpler double-arch crossing designed by French firm RFR.

"Not as complicated for the construction, no," said Bill Campbell, Graham's operations manager on this project as well as the on-time, onbudget 4th Street S.E. underpass.

The bridge and island will be funded through the same "revitalization levy" loan that will be recouped through property taxes by new development in East Village and the downtown's east end, including The Bow office tower.

Brown said the island will find its "niche" by welcoming smaller festivals than could fill Prince's Island, which was named one of the top 10 public spaces in Canada last year by Spacing magazine.

The architects of St. Patrick's Island have an opportunity that didn't exist with Prince's Island - to reinvent the whole thing all at once.

The downtown's largest park space was redesigned in stages - first in the 1960s, and then again in the 1990s, with the addition of the eastern wetlands and a massive stage.

Large chunks of Prince's Island's northern side remain naturally rugged, and offer few clear vistas of the Bow River for park-goers.

"A lot has changed when it comes to incorporating natural areas and park design," Ald. Druh Farrell said.

Ald. Gian-Carlo Carra said the addition of an eatery like another River Cafe would create a "sense of ownership" on the island.

"Public spaces need mayors, whether it's the guys who run the kiosk or people who have a legitimate commercial reason to be there to ensure that a space is well kept up and makes sure that the bad guys don't set up shop," he said.

A restaurant is also a key feature of the revamped Central Memorial Park.

KEY PROPOSALS

- Amphitheatre for a couple of hundred spectators
- Food concessions
- $25-million pedestrian bridge linking both East Village and Memorial Drive
- New bike pathways
- Nature trails and boardwalks
- Restored lagoon for skating and wading between St. Patrick's and St. George's islands
- Kayak/raft launch

BLOOM & BOOM

Calgary housing market booming
Calgary Herald April 23, 2012

Just over three weeks into April and it appears Calgary’s housing market has seen a resurgence of activity this spring.

A boom perhaps?

According to the Calgary Real Estate Board, MLS sales in all housing categories are noticeably up compared with last year.

From April 1-22, single-family sales of 1,108 transactions are up 26.05 per cent from the same period a year ago but the average sale price has dipped by 0.43 per cent to $481,423.

The condo apartment category has seen sales grow year-over-year by 14.91 per cent to 262 units while the average price has dropped by 2.83 per cent to $269,046.

And in the condo townhouse sector, sales of 198 are up 15.79 per cent from last year and the average price has risen by 6.46 per cent to $319,140.

COMMERCIAL LEASING REMAINS STRONG

Demand for Calgary downtown office space remains strong
Second Eighth Avenue Place tower nears being fully leased
By Mario Toneguzzi
Calgary Herald April 27, 2012

CALGARY — Continued demand for Calgary downtown office space has been so strong that the latest skyscraper project is getting closer to being fully leased.

Joe Binfet, managing director for Colliers International in Calgary, said the commercial real estate firm has received “tremendous traction” in leasing the West Tower of the Eighth Avenue Place development.

“There are only seven unencumbered floors left on which we can do lease deals on and remember this is a 40-floor, 841,000 square foot office tower. So that’s a significant sign of the strength of the Calgary economy downtown,” he said.

There’s about 150,000 square feet of vacant space in the second tower on the site which just recently began construction.

The owners of the project, which comprises a 49-storey tower on the site of the former Penny Lane block, recently said initial occupancy on the 40-storey second tower is planned for the spring of 2014.

The project is co-owned by Alberta Investment Management Corp., Ivanhoe Cambridge and Matco Investments Ltd.

The existing 49-storey tower, comprising 1.1 million square feet of office space, was completed in early 2011. Its construction began without any pre-leasing.

“There’s continued demand for AA and A space,” said Binfet.

“It’s not a frenzied pace like we were seeing earlier in the year but we are seeing cautious optimism in the marketplace and that bodes well for downtown office space right now.”

A downtown office report by Colliers said there has been 866,351 square feet of absorbed space in the first quarter of this year, marking the 10th consecutive quarter of positive absorption. The overall downtown vacancy dropped from 4.49 per cent in the previous quarter to 4.20 per cent “despite projections that the completion of The Bow, Encana and Cenovus’ new head office, would push the vacancy rate up across all building classes,” said Colliers.

It said AA and A class markets remain very tight with the AA vacancy rate at just 0.59 per cent. This is the lowest AA vacancy rate since 2006.

“Many companies with a long-term outlook for Calgary, and Alberta alike, are looking to new developments as their best leasing solution, given the limited availability within existing buildings,” added Colliers.

A downtown office market report by Avison Young said new office construction is not just possible but necessary.

“Vacancy models assuming even modest annual absorption in the area show downtown vacancy below three per cent for the next five years,” it said.

“It is likely that given the modest absorption rate we will reach sub one per cent vacancy in the downtown by mid-2013. What this means is that at least some major developments currently in pre-leasing will likely commit to construction within the year.”

Avison Young said this has already happened with Cadillac Fairview’s City Centre project while other major downtown developments could move ahead as well.

“Likely candidates include: Brookfield’s Herald Block, Oxford’s Eau Claire Tower, Aspen’s Palliser West and H&R REIT’s Bow South. All these developments are on a four-year or longer timeline so vacancies will remain very low.”

Photo by: Surrealplaces

1500 to 2000 square feet in Home Plan

Minimum space in make best small home plan 1500 to 2000 square feet 
3 : Bedrooms
2 : Bathrooms
Width: 58'0"
Depth: 32'0"
Total Area: 1659 Sq Ft.
1375 Sq Ft. : Main Floor
284 Sq Ft : Second Floor

1500 to 2000 square feet in Home Plan

Minimum space in make best small home plan 1500 to 2000 square feet 
3 : Bedrooms
2 : Bathrooms
Width: 58'0"
Depth: 32'0"
Total Area: 1659 Sq Ft.
1375 Sq Ft. : Main Floor
284 Sq Ft : Second Floor

Where Best Office Furniture are Provided

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You may not notice but it is important that it is not merely about the mattresses although they play grave role. It is also about asserting your loved ones childhood, where they sleep and what wonders assert them, ill remain for the rest of their lives. This is why the best is provided for them. The Childrens Beds are ranged based on the form, colors provided and even rate. This way you can match your budget with the options available and create a dream come true for your beloved little one.

Now that you have given it some time to look at the list, the next thing to do is place an order. The team will be more than happy to make sure that they arrive at your door as soon as possible. The delivery system ensures that you receive your package in the best condition. This allows you to unpack, assemble with ease and have your little ones enjoy. With these Novelty Beds you are no longer going to have trouble in tucking in your child. They will slip off to wonderland right away. So have fun choosing!

Modern Kitchen Inspiration

The present interior design of the kitchen is a blend of modern design with minimalist but they are inspiring each other to create a new harmony in love many people in general as it seemed at once charming and clean and also privileged.

Variety of patterns and motifs that can make your home interior design inspired by, in this under several designs and solid colors.

Modern concept of equally adapted human lifestyles nowadays who want all-round practical and not spend a lot of money but produce good work. But the more modern style elements of an impact on science and technology without any other design element.
Actually, besides the kitchen to cook as well as a handy place to put certain tools, and kitchen are also often used to gather with family members.
May this be your reference for inspired and developed the concept of interior design of your kitchen, thank you.

 

 

 

find other related information about the interior of the house: http://www.home-designing.com/2011/01/kitchen-inspiration

Vacation Home Creative Design

Design is designed by artists from this country is australia kangaroos, have a creative concept, although the house is also for the melt. The unique design of this house is such a weird tunnel if people saw the cloud, but the interior could build this design is fantastic and special.

With building materials of wood, and asbestos that Indonesian people say. work that is very creative and innovative in an outstanding work.

Concepts that permeate rural of this design, will create a calm environment neutral, natural and comfortable fit with impressive views of natural bushland, while the fan shape with a solid architecture gives the orthodox camp with a certain elegance and very attractive when viewed by the eye.

Large windows open space side of the building to allow air ventilation through the sub tropical house, with a forked ventilation located at one end of the tubular tunnel house, creation starts to look a little less like a like a jet engine aircraft, the design is silly but it provides a peaceful atmosphere.

Comfortable atmosphere to match the area to make residents feel in a beautiful. may be useful and provide a reference for fans of the home and interior design enthusiasts below some examples of designs that have been prepared, let us consider one by one.

 

Source : http://www.home-designing.com/2012/04/unusual-holiday-home-for-creative-campers

FI House Design from Merida

Interior design was developed in a very small village that is in Merida, Spain. with the concept of a special design then so be it F1 House which is a dwelling that is magnificent.

From the corner of the room look open house all overlooking the Swimming Pool concept is fitted, the windows are installed with the open surrounded by various plants around the home or residential home makes it a favorite and can really make the reference for an architecture that will be developed.

Into the pool "heart" of the home is the dream of everyone, but it's not easy to work hard to obtain maximum results and in accordance with what is in want, all the space around it, that when a window is opened, the living room, hall, dining room, kitchen and terrace are combined in a modern and dynamic concept. This scheme, in the center of the page is open, from the point north, south west will all this lead to the pool.
In da house interior TV space and space to relax and do the rest of everyday life, this design is very specific and special.

Contrast material in each element of the house. Structural elements are covered with heavy stone contrasts with the light from the window and with a strong texture drunk concrete, the structure of the dwelling house is made of concrete and metal making it very hard in the event of a quake is very safe and comfortable. may be useful to readers and developing more concepts that you want.

Source : http://www.homedsgn.com/2012/04/15/fi-house-by-punto-arquitectonico/

Pictures Of Modern Living Rooms - Pictures Of Modern Living Rooms Decorated

living rooms designs

But first, back to break abroad from a theme? A active allowance charge be adequate for you and your guests. However, if the purpose of decorating is to promote your home, stick with the acceptable colors and abstain claimed touches. Added bodies will be able to anticipate it as their own.



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living room interior design

An American country attending can be accomplished with apparent brick, balmy copse tones and delicate colors. Period appliance usually a rustic, hand-carved detailing. Use pastels or apple tones and apple-pie lines. The civic floral and accompany this affair actual able-bodied together.



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Pictures Of Modern Living Rooms

Emphasize abreast styles in both bendable colors and textures. The colors are balmy and adumbration in the average range. Pale colors are accepted to not be so relaxed. Textures can accommodate copse floors and bendable fabrics couch.



The attending of the Mediterranean may be accepted and available to generate. The colors reflect those start in nature, like a sky dejected and sea green. Make use of terracotta tiles and arches. The appliance can ambit from simple and anatomic brass, wrought iron, and formal.

Swimming Pool Minimalist

several concepts that must be understood in a minimalist build a swimming pool is the size of the land to create a pool, the architecture must be developed and made ​​the design is useful and beneficial.

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A paradise for enthusiasts of this pool is a natural and minimalist concept and comfort are guaranteed 100% range of the park around the venue to make the eye feel more comfortable.

swimming with colors like ocean blue water with a variety of grasses that surround the park and it will feel cool, there are also features that can make us fascinated with this interior design.

Under this concept could apply and renovate and hopefully can help you in developing a reference to a more minimalist, may be useful for us all, thank you.

 

 

  

 

Buena Vista Residence interior design from San Francisco

The architects of the san francisco, USA was the interior design is not inferior to other countries for example, Buena Vista Residence was developed with the concept of a mature and have a lot of meaning behind a name.

From the front it looks very, very beautiful and majestic like a king's palace, with a variety of flowers in front of the park is also equipped the enchanting Buena Vista Resisdence is very charming and elegant design something completely steady.

Corner of the door in the love of some furniture that is glass that has the effect of existing interior with contemporary concepts.

Kitchen space in a blanket a few shades like khaki tiger to where the kitchen is rich bolder predator is the tiger.

Floors made ​​of wood will make the interior design of san francisco is very special, so if someone visiting will definitely ask about the design that most people are complimented with a smile.
The bathroom door is also equipped with a glass truly elegant interiors and designs that can not be defeated very good indeed.

Below are various pictures that can be made in reference to develop the interior design of the kitchen space that you have hopefully add insight to you and to encourage the importance of housing for you.

source info: http://www.homedsgn.com/