Equitable would be irresponsible if they had the same 45 mortgage brokers feeding them as well as Home Capital not to investigate. I am sure there are more than 45...but given the size of the portfolios, I hardly think one can extrapolate that to conclude that the situation is rampant. Migos...

From the Financial Post: Ottawa eyes tougher new mortgage rules, larger down payments, to curb Canada’s red hot housing market Republish Reprint Garry Marr | July 16, 2015 11:08 AM ET More from Garry Marr | @DustyWallet The federal government may be ready to take direct aim at Canada’s red-hot...

Thanks RButler for responding/clarifying. Seems that whatever happens...."housing correction".

Well, as you all may have already heard, the Bank of Canada has lowered their key lending rate by 0.25% from 0.75% to 0.50%. Consequently, the CAD dropped to $0.77 to the USD. I just came across this article in the Globe and Mail. What made me raise my eyebrow was the statement that the BoC...

Not to be too cynical but is the head of Royal Lepage saying this due to self serving interest. The fact that the rest of the country real estate market is flat and that in theory lowering interest rates will stoke the Vancouver/Toronto/Hamilton markets even more....already unaffordable....will...

No one ever went wrong taking a profit. Remember....bulls make money, bears make money...pigs get slaughtered. No one can time everything right. Heck, if I get 50% +1 I consider it a good day LOL Interesting article by David Rosenberg in the FP today: David Rosenberg: Another reason...

Yellen and Clan have already been back tracking a bit. Interest rates will rise but now it seems more slowly than first feared and at most to 0.5% this year and perhaps to 1.5 to 2.5% next year and up to 3.5% in 2017. While this is definitely a rise, I think with time and this type of raise...

I agree with this. Migos, would you buy for investment purposes today? I think there may be select buys that make sense but overall at least in the new condo market, I don't believe there are many good investments. It is the leverage that is juicing the perceived returns and even a slight...

The 18th and 19th floors are unique. I believe there are mechanicals on 18 and I believe possibly on 19. The regular repeating floor pallette starts from 20 to 50. The 18th and 19th floor do trade at discounts. Personally I would recommend getting above floor 20. there is a fair amount for...

I think this is the point I was trying to make. If there are enough small investor units that come up, landlords will fight for tenants. While 2% vacancy translates to 1 week, this is an average and I don't think applicable. Landlords and leases almost all start at the beginning of the...

I am not sure I totally agree. Drawing from what I recall from 1989 to 1992 with the big meltdown of Toronto real estate and condos....people held on for 3 years hoping things would reverse. In Florida, prices dropped from 2006 to about 2009 or 2010. People do not usually want to crystallize...

The question is still: how many of the 1 in 8 have bought in the past 1-2 years in Toronto and bought condos and will it be enough of a drop that occurs to put them under water. Short of this type of event to start the cascade....the market should not continue up much in my view but will also...

I agree with a lot of this post. One further point....sometimes one does not wish to spend 10 years on the hope that an area will "gentrify". To accept the argument that you bought in the 1990's and it gentrified presumes that after a further 15 years of almost straight appreciation that it will...

I agree US may increase later this year...marginally. EU interest rates are going up? I was under the impression the opposite was happening in Europe with their QE Am I mistaken?

At some point that will eventually happen. Just a question of when. Eventually one would assume prices will stop escalating, investors will stop buying, or something will change. It is a bit like musical chairs. You don't want to be the last one standing when the music stops.

I agree James. Interest rates in the US may be delayed and will not go up much or in april and even when they go up it will be perhaps 0.5% in total for the year but unless there is a significant change in the price of oil or the Canadian economy starts firing better, the next interest rate for...

It is not necessarily a problem though one should be careful. Likely there is some damage of some sort or the tenant is impossible. It could however be that the person simply wishes his cash at this point. If intrigued enough, go see it. If you are going to make an offer, get a home inspector...

In fairness Migos, every currency has pretty well fallen signficantly and even more than the C$ vis a vis the USD. For someone looking for political stability, we are now 20% cheaper to buy for an American than we were 2 years ago. Similarly, Canadians who bought in Florida and Arizona are...

'this report from Jamie Johnson of REMAX condos + may help: Rental Commentary January should be the slowest month of the year for rentals. But 450 one bedroom units and 175 two bedroom units were leased Downtown. The numbers were more than double the condo sales in the same market for...

^^^^ Mithras: what you say is correct. However there is one other factor perhaps to be also considered. While one can control when one buys and sells a Reit, one cannot control what the reit itself does and its risks. Owning one's property...one is acutely aware of the investment decision and...