Manitoba will match federal funding and deliver provincially-designed housing programs.

The agreement is designed to provide the province with the flexibility to make investments to achieve the overall outcome under the Affordable Housing Framework, which is to reduce the number of Canadians in housing need by improving access to affordable housing that is sound, suitable and sustainable.

“The agreement recognizes the need for local solutions to housing challenges progress on achievment of outcomes,” said Diane Finley, the federal minister responsible for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.

Approximately 150 affordable senior housing units will be develop thanks to the recent Request of Proposals. They’ll be developing affordable housing for family too.

Manitoba will keep on providing programs on renovation that will provide grants that will aid seniors and persons with disabilities make their homes more liveable. The province targets southern rural and northern communities.

Starting in 2009, the Canadian government set aside $1.9-billion for housing and homelessness programs over a five-year period.

The Canadian government is making an additional one-time investment of more than $2 billion over two years in new and existing social housing, and making available $2 billion in loans to Canadian municipalities over two years for housing-related infrastructure improvements.

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The figure is slightly higher than the $45.3 billion spent last year and $40.9 billion in 2009. About two-thirds of homeowners said they plan to renovate over the next two years, the bank said.

The study shows Canadians are still willing to spend to upgrade their property even without tax incentives. The federal government introduced a credit for home renos as part of its package of stimulus measures to drag the economy out of recession. It expired in January 2010.

“We have seen quite a strong increase in reno activity in the first quarter and that has contributed to overall economic growth,” said BMO Capital Markets senior economist Sal Guatieri. “The resale market is quite strong so people are fixing up older homes and upgrading the ones they are living in.”

The focus on existing properties also comes as new building activity shows signs of slowing. Housing starts are likely to stabilize in 2011 at about 179,500 units, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation figures released Monday. Actual housing starts for 2010 totaled 189,930 units.

“I would describe home building as having normalized,” Guatieri said. “That’s a good thing because if the housing market cools down we won’t get stuck with a big overhang of unsold houses.”

The BMO report found respondents’ main motivation for upgrades was seeing a friend or neighbour’s projects, with one-quarter saying this was the major factor in their decision. Twenty percent said television programs had stirred the urge to make changes, while 16% got their impetus from newspapers or magazines.

Of those planning renovations, 90% said it is to improve their lifestyle, and 79% said it is to improve the value of their home.

The Leger Marketing survey was completed online from March 10-21 with a sample of 1,508 Canadian homeowners between the ages of 25 and 45.

http://www.torontosun.com/2011/05/30/canadians-to-spend-more-than-46b-on-home-renos-this-year

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These days, it’s no simple task to find a place to live if you rent in Winnipeg: a recent survey by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation shows that the city has a 0.8 per cent rental vacancy rate, which makes it the lowest of 34 metropolitan centres surveyed.

The CMHC’s findings come at the same time as Winnipeg’s ranking as “affordable” has changed to “moderately unaffordable” in the seventh annual Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey.

Now, a group of Winnipeg-area realtors is saying that this “acute” rental shortage may actually be driving real estate prices up.

“There are some areas of Winnipeg where there is virtually nothing to rent so invariably any house that becomes available for sale becomes the only choice for someone to bid on,” Mel Boisvert, chair of the WinnipegREALTORS task force, said in a recent release, “First-time buyers in particular are finding it difficult because the entry level market under $200,000 is shrinking noticeably due to escalating house prices.”

The paper, titled “Manitoba’s Rental Housing Shortage: A Discussion Paper Highlighting Challenges and Solution,” raises issues like rent regulation and examines the role each level of government can play in helping solve Manitoba’s rental shortage.

“There is no magic wand or quick fix,” said Boisvert, “Hopefully, some of the solutions we put forward in the discussion paper will be considered. Doing more of the same is not an option.”

The WinnipegREALTORS task force wants to bring housing stakeholders together to discuss how Manitoba can address the rental shortage.

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Canada’s central bank lending rate is 0.25 percent. Mortgage rates are about 4.5 percent, while five-year consumer loan rates for items such as automobiles are about 8 percent.

Recently, Canada’s Finance Minister Jim Flaherty and the governor of the country’s central bank, Mark Carney, have sent warning signals that the days of low-interest borrowing may soon end.

Their statements show that the Canadian government is afraid that Canadians will default on the loans that are used to buy homes. About 70 percent of Canadian families own their houses, and real estate makes up the bulk of the assets of typical Canadian families.

Besides, Canadians, especially those who have not saved for their retirement or do not have a workplace pension, see home ownership as a way of locking away money until their retirement, using the money from their house sales to top up their small government pensions.
Still, most Canadians must borrow the bulk of the money they use for home purchases. Most are content to assume this large debt if the cost of the monthly payments is comparable to rent charges, and if house prices continue to rise.

In the past decade, the government has allowed the term of mortgages to be extended from a maximum of 25 years to 35 years, and has permitted its home loan insurance agency, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, to sell insurance on loans with a down payment of only a 5-percent.

The system has worked to stimulate house construction, but analysts worry that it has created a speculative bubble that may burst, allowing house prices to settle back to a level that will leave many families owing more than their homes are worth. If that happens, the national government, already running a massive annual deficit, would be stuck with the loans of Canadians who defaulted.

Last year, Canadian resale house prices rose by more than six times the rate of inflation. Interest rates have also been kept low to stimulate borrowing for capital investment.

However, the rates will probably have to rise if Canada’s national government, its provinces and cities hope to sell bonds in a market already flooded with U.S. government debt.

In an interview broadcast this week on the country’s largest private television network, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty warned Canadian families that the days of easy home ownership debt may becoming to an end.

“If we see further evidence that there is excessive demand in the housing market or that there’s an indication that people are taking on obligations that they will not be able to handle in the future when interest rates rise, then we will take some action,” Flaherty said on CTV television.

“The likely action we will take is to increase the size of the down payment from 5 percent to a higher number, reduce the amortization — bring it down from 35 years to something less,” he said.

Canadian families traditionally saw home ownership as a sign of financial security. Prices have rarely fallen in the past century. When they have, the values quickly recovered. Last year, house prices rose an average of about 20 percent, while the official inflation rate is less than 3 percent.

The average Canadians have increased their personal debt by more than 1,000 Canadian dollars (about 955 U.S. dollars) in the first half of 2009, driving up the nation’s personal debt by 44 billion Canadian dollars (42 U.S. dollars).

However, Canadians gamble on interest rates. In the early 1960s,a time of low inflation, interest rates were comparable to today’s. In the fall of 1981, with inflation near 15 percent, mortgage rates reached 20 percent.

On a 300,000 Canadian dollars (287,000 U.S. dollars) debt, which is not unusual in a major urban market, a 20 percent interest payment would amount to more than a typical Canadian family earns, after taxes, in a year. Even a 12 percent rate, which was typical of the 1980s, would generate a monthly payment of more than 3,000 Canadian dollars (2,865 U.S. dollars).

On top of those charges, Canadians must pay property taxes and most mortgage companies require the house to be insured for its full value.
Flaherty said recent price increases for homes in Canada are due to a “confluence” of factors including low interest rates, an improving economic outlook and a stabilizing job market.

On Dec. 10, Mark Carney, the governor of Canada’s central bank, warned that Canadian families were becoming more vulnerable to interest rate fluctuations because they have added debt this year while other countries such as the United States and Britain have seen reductions in personal debt-to-income ratios. The bank echoed the warnings of several non-government economists who warn that the Canadian rush to indebtedness is unsustainable.

In the Bank of Canada’s semi-annual report, Carney wrote: “House
holds need to assess their ability to service these debt obligations over their entire maturity, taking into account likely changes in both income and interest rates.

“Financial institutions need to carefully consider the aggregate risk to their entire portfolio of household exposures when evaluating even an insured mortgage, since a household defaulting on an insured mortgage would likely be unable to meet its other debt obligations.”

Carney warned that the risk to Canadian banks is relatively low, but up to 10 percent of households would face serious problems meeting their house payments if interest rates rise.

However, Benjamin Tal, an economist with the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, a major mortgage lender, said Canadians find ways of hanging onto their houses when interest rates fluctuate, and tend to default only when they have lost their jobs.

Still, Tal said, “It is time for both borrowers and lenders to exercise prudence in continuing to build up household debt loads to the point where they are overly reliant on today’s low rates.”

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• Several larger investors have suggested they are back in “buy” mode and are sitting on uncommitted capital. This signifies that the current supply of good-quality offerings is unlikely to keep pace with overall demand moving forward into 2010, which should intensify competition and pricing even further in Manitoba and across Canada.

• Apartments remain the most sought-after asset class in Winnipeg, as overall vacancy rates remain near one per cent and condominium conversion opportunities are being capitalized on by local specialists. A combination of TIF announcements by both local and provincial governments as well as a move by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) to increase minimum down payment on new home and condo purchases would influence this sector in 2010.

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This can be seen as a good sign of recovery, well, at least for the housing market. The prices of built houses are in recovery and more homes and condos are being constructed based from what Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation issued. The CMHC data foresees a 10% improvement in building and sales activity in 2010. However, the price growth of houses is yet unclear due to rising interest rates on Main Street which will have an impact with the Main Street recovery.

The said recovery is supported by growing employment rates and increased consumer confidence. As a matter of fact, The Bank of Canada will be raising short interest rates and lenders, who have more positive response to what the bond market says money cost, are already pricing higher rates into mortgages. The economic recovery and the status of the housing market right now rest on increasing consumer confidence. This could take an effort to maintain considering changing interest rates moving from a low 1.5% to 3% and 4$ or more.

Housing market trends in Canada had gone up and down for one reason, market liquidity. When market declines, houses for sale rise, house owners want to sell but couldn’t find the right deal. This goes the same way with buyers which yield to no closed business. On the other hand, during good market condition, house buyers become more eager to make deals before prices appreciate more. Liquidity rate and sales volume mark significant growth.

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Beginning October 16, customers that own or rent a single-family home with a city of Winnipeg water account in their name could get a $60 credit on their water bill when they replace an old water-guzzling toilet with a new dual-flush toilet.

According to water planning engineer Duane Griffin, the credit program is a win-win for both customers and the community — customers save on their water bill, there would be less waste water requiring treatment at the city’s three waste— water treatment plants, and the community is conserving a precious resource.

The dual-flush toilet uses a larger diameter trapway that doesn’t clog as often as a conventional toilet needs less water to flush efficiently and saves more water than a low- flow toilet when flushing liquid waste. A disadvantage is that occasionally a second flush is needed to get rid of solid waste.

A typical residential customer (family of four) could save approximately $180 annually on their water bill. This means savings of more than 14,600 litres of water per person per year.

According to research by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, flushing the toilet accounts for approximately 30 percent of total residential indoor water use. In terms of water conservation using a dual-flush toilet is a nobrainer. The study showed that flush volumes were reduced by 68 percent in single-family homes.

But customer satisfaction was a mixed bag with 85 per cent of participants rating the dual-flush toilets either “good” or “satisfactory” for appearance, clearing solids and clearing liquids. But just 66 per cent of respondents said they definitely recommended dual-flash toilets.

To be eligible for the credit, customers must purchase a dual-flush toilet on the city’s approved list after October 16, and recycle their old toilet at an approved toilet recycling depot.

For the application form. Approved toilet list, eligibility criteria and other program details, residents can call 311 or visit the city’s website.

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