Manoj Arora

March 3, 2009 - The Bank of Canada announced this morning that it is cutting interest rates by 0.50%. This take the target for the overnight rate to just 0.50% This takes the total easing to 4.00% since December 2007.

The bank said in it's release that the global economic outlook has worsened since January with slower growth than expected in the major economies and the US recession with the weak car and housing growth is a big challenge for Canada. Q4 2008 also showed a sharp decline in Canadian economic activity.

To see the detailed report, please visit my blog at http://www.aceteamrealty.com/blog.asp

Between September 1, 2008 and December 31, 2008, Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) Members reported 3,433 rented condominium apartments and townhouses in the Greater Toronto Area.

This represented a 30 per cent increase over the 2,635 transactions recorded during the same time frame in 2007. A good part of this increase likely came from rental listings in newly completed condominium apartment buildings containing investor-owned units.

"The increasing strength of the rental market combined with low interest rates and reasonable home prices mean that now could be an excellent time to purchase an investment property," said Maureen O'Neill, President, Toronto Real Estate Board.

To see the detailed report, please visit my blog at http://www.aceteamrealty.com/blog.asp

Greater Toronto REALTORS® reported 2,670 sales in January compared to 5,075 in the first month of 2008. "Demand for existing homes in the Greater Toronto Area moderated as the housing market followed the broader economic slowdown in Canada," said Jason Mercer, the Toronto Real Estate Board's Senior Manager of Market Analysis.

The average home price in the Greater Toronto Area was $343,632, compared to $374,449 last January. The median price was $303,000 compared to $319,000 last year. "Current selling prices are a reflection of more choice in the existing home marketplace," said Mercer. "At the same time, low mortgage rates have helped keep ownership housing an affordable option. Given that we are not facing an early-1990s-style affordability crisis, the rebound in the housing market will likely be quick once economic recovery takes hold," added Mercer.

To see the detailed report, please visit my blog at http://www.aceteamrealty.com/blog.asp

OTTAWA - The Bank of Canada has chopped its key interest rate by another half percentage point to its lowest level ever, and warned that the Canadian economy will contract by 1.2 per cent this year.

The central bank's target for the overnight lending rate now stands at 1 per cent - lower than in 1958, when the most-watched policy rate was 1.12 per cent.

"The outlook for the global economy has deteriorated since the bank's December interest rate announcement, with the intensifying financial crisis spilling over into real economic activity," the bank said in its gloomiest statement yet.

In separate announcements, Toronto-Dominion Bank and Bank of Montreal responded by announcing they have cut their prime lending rates by 50 basis points to 3 per cent. BMO said it is cutting key mortgage rates by 30 to 50 basis points. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and Royal Bank of Canada announced a few minutes later that they, too, have cut their prime rate to 3 per cent from 3.5 per cent.

Toronto Real Estate Board Members reported 2,577 sales in December 2008, compared to the 4,646 recorded during the same month in 2007, and the 4,447 recorded in December 2006, TREB President Maureen O'Neill announced today. "Sales for the whole of 2008 were 74,552, compared to the 93,193 recorded in 2007, and the 83,084 recorded during 2006."

The average price in December of 2008 came in at $361,415, compared to $394,931 in 2007, and $336,217 in December of 2006. For 2008 as a whole, prices averaged $379,347, compared to the $376,236 recorded in 2007, and the $351,941 average recorded in 2006.

The City of Toronto (416) recorded 1,105 sales in December, compared to 2,302 in December 2007 and 1,827 in December of 2006. For all of 2008, there were 29,878 sales, compared to 39,052 in 2007 and 34,404 in 2006.

The average price in the city was $387,482 compared to the $425,842 recorded in December of 2007 and the $350,139 recorded in December 2006. For all of 2008 the average was $410,271. In 2007 the comparable figure was $412,480, and in 2006 $378,776.

The 905 area saw 1,472 sales in December, from 2,344 in December of 2007 and 2,620 in December of 2006. For all of 2008, there were 44,674 sales in this region, versus 54,141 in 2007 and 48,680 in 2006.

The average price in the 905 was $341,847 in December, compared to $360,307 in 2007 and $326,509 in 2006. For all of 2008, the average was $358,665, as compared to $350,092 in 2007 and $332,976 in 2006.

Breaking down the total, 993 sales were reported in TREB's 28 West districts and averaged $338,855; 473 sales were reported in the 14 Central districts and averaged $479,095; 491 sales were reported in the 23 North districts and averaged $381,975; and 620 sales were reported in TREB's 21 East districts and averaged $291,488.

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