Garry Marr Apr 27, 2012 – 6:33 PM ET

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.

Here is another story we were asked to be a part of for Global National:

#video2#

Here is the story from Global National we were asked to be a part of:

#video#

Bob Alexander on Mon, Mar 19, 2012 wrote:

I have been a Mortgage Broker for over a decade and like all of us, went through the 2007 boom time in Calgary. One of the things that struck me looking back on the boom was how poorly a number of residential building projects were handled. Demand for housing in Calgary had been steadily building from 2002 to 2007. Several big housing projects were started in 2007 and when the boom ended, many of these projects were left incomplete. The builders involved misread the signs to start earlier so that when the boom hit, the project was finished and not just a hole in the ground.

The lesson from all this is that timing plays a big part in successful investment property purchasing. Don’t repeat the mistakes the…

The MLS® Housing Price Index (HPI) is coming to Calgary in February, as part of a nationwide rollout involving boards in Canada’s largest cities.

CREB® has been working with CREA and other boards and associations across Canada to develop the MLS® HPI.
 
The MLS® HPI allow housing price trends to be tracked over time within local communities and national markets for different property types including:

• one-storey single-family homes
• two-storey single-family homes
• townhouse/row units
• apartment units

As you know, the average price in a market can vary widely from month to month, depending on volume shifts in various price segments. Reporting the average price can sometimes falsely exaggerate trends, causing a lot of confusion.…

The Ultimate Hockey Experience Contest

We here at CIR Realty have created an EXCITING contest for all of you out there reading this.To Enter all you have to do is simply visit our contest website: www.cirrealty.ca/contest and enter your contact information. Starting on December 20, 2011 (the day after MY birthday), we will be giving away 10 sets of Calgary Flames Tickets. The seats are valued at whopping $324 a set and are along the best in the Saddledome!! The games are in the months of December 2011-April 2012. We will be announcing the winners on our CIR Facebook Fanpage. However the BIG GRAND PRIZE is an ALL expense paid trip for TWO to watch the New York Rangers play against the Pittsburgh Penguins live in Madison Square Gardens on March 15, 2011…

Calgary Homes Sales up 10% from 2010

The Calgary Real Estate board has just announced housing stats for year-to-date, and home sales are up. Although sales aren't up to normal historic levels, they have nonetheless improved. 

Single family home sales totaled 988 for the month of October 2011, an 11 per cent increase over October 2010, but continue to remain well below historical levels.  Year-to-date sales totaled 11,503, a 10 per cent increase over last year. Calgary Condo sales for the first 10 months of 2011 was 4,681 units, a 3% increase over the same period last year.  Inventory levels remained at 1,935 units, resulting in months of supply pushing above five months.  

“Consumers are feeling more confident about the local real estate…

Beautiful Lake Midnapore - You Can Live Here Now

Lake Midnapore has long been considered a desirable southwest community but now that it has matured, the neighbourhoods surrounding the lake are more relaxed and comfortable. That's why Lake Midnapore Homes are so sought after. This neighbourhood is near Macleod Tr and Shawnessy Blvd offering quick access to highway 22x for your getaway westward and to highway 2 northbound to work or downtown.

What is a luxury home worth if it's not in a wonderful location? You can buy million dollar homes in Calgary and outside the city, but a home beside a perfect sized lake is very rare anywhere in Canada, let alone Calgary.  Homes surrounding Lake Midnapore have the character of lakeside cottages. While you can…

New Migrants Helping to Keep Real Estate Sector Healthy

New stats show Calgary is an attractive place to live, especially during a recession. With the more positive job prospects in the Alberta economy, people across Canada are packing up and heading West. Alberta created 86,000 new jobs in the past year, and now has one of the lowest provincial jobless rates in Canada, at 5.6 per cent.

Calgary Development Council expects Calgary's population will grow another 18,000 by 2012. One interesting stat that comes out of their report shows the people of ages 50 to 60 will comprise almost half of that growth. The other big portion will be kids aged 0 to 9. Other age groups will actually decrease in number.

That could mean that older people are migrating…

September's Sales Show Nice Increase - A Healthy Market for Sellers

CREB has just released stats showing the Calgary housing market is improving. Sales volume and prices rose. 

Calgary single family home in September had an average sales price of $466,167 which was about 1.3% above last September's average prices, while the median price was $400,000. Total unit sales of 1,036 in September, 2011 was 8% above levels in September 2011.  Year-to-date sales totaled 10,518 units a 10 per cent increase over last year which a very positive statistic.

Million dollar homes in the range of 1,000,000 - 1,249,999 grew from 9 last September to 19 last month. Over all there has been only 6 more million dollar properties sold in the first 3 quarters this year…