By Warren McNeil

Source Reuters Flaherty sees no housing bubble at present

The government doesn’t see any evidence right now that we are in a housing bubble but is just watching and monitoring along with the Bank of Canada.

No Housing bubble in Canada

He is not as concerned about housing prices as much as his concern about consumer debt. His concern is also with people being able to afford their mortgage if and when the interest rates go up.

“I’m more concerned about affordability (of mortgages) and people not being lulled into a false sense of security, taking out relatively low interest-rate mortgages, when we all know that the mortgages rates have only one way to go over time — and that’s up,” he said.

The government is prepared to tighten standards by raising the the required downpayment from 5% and by reducing the max  amortization period from 35 years. By reducing the amortization period, the payments would be higher and consumers might decide to hold off buying if they can’t afford it.

As of right now there is no plan to make any changes at all. Interest rates are still low, people can still get 35 year amortization and the downpayment is the minimum of 5%.

“I don’t think people should overreact. This isn’t something the government is going to move on in the short term,” he said.

So in other words, if you are a buyer who has a good job, 5% to put down and want to buy a home; Then now is a terric time to buy. The Kitchener-Waterloo real estate market is doing very well and we expect the year 2010 to be a record-breaking year for sales.

Thanks for reading!

Warren & Melanie McNeil | Sales Representatives, Team McNeil
Re/Max Twin City Realty, Brokerage ( 519.579.4110 
8 www.TeamMcneil.com, www.LoftStyle.ca, www.ClickThatHouse.com  
P.S. Looking for a condo or loft, check out our brand new website at www.LoftStyle.ca!

By Warren McNeil

This second shift will start next March and they will be hiring 800 workers. They are doubling the production of the plants vehicles. With this addtion of new workers, Toyota will have around 6500 workers in Woodstock and Cambridge. Between the Woodstock and Cambridge plant, they have the capacity to build 420,000 vehicles a year.

I have a couple of friends that work at Toyota and I am happy to hear that the company is still going strong and they are not having the same problems as the other car companies have had over the past year.  Woodstock is only about 20-30 minutes from Kitchener.

I love my Toyota and would buy another one in the future. I just wish they would come out with a nice sports car. I like the Supra but they’re not producing them at the present time. They need to build something along the lines of a Nissan 370Z. Anyways, I digress.

Source: http://news.therecord.com/Business/article/642322

Thanks for reading! 

 Warren & Melanie McNeil | Sales Representatives, Team McNeil
Re/Max Twin City Realty, Brokerage ( 519.579.4110 
8 www.TeamMcneil.com, www.LoftStyle.ca, www.ClickThatHouse.com  

By Warren McNeil

I don’t know about you but I a getting really frustrated with what is going on with the news these days. The headlines are enough to make you go mad. This news is so depressing especially when it is always negative! I tried imaging last night how interesting the news would be if it was all filled with joy and happiness. I bet people would just change the channel. Negative news draws interest from the masses.

Let’s take a look at the current issues:

1. There has been a recession in the US for a year now. This was on the news last night!

2. There is a major mortgage crisis in the US. It is now effecting commercial real estate as well.

3. Waterloo region and area real estate unit sales are down about 21.5% in Oct 07 and Oct 08.

4. The Canadian government might get overthrown by a coalition government

5. Mass layoffs at CTV and today Rogers announced they were laying off. Just shortly after Ted Rogers passed away. Pretty sad really…

6. Of course the big issues with the car sector. I really hope this gets resolved.  

How about some good news:

1. Black Friday sales were up 7.2%. Horray! people still have money to spend
http://blogs.reuters.com/shop-talk/2008/12/02/sorting-through-black-friday-data/

2. Average house prices in Waterloo region and surrounding communities price for Oct 08 is up 3.75% compared to Oct 07.  Single-detached is up 9.8% compared to Oct 07 and Condos,Semis,Townhouses,Mobiles unit sales are only down 0.7%.  Horray! People are still retaining the value in their houses

3. Britney Spears is going on tour in March 09. Horray! I am glad Britney is back on track! (Sarcasm )

So there is still some good news to be had.

Ok, maybe I don’t have many good news stories because you really have to dig for them or discover them yourself. They are not publicized!

What’s a person to do? I say that we all need to stay focused and positive. In my industry, people still need a place to live. It’s a great time to buy despite the negative news stories. To quote Mark Twain, “Buy land, they’re not making it anymore”. If you have the money and you are renting, stop paying rent, buy a house and build up some equity. Donald Trump is a millionaire real estate investor because he believes in the product. I like to think that if the real estate moguls have faith in our product, then so should we.

In summary, I think we should look at the next year as a challenge that we all need to overcome. However, we can’t just sit on our hands and wait for something big to happen like winning the lottery. We need to be realistic with what is happening around us and adapt to the changes. I think we should set our goals a little bit smaller for the next little while until we see what is going to happen with the economy. The most important thing that we can’t do is give up thinking positively. Negative thinking will only drain the remaining positive energy. If you are starting the think negatively, do something that will change those feelings. Pickup a good book, start exercising, eat an ice cream cone or go and watch some funny you tube videos.

My final words are, “It always gets better!”

Warren & Melanie McNeil | Sales Representatives, Team McNeil | Re/Max Twin City Realty, Brokerage
( 519.579.4110 | * Click Here to Email | 8 www.clickthathouse.com, www.teammcneil.com/blog