Moishe Alexander points to Inky Mark, Member of Parliament for Dauphin – Swan River – Marquette, on behalf of the Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development and Minister Responsible for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), made the announcement along with members of the Ebb and Flow First Nation community.

Moishe Alexander – Manitoba and First Nations Reserve

“Our Government’s Economic Action Plan is creating jobs, stimulating the local economy and improving housing conditions for First Nation communities in Manitoba,” said MP Mark.

Inky Mark, Member of Parliament for Dauphin-Swan River-Marquette announces $3.5 million investment to retrofit 157 existing housing units in 12 First Nation Communities in Manitoba, as well as $4.1 million for subsidy associated with 19 new housing units to be constructed in three First nation Communities. L to R: Councillor Darrell Mousseau, MP Mark, Councillor Brenda Baptiste, and Murray Marchenski.

Through Canada’s Economic Action Plan, the Government of Canada has committed $400 million over two years to help First Nation communities build needed new housing, repair and remediate existing non-profit housing for their members, and complement housing programs offered by CMHC. This investment will also provide an economic stimulus for many First Nations and surrounding areas by creating jobs.

Through Canada’s Economic Action Plan, some $75 million in federal investments will be made available to First Nations in Manitoba to address immediate housing needs.

CMHC allocated more than $3.5 million to retrofit 157 existing housing units on-reserve in 12 First Nations communities in Manitoba, as well as $4.1 million for subsidy associated with 19 new housing units to be constructed in three First Nations communities.

“On behalf of the membership of Ebb and Flow First Nation, the Chief and Council would like to give thanks to CMHC (CEAP) program for giving the opportunity to renovate and build more houses for our community”, said Chief Ralph Beaulieu. “The program enabled us to create jobs and gave our people a better, healthy and social setting.”

The Honourable Lawrence Cannon, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Member of Parliament for Pontiac, on behalf of the Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development Canada, along with Stéphanie Vallée, Parliamentary Assistant to the Premier of Quebec and Member of the National Assembly for Gatineau, on behalf of Laurent Lessard, Minister of Municipal Affairs, Regions and Land Occupancy, officially opened today the two housing projects of the La Pêche Development Corporation, which provide 24 new affordable housing units for semi-independent seniors. This represents an investment of nearly $3.5 million on the part of public and sector partners for the construction of these units.

The Government of Canada, through Canada’s Economic Action Plan, and the Government of Quebec, under the AccèsLogis program of the Société d’habitation du Québec (SHQ), contributed a total amount of nearly $1.5 million, while partners and the Municipality of La Pêche invested nearly $2 million. Of this sum, more than $1.3 million will be provided by the Municipality of La Pêche in the form of a capitalized tax rebate. Canada’s Economic Action Plan was put in place to stimulate the economy and create jobs during the global recession. The federal and provincial governments will invest, on a 50:50 cost-shared basis, $538 million in Quebec under the Affordable Housing Initiative Program Extension Agreement.

“Our government is committed to giving a hand-up to the people of Quebec during these tough economic times,” said Minister Cannon. “Through projects like these, Year 2 of Canada’s Economic Action Plan will continue to create jobs, stimulate communities in all corners of the country and support Canadian workers and families.”

“The opening of these two establishments is excellent news and demonstrates the attention that our government is giving to the seniors of Quebec. Thanks to the combined efforts of the different partners that contributed to this mobilizing project, 24 households can now benefit from safe, quality housing that meets their needs, at an affordable cost,” said MNA Stéphanie Vallée, in the presence of Robert Bussière, Mayor of La Pêche and Chair of the Board of Directors of the La Pêche Development Corporation, and community partners.

Canada’s Economic Action Plan provides $400 million, over two years, to build new rental housing for low-income seniors. Overall, the Economic Action Plan includes $2 billion for new and existing social housing, plus up to $2 billion in loans to municipalities for housing-related infrastructure.

Canada’s Economic Action Plan builds on the Government of Canada’s commitment in 2008 of more than $1.9 billion, over five years, to improve and build new affordable housing and help the homeless.

Twelve tenants of these two housing projects can benefit from the SHQ’s Rent Supplement program, which provides financial assistance to low-income individuals who would otherwise have to spend more than 25 per cent of their income on housing. The rent supplements provided will represent, over a five-year period, a total of nearly $183,350 in financial assistance, including $165,000 from the SHQ and more than $18,350 from the Municipality of La Pêche.

Since 2003, 980 community housing units have been, or are being, developed in the Outaouais region, including 82 in the constituency of Gatineau, representing total investments of nearly $114 million by the Government of Quebec.

Julius Melnitzer

http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/legalpost/archive/2009/05/26/lawyers-real-estate-monopoly-struck.aspx

brought by Moishe Alexander, CFC CEO

By way of Brendan King’s Twitter stream.

As a licensed Asian, I found this particular misunderstanding quite amusing and so did the other Asians in my office, but discriminatory practices are no laughing matter and fair treatment for all human beings is a cornerstone of a civilized society.

The Saskatchewan Human Rights Code was written to protect people from discriminatory practices. The following are “prohibited grounds” for discrimination under the Code;

(i) religion;
(ii) creed;
(iii) marital status;
(iv) family status;
(v) sex;
(vi) sexual orientation;
(vii) disability;
(viii) age;
(ix) colour;
(x) ancestry;
(xi) nationality;
(xii) place of origin;
(xiii) race or perceived race; and
(xiv) receipt of public assistance.

Section 10 and section 11 of the Saskatchewan Human Rights Code deal specifically with discriminatory practices in the sale or leasing of real estate.

Discrimination in the purchase of property prohibited

10(1) No person shall, on the basis of a prohibited ground:

(a) deny to any person or class of persons the opportunity to purchase any commercial unit or any place of dwelling that is advertised or in any way represented as being available for sale;

(b) deny to any person or class of persons the opportunity to purchase or otherwise acquire land or an interest in land; or

(c) discriminate against any person or class of persons with respect to any term of the purchase or other acquisition of any commercial unit or any place of dwelling, land or any interest in land.

(2) Repealed. 2007, c.39, s.4.

(3) Nothing in subsection (1) prohibits the sale, the offering for sale or the advertising for sale of a place of dwelling for occupancy by persons over 55 years of age exclusively.

Discrimination in occupancy of commercial unit or housing accommodation is prohibited

11(1) No person, directly or indirectly, alone or with another, or by the interposition of another shall, on the basis of a prohibited ground:

(a) deny to any person or class of persons occupancy of any commercial unit or any housing accommodation; or

(b) discriminate against any person or class of persons with respect to any term of occupancy of any commercial unit or any housing accommodation.

(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to discrimination on the basis of the sex of a person with respect to housing accommodation, where the occupancy of all the housing accommodation in a building, except that of the owner or the owner’s family, is restricted to individuals who are of the same sex.

(3) Subsection (1) does not apply to discrimination on the basis of the sex or sexual orientation of a person with respect to the renting or leasing of any dwelling unit in any housing accommodation that is composed of not more than two dwelling units, where the owner of the housing accommodation or the owner’s family resides in one of the two dwelling units.

(4) Nothing in subsection (1) prohibits the renting or leasing, the offering for rent or lease or the advertising for rent or lease, of any housing accommodation for occupancy by persons over 55 years of age exclusively.

The Saskatchewan Human Rights Code is here.

I’m always happy to answer your Saskatoon real estate questions. All of my contact info is here. Please feel free to call or email.

Follow our daily updates on Twitter @SaskatoonHomes.

Norm Fisher

reviewed by Moishe Alexander, CFC CEO

A great resource for real estate investors performing their due-diligence, the info is laid out well, and in a glance you can wrap your head around the key information.

The #1 recommended community to locate your business is the Edmonton International Region – being the area around the airport (Leduc & Nisku are the hubs). The rest of the top ten includes Edmonton, Strathcona County, Camrose, Airdrie, Calgary, Lethbridge, Lloydminster, Red Deer and Strathmore.

One item to note, is that the pricing for serviced industrial land is consistently on the low side. For example, serviced industrial land in Strathcona County for $300,000 per acre? $500,000 would be a safer “average”.

Real estate investors take note: this type of information shows trends for yesterday & today, but does not forecast tomorrow. A decision by city council, or the unexpected fall of a commodity price can quickly change the tides for a community. If you are not an informed citizen of the community you are investing in, there is no substitute for an unbiased, on-the-ground local expert to give you an inside scoop, and assist in taking a calculated risk to capture the biggest upside tomorrow.

Well done, Alberta Venture, a useful tool which I think many will utilize.

http://www.albertaventure.com/?p=3293

According to data released today by the Canadian Real Estate Association, the number of homes sold in Canada in May, on a seasonally adjusted basis, was up for a fourth consecutive month. Moreover, it was 1.3% higher than in last September, that is, the pre-recession level. Today’s Hot Chart (left panel) shows that the turnaround in sales has been accompanied by a drop in new listings. As a result, the ratio of new listings to sales was the lowest in seventeen
months and well within the range where the market is considered balanced. This development reduces the risk of persisting home price deflation and of a corresponding deterioration in household balance sheet. On a regional basis, we note that sales in BC and Quebec more than recovered the ground lost since September. Even Ontario has
shown a significant pick-up in activity in recent months (see right panel).

NBF Financial Group…

http://www.news-to-use.com/2009/06/canada-existing-home-sales-back-to-pre.html

This report brought by Moishe Alexander, CFC CEO

By Ozzie Jurock

Received tons of email … Not all favorable. Some people wish to bet me money – some a case of beer, that real estate is going to go down … just wait and see. Likely they are all the people who never bought anything. If you go to http://www.realestatetalks.com/ you can see some 16,000 people arguing for more than 14 years the ups and downs of Vancouver real estate. It is always the same guys and gals that argue collapse and (yep) often the same that argue that eventually we will always be higher (because of monetary expansion creating it).

So, take it easy. If you had listened to the experts who were dispensing the best advice available 20 years ago and locked yourself and your wealth into a plan which guaranteed to remit the then prevailing ‘safe amount’ of an income stream of $500 per month (a lot back then – pocket-change today) for the rest of your life, imagine the desperate poverty that you would retire to today. Stone soup would be a luxury.

Yes, we need more money now but who knows what this money will be worth tomorrow. Yes, we need more income, but who can possibly know the state of the world three months from now … much less 20 years from now? Nobody knows for sure the ‘what and where’ of interest rates and inflation rates and the value of money. It’s just not possible.

What we do know is that the safety that was inherent in the projected big income of 20 years ago is a pitiful joke today.

Yep, forecasting is never easy – particularly when it’s about the future. Crystal balls crack, vaunted talk-show soothsayers wither and drop off the television scene and the books that were treasure maps wind up in the remainder bin at the bookstore. In the last three decades stock markets have surged up and crashed down. Certain mutual funds that looked like they were blue chips sprang leaks and sank while others soared like rockets only to burn out and fall back down.

Through all of this the average folk watched their savings chewed away by insidious inflation.

However, in all the turmoil of this sound and fury, one asset has weathered the changes. Three decades ago, had you bought good quality real estate you would not be concerned about your future today. That real estate would have kept up with inflation, remained secure in value, and steadily appreciated. Sure, there would have been some temporary dips. There has to be because real estate is cyclical in nature. But one thing is certain – over the years, the base values have been steadily increasing. Back to that purchase 30 years ago – today it would be paid off and clear title – which means either a mortgage-free home (no more monthly ‘rent’ payments to the bank) and/or a steady rental income courtesy of your tenants.

Put into perspective, if you place a good portion of your assets into real estate today, you won’t have to worry about tomorrow. It doesn’t matter how wild or turbulent the economy or the marketplace. It’s like riding a horse with one spur – if half the horse goes, the other half has to go along with it. No matter how deep or tempestuous the water, you’re going to be floating on top of it.

Let’s review something all of us already know. The Chinese have used real estate holdings for wealth creation for 2,000 years. All huge fortunes were either started or extended with real estate. Home ownership (the most common form of real estate holding) has been the single largest factor in the accumulation of wealth for the average North American, firstly because of straight appreciation due to inflation, secondly, due to the leverage involved and thirdly real estate has a use and therefore always a value.

This basic principle of appreciation holds true for pretty well any healthy major urban center. Let’s take Vancouver, B.C. for an example.

In 1960 the average Vancouver home sold for $13,105. Thirty-eight years later in 1998 the average sale price was some $310,000. Almost a 2,300 per cent return. But in March 2008 the average sale price was $895,000. Almost a 6,830 per cent return. That’s on the price. Play with the return on down payment of $655 and you get tens of thousands per cent returns
If this kind of appreciation is going to continue, you have to be on the conveyor belt. If you’re not, you’re going to be left so far behind that it will be financially disastrous. And here we’re only talking from the perspective of a place to live. This isn’t even addressing the investment aspect of those monies outside the family home.

When you combine appreciation with leverage, you unlock the great secret of achieving the optimum result with real estate investment. And as you can see from the foregoing numbers, the ‘lever’ can lift you up or the ‘appreciation’, if you’re on the wrong side, can crush you down.
When your gain is measured on the capital invested, not the actual price of the property, some really astounding results come into focus. But the game is not as simple as it used to be. The goal posts move. The only constant is that everything is always changing. The secret of surviving and prospering is the ability to adapt to the changes.

The 1980s were very forgiving for the amateur. Benign with a capital ‘B’. That ‘B’ could also represent ‘Bucks’ and ‘Brainless’. Back then if you had a few dollars you could buy any piece of real estate, anywhere, and you would make money. Even if you could barely hear thunder and see lightning, it was almost impossible to make a big enough mistake. If you paid too much, it only meant that you had bought a little too soon. The clock and the calendar made you into a financial wizard. Thanks to inflation, prices soon caught up to you and bailed you out.
Still, there were lots of people in the early 1980s who managed to lose all their money in real estate. Those were the people who put their money into the wrong syndications, limited partnerships or real estate investment trusts. But we’ll talk more about that later. In the late eighties fortunes were made.

But after the 1980s the real estate world became less forgiving. For some investors the times were downright terrifying. All of a sudden there was the sudden change. Markets fluctuated area by area both as to volume of sales and prices. Different real estate categories rose or fell without any apparent linkage to each other. You could see in one market area the average single-family detached home rise in value by 40 per cent while in the exact same market area downtown condos slumped in value by 12 to 20 per cent (Vancouver 1990-1995).

The people who tried to play by the old rules found themselves playing someone else’s game. And most of the time they were handed their heads. Was it possible to avoid the dangers and yet at the same time prosper with the good stuff) Yes it was, but you had to put aside location, location, location, and instead you had to read the trends, position yourself as to the timing and then implement some new techniques.

To be successful real estate investors we must understand ourselves. That means we have to understand our investment objectives in relation to the risks we are willing and able to tolerate. But having done that we then must understand that aspect of ‘ourselves’ that is part of the New Consumer.

http://londonontariorealestatediagnosis.blogspot.com/2008/05/ozzie-jurock-why-i-will-always-buy-real.html

Recommended by Moishe Alexander, CFC CEO

For several years I have been producing a real estate index. It started effective 1 January 2004 and tracked prices monthly in accordance with an index. Everything was set at baseline 100 on the first of January 2004.

The reason was largely to provide at least four consecutive years of numbers for the purposes of comparison.

The four year moving average is the standard for comparative purposes in the mutual fund industry, so that’s why I selected the starting date.

However, that was 65 months ago. It’s now time to revamp the index and make it a little shorter in terms of the time period. So, the new staring date is 1 January 2005. That will mean that as of the end of May 2009, we are looking at the last 53 months. There’s no magic in the starting date. It could be anytime.
Here is the monthly progression over the time period. This particular index shows the average price for single family homes as measured at the end of each month by the Toronto Real Estate Board.

May-09 122.4261
Apr-09 119.3414
Mar-09 112.0415
Feb-09 111.8103
Jan-09 106.3412…..2009
Dec-08 111.8444
Nov-08 114.0623
Oct-08 109.2322
Sep-08 114.0521
Aug-08 112.9185
Jul-08 114.9427
Jun-08 122.5057
May-08 123.2118
Apr-08 123.3786
Mar-08 117.7003
Feb-08 118.2295
Jan-08 115.8779…..2008
Dec-07 116.4309
Nov-07 121.8499
Oct-07 122.1281
Sep-07 117.6366
Aug-07 111.9914
Jul-07 113.2670
Jun-07 118.2032
May-07 118.4582
Apr-07 117.2940
Mar-07 113.0420
Feb-07 114.0948
Jan-07 109.4643…..2007
Dec-06 104.0465
Nov-06 110.0841
Oct-06 110.2995
Sep-06 108.0463
Aug-06 104.6577
Jul-06 105.8467
Jun-06 110.7984
May-06 113.1200
Apr-06 113.4746
Mar-06 109.2817
Feb-06 109.5274
Jan-06 102.9541…..2006
Dec-05 101.2611
Nov-05 105.5815
Oct-05 105.9754
Sep-05 104.6809
Aug-05 100.0353
Jul-05 100.8953
Jun-05 106.7847
May-05 107.2207
Apr-05 105.8461
Mar-05 102.2913
Feb-05 103.4446
Jan-05 100.0000…..2005

The indexed price now stands at 122.4261. That’s an increase of 22.4261 in four years and five months (53 months). The increase is 0.4231 monthly, or 5.0776 annually, as non-compounded, simple interest.

You may recall that I have frequently referred to the fact that property doubles in value every 20 years.

http://wannanetwork.com/ontariorealestate/2009/06/15/ores-index-toronto-gta-single-family-homes/

Reported by Moishe Alexander, CFC CEO

Dean West, Vice President Canadian Division, says the move to cease commercial lending is a result of the continuing weakness in the Capital Markets.

“The typical process of originating loans and selling the loan in a security instrument has changed dramatically since the fall of 2007.

Despite high demand for small commercial mortgage financing and a combination of favourable conditions (strong real estate values, low interest rates, strong employment stats, and performing mortgages) the investment markets remain sensitive to the sub-prime problems that have touched markets worldwide.” West said.

“With that disconnect, and the prospect of a lengthy recovery, it was decided that originations should cease.”

“I am extremely proud of our Canadian Interbay team and the sequent loss of these talented people is a very sad occasion.”

Ancillary department, Interbay Loan Servicing Corporation will continue servicing operations from the Toronto office, explaines Moishe Alexander, CFC CEO

http://activerain.com/blogsview/577245/interbay-funding-corp-ceases-lending-in-canada

As a result of the worldwide recession, liquidation real estate sales are a growing trend as several successful blowout sales have been conducted in Vancouver this year.  One such sale for the Omni Development Group sold more than 350 condos in eight weeks. Liquidation sales work when a developer has large inventories and can justify large discounts.

Land Launch moves to The Rise after four record sales years at Predator Ridge where most recently they sold out two phases of the Osprey Green town home project in 2008. Land Launch has selected to work with The Rise because the resort development has the type of product that is selling today: liquidation priced property.

“We have received more interest for our Kelowna liquidation sale than we have for all other campaigns this year,” says Greg Lowe, president of Land Launch Project Marketing. “In three weeks, we have had $10 million in sales. We are at The Rise to achieve the same level of success.”

In October 2008, The Rise, a 735-acre development with master plan approval for 1,200 units, was listed for sale with Marshall MacLeod of CB Richard Ellis in Vancouver.  In December 2008, The Rise was awarded protection from its lenders and creditors by the Supreme Court of B.C. using the Companies Creditors Arrangement Act for a period of nine months. The developer is currently operating the resort and the completed golf course while it works through its financial difficulties.

“Today’s real estate buyer is savvy and demands deeply discounted pricing,” says Lowe, “With the financial situation the developer is in at The Rise, now is the time for great deals. A new owner, with an improved capital structure, is not likely to be as motivated to offer large discounts.”

Marshall MacLeod, of CB Richard Ellis, reports that, “we have a number of qualified buyers seriously considering the opportunity to acquire The Rise.”  He further indicates that he expects to have a contract in place soon.

The resort’s $14-million Fred Couples Signature Golf Course has been open for the season since April and it is generating rave reviews. Recently, Score Golf magazine named The Golf Club at The Rise a nominee for its 2009 Best New Golf Course in Canada Award. The resort offers $105 million in amenities and infrastructure, including a beach club on Lake Okanagan. Though plans for a winery are currently on hold, the resort has 17 acres of vineyard with Gewurztraminer, Pinot Noir and Riesling vines.  The first harvest last year produced a quality of grape that has created rave reviews from the winemaker.

With over $310 million of recreation property sold since 2002 in the Okanagan, California and Washington, Land Launch attributes its success to knowing what the market wants.

It is currently devising a liquidation sale for The Rise that will be launched in early June 2009.

http://www.realestatechannel.com/featured-columnists/jack-nicklaus-golf-club-at-the-rise-fred-couples-predator-ridge-las-campanas-hokulia-superstition-mountain-mountain-spirit-resort-spa-899.php