Canadian Funding Corp. Reviews CMHC Statistics

This post makes the “Too funny” category for the featured video’s surprise ending. If you start the video, please see it through to the end.

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(2) Repealed. 2007, c.39, s.4.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

By Brian Madigan LL.B.

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

Moishe Alexander, CEO of Canadian Funding Corporation notes that of renovation work done in Canada, a significant percentage of people do either a portion or the entire job themselves, or with the assistance of friends. That percentage is shrinking, however.

The majority of homeowner households hired a contractor

Among households that renovated in 2007, 41 per cent contracted out all the work, while 31 per cent did the work themselves or with the help of friends or family. Over a quarter of households who renovated did a mix of both hiring a contractor and doing a portion of the work themselves.

In 2007, compared to 2006, the share of households that decided to do the work themselves decreased, while a larger share of households contracted out all the work or contracted out part of the work and did some themselves.

The majority of renovator households in Edmonton (44 per cent), Québec (43 per cent), and Halifax (39 per cent), did the work themselves rather than hire a contractor. On the other hand, the majority of renovator households in Toronto (47 per cent), Ottawa (45 per cent), and Montréal (44 per cent) hired a contractor to complete the work.

Of those households that contacted a contractor, 77 per cent of households in 2007 had a written agreement before the renovation work was started, down from 80 per cent in 2006.