By analyzing housing starts in Canada, we can get a good indication of future trends in real estate. Warm weather throughout most of Canada was credited with being the catalyst for a very strong month of March in new homes. April was expected to be lacklustre, but those expectations were blown out of the water with 244,900 housing starts last month, compared to an estimate of 204,000. This was the best month in about five years, well prior to the onset of the 2008 recession. These numbers have some questioning the sustainability of starts as well as eliciting further calls for a housing bubble here in Canada.

Of particular interest was that nearly two-thirds of new homes last month were multifamily units, which includes condominiums via Demographics Make Big Cities Hot:
report |Posted Toronto |Financial Post.

Politicians and monetary policy-makers are warning consumers to tackle their debt loads now, while many analysts argue that is already happening and house prices are still in a healthy range.

Few are suggesting a market crash is imminent, but this week’s spate of strong housing data has renewed concerns the market is dangerously close to overheating and heading for a bubble.

via Too hot higher than expected home prices:
report |Posted Toronto |Financial Post.

He said he preferred to let the market correct itself rather than have the government step in and impose new constraints on the industry, a move that some say is necessary to prevent a U.S.-style housing market crash.

via Canada government reluctant to tighten mortgage rules | Top News | Reuters.

According to the report, there were 9,690 sales last March, up 8% from the same month in 2011.

via Toronto housing prices on the rise: report | Posted Toronto | National Post.

Bank of Montreal’s recent cut-rate 2.99% five-year fixed closed mortgage is set to expire March 28 and, not surprisingly, competitors have already signalled they are ready to raise rates in the wake of the sale ending.

Royal Bank of Canada and Toronto-Dominion Bank were the latest to do so, announcing they had ended their offer of a 2.99% rate on closed four-year mortgage. Bank of Nova Scotia had quietly been telling mortgage brokers last week that it had planned to do the same.

via Canada’s mortgage wars coming to an end? | Mortgages | Personal Finance | Financial Post.

The national housing agency’s first-quarter 2012 report appears to underplay fears of a sharp correction that would see prices plummet in some hot spots like Vancouver and Toronto.

“With the Canadian economy set to expand at a moderate pace and mortgage rates expected to remain low, activity levels in 2012 in both new home construction and sales of existing homes will stay close to levels seen in 2011,” CMHC deputy economist Mathieu Laberge said in a statement.

Analysts say the assessment constitutes the best of all possible outcomes for the Canadian housing market, which has seen a remarkable run-up in prices and sales since the recession to record highs.

via CMHC sees stability in housing market | The Chronicle Herald.

Several of the banks are still unofficially offering deep discounts in the mortgage market through brokers and in-branch negotiations, while some credit unions say they are holding firm on rate offers brought in last month to compete with the banks.

via Banks pull back on low rate mortgages – The Globe and Mail.

The latest statistics from the Canadian Real Estate Association, released Monday, show that Toronto house prices dipped about 2.4 per cent in December over November, putting the average house at $466,540 when adjusted for seasonal fluctuations. Even with that slight decline, Toronto house prices were up in December by four per cent, year over year, CREA notes.

Buyers are becoming “increasingly cautious,” but house sales are expected to continue making a “significant contribution to Canadian economic activity” this year, CREA says.

Economists believe the “distinct signs of moderation” in late 2011 suggest that Toronto is headed not so much for a fall as for a cooling-off.

via Metro – House prices dip, but no crash in sight: Report.

via Lower Fixed Mortgage Rates Expected as Lenders Fight for Business – MarketWatch.

Royal LePage, which franchises brokerages across the country, predicted Thursday that the national average price for resale homes will increase this year by 2.8 per cent by the end of 2012.

It said the national average price for a standard two-storey home was $375,427 in the fourth quarter of 2011, up 4.2 per cent from 2010.

“Widespread calls for a major real estate correction in 2012 simply can’t be justified. The industry has significant momentum entering the year, and buoyed by the stimulative effect of very low interest rates, we expect the market to continue to expand — albeit at a slower pace,” said Phil Soper, the president and CEO of Royal LePage Real Estate Services.

via Canadian home prices will rise again in 2012, but slower than last year: LePage | CanadianBusiness.com.