When today’s headlines all seem to be filled with distressing financial news, and so much of it is centered about the collapse of the housing market, you might think there could not possibly be any good news to be had and certainly none about home lending. Well, if that’s what you’ve gathered, then think again. While it’s true that many housing markets are slowly rebounding, and, even if many banks are still shoveling the snow off their now out-dated mortgage lending practices, Canadians can still find a home loan as easily, if not more easily, than they did before the “recession” in the United States sent its ugly ripples across the border.
Now, it’s not all fun and games in the Canadian market any more than it is south of the border. But more and more Canadian home sales are evening out their downward slump, and the processing of new mortgage loan applications is creeping back up from an all-time low. First time home shoppers can now start assessing their loan potential and then begin the exciting task of shopping for the home of their dreams as long as it falls in their price range, of course. Current homeowners, who thought that their ability to borrow against the equity in their home was gone for good, could be able to once more gain access to those funds in order to make needed improvements or to pay off other debts. And while we are still a long way from being one-hundred percent back on our feet, the prospects for Canadian mortgage lending institutions are a lot brighter at the beginning of 2010 than it was in the spring of 2009.
Some Canadian metropolitan areas are actually seeing a surge in potential home sales, especially with regard to sales to people that are moving into their vicinity from other areas. Calgary, Ottawa, and Waterloo are among the top cities attracting immigrants in search of homes, and almost every province showed an increase in new home listings in 2009. While overall activity was way down in 2009, in comparison to the record high set in 2007, still over 460,000 homes changed hands through the MLS in Canada during this past year. This represents an increase of 7.7% over transactions in 2008 and the fourth highest annual increase on record. And that’s not too bad of a record for a housing and mortgage lending industry that is coming out of a slump.
What does this mean for the average Canadian consumer looking to buy or to refinance a home? What does it mean for the American or European looking to move to or purchase an investment home in one of the provinces? Basically, it means that while the market might still be a little shaky in some respects, smart shoppers can find solid value in a home in Canada. And they will be able to find a mortgage to finance that home, or to refinance an existing home, at a very reasonable rate. So, at last, there is some good news on the financial front, and it’s right here in Canada.
