Markham Real Estate Today with Asif Khan

The Canadian housing market has defied the naysayers yet again — sales rose 3.6 from April to May, average prices went up 3.7 per cent and the market appears poised to return to the 10-year sales norm by 2014, according to a revised forecast Monday from the Canadian Real Estate Association.

TORONTO — Canadian housing starts jumped much more than expected in May from April, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp said on Monday, in the latest sign that the broader economy is gaining momentum in the second quarter.

The seasonally adjusted annualized rate of housing starts was 200,178 units in May, an increase from 175,922 in April. The April figure was revised upward.

Analysts polled by Reuters had expected 178,100 starts in May.

The housing starts data was the most recent report to suggest Canadian economic growth is picking up after struggling in the second half of 2012. A separate report on Friday showed the economy added 95,000 jobs in May, the second-biggest gain in 37 years.

The prospect of stronger growth gave a boost to the Canadian dollar, which firmed to C$1.0181 the U.S. dollar, or 98.22 U.S. cents immediately after the data.

With the pickup in starts, residential construction may contribute to Canadian economic growth in the second quarter for the first time in four quarters, wrote Krishen Rangasamy, senior economist with National Bank.

MORTGAGE RULE CHANGES BITE

The six-month trend level in housing starts was 182,756 units, little changed from a month earlier, suggesting the downward slope in homebuilding since the middle of 2012 may be starting to level off.

“Multi-unit housing starts came storming back in May after falling precipitously through the winter months. Still, the 6-month trend in overall Canadian housing starts sits very close to demographic demand, further hinting at a soft landing,” Robert Kavcic, a senior economist with BMO Capital Markets, wrote in a note to clients.

Canada’s post-recession housing boom, fuelled by record low borrowing costs, began to cool last year after Canada’s Conservative government tightened mortgage lending rules in July.

Those changes, prompted by fears a property bubble could be building, were the fourth such move since the financial crisis.

But the data on Monday showed segments of the market are still robust. The number of housing starts in cities increased by 14.6% in May. Urban starts were led by a 22.2% rise in multiple starts to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate 114,346 units. Condominiums are included in the multiple category.

The number of single homes started in cities increased by 3.0% to 62,888 units in May.

Still, economists warned that given the extent of the post-crisis boom, tighter mortgage rules and the prospect of higher borrowing costs, the longer-term outlook for Canada’s housing sector was still tepid.

“With the 6-month moving average now more in line with the rate of household formation, May’s sharp jump in the pace of new home construction is unlikely to be sustained,” Dina Ignjatovic, an economist with Toronto-Dominion Bank, wrote in a research note.

“The overbuilding that has taken place over the last 10 years could lead to new home construction falling below this demographic need for a period of time. This should, however, help to prevent further overbuilding and a consequential sharp correction in the housing market.”

OTTAWA — The number of Canadian homes sold so far this year is slightly higher than projected and it looks as if 2014 will show a rebound, according to a new forecast by the Canadian real estate industry’s main association.

The Canadian Real Estate Association said Monday it still expects fewer sales this year than in 2012 but says the decline will be smaller than what was predicted in March. It also projected that next year will show more sales than in 2013 or 2012.

“Until recently, it seemed that the only debate on Canada’s housing market was whether the landing was going to be of the soft or rough variety. Well, it appears that housing may not be so keen on landing at all at this point,” said BMO Capital Markets chief economist Douglas Porter.

“Sorry to inform you, but “The Great Real Estate Crash of 2011…no…2012…no…2013” has been postponed until 2014, or until further notice. More seriously, we believe housing remains on track for a fabled soft landing.”

CREA is now estimating 443,400 units will be sold in 2013, a decline of 2.5% from 454,573 in 2012. It had previously projected a decline of 2.9% from 2012.

CREA says the sales activity began to pick up at the end of the first quarter and accelerated in the second quarter.

The association also says 2014 will see a strong rebound, with 464,300 units of housing sold — about 9,700 more than last year.

The number of transactions dropped off in the second half of 2012 after new mortgage rules for lenders and buyers were introduced by the federal government last summer.

CREA reported there were 51,764 residential properties of all types sold across Canada last month, down 2.6% from May 2012.

On a month-to-month basis, May showed a 3.6% increase from April with 37,792 units and 36,473 units sold on a seasonally adjusted basis in the first two months of the second quarter.

The association’s home price index was up 2.3% in May, compared with a year earlier. That was slightly better than April’s HPI of 2.2% but still near two-year lows.

The May national average price, for all types of property in major markets across Canada, was $388,910 — up 3.7% from a year earlier. Almost all of the local markets that make up the average saw year-to-year increases.

http://business.financialpost.com/2013/06/17/2013-housing-sales-off-to-better-start-than-expected/?__lsa=022e-bb4d

Connected Dishwasher

June 5, 2013 -- Greater Toronto Area (GTA) REALTORS® reported 10,182 sales through the TorontoMLS system in May 2013, representing a dip of 3.4 per cent compared to May 2012. Sales of single-detached homes in the GTA were up by almost one per cent compared to the same period last year, including a three per cent year-over-year increase in the City of Toronto.

“The sales picture in the GTA has improved markedly over the past two months. While the number of transactions in April and May remained below last year’s levels, the rate of decline has been much smaller. A growing number of households who put their decision to purchase on hold as a result of stricter lending guidelines are starting to become active again in the ownership market,” said Toronto Real Estate Board President Ann Hannah.

The average selling price for May 2013 sales was $542,174 – up by 5.4 per cent in comparison to $514,567 in May 2012. The annual rate of price growth was driven by the tight low-rise segment of the market and particularly by single-detached and semi-detached home transactions in the City of Toronto. Average condominium apartment prices were also up slightly in comparison to last year.

The MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) Composite Benchmark was up by 2.8 per cent year-over-year.

“The annual rate of price growth in May was not surprising given the competition that still exists between buyers, particularly for low-rise home types such as single-detached and semi-detached houses. We remain on track for a three-and-a-half per cent increase in the average selling price for 2013 as a whole,” said Jason Mercer, TREB’s Senior Manager of Market Analysis.

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Not only do herbs add a delicious pop of flavour, but also pair amazingly well with grilled dishes and salads.

When the air is warm we tend to crave lighter meals. That’s why cooking in the summer is a breeze. It’s easy eating; just fire up the barbecue or toss together a quick salad! The easiest way to add flavour to quick meals is to add a sprinkling of fresh herbs. Not only do they add a delicious pop of flavour, but also pair amazingly well with grilled dishes and salads.

Here are some of my favourites herbs and where to use them:

Cilantro - this leafy herb goes well with a variety of Asian dishes. I especially love it in our no-cook shrimp and mango noodle salad, and it makes a mean, zesty sauce in our grilled steak with spicy cilantro sauce.

Basil - I keep a basil plant on my balcony, so anytime I need it I just snip off a few leaves and add it to my dishes. Sprinkle leaves on a grilled flank steak with tomatoes and basil or use it in a fruity garden tomato and peach salad.

Mint - this herb is a must in my favourite summer cocktail, the dragon mojito. The fresh leaves also add a refreshing sweetness to dishes like this watermelon & cucumber salad and our Greek-inspired lamb burgers with feta and mint.

Parsley – potato salads are a staple at summer barbecues, and I love this colourful potato salad with parsley vinaigrette. Parsley is also the main ingredient in Lebanese tabbouleh, which we’ve jazzed up here with some grilled lamb chops.

Dill – the unique flavour of dill goes great with seafood, and I love it in this  dijon-dill shrimp salad and salmon and lentil pilaf.

After bringing your herbs home from the market, make sure to store them properly. Here are two ways that will give your fresh herbs a longer shelf life:

http://www.chatelaine.com/recipes/chatelainekitchen/the-best-herbs-and-how-to-store-them/

Toronto’s popular outdoor wine-tasting fest is back for the fifth straight year. The annualToronto Wine & Spirit Festival comes to Sugar Beach for a full weekend of booze sampling, seminars, live music and more. Attendees can sample new brands and types of wine, craft beer and spirits by the Lakeshore.

As the Toronto Wine & Spirit Festival happens on a beach, high heels are not recommended; it’s an event for flip-flops and flat shoes. A ticket to the festival gives you a wristband and a sampling cup and you can buy sample vouchers in strips of five for $1 per voucher.

Dates: June 13, 2013 - 

THURSDAY, June 6 (HealthDay News) -- Certain lifestyle changes could greatly reduce your stroke risk, according to a new study.

Researchers calculated stroke risk among nearly 23,000 black and white Americans aged 45 and older. Their risk was assessed using the American Heart Association's Life's Simple 7 health factors: be active, control cholesterol, eat a healthy diet, manage blood pressure, maintain a healthy weight, control blood sugar and don't smoke.

During five years of follow-up, 432 strokes occurred among the participants. All seven factors played an important role in predicting stroke risk, but blood pressure was the most important, according to the study, which was published June 6 in the journal Stroke.

"Compared to those with poor blood pressure status, those who were ideal had a 60 percent lower risk of future stroke," study senior author Dr. Mary Cushman, a professor of medicine at the University of Vermont in Burlington, said in a journal news release.

Cushman and her colleagues also found that people who didn't smoke or quit smoking more than a year before the start of the study had a 40 percent lower stroke risk.

For the study, the researchers categorized the participants' Life's Simple 7 scores as inadequate (zero to four points), average (five to nine points) or optimum (10 to 14 points). Every one-point increase was associated with an 8 percent lower stroke risk. People with optimum scores had a 48 percent lower risk than those with inadequate scores, and those with average scores had a 27 percent lower risk.

Overall, blacks had lower scores than whites, but the association between scores and stroke risk was similar for blacks and whites.

"This highlights the critical importance of improving these health factors since blacks have nearly twice the stroke mortality rates as whites," Cushman said.

Each year, about 795,000 people in the United States have a stroke, which is the No. 4 killer and a leading cause of long-term disability in the country, according to the American Heart Association.

More information

The U.S. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke has more about stroke and stroke prevention.

TORONTO — Canadian home prices jumped in May from April as a spring rebound in real estate continued in most cities, offsetting a couple of weak markets, the Teranet-National Bank Composite House Price Index showed on Wednesday.

The index, which measures price changes for repeat sales of single-family homes, showed overall prices rose 1.1% in May, the ninth time in 15 years that May prices were up 1.0% or more from April.

The index was up 2.0% from a year earlier, which matched the April rate and marked the smallest 12-month gain since November 2009.

The report suggested Canada’s housing market regained strength in the spring after a long slow winter of decline following the government’s move to tighten mortgage lending rules in July 2012.

Residential real estate activity typically picks up in the spring, and economists have been waiting to see if demand will return after a dramatic slowdown since the middle of 2012.

The report echoed one released on Monday by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp that showed housing starts jumped much more than expected in May from April, suggesting residential construction may contribute to Canadian economic growth in the second quarter.

The Teranet data showed prices rose in May from April in nine of the 11 metropolitan markets surveyed, led by a 2.3% gain in Calgary and a 1.9% rise in Edmonton. Prices were up 1.4% in Hamilton, 1.2% in Montreal and Winnipeg, 1.1% in Ottawa, 1.0% in Toronto, 0.8% in Quebec City and 0.7% in Vancouver.

They were flat in Halifax and down 0.8% in Victoria.

Year-on-year prices dropped in two cities — Victoria, where they were down 4.1% from May 2012, and Vancouver, where prices fell 3.2%. British Columbia had the hottest housing market going into the downturn.

Compared with May 2012, prices were 6.5% higher in Quebec City, 5.8% higher in Calgary and Hamilton, 4.6% higher in Winnipeg, 4.0% higher in Edmonton, 3.9% higher in Toronto, 2.3% higher in Halifax, 2.0% higher in Ottawa and 1.9% higher in Montreal.

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