Happy New Year! I would like to take this time to wish you all a very happy and prosperous New Year. Chinese Astrology: 2011 The Year of the Rabbit. What does the Chinese Year of the Rabbit hold for you? Peace? Prosperity? Success? The Year of the Rabbit is projected to bring in a time of peace, tranquility and diplomacy. However, the Metal element gives this bunny a competitive, aggressive, cold, and sometimes insensitive side. Get a free preview of what the year holds for you right now! The Most Popular New Year's Resolutions Whether you're hoping to quit smoking, be more organized or get a new job, now is the time to outline what you'd like to achieve next year. See how your goals for the New Year compare to the most popular resolutions of 2011. The most common objective for those hoping to make some positive changes in 2011 is to drop a few pounds, according to an online poll of over 5,000 people on 43things.com. Poll results showed that 1,057 people voted to "lose weight" as their No. 1 resolution, with "be happy" coming in second place with 684 votes. Here's the full list: Most Popular New Year's Resolutions of 2011 Whatever your resolutions are, I hope you have a wonderful new year! Resale housing market on solid ground in November National resale housing activity continues its return to normal levels, having risen in November 2010 for the fourth consecutive month, according to statistics released today by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA). Seasonally adjusted national home sales activity via the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) Systems of Canadian real estate Boards climbed 4.8 per cent in November 2010. Although this is well short of record level activity for the month of November posted a year ago, seasonally adjusted sales now stand 19.5 per cent above levels recorded in July 2010, when it reached this year's low point. "Sales activity rose in many local markets but eased in others," said Georges Pahud, CREA President. "Home buyers and sellers need to recognize that local and national market trends may differ, and for that reason, they would do well to consult their local REALTOR® in order to understand how the housing market is shaping up in their market." Seasonally adjusted activity was up from October levels in two-thirds of all local markets, including eight of Canada's ten most active markets. Month-over-month increases were reported in Calgary (+2.6 per cent), Edmonton (+6.9 per cent), Fraser Valley (+10.5 per cent), London & St. Thomas (+6.5 per cent), Montreal (+8.2 per cent), Ottawa (+4.2 per cent), Toronto (+6.0 per cent), and Greater Vancouver (+11.3 per cent). These markets accounted for more than half of national activity in November. Actual (not seasonally adjusted) national sales activity in November 2010 was 9.3 per below levels in November 2009. The persistence of large year-over-year declines from last year's record levels has been masking the steady improvement in national sales activity since July 2010. A comparison of November sales activity to sales for the same month in previous years suggests that activity is currently running at more normal levels.The number of new residential listings on Canadian MLS® Systems edged down 0.7 per cent on a seasonally adjusted basis in November. New listings remain 14.6 per cent below the peak reached in April 2010. The national housing market has been firming up since July 2010 due to improving sales activity and a muted rise in new listings, but overall remains balanced. About 60 per cent of local markets in Canada were in balanced market territory in November. Of the remaining 40 per cent, three-quarters of these markets have a sales to new listings ratio consistent with a being classified as a sellers' market. "An increase in new listings is likely to return many sellers markets to balanced territory over the coming months," said Gregory Klump, CREA's Chief Economist. "With sales activity having returned to better health and a firm floor under prices, sellers who previously shied away from putting their home on the market are expected to list their home in response to improved housing demand in recent months." The number of months of inventory represents the number of months it would take to sell current inventories at the current rate of sales activity, and is another measure of the balance between housing supply and demand. The seasonally adjusted number of months of inventory stood at 5.8 months at the end of November on a national basis. This is down from 6.1 months in October. The number of months of inventory now stands 1.4 months below the level reached in July 2010, when it stood at this year's highest level. The national average price for homes sold in November 2010 was $344,268, up two per cent from November 2009. Nearly two-thirds of local markets recorded a year-over-year increase in average price. In recent months, the national average price has been influenced by rising prices but fewer sales in some of Canada's priciest markets compared to one year ago. "Following the chilling lows at the onset of the recent recession and the dizzying heights during the subsequent recovery, the national housing market appears to be returning to some semblance of normalcy," said Klump. "Changes to mortgage regulations earlier this year were prudent and sufficient, striking the right balance between preventing speculative housing market activity and keeping homeownership affordability within reach for creditworthy home buyers. That's a good thing, since housing activity helped support Canadian economic growth this year. Rising interest rates and weaker expected job growth are likely to contribute to softer prospects for housing market activity and average price growth next year, reflecting weakening economic growth prospects."
Bank of Canada maintains overnight rate target at 1 per cent The Bank of Canada announced in December that it is maintaining its target for the overnight rate at 1 per cent. The Bank Rate is correspondingly 1 1/4 per cent and the deposit rate is 3/4 per cent. The global economic recovery is proceeding largely as expected, although risks have increased. As anticipated, private domestic demand in the United States is picking up slowly, while growth in emerging-market economies has begun to ease to a more sustainable, but still robust, pace. In Europe, recent data have been consistent with a modest recovery. At the same time, there is an increased risk that sovereign debt concerns in several countries could trigger renewed strains in global financial markets. The recovery in Canada is proceeding at a moderate pace, although economic activity in the second half of 2010 appears slightly weaker than the Bank projected in its October Monetary Policy Report. In the third quarter, household spending was stronger than the Bank had anticipated and growth in business investment was robust. However, net exports were weaker than projected and continued to exert a significant drag on growth. This underlines a previously-identified risk that a combination of disappointing productivity performance and persistent strength in the Canadian dollar could dampen the expected recovery of net exports. Inflation dynamics in Canada have been broadly in line with the Bank's expectations and the underlying pressures affecting prices remain largely unchanged. Reflecting all of these factors, the Bank has decided to maintain the target for the overnight rate at 1 per cent. This leaves considerable monetary stimulus in place, consistent with achieving the 2 per cent inflation target in an environment of significant excess supply in Canada. Any further reduction in monetary policy stimulus would need to be carefully considered.
RE/MAX Sells More Real Estate!
* The information and opinions contained in this document are obtained from various sources and believed to be reliable, but their accuracy cannot be guaranteed. The publisher assumes no responsibility for errors and omissions, or for damages resulting from using the published information and opinions. This document is provided with the understanding that it does not render legal, accounting, or other professional advice. Whole or partial reproduction is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher. | ||||||||||||||||
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Information Watch --- January, 2011
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment