The Canadian Real Estate Association has been adjusting its forecast for 2011 as economic circumstances warrant, and on Monday took another crack at the numbers. Its first prediction was made in February, 2010, when it said prices would fall 1.5 per cent as sales fell 7.1 per cent. Monday’s numbers were rosier, as stronger than […]

A variety of factors can keep you from qualifying for a mortgage. The big ones include a low credit score, insufficient income for the size of the loan you want, insufficient down payment and excessive debt. All of these factors are within your control, however. Let’s take a look at your options for overcoming any […]

Hiring surged at North American companies in April, reminding investors the economic recovery continues to build underneath the wild swings in commodity markets. Canada added 58,000 jobs in April, bringing the unemployment rate down 0.1 percentage point to 7.6% and returning fulltime employment to the level of October 2008 for the first time, Statistics Canada […]

It is almost becoming an affront to the legacy of George Washington to have to grace the lowly greenback. While the currency managed to claw back some ground amid turmoil on global markets this week, it remains on the verge of sinking below a pair of important thresholds. The first is the 2008 record low. […]

Last September, my wife and I started scouring the city for a new house. We were living in a cozy bungalow, but with a growing kid and another on the way, we decided it was time to move. Buying a new house is, of course, expensive, so I wanted to do whatever it took to […]

Canada’s economy created an impressive 58,300 jobs last month, almost all of them in Ontario, and a big portion of them part-time. It was enough to bring the unemployment rate down to 7.6 per cent, matching the lowest jobless level since the early months of the recession. Economists had expected a more modest 20,000 pick-up […]

A young couple who have been renting in our modest Toronto condo building recently bought a home a couple of miles away in a nice old neighbourhood with the aim of starting a family. The house is a big, detached fixer-upper and the renovation costs will be extensive. In moving up to the rungs on […]

The number one question you need to ask yourself if you’re selling your home this spring is: How do I net the most money? It’s not how do I get the most money for my home. It’s how do I keep the most money in my pocket after paying all my expenses, including commissions and […]

Since they rely heavily on word-of-mouth to spread their businesses, contractors are motivated to fully satisfy their customers and build a solid reputation. But because bad news travels faster and farther than good news, it’s far more common to hear stories about bad contractors than it is to hear about good ones. (You think your updated house […]

The most enduring and simplistic argument for buying a house is that you’re making an investment. What an understatement. Between your mortgage, property taxes, utility bills, maintenance, furnishings, renovations, landscaping and such, you’ll be investing non-stop in your home. But what’s the return on your money? Looking back a decade, houses have been an excellent […]