Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) released today its second quarter financial report as well as complementary Mortgage Loan Insurance, Securitization, and Covered Bonds Supplements.

CMHC provides mortgage loan insurance and securitization guarantee programs to facilitate access to mortgage financing and to contribute to the stability of the financial system.  Consistent with our mandate, CMHC is present in all markets and through all economic cycles.

Ensuring overall portfolio quality through prudent underwriting reduces the risk associated with the mortgage loan insurance business....

The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) released its 2015 Third Quarter Housing Forecast Update today.

For only the third time in BC, Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) residential sales are expected to reach 100,000 units in 2015. Housing demand has not been this robust since 2007 when 102,800 homes traded hands. A record 106,300 MLS® residential sales were recorded in 2005.

“While rock-bottom mortgage interest rates and BC’s nation leading economic growth are underpinning demand, consumer confidence is the key driver of the...

Highlights:

•       National home sales edged back by 0.4% from June to July.

•       Actual (not seasonally adjusted) activity stood 3.4% above July 2014 levels.

•       The number of newly listed homes edged up 0.2 per cent from June to July.

•       The Canadian housing market remains balanced overall.

•       The MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) rose 5.9% year-over-year in July.

•      ...

The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) reports that a total of 10,247 residential unit sales were recorded by the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in July, up 20.7 per cent from the same month last year. Total sales dollar volume was $6.2 billion, a 33.9 per cent increase in comparison to the previous year. The average MLS® residential price in the province rose to $608,294, an 11 per cent increase since last July.

"Consumer confidence is brimming in the fastest growing economy in the country," said Cameron Muir, BCREA Chief Economist. "Broad-based consumer demand continues...

The trend measure of housing starts in Canada was 185,586 units in July compared to 184,035 in June, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). The trend is a six-month moving average of the monthly seasonally adjusted annual rates (SAAR) of housing starts.

“Housing starts in Canada have been trending higher over the past three months, with gains in multiple starts offsetting declines in single starts,” said Bob Dugan, CMHC’s Chief Economist. “The decline in single starts is in line with CMHC’s expectations of buyers shifting demand away from higher...

Metro Vancouver home sales were more than a third above the 10-year average in July, while the number of homes listed for sale continues to trend below recent years.

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential property sales in Metro Vancouver* reached 3,978 on the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in July 2015. This represents a 30 per cent increase compared to the 3,061 sales recorded in July 2014, and a decrease of 9.1 per cent compared to the 4,375 sales in June 2015.

Last month’s sales were 33.5 per cent above the 10-year sales average for the month....