Click Image to enlarge graph The Case-Shiller Home Price Indices are quarterly nominal house price indices for the United States. The following graph shows the price declines from the peak for each city included in S&P/Case-Shiller indices. In Phoenix, house prices have declined more than 50% from the peak. At the other end of the spectrum, prices in Charlotte and Dallas are off about 11% to 12% from the peak. Prices have declined by double digits everywhere.

(Source: Calgary Herald) CALGARY – Calgary led the country in February with the steepest decline in house prices, according to a national report released Wednesday. The Teranet-National Bank National Composite House Price Index said Calgary house prices fell by 8.1 per cent year-over-year followed by Vancouver at 6.4 per cent and Toronto at five per cent. The national composite price drop was 4.1 per cent. Calgary also recorded the biggest drop from peak prices. In the city, house prices have … Read More

(Source: Financial Times) The volume of commercial mortgages at risk of default has quintupled since the beginning of 2008 as a deteriorating economy has made it increasingly difficult for shops and businesses to keep up with their payments. Special servicers, companies that collect payments from borrowers in distress on behalf of mortgage bond investors, reported $23.7bn of mortgages under their care at the end of the first quarter, according to Fitch Ratings. That was five times higher than the $4.6bn … Read More

(Source: House Price Index) Canadian home prices in February were down 4.1% from a year earlier, according to the Teranet–National Bank National Composite House Price Index™. The disinflation that began in February 2008 is now a year old. The retreat means that on the whole, Canadian housing has become a buyer’s market after five years of seller’s-market conditions from 2002 to 2007. February was also the sixth consecutive month in which the composite index was down from the month before … Read More

(Source: The Toronto Star) If you’re a City of Toronto taxpayer, you’re now in the real estate development game – and the city has released a list of 30 properties that are now in play. From the derelict bus stalls at Eglinton subway station, to the C.O. Bick Police College at Finch Ave. E. and Brimley Rd., the city’s new development company, Build Toronto, will soon have a substantial portfolio. Yesterday, the city released a list of 22 new properties … Read More

(Source: CTV Toronto) Ontario Energy Minister George Smitherman has backed down from a plan to require energy audits each time a house is sold. A new amendment to the province’s Green Energy Act will allow home buyers to waive their right to the $300 audit, as long as they do so in writing. The change will provide more flexibility in cases where the buyer intends to knock down the property or do major renovations, Smitherman said. Read the full article … Read More

The homeownership rate is back to the level of Q2 2000. There goes the homeownership gains of the previous eight+ years. On April 27th the US Census Bureau reported the homeownership and vacancy rates for Q1 2009. Click here for the full release.

To buy or not to buy, that is the question; Whether ’tis nobler on the pocketbook to suffer the outrageous rent, or to take up a sea of mortgage payments, and by doing so, retire with equity. (Source: Toronto Star) With interest rates at the lowest they’ve been in more than 50 years and with home and condo prices in decline for the first time since 1996, many potential first-time buyers are viewing this as their best chance to buy … Read More

(Source: Edmonton Real Estate Blog) Sales statisitcs for Edmonton homes are showing positive signs. The realtors Association of Edmonton reports 1302 sales this month which suggests sales of over 1600 by the end of the month (compared to 1823 last year and 1380 last month). For the past two months single family home sales within Edmonton are actually higher than last year, while sales outside of Edmonton are much lower, bringing down the overall number. Read the full blog post … Read More

(Source: The Globe and Mail) A frustrated seller who has had her Toronto house on the market for more than a month has a message for buyers: “Be realistic,” she pleads in an e-mail this week. This homeowner is irked because she hasn’t received a single offer despite the fact that her house is in move-in condition in downtown Bickford Park. She avoids being home when prospective buyers come through but she has asked visiting agents for feedback and they … Read More