January 2008 Mortgage and Housing Statistics

February 4, 2008 by Shayla Damery

On February 4th, 2008, the Canadian Association of Accredited Mortgage Professionals (CAAMP) released their February issue of CAAMP Stats.  The publication includes information such as the Bank of Canada Interest Rate, the US Federal Reserve Discount Rate, new housing starts, and more.  To view the full publication, please continue reading.

To learn more about CAAMP, please visit their website.

February 4, 2008

Welcome to the February issue of CAAMP Stats.

Bank of Canada Interest Rate December 4, 2007 4.25% January 22, 2008 4.00% March 4, 2008 Next meeting date Source: Bank of Canada Bank Prime Lending Rate December 5, 2007 6.00% January 23, 2008 5.75% March 5, 2008 Next meeting date Source: Bank of Canada

US Federal Reserve Board Discount Rate December 11, 2007 4.25% January 22, 2008 (Inter Mtg.) 3.50% January 30, 2008 3.00% Source: US Federal Reserve Exchange Rate ($CDN/$US) Exchange Rate $CDN/$US $CDN/$US December 28, 2007 1.0199 $CDN/$US January 16, 2008 0.9760 $CDN/$US January 30, 2008 1.0068 Source:Bank of Canada

Government of Canada Bonds Bond Type December 27, 2007 January 16, 2008 January 30, 2008 1 Year Treasury Bill 4.01% 3.51% 3.35% 3 Year Benchmark Bond Yield 3.92% 3.40% 3.30% 5 Year Benchmark Bond Yield 3.96% 3.52% 3.50% 10 Year Benchmark Bond Yield 4.09% 3.82% 3.88% Source: Bank of Canada

Total New Housing Starts (Seasonable adjusted and annualized) Province October 2007 November 2007 December 2007 Newfoundland/Labrador 2,800 3,300 2,900 PEI 600 1,100 600 Nova Scotia 5,500 4,100 4,400 New Brunswick 3,800 3,800 4,500 Quebec 43,500 38,100 39,200 Ontario 67,400 74,900 51,700 Manitoba 6,800 5,200 4,600 Saskatchewan 5,700 5,700 5,000 Alberta 47,400 43,600 37,900 British Columbia 42,500 50,500 33,900 CANADA 226,000 230,300 184,700 Source: CMHC Housing Now – January 2008. This seasonally adjusted data goes through stages of revision at different times of the year.

Average MLS resale price for local markets City December 2006 December 2007 Halifax $205,804 $209,156 Quebec City $148,989 $174,768 Montreal $223,416 $242,485 Ottawa $249,196 $276,839 Toronto $336,217 $394,931 Hamilton/Burlington $248,046 $261,728 Saskatoon $175,302 $255,271 Calgary $361,611 $400,139 Edmonton $294,155 $329,705 Vancouver $519,421 $566,192 Source: Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA)

Canadian Major Market Residential MLS Summary*   Seasonally Adjusted December 2007 Seasonally Adjusted November 2007 Unadjusted Data December 2007 Unadjusted Data December 2006 Dollar Volume ($ millions) 10,045.8 10,144.6 5,777.0 5,301.5 Unit Sales 29,156 29,893 17,357 18,017 Average Price ($)     332,836 294,251 New Listings 47,440 49,553 20,511 20,833 Source: Canadian Real Estate Association * Includes totals for 25 major markets in Canada   Standard two-story Housing Affordability Index Region Average Price Qualifying Income ($) Q3 2007   Affordability Measure (%) Q3 2007 ($) Y/Y % ch. Q2 2007 (rev) Q3 2007 Canada* 345,575 9.8 84,376 46.3 47.4 British Columbia 542,012 9.0 122,134 68.2 70.8 Alberta 424,935 22.2 98,377 44.8 45.5 Saskatchewan 277,667 52.1 68,969 40.2 41.9 Manitoba 220,549 11.4 58,496 34.5 35.6 Ontario 349,406 6.8 86,671 43.0 43.8 Quebec 261,565 3.9 68,953 43.9 44.7 Atlantic 207,222 13.4 54,610 36.9 37.6 Toronto 481,315 7.8 114,834 52.2 53.4 Montreal 299,601 5.0 76,708 46.1 47.2 Vancouver 619,892 7.8 138,309 73.3 75.2 Ottawa 317,642 4.1 81,531 36.9 37.4 Calgary 476,711 17.5 107,329 45.7 46.9 Edmonton 376,060 20.5 89,644 41.7 41.8 Source: RBC Financial Group Housing Affordability Index, December 2007 Index based on a 25% down payment and a 25 year mortgage loan at a five year fixed rate. The higher the index, the more difficult it is to afford home. An affordability index of 50 means that homeownership costs including mortgage payments, utilities and property taxes take up half of a typical household’s monthly pre-tax income. Source: RBC Economics Research