5 things to ask when buying a cottage

By Mark Weisleder | Moneyville Fri May 27 2011

Buying a house in the city or suburbs can be complicated enough, but buying a cottage or vacation property outside of town requires even more due diligence.

Canadian Q1 GDP annualized growth rises to 3.9%

Real gross domestic product (GDP) advanced 1.0% in the first quarter, following a 0.8% increase in the previous quarter. Final domestic demand rose 0.6%. On a monthly basis, real GDP by industry increased 0.3% in March.

Are you a non-resident looking for a mortgage in Romania?

As new European Union country, having joined as a full member state in 2007, Romania has amended its laws to lift all restrictions on foreign nationals owning land as well as property in the country.

The Prime Rate might go Up

May 26, 2011 — The C.D. Howe Institute’s Monetary Policy Council (MPC) today recommended that the Bank of Canada raise its target for the overnight interest rate, the very short-term money-market rate the Bank targets for monetary policy purposes, to 1.25 percent at its next announcement on May 31, 2011. The Council further recommended raising the target rate to 1.50 percent at the following announcement on July 19, 2011, followed by increases that would take it to 1.75 percent in December 2011 and 2.25 percent in May 2012.

Mortgage Variety Around The World

Short-term or long term. Fixed or variable. The type of rate that’s popular in a country doesn’t necessarily affect its home ownership rate.

BoC rate hike on hold until September: RBC

Financial Post May 24, 2011

The Bank of Canada’s plan to raise interest rates and exit its stimulus program has been delayed to September due to renewed uncertainty about the fiscal crunch in Europe and its potential spillover effects into Canada, the team at RBC Economics said Tuesday.

Low interest rates seen sticking around

Tuesday's Globe and Mail

Interest rates have recently being going somewhere unexpected: down.

At their trough last week, the yields on 10-year U.S. Treasuries, the benchmark North American rate, touched 3.11 per cent, the lowest level in six months and more than half a percentage point below their February peak.

Inflation rates for selected Canadian cities during April

The Canadian Press

OTTAWA - Canada's national annual inflation rate was 3.3 per cent in April, Statistics Canada says. 

Foreign investment in Canadian securities increased to $6.3 billion in March

Foreign investment in Canadian securities increased to $6.3 billion in March, with acquisitions equally split between bonds and stocks. In contrast, Canadians removed $1.7 billion from their holdings of foreign securities in March, all debt instruments.

World debt will impact Canada as well, says Carney

OTTAWA — Canada’s fiscal advantage will only go so far in protecting the country against a debt crisis growing in the world’s advanced nations and Asia’s emerging economic powerhouses, Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney warns.

The Foreclosure Process in British Columbia

In British Columbia, it is the judicial sale process that involves licensees most frequently. The petitioner or any of the respondents (i.e. 1st, 2nd or 3rd Mortgagee) can apply for a judicial sale, also known as a court-ordered sale, which will be carried out under the supervision of the court.

Money-saving tips on driving “fuel- efficiently”

The Canadian Automobile Association offers these tips for drivers on how to use less fuel and save money:

Stability in the Canadian Mortgage Market: Consumer Survey

Following a threatening, but short-lived recession, which ended two years ago, the Canadian economy is well into recovery. Housing has benefitted from the recovery, and in fact has played an important role. Rising housing values are encouraging consumer confidence and consumer spending, and this has been a major driver of job creation.

Investment Property in Portugal

Real Estate Investing

With real estate investing in Portugal, there are two basic ways to achieve a healthy return on your money. One is through capital growth in the real estate market. The other is rental income. Growth is where the big money is in Portugal property investment; however, it is the rental income that allows you to hold onto the property long-term and truly take advantage of Portugal property market growth. 

Canada’s housing market on path to land softly but Vancouver bubbling in early 2011

The Canadian housing market is transitioning to a more stable, sustainable path, following more than two years of significant volatility.

RBC expects BOC rates to rise in July

Canada’s economy is in good shape

Real GDP output contracted slightly in February although this followed two very strong monthly gains and was not enough to derail the economy from posting a solid gain in the first quarter of 2011.

Ecuador Real Estate

The prices of real estate in Ecuador have risen slightly in recent years thanks to Ecuador’s growing economy, but they are still inexpensive in comparison with U.S. prices and downright cheap when compared with real estate in Europe.

Canadian Dollar Falls as Equity Decline Overshadows Conservative Majority

Canada’s dollar slid for a second day as a drop in global stocks overshadowed national election results that gave Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper a majority of seats in Parliament for the first time.

Stocks rise following death of bin Laden

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- U.S. stocks were modestly higher on Monday, as investors cheered news that Osama bin Laden was killed by U.S. forces.