That's right, Canada

The following article, published online last Saturday, and to be published in the February 16, 2009 of Newsweek  is an excellent review of the state of the Canada and the Canadian banking system - Newsweek - Worthwhile Canadian Initiative (by editor Fareed Zakaria).

AltaPacific's blog post on this article is found here

The following news was published yesterday (January 5, 2009) in many sources across Canada.  This Financial Post article speaks directly to the Canadian housing market and how it compares to the current conditions of the U.S.

Visit AltaPacific's Canadian Mortgage blog for commentary about this recent news and learn how you can invest in Canadian mortgages for healthy investment returns of your RSP or private placement funds.

Well, it is the last day of 2008 - a year of tumultuous markets and plenty of talk of a global recession.  While some countries in the world are reeling, our situation here in Canada - especially in Western Canada - seems and feels quite different from what we read about in the news. 

Lets talk real estate at home for a brief moment.  In Western Canada (BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan) we saw a strong 1st and 2nd quarter in housing prices and then a softening in the 3rd and 4th quarters as the financial markets took their tumble in October and November and consumers around the globe - even here in Canada - stayed glued to the business news.  Many held on for the unknown ride ahead and real estate transactions came to a grinding halt in the closing months of the year.  While transactions slowed in western Canada, the future of real estate here certainly feels much less volatile than in other parts of the country.  The founders ofAltaPacific Mortgage Investment Co. - along with many western Canadian real estate experts - are confident in the outlook for 2009.  We are excited by the new opportunities that a changing economy brings to the real estate industry.  We forecast and expect strong and healthy returns for our investors in 2009 and are already seeing quality mortgage needs from real estate owners in the western provinces of Canada.


Our confidence and expectations are not baseless either.  Today (December 31 2008), news broke from the Mortgage Bankers Association that may shows a glimmer of hope for our friends in the United States.  Mortgage applications in the U.S. last week reached a five-year high!  Pardon!?  While real estate prices plunge in many parts of America the application for mortgages is reaching a 5 year high?  This morning's news article from Bloomberg - U.S. MBA’s Mortgage Applications Index Rose to Five-Year High states that the rise is in large part to sliding borrowing costs but certainly must shows some renewed confidence by American consumers. The year ahead has signs for optimism even in the USA.


Meanwhile, north of the border Canadian banks weathered the 2008 storms remarkably well and this month showed further signs of stability; including raising nearly record levels of capital.

As we look into 2009 we all want to know where our money is going.  Gone are the days of empty promises and mysterious managers of our money.  Investors want a view - transparency as some call it - into how their investment is being used and what real returns they're experiencing.  At AltaPacific Mortgage Investment Co., investors provide this transparency and investors know that the folks entrusted to manage it (that's us) are accountable.  When was the last time you could actually meet the individuals face to face that would be directly responsible for your money?  An investment inAltaPacific allows you to do just that; have a regular open line of communication to the parties directly responsible for your investment. Please feel free to contact us if you're interesting in learning more.

All the best in 2009! 

This information is compliments of Canadian Business Blog from December 9, 2008.

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Canadians think house prices are tumbling in Canada thanks to Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) reports that say prices have dropped 10% over the year. But it’s generally recognized their methodology is flawed: CREA compares average prices between two periods even though the composition of houses sold in the two periods can be quite different in terms of type, dwelling size, quality, etc.

A new price index gets around the apples-to-oranges comparison and shows by how much CREA statistics miss the mark. The repeat-sale price index (RSPI), developed by Teranet Inc. and National Bank, says house prices are still above the level of a year ago (by 3.3%). For more detail on the RSPI, see the website maintained by Teranet Inc. and National Bank (also shows price changes at the city level).

The RSPI approach is what’s used in the U.S. for the S&P/Case-Shiller and the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) indexes. And now that Canada has the same approach, comparisons with the U.S. are more valid (the S&P/Case-Shiller index is down almost 20% year-over-year, showing how much worse things are in the U.S. at present).

Visit the link for this blog post for the rest of the details

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At AltaPacific Mortgage Investment Co. we'd like to speak do you about diversifying your investment portfolio (including those Canadians that invest with RSPs) by investing in Western Canadian mortgages. We know that investing can be confusing and often the person you're entrusting your money with is not the person that will actually be investing your hard earned (or saved) funds.  Imagine meeting the actual people that will take your investment dollars and manage them personally and directly.  The team at AltaPacific are highly experienced in Western Canadian real estate investing.  Feel free to contact us for a discussion about your RSP investments or private placement dollars.  There is no obligations and no high pressure sales presentations - we'll tell you about what we do and what we believe in.  If it sounds right for you then we can discuss how you can invest.

Yesterday’s news from the Canadian mortgage industry is most interesting.  Some of the highlights include.

- Canadian mortgage products and lending arrangements are safer than those in the U.S.
- Mortgage arrears in the U.S. are 6.5 times higher than in Canada
- President and CEO of the Canadian Association of Accredited Mortgage Professionals believes the "most likely outcome" is for global markets and credit conditions in Canada to gradually improve even though he feels 2009 will be difficult
- Canadian real estate market is slowing, but we have different products, we are in better shape, credit is available, and interest rates are low.
- The percentage of Canadian mortgages in arrears is at historical lows (September 2008 was 0.29 per cent, or 11,362 of about 3.9 million mortgages in the country)
- American lenders rely much more heavily on securitization - which means the loans are packaged with other financial products and sold off to banks, insurance companies or private investors.
- In Canada, the banks and other home loan lenders tend to hold the mortgages they originate.

At AltaPacific we believe that investing in mortgages, even in times of economic uncertainty, is an effective way to diversify your investment portfolio.  While it sounds self promoting we think you should talk with us and learn about our experience and poise in the mortgage market.  The principals in AltaPacific are committed and experienced in the western Canadian real estate and mortgage industry.

If you’re contemplating the option of investing in Mortgages we invite you to speak with us.  Place a portion of your RSP investments, or private placement funds, into our mortgage pool to diversify your portfolio. Some of your questions might be answers on our Questions and Answers page on www.altapacificmortgages.com website.

Not just in Canada, but around the world the performance of mutual funds, stocks and bonds are puzzling, unpredictable and more than anything frustrating to investors. At AltaPacific we like real estate because it’s something we can all touch; we can see it, we can drive by it... we can understand it.

Banks

Canada’s major banks are solid and solvent. They don’t need help to work through their subprime exposure because they didn't travel down the road of foolish and reckless subprime lending to Canadian homeowners that couldn't afford the home they were being enticed to purchase.

We think you too might find this article from MBN Mortgages very interesting.

With Canadian real estate being in a much different position than that of our neighbors to the south and with the financial markets (of which Mutual Funds invest) in peril and uncertainty... we think it's the most opportune time to invest in smart and responsible Canadian Real Estate Mortgages. Contact us for me details.

It all started when one of AltaPacific's founders became frustrated with the performance of his mutual funds being managed by his financial planner.  Now, we're not here to be critical of financial planners... quite frankly many FPs will recommend MICs to their investors.  We might be a little critical of mutual funds though; as maybe you too have experienced less_than_impressive_returns. 

OK, back to the story... At the same time as poor mutual fund performance was being experienced, impressive returns through real estate transactions was occurring.  The frustration of the RSP mutual fund portfolio increased. The day finally came where the frustrations increased to the point of taking action... and a telephone call was made.

This was the phone call between three, of the now four, partners in AltaPacific Mortgage Investment Co. A three-way call was set up and the mutual fund frustrations were described, followed by a plea of "what can I do to get my RSPs into real estate?" A day later with some thinking and the course of action was clear, "We'll start a MIC."  The answer from one member of the three-way call, the frustrated investor, was a simple one, "What's a MIC?" He had never heard the term before.  As the "Mortgage Investment Corporation" was described, the inquisitive mind just kept asking questions.  With each answer to each question, the home for the poor performing RSP funds was becoming clear.  He wanted to invest his RSPs in to mortgages.

Let's talk about RSPs for a moment.  RSPs are one of few tax deductable solutions to your average working Canadian.  We're often taught after landing our first job that we should maximize our contribution to RSPs so that we can receive the taxable benefit on our annual tax return...great advice!  We're also told that these RSPs will be our "saving for our future and our retirement."  Also great advice!  It makes sense on both fronts and it makes even more sense to invest your RSPs in the best way possible. 

Well, the frustrated AltaPacific partner followed this advice after landing his first "real job" and he accumulated many years of RSP savings... at first he opened a TD Waterhouse account and thought he could "self direct" his investments.  This proved extremely challenging.  First off, he was always investing in stocks based on speculation and what he would hear from friends, family and co-workers.  Secondly, he found himself spending time he didn't have doing research and trying to learn what stocks to buy. After several years he came to the realization that he wasn't so good at buying and selling - or buying and holding - stocks.  One day he'd be up, the next day down... and after several years of ups and downs he was pretty much back to even.  With his frustrations in his own poor performance at a peak, called the financial advisor that he'd heard was experienced and trusted - a man that he knew, respected and that he knew had been in the investment business for many years.  He trusted him and he was ready to give him control of his RSP portfolio.  This is getting a long so lets cut back to the opening of this story.. it was simple, even after approx 6 years with this experienced FP, who placed his funds in a myriad of mutual funds, he wasn't impressed with the returns he was seeing.  He just knew that real estate investing was where he wanted to be and where he felt his best returns would come. He was already experiencing impressive returns with my non-RSP dollars and he wanted to transition his RSP investments into a real estate investment vehicle. 

In hindsight he could have just invested in an existing MIC but he's thankful that the third person on the three-way call that day encouraged him - encouraged them - to start a MIC themselves.  Now he has moved his RSPs completely into real estate and he can tell the story to other investors.  Lets face it; we work hard in our careers, we work harder to save our money... we all ultimately want to see solid returns on our money. 

The founders and partners in AltaPacific are serious about bring solid returns to all investors... and since they have invested their own dollars into the MIC, they're motivated to do just that.

It's natural to have lots of questions during the past weeks and month(s) as dire news coming from Wall Street and Bay Street.

We think you will find this report by Canadian Association of Accredited Mortgage Professionals Chief Economist, Will Dunning very informative as it highlights our country's economic health as it relates to real estate and Canadian consumers.

Click here for the 4 page report