Edmonton (and Alberta) tops the charts for real estate investment according to some experts. Read the following article in yesterday's Edmonton Journal.
We'd welcome a conversation with anyone that is looking for effective ways of Investing in Alberta, BC or Western Canadian real estate through mortgages or direct investment. Please contact us at Alta Pacific Mortgages - we have offices in Vancouver BC and Edmonton Alberta.
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.