Canada, CMHC, mortgage

CMHC cutting jobs, laying off employees

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35 Comments

Joining in that venerable tradition of holiday season layoffs, the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation has announced that it is cutting 215 jobs which is close to 10% of it’s workforce.

But of course this is government, so they will also be adding jobs, resulting in only a small net loss of positions:

The federal agency said Friday the employees have been declared surplus and will see their jobs disappear at both CMHC’s head office in Ottawa and its regional operations.

However, CMHC says it is adding to its staff in risk management and information technology, so the organization will only see a “small net reduction” in its overall staffing levels.

Read the full article here.

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fundraising

Hi there, the whole thing is going fine here and ofcourse every one is sharing information, that’s truly excellent, keep up writing.|

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Slagathor

… Their chief executive Eli Dadouch says there’s a lot of money out there for non-bank loans to higher risk borrowers….

“Eli Dadouch”? You can’t make that stuff up. Gold!

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Doomcouver

Seems like more chatter than usual in the news regarding the Canadian housing market. I’d imagine it probably stems from fear over systemic risk from an oil price shock.

“Face it, Canada’s housing market could fall like oil: Don Pittis”
http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/face-it-canada-s-housing-market-could-fall-like-oil-don-pittis-1.2873740

“Percentage of Toronto condos owned by foreign investors is very low, CMHC says”
http://www.thestar.com/business/2014/12/16/percentage_of_toronto_condos_owned_by_foreign_investors_is_very_low_cmhc_says.html

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southseacompany

“Oil’s fallout: Russia in crisis, Canada braces” Globe & Mail.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/top-business-stories/oil-freefall-crushes-ruble-the-russian-bear-is-well-and-truly-awake/article22100785/

“Economists are fast revising their forecasts for Canada’s economy, and those of its provinces, amid the spectacular collapse in oil prices.”

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@20

I agree that a family moving back from Fort Mac (ave 800K house) won’t do much for Van, but it sure could boost surrounding interior and island communities with 300k prices. Some of the more logging/touristy places are already seeing a dramatic pickup with the declining loonie. You can’t know for sure but it looks like yesterday marked the bottom for the energy slide. TSX is up over 300 pts today.

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Halford Mackinder

Oil prices are reflecting a crackdown on Russia.

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Bull! Bull! Bull!

if canadian housing prices fall “on oil” it’ll be because the oil price is reflecting a slowdown in china.

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southseacompany

“CMHC tackles foreign ownership in Canada’s housing market for first time” CBC News.

http://business.financialpost.com/2014/12/16/cmhc-tackles-foreign-ownership-in-canadas-housing-market-for-first-time/

“While Vancouver has been a flashpoint for the discussion, the survey found that downtown Montreal and Nun’s Island had a foreign ownership rate of 6.9% to lead the country. Vancouver’s Burrard Peninsula had 5.8% penetration, while in Toronto’s core it was 4.3%.”

“Overall, though, the condominium ownership rate in the 11 markets surveyed by CMHC did not go above the 2.4% for Toronto as a whole.

Toronto led the 11 markets surveyed by CMHC for foreign investment but Vancouver was not far behind with 2.3% of units held by residents. “

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southseacompany

“Lower Oil Prices on Canada Housing a ‘Wild Card’”, Wall Street Journal.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/lower-oil-prices-on-canada-housing-a-wild-card-1418659560

“The effect of lower oil prices on Canada’s housing markets is “something of a wildcard at the moment,” CREA Chief Economist Gregory Klump said in a statement.

“It’s not clear how far oil prices may drop or for how long they’ll stay down,” he said. “How that plays out may affect the outlook for interest rates, job growth, consumer confidence, and sentiment about making major purchases.””

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southseacompany

“Face it, Canada’s housing market could fall like oil: Don Pittis.Why industry experts can’t seem to foresee what seems so obvious in retrospect”, CBC News. http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/face-it-canada-s-housing-market-could-fall-like-oil-don-pittis-1.2873740 “Recent reassuring comments about the Canadian housing market remind me of similar blandishments when oil prices began to fall.” “But first the similarity. It is that, just as with oil, so many of the people we expect to know what is happening refuse to admit that house prices can go through big declines as well as big increases. ” “This is the most disturbing lesson from the recent fall in oil prices, that the professionals — the people who have all the historical data on production and demand — seemed as surprised as the rest of us when oil plummeted by half. The second most disturbing lesson is that after the decline had happened,… Read more »

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900kCrackHouse

Dear bearish friends, I’ve been lurking around here for a while depressed that the housing insanity has continued for so long. In the coming years lots of people are going to look like idiots and this blog will be a great place to observe the fallout.

Looking foolish will be:

1) the government for not doing enough to regulate mortgages and for leaving tax payers on the hook

2) buyers for paying insane prices for crack-house properties they are actually ashamed to live in

3) everyone who believed that “this time it’s different” and that economic fundamentals and long term trend lines don’t matter

4) even bears for failing to capitalize on up-trends that go on for far longer than anyone expects – enough time to get in and out and make a killing.

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Billy Bob

It was not for the lack of trying to warn them, but it seems emotions beat any kind of rationality when it comes to buying a place!

Cheers,

Makaya

The bears “saving” people from their real estate decisions for over 10 years now! These comments sound exactly like what the bears are always pointing out from the “vested interests”! It means nothing and is simply innuendo so a complete waste of space.

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patriotz

@12:

All insured mortgages are recourse regardless of provincial legislation.

Certain types of uninsured mortgages in Alberta
and Saskatchewan are non-recourse. (page 18)

https://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/corp/about/cahoob/upload/Chapter_2_EN_dec21_w.pdf

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|Boombust

#18

It looks like it was written by that tedeastside idiot.

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@19

“1. Everyone who left BC for the oilsands may return home.” Return home unemployed? Yes I am sure they will be lined up to buy a house with no job and no comparable job available in BC. They left for a reason right? There are no high paying jobs waiting for them here. “2. What if the inflation from a sinking CAD ignites further price rises. Inflation is a homeowner’s best friend, so the saying goes.” You are confusing inflation of goods with inflation of wages. It is the goods going up, not wages. When goods go up and wages don’t people have less left over to spend on housing. Coupled with possible higher mortgage rates and it is a double whammy. “3. Krugman & others are now saying no US rate hike on horizon.” In other words the economy… Read more »

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@JR

Possible, but what if some of your triggers backfire?
1. Everyone who left BC for the oilsands may return home.
2. What if the inflation from a sinking CAD ignites further price rises. Inflation is a homeowner’s best friend, so the saying goes.
3. Krugman & others are now saying no US rate hike on horizon.

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Shut It Down Already

One of the comments following this article has a distinct style about it – I can’t quite put my finger on it:

http://www.vancouversun.com/touch/technology/personal-tech/Canadians+flood+across+border+pick+online/10492661/comments.html

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@14

“The data, compiled by CIBC World Markets based on Statistics Canada figures, shows that the value of loans from alternative lenders grew by 25% during the past year while the overall market for mortgages increased by 4% during the same period.” We all hear the never ending commercials for Capital Direct and other alternative mortgage lenders on TV and the radio. Capital Direct for example has interest rates starting at 7.25% up to 20% and on top of that they charge a 12% fee on the total loan amount up front. AKA known as loan sharking. That could be more than 32% interest plus fees on a 1 year loan. We all hear the never ending commercials and now we see the value of all these sub prime loans the banks and CMHC won’t touch have grown by 25% in… Read more »

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Halford Mackinder

Oil prices down. Housing on brink. Thank Putin.

Russia may have more influence on our housing than any Chinese.

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southseacompany

“Housing market about to ‘peak’ as some cities climb out of reach”, Global News

http://globalnews.ca/news/1726973/housing-market-about-to-peak-as-big-cities-climb-out-of-reach/

“Home sales continue to boom more than expected in the country’s two hottest markets, the national association of real estate agents said Monday morning. But looking out into 2015, momentum is expected to diminish in Vancouver and Toronto, leading to a leaner sales environment overall.”

““These markets [in Toronto and Vancouver] will be the most vulnerable to a rising rate environment,” economists at Capital Economics said last week.”

““The slump in world oil prices will hit Western Canada hard, and it will only be a matter of months before housing activity and prices begin to fall significantly in Calgary,” the Toronto-based researcher said.”

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southseacompany

“Subprime lending market in Canada skyrockets to record as banks tighten reins”, Financial Post

http://business.financialpost.com/2014/12/15/subprime-lending-market-in-canada-skyrockets-to-record-as-banks-tighten-reins/

“Subprime lenders’ share of the Canadian mortgage market has reached record levels, according to data obtained by the Financial Post, putting increased risk on the housing market.”

“The data, compiled by CIBC World Markets based on Statistics Canada figures, shows that the value of loans from alternative lenders grew by 25% during the past year while the overall market for mortgages increased by 4% during the same period.”

“Subprime loans have been partially blamed for the collapse of the United States housing market and the 2008 recession, and Mr. Tal says there is little doubt the loans in the alternative lending space are subprime ones that none of the major lenders will take.”

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Bull! Bull! Bull!

1-800-got-junk is no longer vancouver’s only significant company.

Snacks delivered to your door? Vancouver gets SnackEasy

It’s 10 p.m., and you’ve got the munchies, and you can’t (or don’t want to) find your pants and put on shoes and drag yourself out to the store.

Rather than settle for some stale Triscuits and that questionable jar of Cheez Whiz, Vancouverites can now order through SnackEasy, which delivers snacks to your door until 2 a.m.

SnackEasy’s founder Patrick Kelly may have landed on the answer to every stoner’s dream. Kelly, who wears every hat in this East Vancouver-based business, from web development to marketing to personally delivering every order has just launched this very DIY venture.

http://www.vancitybuzz.com/2014/12/snackeasy-snacks-delivered-vancouver/

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JR

For those of you arguing that Canada’s housing bubble won’t pop/will land softly etc. without a triggering event, we now have three. First, oil prices which will stay lower than new oil sands projects’ BE levels. The effect to jobs is obvious. Second, the dollar is and will remain very low relative to the U.S. dollar. Many consumeable goods come from the U.S. and this will more than offset gas price reductions. Inflation will increase in Canada. Third, the U.S. economy is strengthening and this process can only be helped along by lower gas prices (hapless frackers notwithstanding). This means the Fed will increase rates sooner rather than later. As others on this blog have asked from time to time, anyone got popcorn?

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Bull! Bull! Bull!

Makaya

your friend shouldn’t sweat it. mortages in alberta are no recourse. so they can walk away from the house with nothing more than a damaged credit rating.

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franko

@#8
“Things are not slowing down at all”

It can take a couple of weeks or more for sales to show up in the stats.
The recent turmoil from the oil patch, tanking equity markets and negative comments from CMHC & Poloz haven’t hit home yet.
House and condo shoppers are probably the last to clue into the implications.

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