NEWSWEEK  - Published Feb 16, 2009, by Fared Zakaria

Worthwhile Canadian Initiative-Canadian banks are typically leveraged at 18 to 1-compared with U.S. banks at 26 to 1.

The legendary editor of The New Republic, Michael Kinsley, once held a "Boring Headline Contest" and decided that the winner was "Worthwhile Canadian Initiative." Twenty-two years later, the magazine was rescued from its economic troubles by a Canadian media company, which should have taught us Americans to be a bit more humble. Now there is even more striking evidence of Canada's virtues. Guess which country, alone in the industrialized world, has not faced a single bank failure, calls for bailouts or government intervention in the financial or mortgage sectors. Yup, it's Canada. In 2008, the World Economic Forum ranked Canada's banking system the healthiest in the world. America's ranked 40th, Britain's 44th.

Canada has done more than survive this financial crisis. The country is positively thriving in it. Canadian banks are well capitalized and poised to take advantage of opportunities that American and European banks cannot seize. The Toronto Dominion Bank, for example, was the 15th-largest bank in North America one year ago. Now it is the fifth-largest. It hasn't grown in size; the others have all shrunk.

So what accounts for the genius of the Canadians? Common sense. Over the past 15 years, as the United States and Europe loosened regulations on their financial industries, the Canadians refused to follow suit, seeing the old rules as useful shock absorbers. Canadian banks are typically leveraged at 18 to 1-compared with U.S. banks at 26 to 1 and European banks at a frightening 61 to 1. Partly this reflects Canada's more risk-averse business culture, but it is also a product of old-fashioned rules on banking.

Canada has also been shielded from the worst aspects of this crisis because its housing prices have not fluctuated as wildly as those in the United States. Home prices are down 25 percent in the United States, but only half as much in Canada. Why? Well, the Canadian tax code does not provide the massive incentive for overconsumption that the U.S. code does: interest on your mortgage isn't deductible up north. In addition, home loans in the United States are "non-recourse," which basically means that if you go belly up on a bad mortgage, it's mostly the bank's problem. In Canada, it's yours. Ah, but you've heard American politicians wax eloquent on the need for these expensive programs-interest deductibility alone costs the federal government $100 billion a year-because they allow the average Joe to fulfill the American Dream of owning a home. Sixty-eight percent of Americans own their own homes. And the rate of Canadian homeownership? It's 68.4 percent.

Canada has been remarkably responsible over the past decade or so. It has had 12 years of budget surpluses, and can now spend money to fuel a recovery from a strong position. The government has restructured the national pension system, placing it on a firm fiscal footing, unlike our own insolvent Social Security. Its health-care system is cheaper than America's by far (accounting for 9.7 percent of GDP, versus 15.2 percent here), and yet does better on all major indexes. Life expectancy in Canada is 81 years, versus 78 in the United States; "healthy life expectancy" is 72 years, versus 69. American car companies have moved so many jobs to Canada to take advantage of lower health-care costs that since 2004, Ontario and not Michigan has been North America's largest car-producing region.

I could go on. The U.S. currently has a brain-dead immigration system. We issue a small number of work visas and green cards, turning away from our shores thousands of talented students who want to stay and work here. Canada, by contrast, has no limit on the number of skilled migrants who can move to the country. They can apply on their own for a Canadian Skilled Worker Visa, which allows them to become perfectly legal "permanent residents" in Canada-no need for a sponsoring employer, or even a job. Visas are awarded based on education level, work experience, age and language abilities. If a prospective immigrant earns 67 points out of 100 total (holding a Ph.D. is worth 25 points, for instance), he or she can become a full-time, legal resident of Canada.

Companies are noticing. In 2007 Microsoft, frustrated by its inability to hire foreign graduate students in the United States, decided to open a research center in Vancouver. The company's announcement noted that it would staff the center with "highly skilled people affected by immigration issues in the U.S." So the brightest Chinese and Indian software engineers are attracted to the United States, trained by American universities, then thrown out of the country and picked up by Canada-where most of them will work, innovate and pay taxes for the rest of their lives.

If President Obama is looking for smart government, there is much he, and all of us, could learn from our quiet-OK, sometimes boring-neighbor to the north. Meanwhile, in the councils of the financial world, Canada is pushing for new rules for financial institutions that would reflect its approach. This strikes me as, well, a worthwhile Canadian initiative.

This was sent to me and even though I have seen it a few times before thought it would be interesting to put up in our blogg.

 South End getting more attention from investors

If you build it, they will come.

Major businesses are investing in the south of Nanaimo because of the number of new homes and planned developments in the area, according to Chris Sillem, with the city of Nanaimo's planning department.

"Yes, absolutely that's happening," Sillem said.

To prove his point, Sillem points to the new grocery store opening Sunday morning in Chase River.

On Sunday, Country Grocer opens a new supermarket in the South Parkway Mall. It replaces the Food Country in Southgate Plaza. Both stores are owned by the same company and all of the company's six stores will now be recognized under the Country Grocer brand, said co-owner Wally Large.

Large said his firm has always recognized the potential for a large supermarket in the Chase River area and now that the population can support it his company wants to exchange the 17,000 square foot Food Country store with its brand new 40,000 square foot Country Grocer facility.

Watch the video. Click this link The video has some additional comments from Premier Campbell that are not in the statement which are very positive in showing our position in Canada. Like the Best Personal and Business Tax rate in canada as well as one of only 2 provinces, Alberta and BC with AAA credit ratings

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A large group of people was asked to watch a video depicting  people dressed in white T-shirts and some in black T-shirts. These people were passing volleyballs back-and-forth. The task given to the audience was to count the number of successful passes made. The challenge was also put out to them that there appears to be a difference between men and women in their ability to correctly observe the number of passes made. The race was on. After the video was shown the audience was asked how many passes they had observed. Some said 17 some said 18. The instructor then asked if they had noticed anything else of interest during the video. Only about 12% of the people raised their hands. When they showed the video again, to their surprise, they noticed that a man in a gorilla suit had walked right into the middle of the group of people passing the balls, stopped, waved to the audience and then proceeded to walk off the floor again. How is it possible that 88% of the audience had not seen the man in a gorilla suit?  People were confounded by the fact that most had not seen the gorilla either. Now that I have told you what to look for, it is very unlikely that you will not see the gorilla. This test only works when the audience is heavily involved in looking for something else such as volley balls.

Which brings me to my point. It would appear that when the majority of people concentrate heavily on one issue the market and the news, we are likely to miss the man in the gorilla suit. Right now, everyone is focused on the financial crisis. Many aren't even really concerned about 2009. Instead they are concerned about what will be happening this week.  

As I have said before our Real Estate market has storng fundementals and has been dragged down with the market giving buyers a great opportunity.

^{Opportunity has walked into the middle of the room and is now waving at us. Can you see it too?} 

"Thank you" Eric Kuehnel from Raymond James for passing along the Social Experiment portion.

Derek 

 _{The Canadian Real Estate Association said on Wednesday that the market is beginning to stabilize.}

The average price of a home sold in September was $315,461, down from $336,321 a year earlier, for a 6.2% year-over-year decline. In June, home prices fell for the first time in almost a decade and the trend seems to be continuing.

After a 0.4% year-over-year decline in June, prices fell 3.6% in July and then 5.1% August.

Despite that trend, Ottawa-based CREA said the number of properties being listed via the MLS in Canada's major markets is in decline and causing the numbers of sales to new listings to tighten. There were 146,637 new listings in the third quarter, a 3.3% decline from the all-time high set in the second quarter.

"Informed buyers and informed sellers look at the facts. And the facts right now indicate the real estate market is stabilizing in many markets," said Calvin Lindberg, president of CREA.

The trend of the decline in new listings is most prevalent in Alberta's largest cities, said CREA. New listings in Calgary were off 11.7% from a year ago in September and Edmonton new listings were down 19.8% during the same period.

The drop in new supply in both Alberta cities did not stop prices from falling. The average sale price of a home in Calgary last month was $390,599, a 6% decline from a year earlier. Edmonton home prices fell 5.6% from a year earlier.

The Vancouver market, the most expensive in the country, continues to skew the overall Canadian number. Greater Vancouver housing sales were down 43.2% in September from a year earlier, while the average sale price dropped 8% to $535,598 over the last year.

Prices are still rising in 17 of the 25 markets surveyed by CREA. Sales were down from a year earlier in nine of the 25 major markets.

"Price decline in some of Canada's more expensive housing markets will outweigh further price gains in other markets and continue pulling the national average price lower over the rest of the year and into 2009," said Greg Klump, chief economist with CREA.

Garry Marr, Financial Post Published: Wednesday, October 15, 2008

For the full article view http://www.financialpost.com/news/story.html?id=882383

People often ask me how our mortgage market will be affected in comparison to the US.

Here are a few things that I have read that might help shed some light on the vast differences between the two.

First if you look at the Debt tolerance between the US and Canadians you will see that in the US they have used 30% more debt to purchase assets then compared to Canada. 

Also the subprime mortgage market in the US accounts for about 25% of the new mortgages, In Canada we don’t really have a subprime mortgage market but the closet programs we have account for only about 5% of new mortgages in Canada. And the investor type mortgages in the US which were the first to falter account for 9% of the outstanding mortgages compared to only about 2 to 3 % here in Canada.

And the price appreciation for Canadian Real Estate has been mild compared to other parts around the world. Looking at Vancouver we have seen about an 80% increase since the start of the boom but compare that to some cities in the US or London England that has had a 270% increase over the same period put things into perspective, And here in Nanaimo our growth has not kept up to Vancouver or Victoria so our geographic location is much healthier. 

and if you look at the way our mortgages are underwritten you will see another big difference. As most of the mortgages that are insured through CMHC A crown corporation with government backing, as well as the Canadian banks continue to apply prudent underwriting standards. Our banks have always checked, incomes, verify job status, ask for sales contracts. The Ninja type Mortgages you see in the states (No Income, No Job, no assets) are not seen here in Canada.

For more information have a look at Bloomberg at SCOE 

Canada rated world's soundest bank system:
^{Thu Oct 09 14:49:00 UTC 2008}
(From Reuters) - Canada has the world's soundest banking system, closely followed by Sweden, Luxembourg and Australia, a survey by the World Economic Forum has found as financial crisis and bank failures shake world markets.
But Britain, which once ranked in the top five, has slipped to 44th place behind El Salvador and Peru, after a 50 billion pound ($86.5 billion) pledge this week by the government to bolster bank balance sheets.
The United States, where some of Wall Street's biggest financial names have collapsed in recent weeks, rated only 40, just behind Germany at 39, and smaller states such as Barbados, Estonia and even Namibia, in southern Africa.
The United States was on Thursday considering buying a slice of debt-laden banks to inject trust back into lending between financial institutions now too wary of one another to lend.
The World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Report based its findings on opinions of executives, and handed banks a score between 1.0 (insolvent and possibly requiring a government bailout) and 7.0 (healthy, with sound balance sheets).
Canadian banks received 6.8, just ahead of Sweden (6.7), Luxembourg (6.7), Australia (6.7) and Denmark (6.7).
UK banks collectively scored 6.0, narrowly behind the United States, Germany and Botswana, all with 6.1. France, in 19th place, scored 6.5 for soundness, while Switzerland's banking system scored the same in 16th place, as did Singapore (13th).
The ranking index was released as central banks in Europe, the United States, China, Canada, Sweden and Switzerland slashed interest rates in a bid to end to panic selling on markets and restore trust in the shaken banking system.
The Netherlands (6.7), Belgium (6.6), New Zealand (6.6), Malta (6.6) rounded out the WEF's banking top 10 with Ireland, whose government unilaterally pledged last week to guarantee personal and corporate deposits at its six major banks.
Also scoring well were Chile (6.5, 18th) and Spain, South Africa, Norway, Hong Kong and Finland all ending up in the top 20.
At the bottom of the list was Algeria in 134th place, with its banks scoring 3.9 to be just below Libya (4.0), Lesotho (4.1), the Kyrgyz Republic (4.1) and both Argentina and East Timor (4.2).
RANKINGS
1. Canada
2. Sweden
3. Luxembourg
4. Australia
5. Denmark
6. Netherlands
7. Belgium
8. New Zealand
9. Ireland
10. Malta 11. Hong Kong
12. Finland
13. Singapore
14. Norway
15. South Africa
16. Switzerland
17. Namibia
18. Chile
19. France
20. Spain
For more details visit the link below

http://www.reuters.com/article/euPrivateEquityNews/idUSTRE4981X22008100

By Rob Taylor
CANBERRA

 How I see things:

Over the past 8 months we have seen our market soften. Is this because of oversupply in our local market or just negative news that is affecting buyers willingness to purchase.

It is true that the  world economy is suffering, however if I was to pick any place to live it would be right here, I think the effects of this in our location might be short lived and here is why.

If we compare our Real Estate market to a company with a solid PE Ratio we might see that the share value has been driven down with the rest of the market.. unjustly, all it has created is a solid company at a better price.

Now is a time when some homes that are on the market should not be selling at the prices they are, which is creating an extraordinary buying opportunity. Here are a few quotes from Warren Buffett

"Look at market fluctuations as your friend rather than your enemy; profit from folly rather than participate in it. We simply attempt to be fearful when others are greedy and to be greedy only when others are fearful".  Warren Buffett

 One of the things that good investors do is move into markets like this when everyone is going the other way.

Our fundamentals are strong, we have lower home prices compared to Vancouver and Victoria,the rate of return on investment properties are higher,  and our infrastructure is growing which makes  Nanaimo a great place to live. We live in a destination that has excellent retirement features (weather and amenities) for baby boomers, which account for 50+% of our population, the 2010 Winter Games are just around the corner, the Canadian banking system is ranked #1 in the world (even the way we lend is totally different than the United States). Our national debt per person works out to around $21,000 and falling compared to almost $35,000 aprx. per person in the US and rising. We are fundamentally healthier.

All I know, is that now is a great time to buy and once inventory starts to dry up you will look back and say ‘why did I not pick up some investments while I had the chance’.

US Debt 10 Trillion USA Debt Clock.

Canada Debt 810 Billion Aprox.   

Derek

  Yes, mortgage banks everywhere participated, and yes, a whole lot of people bought houses that a few seconds on a $3 calculator would have told them they could not afford. 

Here's what else you got: thousands of families losing their homes. The devastation in some parts of the country is so bad that it's transcended the financial on into the ecological. Click on this, if you dare.

From Motley Fool Bill Mann

NANAIMO -- Fewer construction permits were issued for new homes in May, but Nanaimo's house-building industry remains on an even footing with last year.

Central Mortgage and Housing, the federal ministry that tracks new home construction, reported 55 new housing units started in May, down from 71 in the same month last year.

But the year-to-date number stands at 348 units, one more than was reported between January and May of 2007.

Elsewhere on the Island, Victoria's housing industry is up by 164 units from last year, while the numbers are almost

http://www.canada.com/nanaimodailynews/news/story.html?id=c05351d8-1e22-48c7-8918-ea3b9f89cb0flat

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - May 15, 2008) - BC will outperform most other provinces in economic and job growth during the next two years. This relative strength will translate into high levels of existing home sales, housing starts and house prices, according the latest forecast from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).

"While levels of existing home sales and housing starts will remain above their 10-year averages, 2008 will see fewer resales and fewer foundations poured than last year," noted Robyn Adamache, Senior Market Analyst with CMHC.

Existing home sales will decline as mortgage carrying costs rise in response to higher home prices and mortgage rates. Income and population growth generated by tight labour markets will put upward pressure on existing home sales, lessening the decline. "Consumer confidence in BC has been trending lower in response to slower economic and job growth and this will have a dampening impact on housing demand," added Adamache.

Fewer housing starts are expected as economic conditions cool this year and the supply of existing homes for sale increases. Single-detached home starts will continue to trend lower, while multiple-unit home starts will be lower than last year's peak. With demand shifting to denser housing forms, more than sixty per cent of starts will be in multiple-unit housing developments. The large number of projects already in the construction pipeline in Vancouver and Kelowna will keep multiple-unit starts at high levels.

CMHC's Housing Market Outlook, British Columbia Region Highlights released today, includes forecasts for existing home sales and prices, as well as new home construction for major centres within BC including Vancouver Census Metropolitan Area (CMA), Abbotsford CMA, Kelowna CMA, Victoria CMA, Kamloops, Nanaimo and Prince George.

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) has been Canada's national housing agency for more than 60 years. CMHC is committed to helping Canadians access a wide choice of quality, affordable homes, while making vibrant, healthy communities and cities a reality across the country.

The Housing Market Outlook, British Columbia Region Highlights report is available on the CMHC Web site: http://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca.

To view tables accompanying this press release please click on the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/cmhc0515.pdf.

TORONTO — Trouble in the U.S. credit markets may actually give Canadian borrowers something to cheer about, as lending rates improve across the country and many bet we could see even more favourable rates in the coming months.

"In some sense, the tough times that the U.S. economy has fallen into end up being a winner for borrowers in Canada because they're bringing lower interest rates," said Avery Shenfeld of CIBC World Markets.

He said the mortgage rates that consumers pay reflect the costs of banks' borrowing in the capital markets.

Those costs are constantly in flux, but there has been major upheaval in recent weeks due to troubles in the American housing and mortgage industries.

The U.S. central bank, the Federal Reserve, has now lowered its federal funds rate - the interest that banks charge each other - down to 2.25 per cent, the lowest point since late 2004.

That's due to a large 75-point cut on Tuesday, which had been widely anticipated, and an unexpected 25-point drop on Sunday in a rare weekend move by the Fed, which has taken a number of actions to shore up the wobbly U.S. banking sector.

The gap between the comparable Canadian and U.S. central bank rates has now grown to 125 basis points - giving the Bank of Canada room and incentive to lower rates further.

The Bank of Canada last lowered its key rate by half a percentage point to 3.5 per cent on March 5, in response to the situation south of the border. The big commercial banks followed suit and lowered their prime rate to 5.25 per cent.

The prime rates are used as a benchmark for various other rates, including those charged by variable mortgages - which rise or fall depending on the banks' prime rate.

Longer-term fixed-rate mortgages may not be as responsive to the Bank of Canada's rate, but they also tend to rise or fall depending on the banks' costs.

"Lots of people are taking the variable rate mortgage in anticipation that five-year fixed rates will fall in the (next) six to nine months," said Dan Eisner, a mortgage broker at True North Mortgage Inc in Calgary.

"You may want to sit in the variable for six to eight months. You can float the whole time - five years - just ride it out and you'll probably average something better than anything you'll lock into right now. But that's not a risk everyone's willing to take."

Earlier this month, a home ownership survey from Royal Bank suggested that of those polled who plan to buy a home in the next two years, 15 per cent would pick a variable rate mortgage - up from 13 per cent in the previous poll.

But a fixed rate mortgage was still preferred by 49 per cent of potential buyers and current homeowners.

About 37 per cent said they would use a combination of variable and fixed rate.

Time.com has up a story on Nanaimo, a British Columbia coal mining town of about 78,000 that has had everything conceivable mapped into a Google database. Citizens can track fire trucks real time. The results also include Google Earth data for Nanaimo. 'The Google fire service allows people to avoid accident sites by tuning electronic devices to automatic updates from the city's RSS news feed, says fire captain Dean Ford. Eventually, Nanaimo plans to equip its grass-cutting machines with GPS devices, so residents piqued by the apparent shabbiness of a particular park or grass verge can use Google to find out when last it was groomed by the city's gardening staff. And the city's cemeteries will soon be mapped to allow Internet users to find out who is buried in each plot, says Kristensen. A new multi-million-dollar conference center, opening in June, will have 72 wireless access points to allow out-of-towners to use their laptops to navigate the Google Earth version of the city.'"

Builders fear big fee spike
DCCs for new lots could rise by 38%
Robert Barron , The Daily News
Published: Saturday, March 08, 2008
The City of Nanaimo is taking heat from home builders over proposals that could see a major increase in development cost charges.

Chris Erb, president of the Canadian Home Builders Association of B.C., and Rob McCallum, president of the association's Central Vancouver Island branch, have met with city officials to voice their concerns before the conclusions and recommendations of the ongoing DCC review goes before city council on March 31.

Local governments collect DCCs from developers to help ease the tax burden that might be necessary for infrastructure costs related to new development

Nanaimo's developers currently pay around $13,000 in DCC charges per lot for single-family developments. They are concerned that costs could soar to $21,000.

More details visit link www.canada.com/vancouverisland/nanaimo/news/story.html?id=345ededd-aecb-4766-bbee-50b5515bb673

BC Home Sales Smash Record Book

Vancouver, BC – January, 2008. British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) reports residential sales volume on the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in BC climbed 19.5 per cent to $45.1 billion in 2007, the highest level ever recorded. Residential unit sales increased 6.4 per cent to 102,811 units in 2007, only the second time BC home sales have exceeded the 100,000 unit mark (a total of 106,310 homes traded hands in 2005). The average MLS® residential price in the province reached a record $439,121 in 2007, up 12.3 per cent from 2006.  

“Strong consumer demand buoyed by employment growth, rising wages and migration was a significant factor in BC’s housing markets last year,” said Cameron Muir, BCREA Chief Economist. “In the province’s major urban centres, sales activity reflected increasing demand for condominium apartments and townhouses. The largest gains in home prices occurred in the Kamloops, Okanagan and Kootenay markets where a legion of recreation, retiree and investment buyers put pressure on existing home inventories.”

“BC housing markets will experience less frenetic activity in 2008,” noted Muir. “Eroding affordability, rising new home completions adding to inventories and weaker economic growth are expected to provide a moderating influence this year.”

MLS® residential sales volume in December increased 24.2 per cent to $2.19 billion compared to the same period last year. Residential unit sales climbed 8.8 per cent to 4,791 units over the same period. The average residential sales price rose 14.2 per cent to $457,825 in December compared to December 2006.

Nanaimo, BC -- In a Daily News article, analysts are reported as saying that Pope & Talbot Harmac pulp mill in Nanaimo, BC, won't be seeing much of a future after it gets sold, union representatives say that the older mill's advantages would continue to make it a viable competitor.

According to industry analyst Kevin Mason, experts believe that the mill will close by next year despite an offer from Asia Pulp and Paper to buy it for $10 million. The Indonesia-based paper giant has also offered to buy two other P&T mills in Halsey and Mackenzie, BC, for $50 million and $40 million, respectively, according to the Daily News.

"The proposal puts Harmac's worth at $10 million but its real value is probably closer to $0," Mason, an analyst with Equity Research Associates is quoted as saying. He added that the mill has not made necessary reinvestments into its operations in the last few years to keep it running and competitive. He suspected that APP made the bid for the mill because P&T had said it wanted to sell the pulp assets in one deal. SEE ARTICLE AT http://www.pulpandpapercanada.com/issues/ISArticle.asp?id=78650&issue=01142008&ref=rss

It’s one thing to dream of a green Christmas, another thing to live the dream.

But live it we all can – while still enjoying the holiday – if we make a few simple modifications to the ways in which we celebrate. The key is being realistic about what lends itself to change.

One thing that isn’t on the table – at least for the purposes of this article -- is holiday travel, but not because it doesn’t have a profound environmental impact. It most certainly does. Long-distance travel during the Christmas-New Year's period increases significantly relative to the rest of the year – by nearly 25 percent according to a recent U.S. Department of Transportation study. Upwards of 80 percent of the surge is attributable to automobile travel.

But it seems unrealistic, if not downright Scrooge-ish, to argue that trips taken to be with loved ones should be foregone. Besides, with the price of gasoline firmly entrenched above $3 dollars a gallon, and with further sharp increases likely on the way, market forces might finally accomplish what no amount of well-intentioned hectoring could.

In other areas, though, significant changes can be effected without dampening the holiday spirit. Here are three of them:

Problem: The energy footprint of holiday lighting

Visually speaking, nothing says “Christmas” quite as loudly as the millions of lights – colored or white, blinking or non-blinking – that illumine America’s nighttime sky in December. But the festive displays come at a cost. Christmas lights consume electricity about as voraciously as a three-year-old tears through gift wrapping. Consider:

The Edison Electric Institute has reported that holiday lighting raises December demand for electricity in the United States by 5 percent. The new lights purchased each year alone draw enough electricity to power the city of Seattle for three months.
In December 2000, with California in the throes of a serious energy crisis, the not-for-profit corporation charged with operating most of the state’s high-voltage power grid reckoned that holiday light displays were drawing a collective 1,000 megawatts of electricity, or enough to power 1 million homes.
Solution: visit http://green.msn.com/articles/article.aspx?aid=306>1=10725

By Philipp Harper

Top 10 Islands Overall
1 1 Bali 86.30
2 3 Maui 86.22
3 2 Kauai 85.92
4 8 Galápagos Islands 85.92
5 9 Santorini 85.82
6 n/a Vancouver Island 85.17
7 n/a Dalmatian Islands, Croatia (Hvar rated separately) 85.15
8 10 Phuket, Thailand 84.56
9 7 Hawaii 84.40
10 n/a Great Barrier Reef islands 83.70

* "N/A" means that the property was not among the top-ranked in this category last year.
Link to full article http://www.travelandleisure.com/worldsbest/2007/results.cfm?cat=islands

HOME ENERGY MAKEOVER

Household Energy Demands With predictions of ever-rising energy costs, it makes sound economic sense to review the following checklist and determine where you can cut energy consumption, at little or no cost. Test your home for air leaks. You may be able to save 10 percent or more on your energy bill by reducing the air leaks in your home. On a windy day, carefully run a lighter or smoke stick around windows and door joints, and at electrical outlets and light fixtures. If the flame or smoke is drawn toward or forced away from the object, you have found an air leak that may need caulking, sealing, or weather-stripping. Properly maintain your heating and cooling system. The energy used to heat or air condition a house can account for more than half of the average family’s energy bill. Make sure your heating and cooling systems receive professional maintenance each year. If it is time for a new system, consider that the savings benefit for installing a new higher efficiency system can often be recouped in several years. Installing a heat pump may trim the amount of electricity used for heating and cooling by 30 to 40 percent in some climates. Close fireplace dampers when not in use. A chimney is designed specifically for smoke to escape, so until you close it, warm air escapes, too – 24 hours a day! Use kitchen, bath, and other ventilating fans wisely. In just one hour, these fans can pull out a houseful of warmed air. Turn fans off as soon as they have done the job. Adjust drapes or blinds on your south facing windows during the day in the winter to allow sunlight to help naturally heat your home, and close them at night to reduce the chill you may feel from cold windows. In the summer, use drapes or blinds to reduce solar heat gain during the day. Turn off energy users when not in use. Individually, one general household appliance does not use much energy; but add up all the devices in the typical modern home, you will see that getting all family members to develop the habit of regularly turning off unused devices can have a noticeable effect on energy costs. For more information on home energy use and conservation tips, visit the Websites for the U.S. Department of Energy (http://www.energy.gov/yourhome.htm) or Natural Resources Canada (http://oee.nrcan.gc.ca/english/index.cfm?attr=0) Remember, these tips are only general guidelines. Since each situation is different, contact a professional if you have questions about a specific issue.

Copyright ©  HMA Franchise Systems, Inc.

Housing sales not slowing on Vancouver Island

Spring has Sprung in Nanaimo and the Market is Red Hot.  Active single family listings are up 25%  this month over last year while the number of units sold has increased 44% for the month. Overall inventory is up 15% this year over last year. The median price of homes is up  approximately 8% over last year with an average price hovering around $310,000. The Condo market is  showing considerable increases with sales up 7% while the inventory is up 50% . Could this be the start of a new Boom, the Condo Boom? Despite the increasing prices, the public must realize that Nanaimo is one of the best places in Canada to buy a home or investment for many reasons lifestyle, climate, amenities are but a few, but the fact that we are still very very affordable compared some of Western Canada’s other cities, Next time you complain about the raising house prices, stop and think about what the average person is spending on a home, condo or lot in Vancouver, Victoria, Edmonton and Calgary.  Source Team Gillette market Update

Canada's real estate markets have delivered a stellar performance since 2001.  New and resale housing activity has been vigorous.  Home construction has been running at an extremely high level and rates of home ownership are likely to have reached a record high.  The strength in real estate has fuelled significant price gains, with national average home prices climbing by more than 70 per cent over the past six years.  This has been good news for homeowners, as it has led to a considerable increase in personal wealth.  Homes are usually the single biggest financial asset that individuals own, and rising home prices have had a greater impact than rising stock prices on boosting household wealth in recent years.

However, the rapid price gains also raiseed concerns that Canada's real estate markets could experience a boom-bust cycle similar to that unfolding in the United States. It has also eroded affordability for first time buyers.  This raises the fundamental question: Is it still a good time to buy?

The answer is a qualified 'yes'.  This assessment is based on two factors.  First, a U.S. style correction appears unlikely.  Second, the underlying economic fundamentals for housing will remain supportive to real estate.  However, there are concerns about affordability in some western cities, like Victoria and Vancouver, which suggest that buyers in these markets should be cautious not to overextend their finances when buying a home.

"No signs of irrational exuberance"

Economists have a simple way of looking at financial markets.  If the behaviour of prices can be explained by underlying changes in supply and demand, one can have some comfort that nothing irrational is happening.  And a speculative bubble is inherently irrational.  So, let's look at the recent trends in Canada's resale home prices.

As  a starting point, we need to have a reference for supply and demand. Consider demand as being sales, since there had to be a buyer for every purchase.  Then think of new listings as being supply in the resale market.  The ratio of sales to new listings provides a gauge of how demand is changing relative to supply.  If sales are accelerating relative to listings, one would expect price growth to accelerate.  If listings are rising relative to sales, price growth should slow....

In Nanaimo spring has Sprung in and the Nanaimo Real Estate Market is Red Hot.  Active single family listings are up 25%  this month over last year while the number of units sold has increased 44% for the month. Overall inventory is up 15% this year over last year. The median price of homes is up  approximately 8% over last year with an average price hovering around $310,000. The Condo market is  showing considerable increases with sales up 7% while the inventory is up 50% . Could this be the start of a new Boom, the Condo Boom? Despite the increasing prices, the public must realize that Nanaimo is one of the best places in Canada to buy a home or investment for many reasons lifestyle, climate, amenities are but a few, but the fact that we are still very very affordable compared some of Western Canada’s other cities, Next time you complain about the raising house prices, stop and think about what the average person is spending on a home, condo or lot in Vancouver, Victoria, Edmonton and Calgary.

For more information on Nanaimo Real Estate or a market update, please call our Team at 250.751.1223.

Source: TEAM Gillette Newsletter updated and TD Canada Trust Spring 2007