Mississauga Condos - Rent to Own

Your dream of owning your Mississauga condo can come true. Rent to own home programs are becoming more popular as renters become aware that years of condo rental payments are leaving them with no lasting equity. It's time you began building equity in a home or condo and perhaps we can help you find such rent to own opportunities. In our mortgage financing section, you may learn more about saving for a home and about the costs involved in taking on a mortgage.

Mississauga Real Estate News

The Weekly Bottom Line                              
                                                     
                                                     
 February 16, 2007                                   
                                                     
                                                     
 HIGHLIGHTS                                          
       U.S. housing correction unfolding, but        
       consumers still spending                      
       Canada’s trade picture improves               
       Japanese and European economies fare well in  
       Q4; central banks set to raise interest rates 
                                                     
                                                     
 U.S. data released this week was plentiful, and     
 helped give us a better sense of how the economy is 
 faring. The main concern throughout 2006 has been   
 the housing market correction and its effects on the
 overall economy. Despite recent signs that housing  
 activity might be stabilizing, it looks as though   
 the correction hasn’t fully run its course just yet.
 January starts dipped 14.3% to an annual pace of 1.4
 million, their lowest level in almost ten years. The
 onset of colder weather didn’t help, but starts are 
 unlikely to recover until unsold inventories decline
 enough to balance the market. Until then,           
 residential construction will continue to be a drag 
 on the economy.                                     
                                                     
                                                     
 Meanwhile, the latest round of U.S. production data 
 was consistent with the numbers we’ve been seeing   
 from the ISM index in the last few months,          
 reflecting a manufacturing sector that is           
 struggling. Industrial output was down 0.5% in      
 January, mostly due to a 0.7% drop in manufacturing 
 output that was broadly-based, with particular weak 
 spots in, unsurprisingly, auto production and       
 machinery. As a result, capacity utilization was    
 down slightly to 81.2% from 81.8% in December.      
                                                     
                                                     
 A recent dominant theme has also been about how U.S.
 consumer spending has so far been largely unaffected
 by the housing contraction. The latest retail sales 
 headline was soft, but the underlying details turned
 out to be stronger. Total sales came in flat        
 month-over-month, but were up 0.5% when excluding   
 autos and fuel, which removes the impact of changes 
 in gas prices. Hence consumer spending shows no sign
 of letting up yet and retail sales are expected to  
 keep churning along at an annualized 5% clip in the 
 first quarter of 2007.                              
                                                     
                                                     
 America’s international trade for December reflected
 both the on-going adjustments in the manufacturing  
 sector and the consumer-based strength. For the     
 first time in 4 months, the U.S. trade deficit      
 widened, rising by 5.3% from the previous month. An 
 increase in exports of 0.6% was outstripped by a    
 2.1% climb in imports. Although the U.S. economy    
 fared well in the fourth quarter of last year, the  
 direct contribution of net exports to this upbeat   
 finale for 2006 was reduced to that of back-bencher 
 in December after being a contributor from September
 to November. The widening deficit in December was   
 likely a reflection of solid consumer spending in   
 the last month of the year. However, the            
 deterioration in the U.S. trade balance is unlikely 
 to continue in the months ahead, as consumer        
 spending ratchets down a bit and as global demand   
 for U.S. exports picks up. Indeed, the latest fourth
 quarter figures for Japan and Europe show the       
 improving economic fortunes abroad. The largest     
 continental European economies of Germany, France,  
 Italy and Spain spearheaded Euro-zone growth, which 
 posted an annualized gain of 3.6% in the fourth     
 quarter. Meanwhile, Japan’s real GDP shot up by a   
 stunning 4.8%, pushing up the growth of the economy 
 to 2.5% in the second half of the year, which is    
 above the economy’s non-inflationary (i.e.          
 potential) rate, currently estimated to be no higher
 than 2.0%.                                          
                                                     
                                                     
 Putting all the data together, the Fed’s outlook on 
 the economy is unlikely to be changed by recent     
 developments. Fed Chairman Bernanke’s Congressional 
 testimony this week suggests that rates will remain 
 on hold in the months ahead. ‘So far, so good’ was  
 Congress’ assessment of Bernanke’s performance – and
 the street agrees – as the U.S. economy is currently
 negotiating a soft-landing completely in-line with  
 the Fed’s goldilocks scenario.                      
                                                     
                                                     
 Canada’s trade picture rosier                       
                                                     
                                                     
 From the Canadian perspective, the trade picture    
 became more upbeat at the end of last year. The     
 trade surplus chalked up a significant increase to  
 end at $5bn in December. In volume terms, fourth    
 quarter exports rose by an annualized 5.1%, while   
 imports slipped lower by 0.5%. This should help     
 quash dire predictions of fourth quarter real GDP   
 growth below 1%, as net exports could boost economic
 growth by as much as 2 percentage points that will  
 offset weakness in a number of other areas. However,
 on a year-over-year basis the overall trade surplus 
 was still lower, and we’re not ready to signal a    
 definitive turnaround for Canadian manufacturing    
 exports in particular, even if recent performances  
 are encouraging. Manufacturing shipments did show   
 some upside, with a broad-based 1.7% increase in    
 December, but that gain still left shipments 0.6%   
 lower in 2006 than in 2005.                         
                                                     
                                                     
 The widening U.S. trade deficit and the increase in 
 the Canadian trade surplus lent support to the      
 Canadian dollar, which remains strong against the   
 U.S. dollar. In contrast, 2006 saw the Canadian     
 dollar weaken against a strong Euro, helping        
 Canadian exporters make some headway into Euro-zone 
 markets. Although Canada is still heavily reliant on
 the U.S. as its major trading partner, there is a   
 slow diversification towards other markets. In 2006,
 Canada recorded double-digit export growth to the   
 European Union and the emerging economies of Brazil,
 India and China. Meanwhile, after a surge in the    
 1990s spurred by the Free Trade Agreement, the      
 annual increase in Canadian exports destined for the
 U.S. has flattened from 7% in the 90s to less than  
 2% for 2000-06, which is to be expected after the   
 static gains from trade liberalization have been    
 tapped. In other words, the current trend in two-way
 trade with the U.S. has reverted back to being      
 driven by commodity prices, currency valuation and  
 relative domestic demand in the two countries. As a 
 small open economy that relies heavily on access to 
 foreign investment and markets to sustain its       
 standard of living, Canada benefits from some       
 diversification of our trading partners,            
 particularly when driven by comparative advantage   
 fundamentals. In light of the fact that some        
 policymakers in Washington will be tempted to tap   
 into protectionist sentiment, as the winds blow into
 the sails of the “get though on China” crowd,       
 America’s leadership role in promoting free and open
 trade could be dampened. Canada should be           
 well-poised to step-up its role on the international
 scene by spearheading bilateral and multilateral    
 trade liberalization negotiations.                  
                                                     
                                                     
 Global interest rates set to increase               
                                                     
                                                     
 While the U.S. Federal Reserve and the Bank of      
 Canada are sitting pretty in a comfortable interest 
 rate pause, other major central banks are set for   
 rate hikes. Recent strong performance of their      
 respective economies along with clear signals from  
 the monetary authorities themselves all cement      
 expectations that the European Central Bank (ECB),  
 the Bank of England (BOE) and the Bank of Japan     
 (BOJ) will raise their key target interest rate at  
 their next meetings. First in line is the BOJ on    
 Wednesday, which is likely to raise its rate by 25bp
 to 0.5%. Following that there are back-to-back      
 meetings by the BOE and ECB on March 7-8            
 respectively. Both are expected to raise rates by   
 25bp as well, although the BOE might wait until the 
 summer to do so. 

R.Paul Chadwick
Manager of Residential Mortgages,
TD Canada Trust
Phone # 905 334 4066
Pager # 1 866 767 5446
Fax # 905 332 1619
email: paul.chadwick@td.com
web: http://www.tdcanadatrust.com/msf/paulchadwick

Remax, leading the way with fast, professional sales of Mississauga Real Estate. Contact Damir Strk to find a home or sell your current Mississauga real estate property.

 

   

Condos | Sell Mississauga Sitemap | Listings | Blog | Google Map Listings | Success Stories | About Mississauga | Free Home Evaluation | Contact Remax