Canadá – Aumentaron las restricciones para acceder a un crédito hipotecario ante el temor de que los bajos tipos de interés que existen en la actualidad generen una burbuja.

Las autoridades canadienses aumentaron las restricciones para acceder a un crédito hipotecario ante el temor de que los bajos tipos de interés que existen en la actualidad generen una burbuja. (más…)

Deputy governor says such a move would also negatively affect the broader economy as it emerges from recession.

The Bank of Canada won’t raise interest rates to cool the country’s hot housing market, a spokesman said Monday, preferring to leave any tinkering to the country’s Finance Minister. (más…)

Colombia – En pocas semanas operarán en Medellín y Bogotá las primeras tiendas de gran formato y los primeros locales Express de la cadena comercial especializada en ventas de suministros para oficina. ¿Qué sigue en su plan de expansión en las tres ciudades grandes colombianas?

Foto: cortesía Office Depot. Office Depot en la Milla de Oro en Medellín.

La llegada de la cadena comercial de venta de suministros de oficina Office Depot tiene quizás una dimensión insospechada. En su programa de abrir antes de abril en Bogotá, Medellín y Cali seis tiendas de gran formato y veinticuatro pequeñas invertirá al menos $122.000 millones en el primer año. Un regreso nada tímido para este negocio que competirá con firmas tan establecidas como Panamericana y algunas divisiones de Carvajal. (más…)

Canada – New house prices rose a less-than-expected 0.1 per cent in August as Hamilton, Windsor and Edmonton all posted monthly declines.

The lacklustre August reading comes after prices advanced 0.3 per cent in July, Statistics Canada said Tuesday.

House prices are 3.1 per cent lower than they were last year. The biggest declines in the past year have been in the once booming cities of Western Canada, where prices have fallen from their record peak in late 2007. The cities leading the yearly decline are Edmonton, at 11.4 per cent, Victoria, at 10 per cent and Vancouver, with a 7.8-per-cent drop. Saskatoon and Calgary prices have also decreased.

The real-estate market is showing signs of a recovery. The value of building permits rose 7.2 per cent in August, while starts of single homes climbed last month, separate publications showed last week.

Yet “despite the rebound in the Canadian housing market and the dramatic turnaround in existing home prices in recent months, new home prices remain fairly weak,” said Millan Mulraine, economics strategist at TD Securities, in a note.

Prices remain under pressure in the West. In recent months, “some builders in Alberta and British Columbia have offered lower prices, bonuses and incentives to motivate sales in the face of weaker market conditions,” Statscan noted.

The largest monthly decrease in new housing prices was recorded in Hamilton, where some builders cut prices to encourage sales.

On a monthly basis, prices increased the most in St. John’s, Quebec City and Regina. “In St. John’s, some builders adjusted prices upward to be more in line with the value of land within the city,” the report said.

In Quebec, prices rose in lockstep with higher material and labour costs. “Builders moving to new phases of development also raised their prices as the scarcity of available lots has been pushing up land value in this region.”

Over the past year, the biggest annual price increase has been in St. John’s, where houses are on average 7.5 per cent higher than last year. It’s the 10th month in a row that this city has led the country in year-over-year increases.

Houses in Quebec City, Saint John, N.B., Fredericton and Moncton have also appreciated compared over the last year.

Economists had expected August home prices to rise 0.2 per cent.

TAVIA GRANT

Source: The Globe And Mail – Canada

Colombia – El fondo de pensiones canadiense PSP Investments se vinculó como inversionista al Fondo Inmobiliario Colombia, administrado por la Fiduciaria Bancolombia. A través de su filial Colcondor aportará 50 millones de dólares, que representan cerca del 32 por ciento del valor del Fondo. El Fondo Inmobiliario Colombia se encuentra actualmente en proceso de atraer nuevos inversionistas institucionales, y ya vinculó a uno de las grandes ligas del mercado de capitales.

Fuente: Semana

Canada – If you’ve been shopping around for a mortgage lately, you might’ve noticed that some offers from the country’s biggest banks are looking especially attractive.

Istockphoto - But home buyers should proceed with caution when signing for rock-bottom mortgages, advisers suggest

Canadians have been handed a golden opportunity to snag mortgages at rock-bottom rates, but highly competitive lending is pushing overly optimistic opportunities on people who might not understand what they’re getting themselves into, suggest some members of the mortgage industry. (más…)

Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments) ingresa con un aporte de US$50 millones, que representan cerca del 32% del valor del fondo de capital privado de la fiduciaria.

Los 50 millones de dólares mencionados ingresaron al país el pasado viernes. (más…)

Colombia – Plenaria de la Cámara da vía libre al Tratado. 90 votos a favor y 3 en contra. Acuerdo sería aprobado por el parlamento de ese país en el segundo semestre de este año.

Luis Guillermo Plata, Ministro de Comercio, Industria y Turismo.

Como un paso importante para la política comercial que viene impulsando y liderando este Gobierno, calificó el ministro de Comercio, Industria y Turismo, Luis Guillermo Plata, la aprobación del TLC con Canadá por parte de la Plenaria de la Cámara de Representantes, donde obtuvo una votación de 90 a favor y 3 en contra. (más…)

A looming crisis in commercial real estate looks like the next big headache for recession-weary Americans.

Insiders plead for help, warning Washington of crash worse than 1990s slump that could saddle banks with new wave of bad loans

Real estate insiders, experts and regulators warned a U.S. congressional committee Thursday that commercial real estate is headed for a crash that could eclipse even the devastating slump of the early 1990s, saddling already hobbled banks with a new wave of bad loans. (más…)

El subsidio a las tasas de interés hipotecarias y demás medidas del Gobierno para incentivar la construcción, hacen de este un momento ideal para comprar vivienda.

Aunque la desaceleración de la economía y el aumento del desempleo generan incertidumbre entre la población y un alto temor a endeudarse, la decisión del Gobierno de subsidiar entre el 3% y el 5% de la tasa de interés para créditos de vivienda nueva con un valor máximo de $167 millones, entre otras medidas, hace de este un muy buen momento para adquirir finca raíz.

El subsidio a las tasas de interés hipotecarias y demás medidas del gobierno para incentivar la construcción, hacen de este momento ideal para comprar vivienda.

(más…)