Things are looking up for the market and by the end of ‘09 we should see properties start rising again. Property owners will love hearing this as some weren’t sure it would ever happen. Once the market hits rock bottom, it will start gaining steam and you will see pricing start to rise.

Knowing how the crash originally crashed is the only way you will be able to comprehend how there will ever be a rise again. Different components can easily be fingered as the market down fall. In 2000 the housing market starting a price rise that would last until 2006, in this time most communities would see their property price double.

As prices were rising at amazing rates, potential buyers acknowledged that they weren’t making enough money to purchase a home. There started to be a lot of houses on the market but no suitable buyers, this meant values had to come down in order for people to be interested in them.

Most people have seen all the news about how sub-prime mortgages played a big role in the crash of the market. Although this wasn’t a direct factor in the Kamloops real estate market, we were still affected, along with other cities in Canada.

Loans were being applied for by potential purchasers that knew they couldn’t handle the payments. Loans were still being approved for these buyers with little to no down payments and extended years on their mortgage terms.

Mortgage payments could not be met due to insufficient funds, so loan company’s pressed the home owners. People were beginning to lose there houses to foreclosure. The more foreclosures happen the more houses starting coming on the market. Prices would fall because there were not enough buyers for all of the houses. It was no longer a sellers market.

Faulty loans was a monster of a problem in America, but as we know, whatever happens usually affects us too. Their markets are now close to their ultimate low point. This is solid news for us because that means we will start seeing a rise.

The majority of large cities are already seeing a rise in real estate prices, meaning that a rise in the little communities shouldn’t be far behind. Also now that with the down trend in real estate pricing, you will see more people can afford to buy again. You will start to see how this will affect us in a positive way. It had to happen sooner or later.

http://www.real-estate-news-articles.com/real-estate-market-will-start-to-rise/

reviewed by Moishe Alexander, CFC moishe alexander CEO

The total number of houses sold rose by an amazing 27% in June while the average sale price rose 2%. Keep in mind that these statistics include all of the GTA from the Hamilton/Wentworth townline in the west to the Durham/Northumberland townline in the east and from Lake Ontario north into Lake Simcoe. Of course not all areas experienced the same amount of growth, however, Durham Region (on the most part) is in line with these increases. To see a 3 year comparable market evaluation for South Pickering, North Pickering, Ajax, Whitby, Oshawa and Courtice/Bowmanville click on Durham Region.

The other statistic to take notice of is the number of homes for sale this year as compared with last year. While sales have increased 27% this June, the number of new listings has decreased by 17% and the number of active listings has decreased by 30%. What does this mean for sellers and buyers? There is a lot less inventory to choose from and a lot more people who are looking to buy. This would explain the rise in the number of multiple offers we have been seeing over the past several weeks as well as the increase in prices.

Who knows where all of this will end up in the next several months. There is still some speculation in the economic circles that the “worst is yet to come” and yet others have changed their predictions to an earlier anticipated recovery.

http://getmovingwithkaren.blogspot.com/2009/07/june-housing-statistics-are-in.html

reviewed by Moishe ALexander, CFC  canadian funding corp CEO

The credit crisis has shifted the balance of power. Not since the days of the conquistadors has there been such an imbalance. Back then the Pope was the ultimate power and carved the New World in two between Spain and Portugal. Now it’s the split between old and new economies.

The levels of debt raised by the developed nations to bail out their banking systems is crippling compared to the emerging nations.  According to recent International Monetary Fund forecasts by 2014 the debt of economies in the developed world are expected to be more than 114% of GDP (up from 78% in 2006).  The forecasts for the emerging economies (including China) is just 35% (down from 38% in 2006).

With most of the developed nations in the worst economic condition since the second world war, the balance of power is clearly shifting in favor of the large emerging nations. China and India in particular.

Added to their new found lack of financial flexibility, the G-8 nations have another major problem: a lack of harmony in their thinking. Germany and Canada have been calling for a steady wind down of the emergency liquidity measures while the UK and US continue to favor pumping cash into the economies.

On the other hand the leaders of 5 major developing Economies (China, India, Brazil, Mexico and South Africa) are holding their own parallel meeting. This follows on from the first ever BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) summit held last month in Russia. The developing powers are quickly putting in place their own structures and the old world is in danger of being left out of the new world order. The closer these developing powers become politically the less likely the dollar is to remain as the world’s reserve currency. Remember the BRIC nations currently hold some US$1.1 trillion of US government debt. At the BRIC summit Russia was calling for a move away from the US dollar.  It feels more and more like a whenrather than an if situation.

As investors, we are often faced with difficult decisions, especially those which involve putting cold hard facts ahead of personal feelings. We are entering such a phase now. We need to put aside our personal nationalism in the face of an obvious global power shift. Jim Rogers said in an interview last year that the best investment you could give your kids today is to buy them Chinese lessons. We agree.

As far as our financial portfolios are concerned we need to make sure we are having our piece of the emerging pie. There are unique risks to investing in the emerging world (e.g. political instability, weak legal systems etc) and you really have to do your homework. I would recommend keeping your exposure to less than 10% of your total portfolio. Also stick to highly liquid assets, like stocks and bonds. You don’t want to wake up finding that you never really owned that real estate you bought in China and it has been bulldozed to build a sports stadium, now do you?

http://www.contrarianprofits.com/articles/could-a-bric-alliance-crash-the-dollar/18846

reviewed by Moishe Alexander, CFC CEO

“We are looking forward to the areas that address energy efficiency,” said Moishe Alexander CEO, Canadian Funding Corp. ” Ralph Izzo and PSEG are moving in the right direction and their work has been admirable.”

“Transparency and continuous improvement are an important part of working towards a sustainable future,” said Ralph Izzo, chairman, president and chief operating officer of PSEG. “This report is meant to strengthen dialogue with stakeholders and help us achieve our collective goals.”

The report highlights PSEG’s emphasis on addressing climate change, upgrading aging infrastructure, and investing in workforce development. It underscores the company’s commitment to social responsibility and points to a number of energy efficiency and renewable energy initiatives that have the potential to mitigate climate change and create revenue and jobs.

• Report highlights include PSEG’s work to:
• Invest in energy efficiency and renewable energy
• Reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants
• Manage risk, reduce debt and manage capital spending
• Build a strong, resilient workforce
• Increase funding for environmentally-oriented community groups
• Attract jobs and revenue to local communities

The company’s utility, PSE&G, is investing millions of dollars in accelerated gas and electric infrastructure investments, which is improving reliability while providing an economic stimulus. And it is working to build the green economy on the basis of universal access to energy efficiency and renewable energy, so that its benefits can be realized by people of all economic means.

PSEG is proud of its place on the Dow Jones Sustainability North America Index, a list comprised of the leading 20% of North American companies in terms of sustainability performance. Dow Jones and PSEG agree that long-term shareholder value is created by embracing opportunities and managing risks derived from economic, environmental and social developments.

PSEG’s Sustainability Report is consistent with Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) guidelines, which are quickly becoming the standard in global sustainability reporting. GRI guidelines were used to identify key performance indicators including some specific to sustainability reporting in the electric power industry. PSEG sponsored a GRI workshop last year where stakeholders reviewed the Draft Electric Utility Sector Supplement.

Public Service Enterprise Group is a publicly traded diversified energy company with annual revenues of more than $13 billion, and three principal subsidiaries: PSEG Power, Public Service Electric and Gas Company (PSE&G) and PSEG Energy Holdings. PSEG has recently launched several initiatives to help combat climate change including offering $105 million in loans for solar installations in New Jersey, bidding to build a 350-megawatt offshore wind farm, launching Energy Storage and Power (a compressed air energy storage business), converting its truck and car fleet to hybrid vehicles and exploring the possibility of a new nuclear plant to be located in South Jersey.