Harper: 'The worst is behind us'

The Canadian Press OTTAWA

Canadians have reason to breathe a little easier -- the economy fell sharply at the start of the year but talk about another depression appears to have been just talk.

Having been given the best economic news in months, Prime Minister Stephen Harper was quick to take advantage yesterday, saying the Liberals have no reason to push for a federal election.

"I think the worst is behind us, we will have better quarters going forward,'' Harper said in an interview with a Toronto radio station.

"I think that's one of the reasons (Liberal Leader Michael) Ignatieff seems to be pushing so hard with ideas to get the other parties to bring the government down. He would love the opportunity to get in there for a recovery. The country needs an election like a hole in the head,'' Harper added.

The output numbers for the first quarter of 2009 were nothing to boast about. The economy contracted by a massive 5.4 per cent at an annualized rate, the worst in 18 years when there was a 5.9 per cent decline in 1991.

But with the Bank of Canada having projected a 7.3 per cent collapse and some economists saying the decline could be as much as nine per cent, the Statistics Canada data has the feel of a death row reprieve.

And the improving data for the last two months of the quarter -- February and March -- suggests that as Harper noted, the worst is likely over and it happened during the November-January period.

"It is the worst recession since the Great Depression globally, but this is where some of Canada's positives have come back to save us a bit from something nastier,'' said Douglas Porter, deputy chief economist with BMO Capital Markets.

"Make no mistake, it's a very severe downturn. But we've been through these kinds of severe downturns before in the early '80s and early '90s.''

Combined with the revised 3.7 per cent drop in the fourth quarter of 2008, Liberal finance critic John McCallum said the slump still qualifies as among the worst since quarterly data began being kept in 1961.

But he too expressed relief that "there is less panic than there was a while ago . . . and more sense that, 'Yeah, we are going to get out of this."'

McCallum said his party will still press for improvements to unemployment insurance to ensure that more laid-off Canadians qualify for benefits, saying the economy will likely continue to shed jobs for months to come.

Sincerely,

Heather Keetbaas, Ba, AMP

Director, Business Development

MERIX FINANCIAL

We hope you enjoyed the read. If you want to take advantage of these record breaking low interest rates, let us know now as they are starting to increase slowly. We can take a look at your penalties and see if redoing your mortgage will save you money.

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Krista and Sherri

www.lawlessbrown.com

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Meeting with Kerry Davies

Had a lovely coffee meeting with Kerry Davies, a local realtor who helped me, Krista, buy two rental houses. It was nice to chat about what this market is doing and how hot it is becoming. It's matching the weather! Sold signs are sprouting up everywhere.

Janis of Carmena Consulting was also there to talk about Web 2.0 and the importance of having a blog attached to your website. She and her partner, Deedee Designs, built our website and oriented it towards Education Based Marketing. We want to educate the buyer....let them know how to get into this real estate market and why they should.

It must be the interest rates and how low they are. This is definitely the time to get into the market. Call us and we can help.

Enjoy the weather and don't forget to Slip, Slap and Slop! Slip on that that shirt, Slap on that hat and Slop on that sunscreen!

Krista and Sherri
Lawless Brown Mortgage Brokers

Victoria Housing Market Gains Strength

www.vreb.ca
The Greater Victoria area housing market gained additional strength last month with a significant increase in sales along with firm prices. A total of 879 homes and other properties sold in May through the Victoria Real Estate Board’s Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®), up 17 per cent from the 747 sales in April and up 14 per cent compared to the 770 sales in May of last year. Prices for single family homes and condominiums were up slightly while townhome prices showed little change.
Victoria Real Estate Board President, Chris Markham, says there is every indication the rebound in the market will continue in the months ahead, “Sales were significantly higher last month than a year ago and prices appear to be strengthening in key sectors.” Markham noted that the number of properties available for sale dropped last month. In addition, continuing attractive interest rates and growing consumer confidence are helping to fuel activity which is particularly strong in the mid-price range. “Over half of the single family homes sold last month
were priced between $400,000 and $600,000.” There were 33 sales of single family homes over $1 million including six on the Gulf Islands. There were 3,789 properties available for sale at the end of May, down 13 per cent from the 4,332 properties available in the same month a year ago.
The average price for single family homes sold in Greater Victoria last month was $573,442, up from $550,736 in April. The median price also rose to $525,000. The six-month average was $550,756. The overall average price for condominiums was $306,971 last month, up from $292,252 in April. The average for the last six months was $292,766. The median price for condominiums rose in May to $279,500. The average price of all townhomes sold last month was $400,788, virtually unchanged from $400,695 in April. The median price dropped slightly to $375,000. The six month average was $397,224.
MLS® sales last month included 514 single family homes, 223 condominiums, 88 townhomes and eight manufactured homes.

GREAT NEWS!!!!

Call us if you want to jump into the Victoria Real Estate Market. Whether it is a personal home or a rental....we can help!!
♦
Krista and Sherri
Lawless Brown Mortgage Brokers

HARPER: 'THE WORST IS BEHIND US'

Prime minister encouraged by new data that suggests economy is in recovery mode

JULIAN BELTRAME
THE CANADIAN PRESS OTTAWA

Canadians have reason to breathe a little easier -- the economy fell sharply at the start of the year but talk about another depression appears to have been just talk.
Having been given the best economic news in months, Prime Minister Stephen Harper was quick to take advantage yesterday, saying the Liberals have no reason to push for a federal election.
"I think the worst is behind us, we will have better quarters going forward,'' Harper said in an interview with a Toronto radio station.
"I think that's one of the reasons (Liberal Leader Michael) Ignatieff seems to be pushing so hard with ideas to get the other parties to bring the government down. He would love the opportunity to get in there for a recovery. The country needs an election like a hole in the head,'' Harper added.
The output numbers for the first quarter of 2009 were nothing to boast about. The economy contracted by a massive 5.4 per cent at an annualized rate, the worst in 18 years when there was a 5.9 per cent decline in 1991.
But with the Bank of Canada having projected a 7.3 per cent collapse and some economists saying the decline could be as much as nine per cent, the Statistics Canada data has the feel of a death row reprieve.
And the improving data for the last two months of the quarter -- February and March -- suggests that as Harper noted, the worst is likely over and it happened during the November-January period.
"It is the worst recession since the Great Depression globally, but this is where some of Canada's positives have come back to save us a bit from something nastier,'' said Douglas Porter, deputy chief economist with BMO Capital Markets.
"Make no mistake, it's a very severe downturn. But we've been through these kinds of severe downturns before in the early '80s and early '90s.''
Combined with the revised 3.7 per cent drop in the fourth quarter of 2008, Liberal finance critic John McCallum said the slump still qualifies as among the worst since quarterly data began being kept in 1961.
But he too expressed relief that "there is less panic than there was a while ago . . . and more sense that, 'Yeah, we are going to get out of this."'
McCallum said his party will still press for improvements to unemployment insurance to ensure that more laid-off Canadians qualify for benefits, saying the economy will likely continue to shed jobs for months to come.

Sincerely,

Heather Keetbaas, Ba, AMP
Director, Business Development
MERIX FINANCIAL

Enjoy,
Krista and Sherri
Lawless Brown Mortgage Brokers