Mortgage Company of Canada, Inc. Reacts to Record Year for Toronto Housing Sales
Toronto, Canada, January 12, 2016 – Mortgage Company of Canada, Inc. (www.www.mcoci.com), a privately owned company offering investors a diversified portfolio of high-yielding Greater Toronto Area (GTA) real estate mortgages, comments on recent data showing that Toronto’s housing market had a record year for sales, with prices up almost 10%.
The Toronto Real Estate Board announced that 2015 was a record year with sales reaching 4,945 in December, pushing the annual figures past 100,000 for the first time. The final total for sales in 2015 was 101,299, a 9.2% increase over the 92,782 recorded in 2014. While sales of detached homes only climbed 1.7% in 2015, due in large part to a short supply of homes, the average price increased 12.6% to $1.04 million. The average price of a detached home in the suburbs increased 12.1% year over year to $728,015. (Source: “GTA Realtors Report Record Year Fore TREB MLS Home Sales,” Toronto Real Estate Board press release, January 6, 2016; http://www.trebhome.com/market_news/release_market_updates/news2015/nr_market_watch_1215.htm.)
“Thanks to the improving regional economic conditions in the GTA and low interest rates, a record number of homebuyers were able to purchase their first home or move up the property ladder,” says Raj Babber, president and CEO of Mortgage Company of Canada, Inc. (MCC). “Despite new lending rules which take effect in February, homebuyers remain upbeat about home ownership in the GTA.”
In December, the federal government announced that it was raising the minimum down payment from 5% to 10% for the portion of a home over $500,000 when the house was insured by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). The new system takes effect February 15 and, as a result, Toronto real estate is expected to remain robust as homebuyers try to beat the new rules and buy over the next 30 days. (Source: “Bill Morneau tightens mortgage rules on homes over $500K,” cbc.ca, December 11, 2015; http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/morneau-home-ownership-finance-1.3360610.)
“Home ownership in the GTA continues to be an excellent investment, but most Canadians are underexposed to real estate as an investment class. It can be difficult to add real estate to your portfolio when the price of a detached home in Toronto is $1.04 million,” Babber adds. “One of the best ways for Canadians to gain exposure to the red hot Toronto real estate market is through a mortgage investment corporation.”
As an investment vehicle, a mortgage investment corporation (MIC) manages a diversified pool of mortgages and allows individuals to pool their resources and invest the capital in mortgage loans.
“By law, 100% of a MIC’s annual net income, as verified by external audit, must be distributed to its shareholders by way of dividends. Because of our secure portfolio of professionally managed Canadian mortgages, MCC has never missed a dividend payment,” Babber concludes.
Mortgage Company of Canada, Inc. is a privately owned company with more than 75 years of key industry experience, offering investors the opportunity to invest in an alternative investment class of a diversified, secure portfolio, and professionally managed high-yielding Canadian real estate mortgages. The unique combination of experience with real estate development, residential and commercial construction, property management, residential underwriting, mortgage administration, and investment banking differentiates MCC and its mortgage investment corporation from other private lenders. To learn more about MCC, visit the company’s web site at www.mcoci.com.