The current debt percentage isn’t much
higher than it was in the beggining
of 2000s, but combined with weak
economy it is a serious problem

Italy was called the Sick Man of Europe (taking the title from Portugal) because its economy was growing very slowly. It was just the beginning, though, of the catastrophic economic situation that the country faces today. However, the housing market isn’t among the main reasons of its weak economy like in Portugal. Italian real estate stock is still weak, but it doesn’t suffer as much as the other sectors of Italian economy touched by the tough measures.

The RBC Housing Affordability Measures
show the proportion of median pre-tax
household income that would be
required to service all the ownership costs.

According to RBC’s latest report, Housing Trends and Affordability, Alberta is the most affordable province in Canada when it comes to real estate. Although Alberta’s average house prices are the third highest in the country (following British Columbia and Quebec), the income of average Albertans is high enough to pay for all the ownership costs smoothly. National affordability measures are much higher for all the measured categories (from 12.9 to 8.3 percentage points).

July 4th Celebration in Fort Collins Colorado
by Melvin Schlubman

Canadians are  the largest non-American buyers of US real estate today. Low prices make US property very attractive, but Canadians should be aware of all the complications resulting from purchasing foreign property before buying. Tax and estate planning is always best done beforehand, and carefully, to avoid unpleasant surprises.

“These are the best buying prices I have ever seen for US houses,” said Bob Keats, a financial planner since 1981 and author of The Border Guide: A Canadian’s Guide to Living, Working and Investing in the United States. "Canadians are able to buy one-third more than they could have a few years ago.”

Calgary by Kevin Saff

Calgary’s latest housing statistics aren’t much cause for joy. Calgary is the only city in the country that posted a year-over-year house price decline in a national survey of repeat home sales in six major urban centres. Is it only a short-term phenomenon caused by economic turmoil in the world? And what are the city’s housing prospects?