Robb Flannery AMP

Lump sum payments primarily directed to credit cards and lines of credit; having a plan is key to successful debt reduction. 72 per cent of Canadians hold some form of debt, unchanged from the findings of a similar CIBC poll from June 2011. Among Canadians with debt, 49 per cent have made at least one lump sum payment to their debt sometime in the last year

There are signs of strength in the Canadian economy this year. High prices are boosting investment and production in Canada’s resource sector. Employment was also up sharply in March, and consumer confidence has picked up. But with economic growth still modest, builders are expected to lower new construction levels in the coming months. As a result, while housing starts are forecast to reach roughly 193,000 units this year, they are expected to drop to 191,500 units for 2013.

New home sales rose 3.3% in April 2012 to an annualized pace of 343,000, thereby beating market expectations for an increase to 335,000. The inventory of unsold homes edged up to 146,000 from 144,000 in March; however, this increase was outpaced by the pickup in sales, thereby resulting in the months’ supply of unsold homes declining to 5.1 from 5.2 in March.

GREATER TORONTO, May 23, 2012 /CNW/ - The residential construction market in the GTA is on pace for a healthy, stable year, the Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD) announced today. According to RealNet Canada Inc., BILD's official source of new home market intelligence, the 4,819 new homes sold in the GTA in April represent moderate and positive growth, despite dipping slightly from the record-breaking sales witnessed in 2011.

Home sales up 0.8% from March to April. Actual (not seasonally adjusted) activity stood 11.5% above levels in April 2011. The size of the year-over-year increase reflects a slowdown in sales last April following changes to mortgage rules which came into effect on March 18, 2011.