The Canadian Real Estate Association has indicated that while Alberta unit sales are going to drop this year, average sale prices are still expected to increase modestly which is good news overall for anyone who owns a home. Below is an article from the Calgary Herald that explains things in more detail:

June Mortgage and Finance Statistics. Variable rates have recently increased due to the Bank of Canada announcement. See the current Exchange rate, Government of Canada Bond rate, Housing Start data and MLS Resale price data.

The Bank of Canada raised interest rates by a quarter percent today bringing the benchmark rate up from rock bottom to 0.5%. This means that prime rate (off which variable rate mortgages and lines of credit are based) is now up to 2.5%. The bank was very careful not to suggest a lot of other increases in the near future.

The announcement by the department of finance on February 16th left some room for interpretation. CMHC has recently announced clarification to the announcement. Read for details.

Is there a housing bubble? Is there not a housing bubble? Finance Minister Jim Flaherty suggested in December 2009 that there is. Since than many have spoken out against his point of view including Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney. Now Flaherty has changed his tune. Read the full article for full details.