eserves a closer scrutiny, as it is directly related to real estate, my field of expertise and practice. Financial leverage takes the form of borrowing money and reinvesting it in hopes to earn a greater rate of return than the cost of interest. Leverage allows greater potential retuAs the Yankee Dollar continues to slide and the Loonie breaks the 90-US cent barrier for the first time since 1977, all of a sudden everything that is American – from MacDonald’s hamburgers to real estate – looks darn cheap to Canadian eyes.

The $US/$CAD Noon Rate hit 0.9032 on May 5, 2006 as reported by the Bank of Canada, and the Loonie is predicted to equal the Greenback by close to year’s end. There are essentially four major key reasons for the recent surge of the Canadian Dollar vis-?-vis its American counterpart:

[ ] A substantial increase in demand for Canadian commodities, most notably oil and precious metals, from the United States.

[ ] A rising participation of American interests in the exploration and development of Canada’s natural reserves, and a subsequent increased demand for shares in Canadian companies.

[ ] A steady increase in Canadian interest rates, which are moving at a faster pace than the corresponding increases of the Feds, and which in turn attract foreign investors.

[ ] Financial leverage, which is higher in Canada than in the U.S.

This last point deserves a closer scrutiny, as it is directly related to real estate, my field of expertise and practice. Financial leverage takes the form of borrowing money and reinvesting it in hopes to earn a greater rate of return than the cost of interest. Leverage allows greater potential retur

9032 on May 5, 2006 as reported by the Bank of Canada, and the Loonie is predicted to equal the Greenback by close to year’s end. There are essentially four major key reasons for the recent surge of the Canadian Dollar vis-?-vis its American counterpart:

[ ] A substantial increase in demand for Canadian commodities, most notably oil and precious metals, from the United States.

[ ] A rising participation of American interests in the exploration and development of Canada’s natural reserves, and a subsequent increased demand for shares in Canadian companies.

[ ] A steady increase in Canadian interest rates, which are moving at a faster pace than the corresponding increases of the Feds, and which in turn attract foreign investors.

[ ] Financial leverage, which is higher in Canada than in the U.S.

This last point deserves a closer scrutiny, as it is directly related to real estate, my field of expertise and practice. Financial leverage takes the form of borrowing money and reinvesting it in hopes to earn a greater rate of return than the cost of interest. Leverage allows greater potential retu

ase in demand for Canadian commodities, most notably oil and precious metals, from the United States.

[ ] A rising participation of American interests in the exploration and development of Canada’s natural reserves, and a subsequent increased demand for shares in Canadian companies.

[ ] A steady increase in Canadian interest rates, which are moving at a faster pace than the corresponding increases of the Feds, and which in turn attract foreign investors.

[ ] Financial leverage, which is higher in Canada than in the U.S.

This last point deserves a closer scrutiny, as it is directly related to real estate, my field of expertise and practice. Financial leverage takes the form of borrowing money and reinvesting it in hopes to earn a greater rate of return than the cost of interest. Leverage allows greater potential retu

nies.

[ ] A steady increase in Canadian interest rates, which are moving at a faster pace than the corresponding increases of the Feds, and which in turn attract foreign investors.

[ ] Financial leverage, which is higher in Canada than in the U.S.

This last point deserves a closer scrutiny, as it is directly related to real estate, my field of expertise and practice. Financial leverage takes the form of borrowing money and reinvesting it in hopes to earn a greater rate of return than the cost of interest. Leverage allows greater potential retu

eserves a closer scrutiny, as it is directly related to real estate, my field of expertise and practice. Financial leverage takes the form of borrowing money and reinvesting it in hopes to earn a greater rate of return than the cost of interest. Leverage allows greater potential return for the investor than otherwise would have been available. Because real capital appreciation has been constantly more remarked in Canada than in the United States these past few years, it turns out that leverage is stronger in Canada than in the U.S., meaning the spread between real capital appreciation and cost of borrowing is higher in Canada. And this notwithstanding the fact that mortgage rates in Canada are typically nominally higher than in the States and that, in fact, wages in Canada are typically nominally lower.

The last time the Canadian Dollar was at par with the American Dollar was in 1976, just before the election in Quebec of the separatist government of Rene Levesque (1922 – 1987). Following that election, the Loonie began a long downfall, greased by weakening commodity prices and rising government deficits and domestic debt. The slide culminated in the record low of 62 cents U.S. for one Canadian Dollar in January, 2002.

The current exchange rate, therefore, represents a huge increase with drastic consequences on both sides of the border. For instance, a house priced at U.S.$350,000 would co