Canada’s real estate slump is hitting the rental market. Rentals.ca data shows average rent fell in December, now at the lowest level since mid-2023. High-priced cities accounted for virtually the whole drop, while affordable cities led growth. The divergence has cut the gap between the most and least expensive cities in half. Are expensive markets […]
Out with the new, in with the old? Canada’s job market looked stable in December, but the details tell another story. Statistics Canada’s (StatCan) Labour Force Survey shows flat headline employment, but the composition is shifting fast. Older workers and publicly-funded, non-market sectors are seeing substantial gains. Meanwhile, youth and market-based private sector jobs are […]
Canada’s central bank won’t love what the latest trade data says about the economy. Statistics Canada’s (StatCan) latest merchandise trade data shows a return to deficit territory in October due to surging imports. Demand is running so hot it’s seeking its fix abroad, while demand for Canadian goods is failing to keep up. The imbalance […]
Greater Toronto real estate started 2025 with a whimper and ended with… near silence. Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) data shows prices continued to slide in December. The drop was driven by inventory at record highs and sales slipping lower, with the latter’s volume ending 2025 as the weakest volume in 25 years. While […]
Canadian households saw their wages grow faster than inflation, but those gains failed to keep up with essentials. That was the take from RBC in its 2026 outlook, noting the cost of food and housing continues to outpace incomes. The bank sees inflation pressures moderating further this year, but warns affordability pressures aren’t going away […]
There’s plenty of supply for Canadian renters—if they can actually afford it. The CMHC’s 2025 Rental Report shows vacancy rates have more than doubled record lows. They note the increase helped slow price growth in purpose-built rentals (PBRs). Unfortunately, slow isn’t low—and far from a contraction. Rental prices continue to grow much faster than income. […]
Canada’s big banks are seeing a sharp erosion in mortgage credit quality. Canadian Bankers Association (CBA) data shows mortgage arrears climbed sharply in October. The rate now sits at a five-year high, but the stress may be even worse than it appears. CBA member banks are holding fewer total mortgages, potentially signaling risk mitigation. Canadian […]
Canadians might not be buying much real estate these days, but they’re borrowing against it. Statistics Canada (StatCan) data shows home equity lines of credit (HELOC) debt surged in October. Households tapped their home equity at one of the fastest rates in years, sending HELOC debt to a 6-year high. Home Equity Line of Credit […]
Canadian mortgage debt is growing at a healthy pace—but it doesn’t mean what it usually does. Statistics Canada (StatCan) data shows household mortgage debt rose sharply in October, marking the biggest increase for the month in years. The growth rate has now returned to normal levels, but the underlying composition of that demand is anything […]
The Canadian real estate affordability crisis has eased—but housing is still far from affordable. RBC data shows Q3 2025 marked the seventh consecutive quarter of housing affordability improvements. Despite the persistent trend, affordability remains just slightly better than the peak of the 1990s real estate bubble. RBC warns that with rate cuts unlikely in 2026, […]
