Global real estate prices have uncharacteristically surged during the recession. It didn’t come without consequence, warned the International Monetary Fund (IMF), this week. The agency’s regular Financial Stability Report said global home prices are now stretched. Stimulus policies backstopped the market, creating moral hazards. Buyers now have a “can’t lose” feeling, pushing them to pay […]
Canadian home prices just keep rising at a faster and faster rate. US Federal Reserve (The Fed) data shows real home prices in the country surged in Q2 2021. Actually, that’s really underselling what happened. Residential real estate prices in Canada are growing at the fastest rates in the G7. Not just over the past […]
It seems a lot of people are confused about inflation, including the head of Canada’s central bank. Today, Bank of Canada (BoC) governor Tiff Macklem addressed the US Council on Foreign Relations. His address mostly focused on global currency, but it was the media Q&A where things got interesting. Over three questions, he made several […]
Canadians were given a boost to affordability when rates were cut at the start of the pandemic. The Bank of Canada‘s housing affordability index fell to the most affordable level in over a decade. By cutting interest costs, households can finance debt more cheaply, improving affordability. It also happens to increase demand though, pushing home […]
Global bond yields are rising and it’s going to push the cost of financing a mortgage a lot higher. The Government of Canada (GoC) 5-year bond yields pushed higher again yesterday. Earlier this week, we mentioned lenders are considering reversing recent mortgage rate cuts. Now we have our first to actually execute — TD. More […]
High inflation might seem like a global phenomenon these days, but that appears to be a media bias. The August Consumer Price Index (CPI) for G7 countries shows not all have elevated levels of inflation. Canada and the US are showing significantly higher headline inflation than their peers. Initially it was sold as transitory, but […]
Canadians are fleeing for another province at one of the fastest clips in history. Statistics Canada (Stat Can) revealed its interprovincial migration estimates for Q2 2021. Crunching the numbers on net-flows, we can see which regions are losing the most Canadians. The last quarter saw the most people relocate to a new province since the […]
New Zealand property investors will see another tax advantage disappear soon. On Tuesday, the Government of New Zealand revealed they’ll limit mortgage interest deductions. The plan goes into effect October 1 and is hoping to lower the incentive to speculate with housing. This measure follows a series of actions to discourage speculators. The government says […]
First it was Vancouver… then Toronto. Add Halifax to the list. Then Niagara, Hamilton… Woodstock? Don’t worry, I have no idea where that is either. Canadian real estate is now so frothy even the government can’t ignore it. The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) published its Q3 2021 Housing Market Assessment (HMA). In it […]
Germany is one of the world’s biggest real estate bubbles, and it might pop in a spectacular way. Yesterday the majority of Berlin residents voted to nationalize 240,000 rental units. The move was driven by Deutsche Wohnen & Co. enteignen (DW enteignen), a housing activist group looking to cut large corporate landlords. The referendum isn’t […]
