More Canadian mortgage borrowers are betting the economy won’t get much better. At least, they’re unintentionally placing that bet with their mortgage borrowing terms. Data from the Bank of Canada (BoC) shows big growth for uninsured mortgage credit extended in April. It actually saw the largest annual growth on record, driven by a surge in […]
It’s not just Canadian home prices showing bubbly signs, but rental prices are following too. The cost of renting an apartment in the suburbs is rising much faster than in the city. Economists call this the flattening of the bid-rent curve, or rental gradient. Basically, the discount for being located further from amenities is disappearing. […]
Prices just outside of frothy Canadian real estate markets are growing much faster than in the city. That’s typical of a bubble, and it’s called “housing bubble contagion.” In a paper titled Housing Bubble Contagion From City Centre To Suburbs, three Taiwan-based researchers argue bubbles spread outwards. Bubbles force investors and developers to look for […]
Despite rainbows and unicorns, Canadian household debt problems didn’t just disappear. In fact, they got worse in many cases, and the economy is finally strong enough to start thinking about them. The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI), the country’s bank regulator, announced the domestic stability buffer (DSB) will rise in October. The […]
The pandemic is almost over, but things aren’t going back to the way they were. A new working paper called Why Working From Home Will Stick was recently published by the US-based National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). They found more employers are planning on adopting WFH as a regular part of operations, and it […]
Another Canadian real estate developer is asking buyers to cover soaring material costs. Delpark Homes, a Greater Toronto real estate developer, is the latest to ask buyers for a top-up. Recently soaring material costs, such as lumber, have crushed homebuilding margins. Since new homes are often bought years ago, an unexpected rise in costs can […]
There is no better time to teach a child how to apply for a mortgage, than during a real estate bubble, amiright? The Government of Ontario released some details on the new Grade 9 curriculum. Education minister Stephen Lecce announced math classes will now include financial literacy to make it more relatable to youth. Of […]
The most important book on Canadian real estate you’ll read this year isn’t about demographics or interest rates. It’s investigative journalist Sam Cooper’s new book, Wilful Blindness: How A Network of Narcos, Tycoons and CCP Agents Infiltrated The West. The controversial best-seller outlines how business tycoons and China set out for a power grab 40 […]
Canada’s largest bank sees much higher home price growth in the near future. RBC shared the update to their national home price forecast for 2021. The bank now expects prices to grow almost twice as much as they previously thought. In their previous forecasts, they had expected significantly more government action. With no new policy […]
Canadian housing mania is consuming more and more of the country’s capital. The country is now devoting a record share of gross fixed capital to build homes. It’s really hard to appreciate this number without looking at the rest of the world. The share of investment devoted to homebuilding makes the US bubble look like […]
