Canadian real estate buyers may get a little psychological shock later this week. The Bank of Canada (BoC) will update the public on monetary policy next Wednesday. Three Big Six banks said they expect the central bank to discuss higher rates. Two of those, expect a discussion on rate hikes happening earlier than stated. All […]
The mystery of how Canada attracts so many big tech companies was revealed in a commercial real estate analysis. The country scored 5 spots on CBRE‘s 2020 list of Top 50 Tech Hubs. High-quality labor is one of the key reasons real estate prices haven’t been a drag. The other is Canadian tech workers make […]
Canadian real estate data confirms the anecdotes — the market was busier than ever. Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) sales reached a new all-time high in March. The record is for any month of home sales, not just for the time of year. Annual growth was also the highest ever, beating even annual growth in […]
North American lumber prices are soaring, sending homebuilding costs higher with it. The good news is, relief may be just around the corner. BMO Capital Markets updated its Benchmark Western Spruce-Pine-Fir (SPF) lumber forecast for April. The bank sees lumber prices dropping in the second half of the year. By 2022, they expect lumber prices […]
Canadian real estate prices are now beyond frothy, and the government says that’s fine. They believe they can prevent home prices from falling, and let incomes catch up. If you’re in government or banking, you may have already seen me explain how impossible this is. If you haven’t, this is known as the “soft landing” […]
Saying Canadians are confident in the real estate market is a bit of an undersell, according to a big bank. RBC shared the results of its Spring Housing Poll this week. The findings were… nothing short of exuberant. The survey found most Canadians only see home prices rising soon. Most households now only believe a […]
A Canadian official in charge of housing policy confirmed the current market is not an accident. Instead, it’s a conscious decision where the government picked the winners and losers. TVO aired an interview with MP Adam Vaughan yesterday, discussing housing policy. In the interview, Vaughan, who helps oversee the CMHC, said price drops are not […]
Academics theorize why developers won’t create more purpose-built rental housing. They cite everything from user behavior to policy restrictions. For some reason, they never think to just ask a real estate developer candidly. A few weeks ago I shared a popular Twitter thread on real estate rental development. Not a lot of people realize real […]
Canadian banks have begun to weigh in on new mortgage changes, and they aren’t optimistic. Earlier today, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) announced a revision to the uninsured mortgage stress test. The change will shrink supersized mortgage budgets, reducing the number of over-leveraged borrowers. Two of Canada’s largest banks say it’s […]
Canadian real estate markets may have got the first big cooling measure today. The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) announced they are moving to tighten uninsured mortgage leverage. The organization that regulates Canada’s banks, eased the mortgage stress test last year. Now that it’s clear mortgages don’t need stimulus, they’re looking to […]
