Canada is changing a first-time home buyer program to limit its exposure to losses. The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) made unannounced changes to the First-Time Home Buyer Initiative (FTHBI). The program, which sees the government take a stake in a successful applicant’s home purchase, is now limiting its downside exposure. Only a few […]
Canada’s central bank reiterated its commitment to lower elevated inflation. The Bank of Canada (BoC) hiked the overnight rate and is going ahead with quantitative tightening (QT). It wasn’t much of a surprise, as it was widely expected by the market. What is surprising is the BoC raised its inflation forecast once again. This may […]
Canada’s economy is demonstrating it has no clue where to find growth if not through a housing mania. Statistics Canada (Stat Can) data shows the gross domestic product (GDP) advanced in Q1 2022. Nearly half of the quarter’s growth was due to residential investment, or homebuilding. Housing has produced such lofty gains, it’s become hard […]
Greater Toronto new home prices are finally starting to cool. Data from Altus Group and BILD GTA shows new home prices fell in April. Fewer sales and more inventory definitely contributed to softer prices. However, inventory is still very tight compared to historic levels. More likely, the threat of rising rates deflated exuberance, driving prices […]
France has its catacombs, America has abandoned malls, and Canada has its vacant homes — all 1.3 million of them, according to the OECD. For decades, urban explorers have been touring abandoned buildings and sites. The activity of questionable legality has been a niche subculture for some time. However, the rise of TikTok (and YouTube […]
Canadian real estate got a shout out in a discussion between two prominent figures on Bay Street. Benjamin Reitzes, BMO’s managing director of macro strategy, and host of Views From The North podcast, mentioned double-digit drops for home prices in the not-so-distant future. Along with guest Joel Prussky, the two discussed how the past 15 […]
Canada’s Middle Class is seeing its shot at homeownership vaporize, but it wasn’t always this way. Not just in expensive cities where lofty expectations pushed ownership out of reach for all except high-income households. But now most cities across Canada are out of reach for the country’s Middle Class. A median household now needs to […]
You did it! You convinced your parents to gamble their retirement by pitching you a downpayment. Now all you need is to qualify to carry a mortgage, right? That might be a problem according to Q1 2022 data from National Bank of Canada (NBF). Carrying a mortgage on a typical home now requires a minimum […]
Toronto and Vancouver real estate prices are rising because of the growth — it’s the next New York City (NYC)! It’s not hard to come across a comment like that once or twice per day, and we’re sure you all have friends in those cities that say it. Politicians have candidly explained to us it’s […]
Canadian real estate prices are the most overvalued in decades, but not all markets are equal. Earlier this week, we shared BMO data showing Canadian homes were 38% overvalued. Today we’re sharing a regional breakdown, showing where the widest trend deviations are. Most regions are overvalued, but nowhere is even close to Greater Toronto. Canadian […]
