Just when you think Canadian real estate can’t get any more exuberant, the central bank straps a rocket to it. That was the take from BMO, whose Friday research note is a quick look at Toronto real estate prices. The city, much like the rest of Canada, is seeing some of the highest home price […]
Canada’s central bank used lumber prices to dismiss inflation, but it’s doing the opposite. In October, the Bank of Canada (BoC) used lumber to back its transitory inflation narrative. Short-term supply chain issues are the problem, not monetary policy, they explained. Excess demand fueled by easy money has since been acknowledged as the culprit by […]
Canadian real estate has been the ideal tax shelter, but that might change soon. Generation Squeeze, a Vancouver-led non-profit advocating for Millennials, released its Solutions Lab report. The CMHC-funded (but independent) study has four suggestions for improving housing affordability. Today we’re going to dive into its most controversial proposal stirring debate — a progressive tax […]
Canadian real estate has outgrown productive investment, and it’s not slowing down. Statistics Canada (Stat Can) data shows building permits, considered a leading indicator for future building intentions, climbed in November. The growth is entirely attributed to home building, now running 50% above pre-2020. More housing is nice, but Canada is already sinking more investment […]
Greater Vancouver real estate prices are soaring as inventory hits the lowest level in decades. And why wouldn’t it? Selling would have been walking away from tens of thousands of dollars, shows Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) data. In December, home prices accelerated to a new record, with the highest growth rate in […]
Canadian bond yields are soaring, but the central bank isn’t expected to raise rates. At least not yet, according to an analysis from BMO Capital Markets. Government of Canada (GoC) bond yields showed a multi-year high for annual growth in 2021. This means rising market expectations of the overnight rate climbing in the near-term. Despite […]
Canadians are buying into the narrative that higher mortgage rates will wreck half of households. A survey making the rounds saying exactly that doesn’t help, but the narrative existed before the survey. Fortunately, this isn’t true. How can we be sure? Well, let’s start with less than a third of households have a mortgage. Less […]
Over the past year, we’ve heard that younger households were behind the real estate binge. In addition to transfer data showing that’s not true, Equifax mortgage data for Q3 2021 agrees. Most demographics showed little change in their borrowing patterns, except for the extremes. Millennial-led households maintained their share of mortgages, but a larger share […]
Canadian household debt problems are once again worsening, after taking a brief break. The ratio of household credit market debt to disposable income climbed in Q3 2021, according to Statistics Canada (Stat Can). Households are now borrowing debt at one of the fastest rates in half a decade. Unfortunately, their incomes aren’t rising in line […]
Canadian subprime real estate buyers are scrambling to join the housing gold rush. Earlier this week, we discussed the sharp climb in subprime mortgage borrowers in Q3 2021. Today we’ll break the Equifax data down by city and show the highest concentrations. All but three major cities in Canada saw their share of poor quality […]
