Canadians are tapping their home equity with payments that rival rent costs just a few years ago. TransUnion credit data shows monthly home equity line of credit (HELOC) payments have surged in Q3 2021. Making the increase more impressive is this occurred with falling interest costs. Canadians are betting high home prices are here to […]
Canada’s central bank warned real estate buyers to prepare for higher interest rates. It appears buyers are calling their bluff, opting for little rate protection on loans. Bank of Canada (BoC) data shows the share of new mortgages with variable rates doubled in October. Interest costs on most new uninsured mortgages will rise with rates, […]
Canadian households have much bigger mortgage payments, even with cheap debt. Or maybe because of cheap debt? The average mortgage payment in Q3 2021 showed a big jump, according to TransUnion data. Instead of lowering payments, low rates have fueled record home sales and refinancing. The increased demand has driven home prices higher leading to […]
Canadian households are some of the most indebted in the world, with payments to match. Bank for International Settlements (BIS) data shows household debt service ratio (DSR) in Q2 2021. The DSR is the share of disposable income used for debt repayment, in aggregate. Canadians spend more than a tenth of their income repaying this […]
Canadian real estate prices show no sign of slowing down, even going into the winter. According to the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), prices jumped by tens of thousands in November. Not in one or two extraordinary markets either, but right across the country. Home prices have increased well over six figures since last year. […]
Canada quietly put real estate investors on notice, right before the holidays — probably hoping it slips under the radar. A newly re-elected Liberal Party of Canada (LPC) distributed mandate letters. These letters contain orders for the Minister to execute and are usually pretty dry. A big exception is the Minister of Housing’s mandate letter, […]
Canada is known around the world as a place with solid institutions and low levels of corruption. Apparently that claim is made with little data, since few people have ever seen it. The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) outlined their recent experience in a blog post. They were hoping BC’s money laundering reports […]
Canadian and American real estate prices are both at frothy valuations, but look nothing alike. US Federal Reserve (The Fed) data shows home prices grew faster than incomes in Q2 2021 for both countries. The difference is, this has been a long-term trend for Canada since 2005. Meanwhile in the US, home prices have only […]
Canada’s real estate industry is ratcheting up expectations for next year. The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) is forecasting huge growth for the average home price in 2022. Just six months ago, they had been expecting the boom in 2021 to be followed by slow growth. Now in a market flooded with easy money, they […]
Canadians often complain mortgage interest isn’t tax deductible, like in the US. Some argue this is a trade off for the capital gains exemption Canadian homeowners have. However, one of the worst kept secrets in finance is mortgage interest can be turned into a deduction. One of those strategies is the Smith Maneuver, created by […]
