Canada’s improvements in poverty proved to be more transitory than inflation. New survey data from Food Banks Canada (FBC) shows over a fifth of households have recently gone hungry. With inflation running higher than incomes, many households can’t easily absorb rising costs. FBC found more food bank users are citing high inflation and rising shelter […]
Fewer Canadians were taking out new mortgages, even before the rate hikes began. Mortgage origination data from TransUnion shows how originations fell sharply in Q4 2021. Not one province showed annual growth, with Ontario leading the way lower. As Canadian real estate prices climbed, fewer people were qualified to buy. This can act as friction […]
No need to worry about your local home builder’s profit margin — they’re actually rising. CoConstruct, who provides construction project management software to over 100,000 clients, took a dive into builder margins. Analyzing client data, they found home builder profit margins climbed in Canada and the US. Despite rising material costs, buyers have been willing […]
Canadian institutions are showing fading optimism, according to a new survey. The Bank of Canada (BoC) released the Spring 2022 results of its Financial System Survey (FSS). The FSS is a twice-yearly poll of risk managers, allowing the BoC to compare expectations to their own. Results from the survey show more institutions expect a financial […]
Canada’s largest bank is bullish on the economy but not on home prices. RBC regulatory filings reveal they see home prices making a modest decline by next year. That’s if the economy encounters no unexpected hiccups. However, the bank warns they’ve placed more weight to the downside as the outlook darkens. In the downside scenario, […]
Time for your cheat sheet on this week’s most important stories. Canadian Real Estate Canada Quietly Changed Its First-Time Home Buyer Program To Limit Its Losses Canada is lowering taxpayer exposure to the First-Time Home Buyer Initiative. The program sees the government buy a share of your home, helping to drive payments lower. Canada would […]
Canadian employment is the highest in 40 years but borrowers are showing signs of stress. Statistics Canada (Stat Can) data shows non-bank lenders saw an uptick in early mortgage delinquencies for Q4 2021. However, they were able to maintain a lower default rate than commercial banks. Part of this is due to the thousands of […]
Cheap debt turned Canadian real estate into a playground for deep-pocketed investors, with fewer end-users. That was one of the insights in the RBC Q2 2022 earnings call with analysts. Investors now represent almost 1 in 7 residential mortgage dollars they’re owed. RBC’s top brass called it a “sad commentary” to see so few first-time […]
Canada’s largest real estate market is cooling down at a blinding speed. Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) data shows home prices fell in May as sales tapered to more historic levels. Falling sales and rising inventory have officially pushed the market into a “buyer’s market,” where prices traditionally begin to drop. Greater Toronto Real […]
Greater Vancouver real estate is cooling almost as fast as the market heated up. Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) data shows the price of a typical home fell in May. The drops were accompanied by falling home sales too. In fact, demand has fallen so fast that only a minor increase in supply […]
