Greater Toronto new home sales ripped to a new high last month. BILD and Altus Group data shows new homes had the biggest January ever, with tight inventory. Despite the perfect conditions for higher home prices, they did the opposite. The cost of a typical single-family home fell by tens of thousands of dollars, while […]
Canadian mortgage borrowers still in the market aren’t worried about higher interest rates, apparently. Bank of Canada (BoC) data shows new mortgage loan annual growth was negative in December. The majority of the remaining activity was issued with variable interest rates. It might not be obvious, but variable mortgage costs are essentially a bearish bet […]
Time For your cheat sheet on this week’s most important stories. Canadian Real Estate Canadian Real Estate Bubble Sentiment Is Collapsing Fast: US Federal Reserve Data Canadian real estate bubble sentiment is collapsing but remains frothy. A US Federal Reserve model shows Q3 2021 was the 26th quarter the market showed exuberance. That means the […]
Canadian real estate prices aren’t slowing down from the threat of higher rates. In fact, Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) data shows the opposite for January. Over just one month, real estate markets have seen a “typical” home rise up to six figures from a month before. A Typical Home Across Canada Now Costs $825,000 […]
American real estate just spent another quarter in bubble territory, according to its central bank. The US Federal Reserve Exuberance Index shows US real estate was still exuberant in Q3 2021. A quarter before, the market fit the criteria set out by researchers to be considered a bubble. It also happened to be the quarter […]
Ontario rental evictions cratered during the initial public health restrictions. Government of Ontario data shows that rental evictions dropped sharply for the 2020-2021 period. The impact was likely short-lived, with the current period already rising more briskly. As public health restrictions are lifted, expect applications for evictions to normalize. That can mean double the filings […]
Canadian unemployment fell and job vacancies are rising, creating a tighter labor market. Statistics Canada (Stat Can) payroll data shows job vacancies were climbing in December. At the same time, the unemployment rate has dropped to pre-pandemic levels. A tight labor market is usually good for wages, but that isn’t the case this time. The […]
Global markets are puking as the Ukraine-Russia conflict presents global uncertainty and risk. BMO chief economist Douglas Porter wrote a special brief to clients today, explaining this doesn’t change much at this point. BMO still expects the Bank of Canada (BoC) and the US Federal Reserve to hike interest rates in March. The influence on […]
Canada’s booming real estate market is making it rain for the industry. Statistics Canada (Stat Can) data shows agents and brokers collected record revenue in 2020. Despite a slow second quarter, elevated demand in the second half more than made up for the hiccup. Strong demand (and price growth) helped to drive the largest profit […]
US mortgage activity is suddenly slowing down as interest rates climb. The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) Mortgage Composite Index showed a sudden drop for the week of February 18, 2022. Seasonally adjusted mortgage application activity dropped 13.1% from the week before. On an unadjusted basis, activity dropped 11% compared to the same week a year […]
