Canada’s central bank quietly updated its real estate affordability index. It wasn’t good news. The Housing Affordability Index (HAI) made a big jump in Q3 2021. Maintained by the Bank of Canada (BOC), the HAI shows the share of income required to service a mortgage on a home. Low rates are no longer helping affordability, […]
Last week we took a dive through non-resident ownership data across provinces. Today we’re going to break down similar Statistics Canada (Stat Can) for cities. We ranked cities by the highest rate of non-resident ownership for 2020. Almost every city in the Stat Can treasure trove had a significant non-resident ownership rate. Transfer data traditionally […]
Canada’s job market is back but it looks very different than it did pre-pandemic. Statistics Canada (Stat Can) data shows two diverging employment trends evolving. Canada’s booming economy is producing a low unemployment rate and soaring job vacancies. Despite the tight labor market, long-term unemployment hit the highest level in more than two decades. Canada’s […]
Canadian real estate is amongst the most expensive in the world, but it’s not due to materials or labor. RLB, a global consultancy for builders, released its annual North American construction guide for 2022. Major cities in Canada topped the list when it came to building cost growth. It’s not unexpected when Toronto is the […]
Time for your cheat sheet on this week’s top stories. Canadian Real Estate The Bank Of Canada Is Unlikely To Hike Rates Until March, Despite Soaring Yields: BMO Canadian bond yields are soaring as inflation drives the cost of borrowing higher. Still, the BoC is unlikely to raise rates according to BMO, one of the […]
Canadian real estate might have a lot more foreign owners than previously thought. Diving through Statistics Canada (Stat Can) data, we found non-resident participation in homeownership soared in 2020. Non-resident buyers have a small share in property transfer records, but foreign capital is pouring in. In the four provinces tracked, about 1 in 10 recently […]
Canada’s most expensive province is finally giving hard-hit millionaire homeowners some help. The Government of British Columbia (GBC) raised the threshold for its Home Owner Grant. A primary residence worth up to nearly $2 million is eligible for the property tax rebate. Programs like this are usually for low-income households, not millionaire homeowners. The subsidy […]
Canadian households will have to start cutting back and not because of higher rates. It’s the opposite, with low rates now producing toxic price growth for goods and services. Statistics Canada (Stat Can) data shows the average weekly wage saw a substantial increase in December. A closer look shows that rate failed to keep up […]
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 […]
