Never has it been so obvious that government data on housing costs don’t reflect the cost of buying. Home prices are on a tear, and while CPI’s shelter component is high, it’s miles away from soaring home costs. That’s because of the way it’s measured, says BMO chief economist Douglas Porter. Here’s his breakdown on […]
Canadian inflation should be smooth sailing, coming in low and stable from now on. A small catch though — your cost of living may not actually see low inflation. Statistics Canada (Stat Can) consumer price index (CPI) data shows an unexpected slowdown in June. The popular interpretation for today’s release is, this proves high inflation […]
Canadian home builders have faced soaring labor and material costs, and now there’s confirmation. The Statistics Canada (Stat Can) building construction price index made a record climb in the second quarter of 2021. Costs jumped significantly higher for homebuilders, even if just compared to non-residential construction. Homebuilders saw the fastest increases in “hot” housing markets […]
Canadian real estate is cooling from record demand, and luxury homes are no exception. Global luxury brokerage Engel & Völkers (E&V) released its latest luxury market report. They looked at markets with homes priced over $1 million and found sales slowed recently. In the near term, this should help the market normalize and stabilize price […]
High inflation is probably transitory, and central banks should tell people that… but totally be ready in case they aren’t. That’s the take from the IMF today, who released its latest global outlook. The agency said high inflation should ease, and central banks should communicate that message. However, it may not be transitory, and monetary […]
Canada’s central bank is warning about a rapidly deteriorating mortgage environment. Yesterday we unpacked Bank of Canada (BoC) data on highly indebted borrowers representing a larger share of mortgage originations. Today we’re looking at an issue that builds on that — these borrowers have little equity. Highly indebted households with little equity are the perfect […]
US housing is all of a sudden cooling very quickly. US Census data shows single-family home sales fell for a third consecutive month in June. The decline in sales helped to push new housing inventory to pre-pandemic levels. Prices are still elevated, but they did give back a significant amount of gains last month. US […]
Toronto’s new home market is finally starting to cool, but it’s got a long way to go. Altus Group and BILD GTA data show new home sales were firm in June. Weakness in the city, especially for condo apartments, weighed on price growth though. Annual price growth is starting to slow, with condos even seeing […]
Despite a booming US real estate market, foreign buyers have been sitting this one out. National Association of Realtors (NAR) data shows foreign buyers made a big drop in the year ending March 2021. The pandemic didn’t have much of an impact on budgets, but fewer buyers came to market. Foreign Buyers Spent 27% Less […]
Canada used to be known for its conservative mortgage lending, but that’s no longer the case. The Bank of Canada (BoC) warned mortgage quality has “deteriorated” in 2020. The central bank found highly indebted households, those with a loan-to-income ratio higher than 450%, now represent a record share of new mortgage debt. Highly indebted households […]
