Canadian real estate buyers are driving prices using irrational exuberance. US Federal Reserve (The Fed) data shows Canada’s homebuyers were “exuberant” in Q3 2020. This is when buyers disregard fundamentals, and paid more because they felt they couldn’t lose. This isn’t new, but it’s not as old as some have assumed. Canadian homebuyers irrationally drove […]
Canada’s largest bank believes higher rates are a lot closer than most are hoping for. RBC senior economist Josh Nye is forecasting the Bank of Canada (BoC) will hike rates sooner than expected. The forecast is based on higher inflation and a recovery ahead of schedule. The economist is watching for a gradual reduction in […]
Central banks are flooding economies with cheap credit, and trying to prevent bubbles. Well, some countries are trying to prevent bubbles. Canada has decided home price inflation is an uncontrollable consequence of the environment. In fact, the country’s central bank welcomed the rapid home price growth as “needed.” That’s not normal. Not by a long […]
Canada may have elevated unemployment levels, but mortgage delinquencies are dropping. Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) data shows mortgage delinquencies for Q4 2020. The majority of cities, 26 in total, saw the rate of delinquency lower than last year. Only 5 markets saw the rate rise, as a combination of low rates and mortgage […]
Greater Vancouver real estate, once a hot commodity for foreign buyers, is losing appeal. BC’s non-resident homebuyers made a sharp decline in January. That might be a one-off, but last year’s numbers still show a modest drop in foreign buyers. There is an interesting shift in buying behavior though. Greater Vancouver is seeing a smaller […]
The consensus is work-from-home is temporary, but real estate developers might not be so sure. Statistics Canada (Stat Can) data shows construction investment reached a high in January. The trend is driven by residential construction investment, which reached a new record. Non-residential construction showed minimal growth, and is now effectively negative in real terms. Canadian […]
Time for your cheat sheet on this week’s top stories. Canadian Real Estate Canada Tried To Stop Real Estate Prices From Falling, And Created A Bigger Bubble When news of a global pandemic struck, Canada kicked into action… to prevent real estate prices from falling. By the end of March they started to cut interest […]
US Mortgage rates are climbing, and are up significantly from the record low a few weeks ago. Freddie Mac‘s Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) shows 30-year fixed mortgages hit a multi-month high for the week ending March 4, 2021. The lender said this is the highest average reading for the index since July. US 30-Year […]
Last March, the Canadian government sprung into action when news of a pandemic struck. No, not for PPE as you might guess. An email shows they rejected an offer from a major N95 supplier, stating “masks are not a priority.” If healthcare wasn’t the government’s top priority, what was? Preserving real estate prices, it would […]
One of Canada’s big banks expects cooling measures for real estate soon. Derek Holt, Scotiabank’s Head of Capital Markets Economics, sees the Spring Budget including cooling measures for real estate. In a note penned to investors, the economist highlights how policy has been overly loose. He feels the next budget likely includes measures to cool […]
