Canadian housing starts are starting to lose momentum but they remain lofty. Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) data shows a drop in housing starts for September. Despite the slow month, BMO notes the trend is still moving higher, especially considering the environment. The slowdown is contrary to policymaker efforts to triple new home starts, […]
Canadian real estate demand has been so weak that developers are struggling to stay afloat. Naturally, the Government of Canada (GoC) sees this as the perfect time get households to take their shot at playing developer with state-backed loans. This week the GoC announced homeowners looking to turn an “unused basement or garage” into a […]
Canada’s planned builder boom is turning into a bust. The Canadian Home Builders Association (CHBA) released the results of its Q2 2024 survey. They found that home builder sentiment remained negative for an 8th consecutive quarter. As a result of weak demand, most plan to significantly reduce the numbers of homes they build—by half on […]
Finally, some good Canadian real estate news—though it’s unlikely to be a lasting trend. New data from the Canadian Housing Statistics Program (CHSP) at Statistics Canada (Stat Can) shows more new condo apartments were owned by end-users in 2022. As interest rates climbed, prices stalled and investors no longer saw the same return potential. Owner-occupants […]
Canadian policymakers are scrambling to make daily announcements of helicopter cash to stimulate building, but it may have the opposite effect. Statistics Canada (Stat Can) data shows building permit application values slightly increased in January. However most of the gain was lost to inflation, especially when it came to new housing—a segment that showed nearly […]
Not even record population growth was able to help new condo sales across Greater Toronto. A report from development research firm Urbanation shows new condo sales plummeted in 2023. It was the worst year for sales since the Great Recession, but that’s not all. The rush to build has left developers with the most unsold […]
The only bond stronger than a mother and its baby is the one between rising interest rates and the arson of new homes under construction. Commercial insurer Northbridge Insurance is warning home builders to look out for arsonists. In a letter this week, the firm explained they expect new home arson to rise as financial […]
Canada’s real estate developers are pushing forward despite less-than-ideal conditions. CMHC data reveals June housing starts made the biggest jump in a decade. Even with the jump, the general trend has been fewer housing starts, despite the booming population growth. At least one of Canada’s largest banks has stated the country’s goal to double output […]
Canadian real estate development got a mild sentiment boost, but it’s not what it seems. Statistics Canada (Stat Can) data shows the value of building permits increased in February, which it called “robust.” When looked at as just a monthly plot, it’s easy to see how that call can be made. Zooming out for a […]
Canada’s national statistics agency made investor-owned homes the subject of their latest data. Statistics Canada (Stat Can) took a dive through tax data to estimate the share of investor-owned homes in 2020. Confirming our observation last year, the data reveals investors scooped most of the new supply in the most affordable segment, at the expense […]
