Don’t worry, Canadians are still using their homes as ATMs. Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) filings show a new debt record in April. The balance of loans secured by residential real estate reached an all-time high. While the segment of debt is slowing in growth, it’s growing faster than national home prices. […]
Demand for Canadian real estate is picking up in some markets, but it’s still far from where it used to be. Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) data shows the sales to new listings ratio fell across Canada in April. Markets that underperformed the national price boom in 2017, now lead demand growth. British Columbia, once […]
Canadian home prices have been growing at a breakneck speed, and incomes aren’t even close to keeping up. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) numbers show Canada topped the house price to income index. Canada’s gap between house price and income growth grew so fast, it tops the list of high-income, advanced economies. House […]
All good times must come to an end, it’s just tricky to figure out when the end is near. Statistics Canada (StatCan) unemployment numbers show Canada made a big improvement in April. The national level of unemployment continues to fall. Unfortunately, the trend skipped the most expensive real estate markets – Toronto and Vancouver. On […]
The decline in Canadian real estate sales is hitting the mortgage market. Equifax data via the CMHC shows a large decline in the dollar volume of mortgages issued in Q4 2018. The decline is the result of fewer originations, that are smaller in size than previous years. New Canadian Mortgage Debt Issued Falls Over $27 […]
The IMF released its recommendations, after doing a deep dive into Canada’s economy. One key point was to not give into political pressure around real estate. Urging Canada to think long term, they advised against looser regulations or stimulus. The organization didn’t provide numbers, so we pulled a couple of data sets. Long-term, the impact […]
Canadian real estate markets are cooling down in almost every region. Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) numbers show the price of a typical (a.k.a. benchmark) home fell in April 2019. Despite some large annual growth in a few markets, only 3 real estate markets are printing new highs. Canadian Real Estate Prices Are Down Less […]
Canadian real estate owners may be hiding financial vulnerability using complex debt products. Bank of Canada (BoC) staff published a new analytical note examining new home equity data. The new data gives more insights into home equity borrowing, and how the debt is drawn. Out are traditional HELOCs, held separately from the mortgage. In are […]
Canadian real estate sales are stabilizing after last year’s massive drop. Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) numbers show a large climb for sales volume in April. The increase comes after months of negative growth, but may be more of a sign of stabilization. Last year’s decline in sales was the largest in over a decade, […]
A lot of gems in last week’s BC money laundering report, but the biggest one wasn’t about the province. The report’s numbers suggest one of Canada’s fastest growing industries is washing money. In an advanced economy with low but stable gross domestic product (GDP) growth, this is a big issue. The numbers show laundering cash […]
