Time for your weekly cheat sheet on the most important stories this week.
Canadian Real Estate
Gasp! Canadians Might Have To Actually Make Enough Money To Buy Real Estate Soon
Canada’s banking regulator wants to put an end borrowers depending on equity to get a mortgage. Equity lending, the process of depending on “earned” equity for a mortgage, allows lenders to gloss over income verification. OSFI points to the Spring 2017 buying season, when 1 in 5 mortgages were over 4.5 times the household income. They also announced that it’s “taking steps to ensure this sort of equity lending ceases to exist.” The expected result is even further reduced market liquidity.
Uh Oh! Canadian Credit Growth Falls To Lowest Levels Since 199… Nope, 1983
Rising interest rates are really slowing down the amount of credit being issued. The balance of household debt reached $2.145 trillion in August, up 3.72% compared to the same month last year. That probably doesn’t mean a whole lot to most people, but it’s really low for Canada. Actually, it’s the lowest we’ve seen since 1983.
Canadian Real Estate Starts Fall To Nearly A 2 Year Low, Here’s Why You Care
Housing starts made an unexpected decline last month. CMHC, the Crown Corp in charge of housing, reported 188,683 starts in September, down 13.83% from last year. The number came in significantly below analyst expectations.
Toronto Real Estate
Toronto Detached Real Estate Sales Improve, But Still 2nd Worst September In 17 Years
Toronto detached real estate saw a minor improvement from last year, but that isn’t quite the recovery it sounds like. TREB reported 2,829 detached sales in September, up 2.7% from the year before. Meanwhile, inventory reached 12,042 active listings, up 8.99% from last year. That makes it better than last year, but still the second worst September in 17 years. The worst being the one we’re comparing it to.
Vancouver Real Estate
Vancouver Detached Real Estate Prices Drop, Sales Decline Over 40%
Detached prices are falling across Vancouver, as sales plummet across the region. REBGV reported the price a typical detached home reached $1,540,900 in September, down 4.5% compared to last year. The decline is likely due to softening demand, as there were only 502 sales in September. The decline in sales works out to 40.38% lower than last year, while inventory popped 10.28% higher. More inventory, less sales, and lower prices – that one wasn’t all that complicated.
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