It might not seem like it, but Canadian real estate is in the middle of one of the most significant supply booms ever. Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) data show 2021 housing starts made a big jump. More importantly, the surge of new home construction is beginning to reach the market. New home completions […]
Canadian real estate has been the ideal tax shelter, but that might change soon. Generation Squeeze, a Vancouver-led non-profit advocating for Millennials, released its Solutions Lab report. The CMHC-funded (but independent) study has four suggestions for improving housing affordability. Today we’re going to dive into its most controversial proposal stirring debate — a progressive tax […]
Canadian subprime real estate buyers are scrambling to join the housing gold rush. Earlier this week, we discussed the sharp climb in subprime mortgage borrowers in Q3 2021. Today we’ll break the Equifax data down by city and show the highest concentrations. All but three major cities in Canada saw their share of poor quality […]
Canadian households have much bigger mortgage payments, even with cheap debt. Or maybe because of cheap debt? The average mortgage payment in Q3 2021 showed a big jump, according to TransUnion data. Instead of lowering payments, low rates have fueled record home sales and refinancing. The increased demand has driven home prices higher leading to […]
Canada’s housing supply is about to explode in growth as developers scramble to meet demand. Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) data shows new starts surged in November. Most of the building is in cities where existing-home inventory is under pressure from elevated demand. Urban starts of new homes fell just short of hitting another […]
Canadian new housing starts are returning to reality as cheap capital starts to ease. The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), the country’s state-owned insurer, reported housing starts fell in October. Housing starts are exactly what they sound like — homes that have started construction. The drop was large enough to be considered a technical […]
Falling Canadian housing investment is starting to weigh on new housing activity. Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) data shows housing starts fell in September. The drop comes after hitting a multi-year high earlier this year. Even with the drop, building activity is still elevated above historic levels. Canadian Housing Starts Fell To 271,000 Units […]
First it was Vancouver… then Toronto. Add Halifax to the list. Then Niagara, Hamilton… Woodstock? Don’t worry, I have no idea where that is either. Canadian real estate is now so frothy even the government can’t ignore it. The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) published its Q3 2021 Housing Market Assessment (HMA). In it […]
Canada plans to increase credit access for the country’s riskiest borrowers in the years to come. A re-elected government may not seem like change, but they promised a big one — larger insured mortgages. High-ratio borrowers will see an increase of up to 25% of their maximum mortgage size. Expansion of credit during a low […]
Canadian new housing supply is slowing, but no need to worry about a lack of inventory coming to market. Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) data show new housing starts slipped lower in August. It might be premature to worry they might be falling too low though. Starts are significantly higher than usual, and not […]
