Home of the Week is home of the late designer Nike Onile. Ms. Onile redesigned the space in 2020.Angie Choi/Angie Choi
Here are The Globe and Mail’s top housing and real estate stories this week, with the lowest mortgage rates available in Canada today and one home worth a look.
The Bank of Canada keeps interest rate at 5%. Here’s what the decision means for the housing market
The Bank of Canada’s softer message on interest rates could give prospective buyers more confidence to jump back into the real estate market, writes Rachelle Younglai. With the busy spring season approaching, the real estate industry said the central bank’s change to a holding position on interest rates were an attempt to hold back the momentum that is building in the market after last year’s slowdown – the BoC has said a jump in home prices would pose the risk of higher inflation.
Opinion: Thinking of buying your first home in 2024? Stop trying to time mortgage rates
For first-time home buyers struggling with uncertain questions of potential future rate cuts – like when they’ll happen, how U.S. policy will affect our rates or what quantitative tightening might mean – it’s crucial to acknowledge that a crystal ball for mortgage rates doesn’t exist, writes James Laird. The truth is, no one knows the future of interest rates, and the most important thing is to ensure you have a stable personal life and sound household finances before jumping into the housing market. Otherwise you might end up having to sell sooner than you had planned – perhaps in unfavourable market conditions.
The Strathcona neighbourhood in Edmonton, Alta. receives some fresh snow on Jan. 21. The area has many high-density apartments and condos.Megan Albu/The Globe and Mail
Edmonton inches forward with new zoning bylaw
A new land-use bylaw came into effect on Jan. 1, marking a shift of the as-of-right zoning of single lots in residential areas to allow for multi-family dwellings of up to three storeys, as well as townhouses and row houses across Edmonton, writes Ximena Gonzalez. Residents hope the change will allow more areas to become more accessible and walkable. But the zoning bylaw alone won’t guarantee multi-family buildings will be built in these new neighbourhoods, experts say. City planners have seen an increase in developer interest, but say it’s too early to tell if there’s any upward trend.
Rob Carrick: If you’re a renter, your inflation rate is double
If you’re a renter, the 3.4 per cent year-over-year inflation rate from December sounds too good to be true. If you try out Statistics Canada’s Personal Inflation Calculator, you’ll see that it is, writes personal finance columnist Rob Carrick. Add the average one-bedroom rent of $1,922 plus $700 combined for groceries and restaurant meals and $60 for utilities and you get an inflation rate of 6.8 per cent. Economists predict more moderate rent increases later in the year as the economy slows, so the renter’s inflation rate should fall. For now, your inflation rate as a renter is double the overall rate.
Home of the Week: The home of the late designer Nike Onile a place of light, joy and comfort
The remodel of Ms. Onile’s 12-year-old, 800-square-foot Etobicoke condo was completed in 2021.Angie Choi/Angie Choi
1 of 13
The remodel of Ms. Onile’s 12-year-old, 800-square-foot Etobicoke condo was completed in 2021.Angie Choi/Angie Choi
2 of 13
The remodel of Ms. Onile’s 12-year-old, 800-square-foot Etobicoke condo was completed in 2021.Angie Choi/Angie Choi
3 of 13
The remodel of Ms. Onile’s 12-year-old, 800-square-foot Etobicoke condo was completed in 2021.Olu Onile/Olu Onile
4 of 13
The remodel of Ms. Onile’s 12-year-old, 800-square-foot Etobicoke condo was completed in 2021.Olu Onile/Olu Onile
5 of 13
The remodel of Ms. Onile’s 12-year-old, 800-square-foot Etobicoke condo was completed in 2021.Angie Choi/Angie Choi
6 of 13
The remodel of Ms. Onile’s 12-year-old, 800-square-foot Etobicoke condo was completed in 2021.Angie Choi/Angie Choi
7 of 13
The remodel of Ms. Onile’s 12-year-old, 800-square-foot Etobicoke condo was completed in 2021.Angie Choi/Angie Choi
8 of 13
The remodel of Ms. Onile’s 12-year-old, 800-square-foot Etobicoke condo was completed in 2021.Angie Choi/Angie Choi
9 of 13
The remodel of Ms. Onile’s 12-year-old, 800-square-foot Etobicoke condo was completed in 2021.Angie Choi/Angie Choi
10 of 13
The remodel of Ms. Onile’s 12-year-old, 800-square-foot Etobicoke condo was completed in 2021.Angie Choi/Angie Choi
11 of 13
The remodel of Ms. Onile’s 12-year-old, 800-square-foot Etobicoke condo was completed in 2021.Angie Choi/Angie Choi
12 of 13
The remodel of Ms. Onile’s 12-year-old, 800-square-foot Etobicoke condo was completed in 2021.Angie Choi/Angie Choi
The two-bedroom condo was previously owned by rising interior design star Nike Onile, who died in July 2023. In 2021, Onile completed a full remodel of the condo, a corner unit with southwest exposure so the light walls and pale wood floors suck in and reflect light onto the room. The kitchen is all done in dark black and slate slabs with dark appliances, and then flips to all white and light on the peninsula as it flows into the bright living space. Fellow designers say the primary bathroom was remade with Onile’s signature style. Slabs of grey porcelain surround a Moroccan-inspired bathtub, with subtle touches that add warmth and light to the room.
What do you think is the asking price for the property?
TORONTO – One expert predicts Ottawa‘s changes to mortgage rules will help spur demand among potential homebuyers but says policies aimed at driving new supply are needed to address the “core issues” facing the market.
The federal government’s changes, set to come into force mid-December, include a higher price cap for insured mortgages to allow more people to qualify for a mortgage with less than a 20 per cent down payment.
The government will also expand its 30-year mortgage amortization to include first-time homebuyers buying any type of home, as well as anybody buying a newly built home.
CIBC Capital Markets deputy chief economist Benjamin Tal calls it a “significant” move likely to accelerate the recovery of the housing market, a process already underway as interest rates have begun to fall.
However, he says in a note that policymakers should aim to “prevent that from becoming too much of a good thing” through policies geared toward the supply side.
Tal says the main issue is the lack of supply available to respond to Canada’s rapidly increasing population, particularly in major cities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17,2024.
OTTAWA – The Canadian Real Estate Association says the number of homes sold in August fell compared with a year ago as the market remained largely stuck in a holding pattern despite borrowing costs beginning to come down.
The association says the number of homes sold in August fell 2.1 per cent compared with the same month last year.
On a seasonally adjusted month-over-month basis, national home sales edged up 1.3 per cent from July.
CREA senior economist Shaun Cathcart says that with forecasts of lower interest rates throughout the rest of this year and into 2025, “it makes sense that prospective buyers might continue to hold off for improved affordability, especially since prices are still well behaved in most of the country.”
The national average sale price for August amounted to $649,100, a 0.1 per cent increase compared with a year earlier.
The number of newly listed properties was up 1.1 per cent month-over-month.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
MONTREAL – Two Quebec real estate brokers are facing fines and years-long suspensions for submitting bogus offers on homes to drive up prices during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Christine Girouard has been suspended for 14 years and her business partner, Jonathan Dauphinais-Fortin, has been suspended for nine years after Quebec’s authority of real estate brokerage found they used fake bids to get buyers to raise their offers.
Girouard is a well-known broker who previously starred on a Quebec reality show that follows top real estate agents in the province.
She is facing a fine of $50,000, while Dauphinais-Fortin has been fined $10,000.
The two brokers were suspended in May 2023 after La Presse published an article about their practices.
One buyer ended up paying $40,000 more than his initial offer in 2022 after Girouard and Dauphinais-Fortin concocted a second bid on the house he wanted to buy.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
