Canada’s central bank didn’t just dismiss concerns about the hot real estate market, but welcomed them. Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem dismissed the need for cooling measures during a media Q&A . Macklem said, “I think right now the economy is weak… I think we need the support.”
The governor repeated, “we need the growth we can get [from real estate].” In other words, Canada’s economy has become so dependent on real estate, it has no choice but to embrace the issue.
Bonds are normally boring, but a big swing makes this an exception – especially for real estate. The Bank of Canada’s 5-year benchmark bond influences 5-year fixed mortgage rates. The yield of that bond reached 0.94% on Thursday, increasing a whole 20 bps from a day before. Yields are now up 59.15% from a week before, and double a month before. They’re also about 3x from last year’s lows in August.
How does that influence mortgage rates? The 5-year fixed mortgage competes for the same capital. If the 5-year benchmark rises, mortgage rates are likely to rise as well. Rising bond rates also tend to reflect increased inflation risk. This could send other types of mortgage rates higher as well. Just in time to provide a cooling measure for the spring market.
The pandemic is slowing Canada’s population growth, but builders are still on time with deliveries. Builders delivered an unprecedented 18.41 homes per person the population grew by in Q4 2020. This is up from a record quarter of 2.26 homes per person in the previous quarters.
Over the past year, there was a new home completed for 95% of the population growth. Considering homes on average are occupied by 2.9 people on average, it’s a lot of supply. Pressure on home prices to rise should be released, but it’s not. It’s actually accelerating. That would be because once prices are no longer based on fundamentals, they no longer respond to them.
Canada’s consumer price index (CPI) is much higher when mortgage interest is excluded. CPI increased 0.58% in January, up 1.02% from a year before. When excluding mortgage interest, it rises 0.72% for the month, and is 1.30% higher. CPI has been extremely volatile during the pandemic, and this is just another example. If you didn’t refinance your home in the past year, your cost of living is 30% higher than the government thinks it is.
Canadian home equity lines of credit (HELOC) balances saw minor growth. The outstanding balance reached $2.59 billion in December, up 1.58% from a year before. The monthly drop was the biggest for the segment since 1992, and annual growth was the slowest since 2015. Great for households to minimize credit growth during a period of uncertainty. Bad for the economy, since it’s become so heavily dependent on credit growth to operate.
Canadian mortgage debt is growing at the fastest pace in over a decade. The balance of mortgage credit reached $1.66 trillion in December, up 7.67% from a year before. This marks the 22nd consecutive month of annual growth accelerating. This is also the highest rate of growth since 2010, over a decade ago. To put that number in context, mortgage debt over the past 12 months grew by over 6% of GDP.
A few days before our above column on soaring yields, we noticed yields were positioning to climb. The 5-year GOC benchmark bond yield reached 0.59% on February 18, 2021 – an increase of 17 bps from a month before. This was enough to watch the bump. A couple days after this article was written, yields bumped 20 bps higher in a single day. Some mortgage lenders have already announced higher 5-year fixed rates. The rest are likely to follow over the next few days.
Data from Canada’s national statistics agency shows commercial real estate isn’t uniformly impacted. Commercial retail rents have fallen 3.96% in Q4 2020, bringing them 6.14% lower than a year before. Office rents climbed 0.49% in the same quarter, and are now up 1.29% from a year before though. Retail rents are at a multi-year low, while office rents just printed an all-time high. An unusual dynamic, considering office rents are bucking the work-from-home trend, while retail is feeling the full brunt.
Canada’s largest bank widened the spread of their best and worst case scenario. RBC’s best case for real estate is the benchmark price rising 8% over the next 12 months. This is an increase of 2 points compared to the previous quarterly forecast. The downside remained the same though, with a worst case of 29.6% in this scenario. A positive revision across the board would have been a good thing. However, the worst case staying the same means a wider range of outcomes. This means more uncertainty is being considered.
Greater Toronto new home sales are ripping higher, but the city is being left behind. There are 2,171 new home sales in January, up 4.43% from the same year before. The modest increase was despite a 40% drop in new home sales for Toronto. The suburb of Durham more than picked up the slack, with sales in the region rising 301% from last year, and 876% from a year before. The flight from the city has spread to new homes.
New Zealand’s government will require the central bank to consider affordability in policy. The government stated housing is a “critical component of a sustainable and inclusive economy, and promotes the maintenance of a sound and efficient financial system.”
To ensure they can accomplish this, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand has requested new tools. One of those tools is the ability to utilize debt-to-income ratio limits. Both the government and central bank didn’t mince words, openly stating these measures are to target investors. The government is expected to announce further measures in the coming weeks.
TORONTO – The Toronto Regional Real Estate Board says home sales in October surged as buyers continued moving off the sidelines amid lower interest rates.
The board said 6,658 homes changed hands last month in the Greater Toronto Area, up 44.4 per cent compared with 4,611 in the same month last year. Sales were up 14 per cent from September on a seasonally adjusted basis.
The average selling price was up 1.1 per cent compared with a year earlier at $1,135,215. The composite benchmark price, meant to represent the typical home, was down 3.3 per cent year-over-year.
“While we are still early in the Bank of Canada’s rate cutting cycle, it definitely does appear that an increasing number of buyers moved off the sidelines and back into the marketplace in October,” said TRREB president Jennifer Pearce in a news release.
“The positive affordability picture brought about by lower borrowing costs and relatively flat home prices prompted this improvement in market activity.”
The Bank of Canada has slashed its key interest rate four times since June, including a half-percentage point cut on Oct. 23. The rate now stands at 3.75 per cent, down from the high of five per cent that deterred many would-be buyers from the housing market.
New listings last month totalled 15,328, up 4.3 per cent from a year earlier.
In the City of Toronto, there were 2,509 sales last month, a 37.6 per cent jump from October 2023. Throughout the rest of the GTA, home sales rose 48.9 per cent to 4,149.
The sales uptick is encouraging, said Cameron Forbes, general manager and broker for Re/Max Realtron Realty Inc., who added the figures for October were stronger than he anticipated.
“I thought they’d be up for sure, but not necessarily that much,” said Forbes.
“Obviously, the 50 basis points was certainly a great move in the right direction. I just thought it would take more to get things going.”
He said it shows confidence in the market is returning faster than expected, especially among existing homeowners looking for a new property.
“The average consumer who’s employed and may have been able to get some increases in their wages over the last little bit to make up some ground with inflation, I think they’re confident, so they’re looking in the market.
“The conditions are nice because you’ve got a little more time, you’ve got more choice, you’ve got fewer other buyers to compete against.”
All property types saw more sales in October compared with a year ago throughout the GTA.
Townhouses led the surge with 56.8 per cent more sales, followed by detached homes at 46.6 per cent and semi-detached homes at 44 per cent. There were 33.4 per cent more condos that changed hands year-over-year.
“Market conditions did tighten in October, but there is still a lot of inventory and therefore choice for homebuyers,” said TRREB chief market analyst Jason Mercer.
“This choice will keep home price growth moderate over the next few months. However, as inventory is absorbed and home construction continues to lag population growth, selling price growth will accelerate, likely as we move through the spring of 2025.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2024.
HALIFAX – A village of tiny homes is set to open next month in a Halifax suburb, the latest project by the provincial government to address homelessness.
Located in Lower Sackville, N.S., the tiny home community will house up to 34 people when the first 26 units open Nov. 4.
Another 35 people are scheduled to move in when construction on another 29 units should be complete in December, under a partnership between the province, the Halifax Regional Municipality, United Way Halifax, The Shaw Group and Dexter Construction.
The province invested $9.4 million to build the village and will contribute $935,000 annually for operating costs.
Residents have been chosen from a list of people experiencing homelessness maintained by the Affordable Housing Association of Nova Scotia.
They will pay rent that is tied to their income for a unit that is fully furnished with a private bathroom, shower and a kitchen equipped with a cooktop, small fridge and microwave.
The Atlantic Community Shelters Society will also provide support to residents, ranging from counselling and mental health supports to employment and educational services.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 24, 2024.
Housing affordability is a key issue in the provincial election campaign in British Columbia, particularly in major centres.
Here are some statistics about housing in B.C. from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s 2024 Rental Market Report, issued in January, and the B.C. Real Estate Association’s August 2024 report.
Average residential home price in B.C.: $938,500
Average price in greater Vancouver (2024 year to date): $1,304,438
Average price in greater Victoria (2024 year to date): $979,103
Average price in the Okanagan (2024 year to date): $748,015
Average two-bedroom purpose-built rental in Vancouver: $2,181
Average two-bedroom purpose-built rental in Victoria: $1,839
Average two-bedroom purpose-built rental in Canada: $1,359
Rental vacancy rate in Vancouver: 0.9 per cent
How much more do new renters in Vancouver pay compared with renters who have occupied their home for at least a year: 27 per cent
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2024.
