Canadian real estate didn’t move much last month, but the data still hints at an interesting Spring. The price of a typical home slipped 0.3% lower in March. The month also showed a mild increase in sales, as well as an inventory pullback. Diving into more detail, the distribution is the interesting part—new listings began to surge towards the end of the month. CREA made a point to note the first week of April saw a flood of new listings. The question now is whether those listings can be absorbed by the market.
Canada was expecting its central bank to deliver good news for mortgages, but they got the opposite. The Bank of Canada (BoC) confirmed expectations by holding its key interest rate. They also warn that issues such as geopolitical tensions, have slanted inflation risks to the upside. Bond markets responded by sending yields significantly higher, applying pressure to drive fixed rate mortgage interest costs higher.
The US is Canada’s largest trade partner, so they tend to move together closely. This is one of those exceptions, according to BMO, one of Canada’s largest banks. The US has been on a tear, adding jobs and chasing massive economic growth. At the same time, Canada has seen rising unemployment, moving closer and closer to recession. As a result, Canada is expected to cut interest rates before the US, in an attempt to kickstart its economy. That puts a new inflationary problem square and center—a weaker loonie.
The Government of Canada (GoC) is announcing more demand-side stimulus for first-time buyers. In response to soft new home sales, the GoC will allow 30-year mortgage amortizations to increase potential activity. They’re also dramatically increasing the amount first-time buyers can withdraw from their registered retirement funds to provide a downpayment. The changes are good news for those selling homes, but risks concentrating the economy into housing even further. Especially the last part, since they’re literally encouraging people to withdraw retirement funds from capital markets and put it towards housing.
Canadians seemed addicted to mortgage credit but apparently higher rates were the cure. Residential mortgage credit at institutional lenders rose just 0.47% in Q4 to $1.8 trillion. It was the slowest quarter since 2019, and the slowest growth for any fourth quarter since 2008. Higher interest rates are working their magic—limiting what can be borrowed, incentivizing people to pay off their debt, and diverting capital to more productive uses. Don’t worry, experts see rate cuts coming soon and the universe will return to its natural state.
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.
VANCOUVER – Voters along the south coast of British Columbia who have not cast their ballots yet will have to contend with heavy rain and high winds from an incoming atmospheric river weather system on election day.
Environment Canada says the weather system will bring prolonged heavy rain to Metro Vancouver, the Sunshine Coast, Fraser Valley, Howe Sound, Whistler and Vancouver Island starting Friday.
The agency says strong winds with gusts up to 80 kilometres an hour will also develop on Saturday — the day thousands are expected to go to the polls across B.C. — in parts of Vancouver Island and Metro Vancouver.
Wednesday was the last day for advance voting, which started on Oct. 10.
More than 180,000 voters cast their votes Wednesday — the most ever on an advance voting day in B.C., beating the record set just days earlier on Oct. 10 of more than 170,000 votes.
Environment Canada says voters in the area of the atmospheric river can expect around 70 millimetres of precipitation generally and up to 100 millimetres along the coastal mountains, while parts of Vancouver Island could see as much as 200 millimetres of rainfall for the weekend.
An atmospheric river system in November 2021 created severe flooding and landslides that at one point severed most rail links between Vancouver’s port and the rest of Canada while inundating communities in the Fraser Valley and B.C. Interior.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2024.
