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Addressing Social Housing Mismatches Amid Government Inertia
Canada’s social housing system is under strain. Most of the country’s social housing stock was built by the federal government decades ago, but development slowed significantly in the 1980s following federal program cutbacks. In the 1990s, responsibility for social housing shifted to the provinces, and many, including Ontario, subsequently delegated it to municipalities—many of which…
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U.S. Government Shutdown – What’s the Impact?
With Washington at an impasse, the U.S. government shut down on October 1, the start of the federal 2026 fiscal year, after Congress failed to pass a funding bill. While government shutdowns have historically been short lived, this one feels different. So far, markets remain unfazed. The shutdown presents two key challenges for the economy:…
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Rent-to-Own – A Pathway to Affordability
As the government focuses on expanding rental housing, one option stands out as a practical pathway to home ownership: rent-to-own (or lease-to-purchase) arrangements. These programs allow tenants to rent a home while preparing financially to buy it. Typically, the homeowner acts as the landlord, and the tenant occupies the property until they either exercise the…
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Signs of Strain in U.S. Consumer Lending
The U.S. auto sector is showing growing signs of strain. Tariff-related disruptions are affecting supply chains, while consumers face mounting financial stress, with auto loan delinquency rates reaching a 15-year high. The sector’s challenges are also evident in corporate failures: Tricolor Holdings, a subprime auto lender, collapsed, and more recently, First Brands Group, a major…
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Housing Affordability – The Near-Term Outlook
According to the National Bank Housing Affordability Monitor, housing affordability improved for the sixth consecutive quarter in Q2 2025. House prices fell 2 per cent from the previous quarter, the benchmark 5-year mortgage rate dropped 8 basis points and median household income rose 0.8 per cent. Seven of ten markets showed improvements, led by Vancouver,…
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Further Rate Cuts Likely
Last week, the Bank of Canada and the US Federal Reserve each cut their policy rate targets by 25 basis points. Below, we outline the rationale for these rate cuts and assess the likelihood of further easing, particularly as both countries face potential fiscal disruptions – a pending federal budget in Canada and the risk…
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REITs Aren’t the Villains — What CMHC Analysis Reveals About Rental Housing
CMHC has recently come under fire for its research on REITs and rent control. In this note, we’ll focus on the REIT side of the debate. Over the past few years, numerous reports have argued that housing is being treated as a commodity, with financial firms acquiring purpose-built rentals and managing them with a primary…
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