Housing Targets – Ready, Fire, Aim
In an average year, Canada constructs 200,000 new housing units, including single family dwellings, condos, and other types of homes. Although the pace of construction has been increasing over the past few years, it’s not nearly enough to address affordability challenges and keep up with the demand resulting from a growing population. It is estimated…
Read moreHousing Markets Remain Resilient
After experiencing large swings over the past year, Canadian home sales appear to be stabilizing based on the latest data from the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA). Home sales activity was up in June in most provinces, with Newfoundland (+19.0%) and Nova Scotia (+7.5%) out front, followed by Manitoba (+4.8%), Alberta (+4.7%), and BC (+4.5%)….
Read moreWill Higher Rates Slow the Housing Market Recovery?
Employment rose by 60,000 in June with full-time employment up 110,000. Despite this increase in overall employment, the unemployment rate moved from 5.2% in May to 5.4% in June. While growth in employment is strong in all sectors, it was not enough to compensate for the new entrants into the labour force as the population…
Read moreAnticipating the Bank of Canada’s Next Move
The Bank of Canada is seeing the economy performing better than expected with inflation remaining higher than desired. The Bank moved off the sidelines last month and raised rates by 25 basis points. The question is, will the Bank raise the overnight rate by another 25 basis points this month? Below we look at the…
Read moreTaking Stock of the Affordable Housing Market
Following the Bank of Canada’s decision to pause interest rate hikes, the housing market has experienced a significant rebound, with sales and average home prices increasing by 21% and 13%, respectively. However, the June rate hike and the anticipation of future rate hikes threaten to temper market expectations and underscore the persistent challenges of housing…
Read moreCan Investors be Blamed for Higher Housing Prices?
The Canadian Housing Statistic Program (CHSP) has highlighted the activities of investors in the housing market. As we have noted, there are significant problems in how this data has been categorized. Investors include: governments for profit businesses individuals not resident in the province individuals resident in the province owning a property with more than one…
Read moreIs Another Rate Increase in the Cards?
After a string of stronger than expected economic data and firm inflation readings, the Bank of Canada ended its rate pause and hiked its policy rate by 25 basis points on June 7. This lifted the target for the overnight rate to 4.75%. Market expectations were relatively split on whether the Bank would hike or…
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