The federal government tabled its annual budget on Tuesday with a promise to open the door to homeownership for millennial and Gen Z renters. You’ll have to read the fine print to find measures for young renters who can’t buy a home — or just don’t want to. In her budget document, Finance Minister Chrystia … Read more
The housing market could soon get “interesting,” economists say, as home prices and sales start to edge up, according to a pair of new reports released Friday. In its latest quarterly Home Price Update and Market Forecast, Royal LePage is forecasting that the aggregate price of a home in Canada will increase nine per cent in the fourth … Read more
Consumers in Ontario and British Columbia increasingly missed payments on mortgages and credit cards in the fourth quarter of 2023, Equifax Canada said. The fourth quarter saw a continuation of what’s been happening for a while now as the impacts of higher interest rates and inflation continue to weigh on consumers, said Rebecca Oakes, vice-president … Read more
The first-time homebuyer incentive has been discontinued by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), the federal agency announced on Thursday. The deadline for new or resubmitted applications to the program is midnight ET on March 21, 2024, according to the CMHC’s website. Launched in 2019, the plan was meant to help reduce monthly mortgage payments … Read more
Renters are more likely to report a lower quality of life than homeowners, especially in Vancouver and Toronto, according to survey results over the last few years from Statistics Canada. In 2021 and 2022, renters were over 15 percentage points more likely to report difficulty meeting financial needs and over 11 percentage points less likely to report high overall life … Read more
After the pandemic hit in 2020, some business owners and households were hard hit financially as a result of lockdown measures. But at the same time, many Canadians saw their bank accounts grow because of their reduced spending. Those savings ballooned to over $300 billion and became so large that economists expected there would be … Read more
Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem says the central bank can’t solve the housing crisis with interest rates because the root cause is a supply shortage. Macklem faced multiple questions on housing affordability during an appearance before the finance committee on Thursday — one week after the bank yet again kept its key overnight interest rate at … Read more
It’s been a long time since economic data in Canada showed very much promise. The last 18 months have been defined by a cost of living crisis and a slowing economy. But a handful of economic indicators give us some hope for 2024. Inflation has slowed dramatically, and the economy didn’t actually slip into recession. … Read more
Nikkie Miranda feels stuck and frustrated, weighing what she’ll have to sacrifice when her rent increases again this winter. Three years ago, when she moved into a two-storey, three-bedroom semi-detached home in southwest Edmonton, Miranda paid $1,650 per month in rent. Her rent later increased to $1,800 and will go up again to $1,950 when … Read more
Nancy Paine’s short-term rental business is dead in the water. As co-founder and CEO of Victoria-based Superhost, Paine said she had been at the forefront of the Airbnb revolution for seven years, acting as a “liaison” for homeowners needing help with the logistics of running a listing on the accommodation site. At the peak of … Read more
