Happy Monday Morning! We received a rather horrifying glimpse behind the curtain this past week, as the number of unemployed Canadians reached levels not seen since 1982. Two million jobs evaporated in April, pushing the official unemployment rate to about 13%, nearly triple what it was a few months ago. Even more heartbreaking, these numbers are grossly underreported.  Per... [read more]

The economic impact from the Coronavirus will be one for the ages. The International Monetary Fund expects the global economy to shrink 3% this year, far worse than its 0.1% dip in the Great Recession year of 2009. Some estimates are pointing towards a $10 trillion hit to economic output, that's more than the economies of Germany and Japan combined.  The obvious reaction from policy makers has been to spend. Governments across the globe have already committed $8 trillion in... [read more]

Good read.  [read more]

Background When it comes to tracking trends in Canadian mortgage activity, data gaps continue to pose challenges. Using data from consumer credit reports, CMHC has analyzed different types of new mortgage loans. Here are the categories of new loans we were able to analyze using the data: New owners Repeat buyers Refinances Renewals with a new lender Multiple mortgage holders (consumers with multiple mortgages on their credit file) Renewals with the same lender are... [read more]

JANET MCFARLAND OCTOBER 26, 2017OCTOBER 26, 2017 Preconstruction sales of new low-rise homes fell 73 per cent in the Toronto area in September compared with a year earlier as the home-building sector faces major headwinds from the region's housing-market downturn. The Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD) said builders in the Greater Toronto Area presold just 352 low-rise homes in September – including detached and semi-detached houses as well... [read more]

As the cost of Toronto-area housing rises, so do the financing challenges for young adults. Report says $200,000 a year is the average income needed for a detached house in Toronto. It takes a six-figure income to afford virtually any Toronto area home — even a condo — and that expense is presenting a considerable financial challenge to an important cohort of millennial consumers. Separate studies from two real estate companies on Thursday paint pictures of the high income... [read more]

April 21,2017 the Government of Ontario announced a slew of measures, referred to as the Fair Housing Plan, intended to address some of the challenges facing the rapidly overheating housing market. The comprehensive set of actions is meant to take a multifaceted approach by helping cool demand, address shortages of supply, and promote affordability in the provincial housing market. Sixteen initiatives can be categorized into three broad buckets: Demand cooling: • A 15%... [read more]

~~Toronto’s unpredictable housing market stokes anxiety [read more]