Canadian housing market maintains moderate degree of vulnerability
It looks like Canada’s housing market is finally balancing out, according to the latest Housing Market Assessment from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.
Canada launches $100 million program to support first-time buyers
The Shared Equity Mortgage Providers Fund launched at the end of July 2019. It’s a $100 million, five-year program managed by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation that will support existing SEMPs.
Mass timber construction could help increase housing supply
There’s been a lot of tension between the province of Ontario and municipalities, especially Toronto, but one piece of seemingly good news is the recent funding for a new mass timber manufacturing facility.
Tension grows as Toronto councillors threaten to slow residential development
Last week, councillors Mike Layton, Joe Cressy, and Kristyn Wong-Tam held a joint press conference and announced their “red light, green light” system for evaluating residential development proposals in their respective wards.
How cycling infrastructure impacts residential development
There’s a short-term plan for 2019 to 2021 and a long-term plan for 2022 and beyond. A major facet of the update is to identify all the existing, planned, and proposed cycling routes across the city.
OREA calls on political parties to ‘keep the home ownership dream alive’
With only a few months until the federal election, the Ontario Real Estate Association is calling on the four leading political parties to prioritize keeping the “home ownership dream alive.”
Should we be worried about the increase in mortgages with alternative lenders?
Government policy like the mortgage stress test was introduced to cool Canada’s housing market, which it did, but some buyers have decided to simply go a different route, and it could be bad for the overall health of the market.
Canada announces funding for green retrofits in Toronto and Hamilton
In a time when green programs are being cut in the country’s most populous areas, any bit of news about funding to improve energy efficiency is welcome.
Housing variety is key to improving affordability
There's a change in the air. There’s talk of prefab housing being piloted to combat homelessness. Laneway suites will soon be popping up across all of Toronto. Sidewalk Labs unveiled plans for mass timber building designs and prefab construction.
Ontario home prices need to drop more than $300,000 to be affordable for millennials
A new study by Generation Squeeze in Vancouver found average home prices in Canada need to drop by nearly 50% for a typical 25-34 year-old (let’s call them millennials) to afford an 80% mortgage on an average priced home. Or, their earnings need to double
