March 2019 GTA Market Report

MARKET SUMMARY With the first two months of 2019 behind us, there was no shortage of events fueling political and economic uncertainty in Canadian markets. From Jody Wilson-Raybould’s recent response to allegations that she was pressured by the Prime Minister’s Office to intervene in criminal proceeding against SNC-Lavalin to the ongoing extradition case of Huawei’s […]

York Region calculating rental demand figure to meet affordability targets

York Region Media wanted to unearth the level of demand and supply for rental housing in the region. The region’s population is expected to grow to 1.8 million in 2041, representing the highest growth in the GTHA, with an accompanying demand for housing stock. Yet it currently has one of the “lowest” supplies of rental […]

Boardwalk, Redwood JV on two-tower Brampton development

Sam Kolias, chairman and chief executive officer of Boardwalk REIT, said Brampton is an ideal centre for a purpose-built rental project. “We strive to create value in all parts of the cycle in multi-family communities,” Kolias told RENX, noting the GTA is in an “under-supplied, supply-constrained part of the cycle. “New supply is really needed […]

How couples can save for a downpayment and stop arguing about money

According to a poll by the Bank of Montreal, 68 percent of Canadian couples surveyed cited fighting over money as a top reason for divorce, ahead of infidelity. Buying a home together only raises the stakes — bank accounts are merged, couples are collectively preparing for the biggest purchase of their lives and are budgeting […]

Canadian home sales beat expectations in January

Home sales in Canada bounced back this January, leading an economist with one of the nation’s biggest banks to say the performance was “a bit better than expected” before predicting a year of stability for the national market. The comments appeared in BMO Chief Economist Douglas Porter’s response to the latest monthly sales stats from […]

Waterfront Toronto officials to face grilling in Ottawa over Sidewalk Labs plans

Two senior Waterfront Toronto members will be grilled in Ottawa on Thursday over concerns about whether the controversial Sidewalk Labs smart city project is really what Toronto needs. Meg Davis, chief development officer for Waterfront Toronto, and Kristina Verner, vice- president of innovation, sustainability and prosperity, have been invited to appear before the standing committee […]

This Canadian market has the second-fastest price growth in NA

Home prices in Surrey, BC have been rising fast over the past five years and the pace of growth has been second only to Detroit according to a new report on North American home prices. Point2 Homes says that prices in the city have been boosted by population growth and between 2013 and 2018 prices […]

Toronto home prices to creep close to 2017 all-time highs this year

The Toronto housing market is poised to nearly reach peaks reached in 2017, the hottest year on record for residential real estate in Canada’s biggest city. This sums up the year-end forecast from the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB). The board anticipates home sales this year will clock in at 83,000 units — surpassing last […]

December 2018 GTA New Home Sales Recap

There were 940 total new home sales in December 2018, with 136 Low Rise sales, down -5% from December 2017 (down -78% from 10yr avg) and 804 High Rise sales, down -1% from December 2017 (down -33% from 10yr avg). The New Home Benchmark Price tracks the average Low and High Rise home or unit […]

Multifamily building permits hit a record high in December

The total value of building permits issued by Canadian municipalities was up 6% (month-over-month) in December to $8.8 billion, with multifamily and commercial intentions taking the lead. Statistics Canada says that the multifamily sector was up 11.1% to post a record high of $3.3 billion. It was the fourth consecutive monthly gain for the sector […]

Canadian Shopping Malls Are Beating The Pants Off U.S. Ones

Here’s a bit of a surprise: The busiest shopping centre in North America isn’t in New York or L.A., as one might expect. It’s in Toronto — the iconic Eaton Centre. That’s just one tidbit of information from the Retail Council of Canada’s recent report, which shows Canadian malls are beating their U.S. counterparts on […]

Credit by text message offered by TransUnion

TransUnion has launched a new solution to enable lenders to offer a fully digital lending experience by SMS text message. As part of its Mobile Offers Now product, users can walk through the borrowing process entirely with text messages thanks to verified prefill capabilities. Starting with a text to a shortcode, customers are shown relevant, […]