RESCON: Restrictions on foreign home buyers no longer make sense
Three years later, the circumstances that justified the policy on banning foreign home buyers have largely disappeared. Richard Lyall, Published Aug 07, 2026 By any measure, Canada’s housing market in 2026 looks very different from the one that existed when the federal government imposed a ban on foreign homebuyers in 2023. At the time, policymakers were searching for ways to cool an overheated market. Home prices were surging, affordability was deteriorating, and public frustration was...
read moreOpinion: Corporations renting out single-family homes? No problem
Lots of families who can’t afford to buy a house might still want to live in one. Why would anyone want to make that impossible for them? By Peter Shawn Taylor, Special to Financial Post, Published Jul 29, 2026 The Toronto Star and United States President Donald Trump don’t agree on much. That corporations shouldn’t rent out single-family houses is one of those rare things. In 2021, a Toronto condo developer announced plans to buy 4,000 houses and convert them into rental properties as a...
read moreApartment vacancy falls as Canada’s rental market begins to stabilize
National vacancy declined to 4.7% in the second quarter and rent growth slowed, even as prospective tenants continued to face a wide affordability gap. Written by CMT Team Real Estate, July 22, 2026 Canada’s apartment vacancy rate declined in the second quarter for the first time in more than two years, offering an early indication that the rental market may be stabilizing after a prolonged period of softening. The national vacancy rate fell 40 basis points to 4.7% in Q2, ending nine...
read morePopulation shift puts Canada’s rental and condo markets to the test
A sharp drop in temporary residents is reshaping Canada’s rental and condo landscape By Liezel Once, 17 Jul. 2026 Canada’s rental market is undergoing a structural reset, and the implications for mortgage professionals are playing out in real time. A new analysis by BMO Economics lays out the mechanics of a striking reversal: after years of population-driven demand outstripping supply, a deliberate pullback in non-permanent residents is accomplishing what years of supply-side...
read moreCanada’s housing-supply crisis isn’t over, new construction still needed, CMHC CEO says
Olivia Grandy, Published July 6, 2026 – Updated July 7, 2026 The head of Canada’s national housing agency says the housing-supply crisis is not over and new construction is still needed, but that a market imbalance has created an oversupply in some sectors, including the nearly collapsed condo market in Toronto and Vancouver. Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. chief executive officer Coleen Volk said the sharp drop in sales of new-build houses and condos in recent years is not an...
read moreThe state of Canada’s economy halfway through 2026
By Marc Desormeaux – Vice President, Policy & Economist, Business Council of Canada July 2, 2026 Around Canada Day, we often return to a familiar narrative: a country that weathers disruption, adapts, and ultimately emerges stronger. Indeed, after a mostly flat performance last winter, GDP data released this week shows that the economy rebounded strongly in the second quarter of 2026. Economists forecast above-potential growth for the remainder of the year as exports and investment...
read moreCPP Investments, Lendlease selling rental portfolio
$670M in net proceeds is expected to go to CPP Investments under the deal The Canadian Press, June 26, 2026 The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and real estate group Lendlease have signed a deal to sell their Elephant Park residential portfolio in London to Greystar. CPP Investments is expected to receive $670 million in net proceeds under the deal for the 904-home portfolio. Lendlease, an Australian firm, is expect to receive A$260 million. Since CPP Investments’ and Lendlease’s initial...
read moreCritics slam government plan to ‘bail out’ sagging condo sector in B.C.
Feds and B.C. government to use up to $3 billion to buy vacant condo units, turn them into affordable housing Katie DeRosa · CBC News · Posted: Jun 19, 2026 B.C. is facing a glut of empty condos. Thousands of Metro Vancouver units are sitting empty and some developers are facing insolvency. Now, some housing experts are questioning a plan by the federal and provincial governments to buy some of those vacant units and turn them into affordable housing. They say it amounts to a...
read moreCanadian Building Permits Fall As Multi-Family Demand Plunges
Daniel Wong, June 11, 2026 Canada’s slowing economy may be shaking the confidence of builders. Statistics Canada (StatCan) data shows building permit values fell in April. A drop in multi-family permits fueled nearly the entire plunge for residential, with non-residential also slipping. Falling permits signal a slowdown in the sector ahead, providing another data point highlighting Canada’s slowdown. Canadian Building Permits Fell Sharply In April Seasonally adjusted building permit values...
read moreCanada’s Deficit Plan Has Less Than 1% Chance of Success: PBO
Tiffany Greene, June 4, 2026 Ottawa is boasting of fiscal anchors, but the latest stress test is about to give taxpayers that sinking feeling. This morning, the Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) released its 2026 Economic and Fiscal Outlook, reviewing Ottawa’s fiscal projections and the probability of meeting them. The non-partisan agency found the federal plan stands up on paper, but it hasn’t quite developed its sea legs, pegging the odds of success at less than one percent. To Infinity,...
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