P.E.I. RENTAL VACANCY RATE THE LOWEST IN THE COUNTRY
In 2024, P.E.I.’s rental vacancy rate once again dropped to the lowest in the country. Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporate (CMHC) data, released on Dec. 17, shows that the province’s rental vacancy rate – the percentage of apartments and townhouses that were vacant – dropped from 1.1 per cent in October 2023 to 0.8 per cent in October 2024. P.E.I. has had the lowest vacancy rate of any province for five of the last seven years, although the province was tied with Nova Scotia for this...
read moreTHE END OF GROWTH? IMMIGRATION AND RENTAL INFLATION ARE SLOWING
Canada’s once unstoppable population growth is finally tapping the brakes, and the ripple effects are beginning to surface—most notably in the country’s rental markets. In a significant shift that could reshape the dynamics of Canada’s real estate landscape, the country has recorded the highest exodus of non-permanent residents (NPRs) since the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) began tracking this data in 2021. This exodus coincides with a marked softening of rental rates across...
read moreCANADIAN INFLATION SLOWS, MORTGAGES PULL BACK WHILE RENTS ACCELERATE
Canadian inflation slowed further last month, but the details show why few people may have felt it. Statistics Canada (Stat Can) data shows progress for the headline measure of the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which decelerated in November. The agency reported a broad-based slowdown, though half of the major components were still growing significantly above the target. One of those components is Shelter, where mortgage interest growth slowed and rents resumed acceleration. Canadian Headline CPI...
read moreLIBERAL HOUSING MINISTER SEAN FRASER RESIGNS FROM TRUDEAU’S CABINET, WON’T SEEK RE-ELECTION
Housing Minister Sean Fraser says he will not be running in the next federal election, citing a need to spend more time with his family. Fraser made the announcement Monday morning at a news conference in Ottawa ahead of a cabinet meeting and the fall economic statement. His announcement comes as Chrystia Freeland also announced she is leaving her cabinet post as finance minister. He said he came to this decision months ago, while he was recovering from a back surgery operation and was...
read moreJOBLESS RATE REACHES 6.8% IN NOVEMBER, HIGHEST SINCE 2017 OUTSIDE OF PANDEMIC
Canada’s unemployment rate jumped to 6.8 per cent last month as more people looked for work in a weak job market, shifting expectations toward a jumbo interest rate cut next week. Statistics Canada’s November labour force survey says the jobless rate last month reached the highest since January 2017, outside of the COVID-19 pandemic. The unemployment rate was 6.5 per cent in October. Meanwhile, the economy added 51,000 jobs in November, with employment gains concentrated in full-time work and...
read moreIT’S’NAIVE’ TO BLAST THE BIG INSTITUTIONS THAT PROVIDE RENTAL HOUSING, SAY DEVELOPERS
In the House of Commons last year, Vancouver East NDP MP Jenny Kwan lambasted the powerful “profiteers” that “financialize” rental housing. The Liberals, and the Conservatives before them, have long encouraged the creation of real estate investment trusts, commonly known as REITs, through which corporations “make a killing,” Kwan said. “Real estate investment trusts enjoy preferential tax treatment, and the seven largest REITs alone have saved a combined $1.5 billion through federal tax...
read moreLIBERALS ANNOUNCE 3% RENT CAP, WITH A CAVEAT
New Brunswick tenants can expect a promised three per cent cap on rent increases effective Feb. 1, but landlords will get some wiggle room, on a case-by-case basis, to help cover the cost of “capital renovations.” On Wednesday, Housing Minister David Hickey introduced amendments to the Residential Tenancies Act and its regulation to create a permanent rent cap but also to establish a process for landlords to seek rent increases above the new threshold. Under the proposed new rules, New...
read moreMAYOR CHOW PROPOSING BIG CHANGE THAT WOULD SEE BUILDINGS GO UP ALL OVER TORONTO
Mayor Olivia Chow has proposed a major change to the process of how housing is built in Toronto, one that would allow a new generation of buildings to pop up on major streets across the city. Chow is looking to implement sweeping as-of-right zoning on Toronto’s avenues that would allow for drastic changes in the city’s built form. Toronto’s development scene has been dominated by tall towers in recent years, but Chow’s new push to change zoning regulations could result in a more Parisian style...
read moreVANCOUVER WAS ORDERED TO BUILD 1,405 AFFORDABLE RENTALS OVER THE PAST YEAR. ONLY 313 WERE COMPLETED
Vancouver fell short of meeting the province’s housing targets for the last year, mostly due to a failure to meet the goal for affordable rentals, according to a report coming to city council. B.C. passed the Housing Supply Act last September, giving the province the authority to set a minimum number of net new units to be completed by municipalities over a five-year period. In Vancouver, the target set for the first year, from Oct. 1, 2023 to Sept. 30, 2024, was 5,202 units. In that...
read more2024 ONTARIO FALL ECONOMIC STATEMENT: DEFICIT CUT TO $6.6B, FEW NEW INITIATIVES
As the Ford government aims to advance an agenda centred around building Ontario infrastructure and jobs, officials have unveiled few new initiatives beyond what was previously announced in the 2024 budget as they slash the projected deficit by more than $3 billion. In the 2024 Ontario fall economic statement unveiled at Queen’s Park Wednesday afternoon, the government is currently set to run a $6.6-billion deficit for the 2024-2025 budget year as it’s on track to spend more than $218 billion....
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