OCTOBER JOBS NUMBER COMES IN BELOW EXPECTATIONS
Here are five things you need to know this morning: Canada adds half as many jobs as expected: There’s more evidence this morning that Canada’s economy is slowing, coming in the form of Statistics Canada’s monthly reading on jobs. The data agency says the economy added 14,500 new jobs in October. That’s a slowdown from the more than 47,000 in September and about half the 28,000 that economists were anticipating. It’s the weakest jobs number in seven months and brings the rolling 12-month tally...
read moreN.S. POLITICAL PARTIES ALL TRY TO MAKE AFFORDABILITY THEIR ISSUE
In the three years since Nova Scotia’s last election, rent and mortgage payments have risen, sticker shock has become a common experience at the grocery store and homelessness has skyrocketed. Tammy Brunet is one of the many Nova Scotians who is struggling in the face of those realities, and her experiences with housing and the surging cost of living are now shaping her interest — or rather, apathy — in provincial politics. Earlier this year, Brunet’s landlord told her she had to...
read moreTORONTO LANDLORDS WHO EVICT TENANTS TO RENOVATE COULD REQUIRE RENOVICTION LICENCE AS EARLY AS NEXT SUMMER
Landlords who plan to evict tenants to renovate their properties may soon be required to apply for a licence and provide additional financial compensation to the tenants they are displacing. City staff released new details Wednesday of a proposed bylaw that they hope will curb illegal “renovictions” in Toronto. The bylaw, which still needs to be approved by city council, borrowed elements from a similar one developed by the City of Hamilton, which recently became the first municipality in the...
read moreNEW BRUNSWICK ELECTION: GREENS AND LIBERALS MAKE PLEDGES ABOUT HOUSING AFFORDABILITY
Both the Liberals and the Greens announced plans to make housing more affordable if they are elected to govern on Monday. In Fredericton, Green Party Leader David Coon said his party would reform the property tax system to ensure residents are not hit by large property tax or rent increases. Coon said property assessments in New Brunswick continue to soar because they are tied to industrial rates, a system the Greens would change if elected. “No one should ever be taxed out of their home,”...
read moreCONDO INVESTORS PLAY A CRITICAL ROLE IN CANADA’S TIGHT RENTAL MARKET
Statistics Canada’s latest data drop exposes the hidden backbone of Canada’s rental market: investors. Condos built between 2016 and 2022 are increasingly investor-owned, quietly providing lifelines for renters in a housing market desperate for supply. While Toronto is severely lacking in purpose-built rentals, investor-owned condos are bridging a gap that would otherwise leave thousands of people without affordable housing. In the Toronto Census Metropolitan Area (CMA), encompassing the City...
read moreINFLATION, SUPPLY CHAIN AND INSURANCE: TACKLING CANADA’S MULTIFAMILY REAL ESTATE HURDLES
Josh Pillsbury, co-founder and managing partner of Summit Cover, describes a complex and evolving landscape in Canada’s multifamily real estate market, driven by significant demographic shifts and persistent housing shortages. According to Pillsbury (pictured above), the country is facing a supply crunch that is putting immense pressure on both property managers and real estate investment trusts (REITs) to meet demand. “Right now, we don’t have enough housing supply for, you know,...
read moreCALGARY BUILDERS LURE INVESTOR BUYERS
Amid a housing affordability crisis, new construction is essential to meet the demand of Calgary’s growing population. As home-ownership costs rise beyond the reach of many, investor buyers in the new-build condo market play an important role in securing a steady supply of new homes. Investor activity, however, can create significant challenges for first-time buyers, as competing interests emerge. “Developers need to cater to investors to get their projects off the ground,” says Natasha...
read moreHOW P.E.I. RENT INCREASES COMPARE TO INFLATION OVERALL
Rents were a major driver of the post-pandemic inflation surge on P.E.I., but a number-crunching exercise shows they may not yet have reached the point of being unreasonable — at least compared to how much it costs landlords to own the buildings being rented out. P.E.I.’s consumer price index rose 17.7 per cent from 2020 to 2023. A look at where the consumer price index breaks down to rent specifically shows an increase over that same period of 22.7 per cent. This led to complaints from...
read moreSASK. NDP ANNOUNCES PLAN TO ADDRESS RENT AFFORDABILITY CONCERNS
With an eye toward rental rates, the NDP has made another campaign promise — this time to bring 500 Saskatchewan Housing Authority units online within its first year in government and to cap annual rent increases. NDP Leader Carla Beck made the announcement in a downtown Regina park Tuesday morning, flanked by nominees and current MLAs. She said affordability has been the No. 1 issue expressed by the public during her party’s pre-election, door-knocking sessions in anticipation of the coming...
read moreNOVA SCOTIA PROPOSES EXTENDING FIVE PER CENT RENT CAP UNTIL 2027
Nova Scotia introduced a bill Friday to extend the province’s rental cap which currently sits at five per cent per year. The temporary rent increase cap, originally scheduled to expire at the end of 2025, would be in place until Dec. 31, 2027, according to the proposed bill. “The low vacancy rate in Nova Scotia is creating challenges when it comes to the availability and the choice for tenants to decide where they want to live and how they want to live,” said Service Nova Scotia Minister...
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