Canadians amass $200 billion in wealth from residential real estate in a single year
“Rising home prices have generated $200 billion in new household wealth over the past year alone,” writes Adrienne Warren, a Scotiabank senior economist, in the latest weekly Global Real Estate Trends report.

Toronto condo builders have taken conservative path to adding supply: CMHC
CMHC said that 94 per cent of the condo units under construction or completed had been sold at the end of last year, leaving about six per cent of units in the Greater Toronto Area unsold. Also read “Investor: ‘I believe the speculation hustle is over’“.

Downtown Toronto has lowest office vacancy rate in North America: CBRE
CBRE says vacancy rates in the office market in downtown Toronto have been going down since 2013, thanks to strong demand from tenants. That’s despite the fact that almost four million square feet of new space has come onto the market since then.

Toronto condo landlords find tenants in 17 days on average
Condos are getting rented out sooner as competition gets stiffer. On average, condo units listed on the Toronto Real Estate Board’s multiple listing service (MLS) system were rented out in 17 days, compared to 24 days a year ago — that’s a full week drop, Urbanation points out.

New condo construction in Toronto boosts housing starts rate nationwide
“Overall, June saw housing starts pick up pace in Canada, bolstered by apartment construction in Ontario – especially new condo construction in Toronto’s downtown core,” CMHC Chief Economist Bob Dugan.

Investor unperturbed by falling rental rates
“We’re still having incredible immigration in Toronto; 200-250 thousand people moving in every year and the builders just can’t keep up with demand.”

How public transit affects home values in Toronto
The Cosmos development is part of a residential building boom tied to Toronto’s new transit lines. These are the kinds of homes that planners and developers say will blur the line between urban and suburban living. Public transit access boosts property values, and is increasingly a must-have for GTA homebuyers.

New condo construction in Toronto boosts housing starts rate nationwide
High-rises have seen a renewed surge as buyers started looking for alternatives to the low-rise market, which has recently experienced bouts of record-low inventory.

Canadian homes are making more in a year on average than the people living in them
Comparing the eye-popping 12-month home price appreciation — this works out to $50,619 as of June — with the average amount Canadians earn a year, BMO Chief Economist Douglas Porter lays out just how quickly prices are rising.

Bank of Canada holds trend setting rate at 0.5%
Pressures from global volatility and slow growth in the wake of the Brexit haven’t deterred the Bank of Canada from its current monetary policy; the central bank has opted to maintain the overnight lending rate at 0.5%. The Bank Rate is correspondingly 0.75%, and the Deposit Rate is .25%.

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Average Canadian house price rose 13% to record $509,460 in May
The strong gains are largely tied to hot markets in Ontario and British Columbia, according to the numbers released Wednesday by the Canadian Real Estate Association. Stripping those two markets out of the calculations, the average price of a house sold in May declined 0.7 per cent in the past 12 months, and sold for $310,007 in May.

How the release of TREB home sale data might curb bidding wars
The recent Competition Tribunal ruling ordering the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) to make home sale data more accessible online could lead to fewer bidding wars in Toronto, says one real estate management professor at a major university.

Ont government snubs commercial real estate
Commercial real estate operators have been largely excluded from incentives outlined in the newly released Climate Change Action Plan (CCAP), even though they’ll soon be absorbing the flow-through cost of carbon emission allowances in natural gas prices.

Commissioner of Competition vs. TREB: What’s next
Competition Bureau spokesperson Taylor Bildstein says TREB is still required to fulfill its obligations within the 60 days prescribed in the tribunal’s order, unless TREB obtains an order from the Federal Court of Appeal within that timeframe temporarily staying the order.
The 14-page appeal document cites approximately 40 Grounds of Appeal, more than 30 of which allege the Competition Tribunal erred in its determinations.

Harmonized real estate data exchange pursued
Five prominent organizations have formed the International Real Estate Data Exchange Council (IREDEC) to pursue a harmonized standard in place of those now variously used in North America, the United Kingdom, Europe, France, Germany and the Netherlands.

Toronto housing boom unsustainable, Bank of Canada says
“Prospective homebuyers and their lenders should not extrapolate recent real estate performance into the future when contemplating a transaction,” Stephen Poloz said Thursday with the release of the bank’s semi-annual financial system review. It was a caution to consumers not to get caught up in the frenzied market conditions that see many GTA homebuyers bidding tens, sometimes hundreds of thousands of dollars, over list prices as demand continues to outstrip the supply of housing, particularly detached and semi-detached homes.

A quick look at changes to mortgage lending rules made by Ottawa in recent years
The federal government has moved several times in recent years to restrict mortgage lending. Here’s a quick look at some of the changes Ottawa has made since 2008.

Raising interest rates too quickly could ‘bring Canadian housing to its knees’
“The ultimate risk to Canada’s housing market is not higher rates, but fast rising rates,” warns Benjamin Tal, CIBC’s deputy chief economist, in a recent note.

Kitchener, Waterloo real estate sales surge as bidding wars break out
Ian Taylor is among an increasing number of local real estate agents who have noticed a distinct shift in Kitchener-Waterloo’s real estate market: more buyers and agents are coming in from the GTA and they’re bringing Toronto-style real estate tactics with them.

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Canadian Real Estate Association says September home sales down from August
The Canadian Real Estate Association said Thursday that home sales in September through its Multiple Listing Service were down 2.1 per cent compared with August. Also read “Home prices continue to grow“.

House prices in some GTA suburbs rising more quickly than Toronto: report
The biggest jump in the last quarter was in Richmond Hill and Vaughan. In those suburbs, prices went up 18.6 and 18 per cent compared to 17.1 per cent in Toronto.

Finance Canada closely monitoring shadow mortgage lenders, documents show
Documents obtained by The Canadian Press through Access to Information legislation indicate the unregulated mortgage market was among the topics discussed at a November meeting between the Finance officials, the Bank of Canada, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation and other key players.

Stephen Poloz says Bank of Canada not responsible for record debt
The bank’s main job is to fight inflation — not clean up any messes in the consumer debt market.

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Bank of Canada keeps benchmark rate at 0.5%
Economists had been expecting the bank to keep its trend-setting target for the overnight rate where it is now. A few believe, however, that another cut might be possible later in the year unless the economic picture improves.

Three words to sum up Canada’s economy: ‘Best. Recession. Ever.’
Outside of the hottest housing markets in Canada, and the slump in Alberta, the economy is holding up well. Also read “The Bank of Canada has officially begun its “wait-and-see” era“.

Average Toronto-area home sale price fell to $602K in August
Sellers market conditions remain with a tight supply of home son the market as we head into the fall selling season.

Google technology might be future of real estate marketing
Hi-resolution imaging and virtual reality systems might just bring Google into the real estate technology forefront.

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Toronto’s residential land prices reach new highs: ‘More condominiums coming’
Residential land prices increase with the emphasis on higher-density condo projects coming to market.

5 reasons why the market meltdown matters to all Canadians
The recent pull-back of stock markets around the globe could signify any number of future trends. here’s a primer on how it can affect you.

Drop in commodities brings deeper economic pain for some provinces
It’s feel like a recession depending where in the country you live. Also read “Home prices to rise despite economic slowdown: Poll“.

Bank of Canada: policies are managing risks from housing market strength
“The resulting strength in the housing market has increased household imbalances, but the risks stemming from these vulnerabilities have been well managed by complementary macroprudential policies,” Bank of Canada deputy governor Lawrence Schembri said in the prepared remarks of a speech. Also read “Housing market ‘collateral damage’ for BoC amid rate conundrum: Economist” and “Bank of Canada will cut interest rates again on Sept. 9, National Bank predicts“.

Are these Canada’s best property markets?
The list, compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), affiliated with the Economist magazine, can be taken as indication of which Canadian centres offer investors a steady stream of renters, regardless of minor fluctuations in employment and commerce.

New Template FINTRAC Training Materials
To further assist brokers in meeting their training program obligations, on August 24, 2015, CREA released an update to their template compliance manual that provides more detail on how to design a FINTRAC training regime.

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Risks To Canada’s Economy Are On The Rise, Bank Of Canada Warns
House price growth continues to outpace income growth and that could be the fuse that leads to a house pricing correction says the Bank of Canada, but we are on a better economic footing to absorb economic shocks. Also read “Should Stephen Poloz be more worried about the Canadian economy?“

Toronto condo construction heating up again, housing agency says
This key economic indicator is showing a jump from last month to a seasonally adjusted rate of 201,705 units from 183,329 in April. Also read “Dip in multi-family construction intentions“.

Average price of detached home in Toronto hits $1.15M
A new record is set in the GTA after a record smashing April. Listing remain far behind demand which is putting upward pressure on prices. Also read “West Vancouver home sparks bidding war, sells for $1.1 million above asking“.

18% of first-time homebuyers get help from parents, CAAMP says
The “bank of mom and dad” is helping almost 20% of first-time home buyers. Is this due to poor budgeting as these first-time buyers underestimate the price they will be paying for their home? Or is the overall affordability just not within reach? Also read “Mom helping son with down payment ends in family feud“.

Online real estate brokerage Zoocasa shuts down
Zoocasa will be closing down their operations June 22, 2015. Also read “Real estate website Zoocasa to shut down June 22“.

Fake Real Estate Bids Face Ontario Crackdown
July 1, 2015 is the day new regulations become law concerning “phantom bids” to combat the undocumented “there’s another bid on this property” that some unscrupulous brokers have been caught doing.