Change is inevitable, and Canada’s housing market is in the midst of it with a busy spring sales season just around the corner, the federal government mulling new down payment requirements for investors, and shifting population figures presenting new challenges. Read about all that and more in Livabl’s weekly roundup of Canadian housing news and trends.
‘Tornado market’ Toronto gearing up for busy spring: After surging past Vancouver as Canada’s most expensive housing market, Toronto is set for a wildly competitive spring. The National Post digs into the factors that are leading some to call the GTA “Canada’s tornado market,” pairing historically low housing inventory with sky-high demand driven by increased immigration, the pandemic’s gradual easing, and a bevy of prospective buyers with mortgage pre-approvals who are ready to dive in.
Housing minister wary of deterring individual investors: The Globe and Mail reports the federal government is considering changes to down payment requirements for investors in an effort to boost housing affordability. But Ahmed Hussen, Canada’s minister of housing, said that while the government attempts to bring prices down from record highs it doesn’t want to harm “mom and pop” real estate investors who account for 20 per cent of the country’s home purchases and use those properties to provide much-needed rental supply.
Is expanding municipal boundaries necessary for GTA growth?: David Wilkes, BILD president and CEO, writes in the Toronto Star that the Greater Toronto Area needs to expand its municipal boundaries to accommodate future growth. He offers up three main reasons, noting that decreased housing affordability is the result of constrained land supply, environmental harm can result from confined municipal boundaries, and housing issues are having a disproportionate impact on young Canadians.
More Canadians embracing mortgage debt right up to the grave: Not only are fewer Canadians painting their front doors red to celebrate paying off the mortgage, fewer of them anticipate paying off the mortgage altogether, accepting the fact that they’ll be saddled with long-term borrowing into retirement and beyond. The Globe and Mail looks at how attitudes toward mortgage debt have shifted in an age of low interest rates and high home appreciation, with many homeowners opting to refinance mortgages or reverse them in order to remain in their homes longer.
Population growth compounds Yukon housing crisis: Yukon leads the country in population growth since 2016, rising by 12.1 per cent during that time to push its population over 40,000. However, the influx of newcomers has sent prices soaring (single-detached homes in Whitehorse currently average $656,800 and two-bedroom apartments run for $2,000 per month) and pushed the territory’s housing crisis from a simmer to a rolling boil. CBC News examines the state of the Yukon housing market and how it’s impacting residents.
