Canada’s spring real estate market is showing some green shoots but there are no predictions of a bumper crop. The Canadian Real Estate Association is taking some comfort from a modest 0.7% increase in home sales from March to April.  Nearly 427,000 properties changed hands, which suggests some stabilization, but activity is 4.2% lower than it was in April of 2025.  The national average home price rose 2.2% year-over-year and sits at a little more than $695,000.  However, CREA’s preferred measure of home prices, the MLS Home Price Index, edged down 0.1% from March and came in 4.0% below April of 2025.  Prices, which are…

As the 2026 federal census is being carried out across the country Statistics Canada has looked back through some past questionnaires and pulled out some enlightening information about Canada’s Millennials.  An intergenerational comparison shows 49.9% of millennials owned their home as of 2021, while 56.2% of Gen Xers did in 2006 and 55.9% of Baby Boomers in 1991. Millennial homeowners were less likely to live in a detached home than previous generations, and Millennials were nearly twice as likely to be living with their parents than Boomers were at the same age – 16.3% compared to 8.2% for the older generation.  For this study…

April ended with a busy week of financial news. There were three significant announcements.  The first was the federal government’s Spring Economic Update, delivered on the 28th. It contained a key development in Ottawa’s efforts to get more homes built. Six billion dollars is being committed to get more people into the skilled trades needed in home construction. The funding is designed to bring as many as 100,000 new workers into the building trades by 2031.  Other housing-related announcements in the Update were largely modifications or expansions of existing programs to reduce costs, modernize regulations, and speed-up construction.  Announcements two and three are…

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Despite rising oil prices and global trade friction, the Bank of Canada chose to once again keep its overnight policy interest rate at 2.25%. This decision is good news for those who thought the Bank would raise rates to combat recent oil-price-driven inflation but does lead to speculation about what comes next and when.  To understand the Bank’s thinking, we summarize its April 29, 2026 observations and outlook below.  Canadian Economic Performance and Outlook  After contracting in the fourth quarter of 2025, growth is forecast to have resumed in early 2026 Consumer and government spending are supporting economic activity, while tariffs and trade uncertainty…

The malaise that’s afflicting Canadian residential real estate has the analysts downgrading their forecasts. Inflation fears and concerns about interest rate increases appear to be keeping cautious buyers out of the market.  Slowing Sales  The Canadian Real Estate Association has tallied its first quarter figures and is trimming its estimates for this year and next. The Association is now projecting that the number of properties changing hands in 2026 will increase by about 1.0% over 2025, to 475,000.  That is a substantial pull back from the 5.1% increase forecast at the end of last year.  Most of the activity for 2026 is expected to centre on British Columbia and Ontario (Vancouver and Toronto). CREA sees these markets as having the…

Canada’s resale housing market continued to plod along in March dampening expectations for a springtime revitalization.  The latest figures from the Canadian Real Estate Association show sales came in virtually flat (-0.1%) compared to February, and with a 2.3% decline from a year earlier.  Home prices continued to ease as well.  The national average resale price fell 0.8% year-over-year. CREA’s preferred measure of prices, the National Composite MLS Home Price Index, marked its 16th consecutive month of declines, coming in 0.4% lower than February and 4.7% below March of 2025.  National prices were dragged down by declines in B.C., Alberta and Ontario which offset gains in other provinces, including Quebec and Atlantic Canada.  New listings edged down slightly (-0.2%) compared to…

Canada’s housing market is soft and the economy is sluggish.  Those two things are related and the key villain here is uncertainty. Mixed messaging from the United States, most recently as it relates to the Israel/U.S. war in Iran, is compounding global apprehensions about the erratic economic and trade policies of the current American administration.  That, in turn, is stoking inflation fears, which are pushing up bond yields and triggering increases in fixed mortgage rates. It is a long chain of events that appears to be holding potential homebuyers on the sidelines.  Rising interest rates have contributed to worsening affordability in 11…

The decision-making process at the Bank of Canada has become a lot less mysterious since 2023, when the Governing Council started releasing its Summary of Deliberations. The latest summary offers some insights about how the process works.  The war in Iran was top of mind for the policy makers at the Bank, but they decided they “should not lose sight” of other major economic issues as they make their Policy Rate decisions.  The bankers’ key concern continues to be inflation, or more precisely expectations about inflation. The war has driven up fuel prices which are a very high-profile contributor to inflation.  “Higher gasoline prices, combined with…

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The quiet start to the year in Canada’s residential real estate market continued in February. Sales dipped by 1.3% compared to January and were off by 8.1% from a year earlier, according to the Canadian Real Estate Association.  The latest CREA stats also show prices continue to moderate. The association’s preferred measure of pricing, the MLS Home Price Index (HPI), fell 0.6% from January and 4.8% compared to February 2025. The national average home price came in with a very slight 0.2% decline.  CREA expects falling prices to stabilize but Senior Economist Shaun Cathcart calls it a chicken and egg situation.  “Prices stabilize when the market…

Concerns about growing delinquencies and defaults have been nagging Canada’s mortgage and real estate markets since interest rates began rising nearly four years ago.  So far though, the dreaded “mortgage cliff” has not materialized for most homeowners who are renewing their loans.  But a problem appears to be arising on the seller’s side of the transaction.  It is not just those who are trying to hold-on to their homes who have fallen into financial trouble and gotten behind in their payments.  Some of those who “need to sell” are finding themselves so deeply indebted that the value of their property is not high enough to cover the costs of the sale.  They actually cannot afford to sell.  It is a problem that can add considerable complications and expense…

If you’re preparing to buy a home in Burlington, understanding the mortgage pre-approval process in Canada can give you a valuable advantage. This blog will walk you through how to get mortgage pre-approval, outlining the essential steps and requirements you need to know before you start house hunting. By equipping yourself with knowledge about mortgage pre-approval requirements in Canada, you can approach the process with confidence and avoid common pitfalls. Discover how a well-prepared application can help you secure your dream home faster and position you as a serious buyer in the competitive Burlington real estate market.

The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation is reporting that affordability challenges are spreading across the country.  Declining housing affordability, which became very pronounced in 2001, had been centered solely in Toronto and Vancouver.  Activity in these two big, active and expensive markets dragged down the national average.  But since 2020 the problem has expanded.  In six of the seven major markets CMHC looked at, affordability has dropped to “poor” status since 2020.  Along with Toronto and Vancouver they are: Ottawa, Montreal, Halifax and, even the long-time beacon of affordability, Calgary.  Edmonton continues to show “good” affordability.  CMHC’s new Housing Affordability Composite Index covers nearly 35 years from 1991 to the third quarter of 2025.  It looks at the cost of homeownership including…

The country’s housing market was stone cold in January and the Canadian Real Estate Association is blaming the weather – or at least the weather in parts of southern Ontario. Record setting snowfalls and ferociously cold temperatures appear to have kept house hunters indoors.   Seasonally adjusted sales were down nearly 6.0% in January compared to December. Still, more than 22,500 properties changed hands. The national average sales price slipped 2.6% compared to a year earlier.   CREA is not letting the weather cool its expectations for 2026 though. The Association is forecasting 5.1% sales growth and 2.8% price growth in 2026, driven by…

Things are looking a little better for Canada’s housing market this year, in the eyes of Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.  The national housing agency has released its latest Housing Market Outlook and is projecting modest growth in sales and prices for 2026.    CMHC’s baseline forecast predicts home sales will rise to 489,000 units, up from 470,000 in 2025.  The average price is also expected to rise, climbing to $698,000 compared to $680,000 last year.    Those numbers are in line with latest forecasts from the Canadian Real Estate Association.  The country’s realtors expect 494,500 properties to change hands (+5.1%) with an average…

Statistics Canada and the Bank of Canada have launched the new year with a pair of significant economic reports. As expected the central bank held its Policy Rate steady at 2.25%.  It is the second consecutive hold on the trend-setting rate. Right now, volatile U.S. tariff and trade policies, and the upcoming review of the CUSMA trade deal are making it difficult to predict future moves.  The BoC is not sure how long the pause will last or which direction rates will go once they start to move again.  But the Bank says it will act if the economic outlook changes significantly. “The…

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The Bank of Canada’s latest look at consumer sentiment suggests conditions are improving, but spirits remain low.  The central bank’s most recent quarterly Survey of Consumer Expectations shows those expectations were subdued in the fourth quarter of 2025.  Consumers remain concerned about high prices and economic uncertainty.  Much of that is tied to tariffs and the erratic trade policies of the United States.  Half of those surveyed think the worst effects on the economy or inflation are still to come.  Headline inflation, as measured by the Consumer Price Index, did increase in December climbing to an annual rate of 2.4%, up from…

Canada’s resale housing market got a little softer to end 2025.  The December report from the Canadian Real Estate Association shows sales dipped 2.7% and CREA’s Home Price Index (HPI) slipped 0.3% compared to November.  On a year-over-year basis, December sales fell 1.9%, with just over 470,000 properties changing hands.  The national average home price was virtually unchanged at $673,000 (-0.1%) but the HPI, which is the CREA’s preferred measure of pricing, fell 4.0% compared to December of 2024.  CREA sees the decline in prices as a possible indication that some sellers were making concessions in order to sell their properties by…