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Posted by: Dean Kimoto
Homebuyer sentiment appears to be improving across the country with major real estate boards reporting an increase in sales activity in February. On an annual basis, February home sales were up by double digits in Toronto (+18%), Vancouver (+14%), Montreal (+30%), Calgary (+22%) and Ottawa (+17%). While Toronto activity was down by 12% on a […]
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National Bank of Canada, the country’s sixth-largest bank, saw a rise in mortgage delinquencies during the first quarter, with the largest increases contained to its insured variable-rate mortgage portfolio. The bank reported the percentage of residential mortgages that are behind on payments by at least 90 days rose to 0.13% in Q1, up from 0.11% […]
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Still no recession in Canada thanks to huge influx of immigrants Real gross domestic product (GDP) rose a moderate 1.0% (seasonally adjusted annual rate), a tad better than expected and the Q3 contraction of -1.2% was revised to -0.5%. This leaves growth for 2023 at a moderate 1.1%. Monthly data, also released today by Statistics […]
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RBC’s executive team today expressed confidence in its due diligence of HSBC Canada’s mortgage portfolio during the $13.5-billion acquisition. The question arose on today’s first-quarter earnings call in the wake of whistleblower allegations of a mortgage fraud scheme at HSBC Canada’s Greater Toronto operations prior to RBC’s acquisition of the bank. The allegations were first […]
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The British Columbia government today unveiled additional details of its proposed house flipping tax that was first introduced in last week’s budget. The government said it plans to introduce the legislation in the spring. If passed, the new tax will take effect starting January 1, 2025. The legislation would impose a tax on any home […]
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The Bank of Canada is still likely to wait until mid-year before delivering its first rate cut, despite January’s downside surprise in inflation, economists say. Headline inflation came in below expectations with a 2.9% reading in January against expectations of 3.3% and December’s 3.4% pace. It’s the first time the headline CPI reading has fallen […]
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Canadian home sales continued their upward trend in january as prices fell modestly The Canadian Real Estate Association announced today that home sales over the last two months show signs of recovery. National sales were up 3.7% between December 2023 and January 2024, building on the 7.9% gain in December. The chart below shows that […]
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Canadian inflation falls to 2.9% in january, boosting rate cut prospects The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 2.9% year-over-year in January, down sharply from December’s 3.4% reading. The most significant contributor to the deceleration was a 4% decline in y/y gasoline prices, compared to a 1.4% rise the month before (see chart below). Excluding gasoline, […]
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When the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) announced that Canada would need an extra 3.5 million homes by 2030 to keep up with demand, the figure was already staggering. But a new report from CIBC deputy chief economist Benjamin Tal suggests the housing supply gap is even worse than first thought. In his research […]
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As Cupid readies his arrows for Valentine’s Day, a new survey has uncovered that high interest rates are taking their toll on Canadians’ romantic life. Nearly half of respondents said higher mortgage or rent payments have (35.2%) or may have (14%) negatively impacted their love life in the past 12 months, according to the survey commissioned by […]
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