COVID-19 Archives - Page 4 of 6

29Aug

Mortgage insurers cool to extending six-month pandemic payment deferrals

[Financial Post - August 14, 2020] Concerns about what happens if the debt holiday ends before the economy bounces back More than 760,000 borrowers have deferred or skipped a mortgage payment during the pandemic, which is equal to around 16 per cent of mortgages in bank portfolios, according to the Canadian Bankers Association. Homeowners counting on mortgage payments being deferred beyond the six-month break they have received during the pandemic might want to reconsider, as home-loan insurers that have permitted postponements appear [...]

COVID-19, Economic Outlook

29Aug

Physical distancing is changing how we use our homes, backyards and public spaces. Designers are taking note

[Globe and Mail - August 8, 2020] In early April, about a month into the COVID-19 lockdown, Daniel Rotsztain, an artist, writer and cartographer living in Toronto, built what he calls a “social distance machine". Imagine a giant hula hoop, jutting two metres in all directions, worn around the neck like an Elizabethan collar, minus the Shakespearean ruffles. As Rotsztain filmed, his friend Bobby Gadda donned the contraption and tried to walk around downtown streets, sidewalks and parks. Invariably, his device bumped [...]

COVID-19, Home Design + Decor, Remodel + Renovation

28Aug

After a record-breaking summer, Canadian real estate braces for autumn uncertainty

[CTV News - August 20, 2020] TORONTO -- Canada's housing market shattered records in July despite the economic uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic -- and with the usually busy fall real estate season drawing near, experts are divided about whether the boom will continue. Last month marked the highest monthly sales figure on record, the Canadian Real Estate Association reported, while the national average sales price jumped to a record $571,500. Part of the fuel behind rising prices has been driven by [...]

Canada, COVID-19, Economic Outlook

28Aug

Canadian home sales, prices hit record high in July as low mortgage rates drive buyers into market

[Globe and Mail - August 17, 2020] Canadian home sales and prices surged to a record high in July, as buyers flooded the market and took advantage of low mortgage rates after the coronavirus pandemic briefly slowed activity in the spring. The number of homes sold jumped 26 per cent on a seasonally adjusted basis from June to July, according to the Canadian Real Estate Association, with Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver soaring along with surrounding regions such as Hamilton-Burlington in Ontario [...]

Canada, COVID-19, Economic Outlook, Toronto, Ontario

21Aug

Here’s What Canada’s Mortgage Deferral Cliff Looks Like, And Why Experts Are Worried

[Better Dwelling - August 21, 2020] Canadian real estate buyers are jumping in head first, since the recession didn’t impact housing. However, since the beginning of the pandemic, experts said no issues would be apparent until the end of the year. The reason is a term only finance and banking nerds have been using – the deferral cliff. The deferral cliff is the expiration of programs that bought distressed owners a few extra months. Until the deferral cliff arrives, we [...]

COVID-19, Economic Outlook

08Aug

Real-estate spin torques the reality of home sales in a COVID-19 world

[Vancouver Sun - August 7, 2020] You can be forgiven for feeling perplexed about what’s happening to Metro Vancouver’s real-estate market after almost six months of COVID-19 anxiety and varying degrees of lockdown. The spin coming from the real-estate industry is bewildering — with some realtors saying the market is “hot” and “fantastic.” Some agents say B.C. buyers are “jumping in with both feet,” activity is “up dramatically,” numbers are “record setting” and prices are “20 per cent higher year over [...]

COVID-19, Economic Outlook, Vancouver Real Estate

16Jul

Bank of Canada holds key interest rate, forecasts GDP decline

[CTV - July 15, 2020] OTTAWA -- The Bank of Canada will keep its key interest rate at 0.25 per cent until the national economic picture improves, which governor Tiff Macklem said Wednesday will take "a long time." Low interest rates are meant to help households and businesses recover from the COVID-19 pandemic by making borrowing relatively inexpensive. Macklem noted the unusual clarity the central bank provided on the path for its key rate, owing to the unusual level of uncertainty facing Canadians [...]

Bank of Canada announcements, COVID-19

01Jul

Posthaste: Here are three promising data points that show the Canadian economy is ready to rebound

[Financial Post - June 3, 2020] Rays (plural) of good news are piercing through the gloom surrounding the Canadian economy. And not surprisingly, the country’s resilient housing sector is among the first to report a rebound. Home sales jumped 53.2 per cent in May month-over-month, suggesting that April’s dramatic plunge in sales may have been the market’s low point. Another crucial statistic was new listings that rose 47.5 per cent during May, compared to April, according to the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board. The [...]

COVID-19, Economic Outlook

01Jul

Reopening Canada: The economy survived the crash, but making it thrive again will depend on all of us

[Financial Post - June 25, 2020] 'Fundamentally, humans are scrappy and resourceful when faced with crises,' one small-business owner says “We survived.” Chrissy Durcak, chief executive and founder of Montreal-based Dispatch Coffee, was talking about her company, but she could have been talking about the broader economy, too. In April, the COVID-19 crisis was so terrible that the Bank of Canada couldn’t rule out the possibility that we were in the early stages of a depression. While not its base case, the central [...]

Canada, COVID-19, Economic Outlook

01Jul

Canadian Real Estate and the New Mortgage Rules

[Re/Max - July 1, 2020] Canadian real estate has been a tough nut to crack for some homebuyers, and those with less than 20 per cent as a down payment now face another challenge, with Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.’s (CMHC) tighter qualification rules for borrowers of high-ratio mortgages. This move is in response to the global pandemic that has left many Canadians vulnerable. The changes, which include lower debt thresholds and higher credit ratings, are in effect as of [...]

COVID-19, Economic Outlook, Mortgage Education Centre