Toronto, Ontario Archives - Synergy Mortgage

22Jan

Pandemic housing market to stay hot in 2021, but economists expect a hangover later in the year

[Financial Post - January 14, 2021] Much is dependent on vaccine outcomes, interest rates and buyer psychology. This year is forecast to be another brisk one overall for Canada’s housing market, but economists also see reason to believe that the rush for residential real estate will start losing momentum as 2021 drags on. The housing market “likely had its strongest year ever in 2020,” Royal Bank of Canada economist Robert Hogue wrote in a report released on Wednesday. Even with coronavirus raging, RBC [...]

Canada, COVID-19, Toronto, Ontario, Vancouver Real Estate

02Jan

Canada 2021 Housing Forecasts Call For A Boom … Or The Worst Crash in 40 Years

[Huff Post - January 2, 2021] Amid an unpredictable pandemic, forecasts for the housing market are pretty much all over the map. This could be the toughest year in living memory to make predictions about the economy ― especially the housing market. Amid the worst economic slowdown in decades, home sales and prices soared in many Canadian cities in 2020, along with housing markets in many other countries. The average house price in Canada has shot up by 13.8 per cent over [...]

Canada, Economic Outlook, Toronto, Ontario, Vancouver Real Estate

06Dec

Liberals planning national foreign buyers tax in bid to lower housing prices

[Financial Post - December 2, 2020] In this week's fiscal update, government says plan will benefit first-time homebuyers and put more homes on the market. TORONTO — The Liberal government says it will take steps over the next year to tax foreign homeowners who live outside of Canada as part of a plan to lower housing prices. It’s an idea that has been growing in popularity over the last few years in provinces such as British Columbia, Ontario and Prince Edward Island, [...]

Canada, International Influence, Toronto, Ontario, Vancouver Real Estate

05Dec

Why debt is still a four-letter word for housing markets

[Financial Post - November 10, 2020] One usually expects an increase in job losses to impact housing markets by triggering a decline in sales and mortgage debt. The COVID-19-induced job losses are different. Despite the increase in job losses, sales and mortgage debt have also increased in many cities across Canada. Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC) in a report released in October warned about elevated household debt levels and the implications for the housing markets. The report said that heavily [...]

Economic Outlook, Toronto, Ontario, Vancouver Real Estate

03Oct

Buying a home in Canada is suddenly substantially more affordable — but there’s a catch

[Financial Post - October 1, 2020] Don’t expect the income boost we’ve been seeing to last Buying a home in Canada hasn’t been this affordable in four years, but there’s a catch — actually more than one. According to RBC Economics' Housing Affordability Measure out this week the proportion of income Canadians need to meet housing costs (mortgage, taxes, utilities) fell 3.3 percentage points to 47.3% in the second quarter, the most affordable since 2016. Substantial improvements were evident from coast to coast with [...]

Canada, Toronto, Ontario, Vancouver Real Estate

23Sep

Home prices to drop, new report predicts — and even Toronto and Vancouver won’t be immune

[Financial Post - September 23, 2020] Moody's predicts prices for all housing types to fall more than 7 per cent The pandemic will punish Prairie house prices the most in Canada, but even hotspots Toronto and Vancouver will see prices drop on the back of rising rental market vacancies and lower immigration rates, according to a new report. Average single family detached house prices will fall by 6.7 per cent next year as the recovery stalls, economic stimulus fades and debt problems [...]

Canada, COVID-19, Economic Outlook, Toronto, Ontario, Vancouver Real Estate

30Aug

Sharp drop in foreign students and immigrants slowing real estate

[Vancouver Sun - August 27, 2020] House prices are more or less flat in Vancouver and Toronto, which are considered gateway cities for global migrants. Rental prices are softening in Vancouver and Toronto and housing prices are soon to follow as the number of new immigrants and foreign students falls sharply because of border restrictions aimed at combatting the spread of COVID-19. Average rents have dropped by eight per cent in Vancouver and Toronto in recent months. Hundreds of thousands of dwellings [...]

British Columbia, International Influence, Toronto, Ontario, Vancouver Real Estate

30Aug

A tax on home equity would hurt Canadians during the best of times — but right now it would be reckless

[The Star - August 15, 2020] Every so often, an idea comes along that is so out of touch and unfair that it unites pretty much everyone in their disapproval. Recently, the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) appeared to be doing exactly that when media reports suggested the federal housing agency is researching a new home equity tax on primary residences. According to reports, CMHC is spending $250,000 in partnership with the University of British Columbia’s School of Population to investigate [...]

British Columbia, Canada, Toronto, Ontario, Vancouver Real Estate

29Aug

Government is why housing in Canada is unaffordable and more taxes won’t help

[Financial Post - August 5, 2020] Opinion: A home equity tax would be but the latest example of politicians using housing as their personal ATM The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) is giving $250,000 to Generation Squeeze, an advocacy organization for young Canadians, to research ways to improve housing affordability. The group stated it will focus on “wealth generated by rising home values,” which incited fears the government is considering a home equity tax on the capital gains generated when Canadians sell their [...]

Canada, International Influence, Toronto, Ontario, Vancouver Real Estate

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