Suburbs Vs Downtown: Toronto’s Mixed Housing Market May Signal Coming Trend
Toronto home prices are falling, but not everywhere.
The median home price in the greater Toronto area has slipped 8.9% in the last two months under the weight of back-to-back Bank of Canada rate hikes. This followed a 54.5% surge in two years to a record median home price of C$1.2 million ($930,160) in February.
Those pandemic gains propelled Toronto into the No. 2 spot on the UBS real estate bubble index.
But the declines are masking the resilience of Toronto’s core, where the median price has not fallen but rather climbed 5.2% from February to April.
Read More: https://globalnews.ca/news/8942057/canada-housing-supply-affordability-cmhc
Cadillac Fairview Advances 44-Storey Office Tower as Phase 1 at East Harbour
The 114,586m² office tower would include a six-storey podium clad with frosted glass, and would present a series of step-backs to frame the planned East Harbour Plaza to the south of the building. The podium is proposed to include approximately 2,297m² of retail space, located within the ground floor and mezzanine levels.
The previously submitted master plan for East Harbour presents a mixed-use vision for the redevelopment of the 15-hectare former industrial lands situated east of the Don River and north of Lake Shore Boulevard. Cadillac Fairview proposes that the lands would be turned into an office, retail, recreational, and residential transit-oriented community that would become an urban destination. The public realm is proposed to made up of parks and open spaces, and fitted with a pedestrian-oriented street network that would flow from the new transit hub.
Canada needs ‘all hands on deck’ to fill housing supply gap: CMHC
Canada’s current pace of homebuilding will see the country face a gap of 3.5 million units by 2030, falling well short of the bar for housing affordability, according to a new report.
The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC) published its latest analysis on Canada’s housing stock challenges Thursday.
The agency projects that Canada will add an additional 2.1 million housing units between 2021 and 2030, hitting a total stock of 19 million homes nationally.
But that will be well short of enough units to make housing affordable for all Canadians, the CMHC said.
Read More: https://globalnews.ca/news/8942057/canada-housing-supply-affordability-cmhc/
At least 20% of Canadian MPs hold rental, investment real estate amid housing crunch
At least 65 Canadian members of Parliament hold rental or investment real estate assets, according to their filings with the federal conflict of interest commissioner.
However, that number may actually be much higher because 91 MPs either have not yet completed their disclosure process or the conflict of interest commissioner’s office hasn’t yet published their filings.
All of that is legal and all of the MPs disclosing the assets have fulfilled their duties under Canadian conflict of interest laws to report their assets to the federal conflict of interest commissioner.
Read More: https://globalnews.ca/news/8767051/canadian-mp-real-estate-investment-amid-housing-crunch/
Prince Edward County council clarifies short term accommodation by-law
Prince Edward County council has rescinded the old by-law concerning short term accommodations and replaced it with a new, more clear by-law.
At Tuesday’s council meeting, council discussed a staff report regarding the lack of clarity on the current STA by-law with regards to how it differentiates whole home, owner occupied and bed & breakfasts.
The issue with the lack of definition between the three led to problems with how they’re regulated differently.
The staff report recommended that council rescind the old by-law, enacted in 2019, and approve the new by-law which has clear definitions of the three types and language changes in the regulations to eliminate any ambiguity in enforcing them.
New home price growth cools in April as residential construction activity stays high
The price of a new home in Canada rose again in April, but to a lesser extent compared to previous months.
Last month, new home prices “showed some signs of cooling,” as they increased 0.3 per cent month-over-month according to the April New Housing Price Index (NHPI) published by Statistics Canada. This is a slowdown from the average increase of 1.1 per cent that was recorded during the first three months of 2022.
On a yearly basis, new home prices increased 9.4 per cent in April, the smallest growth rate since March 2021.
The NHPI monitors changes in selling prices for new residential homes over time, and is applicable to new single-family homes, semi-detached residences and townhomes in Canada.
Read More: https://www.livabl.com/2022/05/new-home-price-cools-april.html
LiUNA Strike Shuts Down Residential Construction Sites Across the GTA
Earlier this week, members of Labourers’ International Union of North America (LiUNA) Local 183 rejected contract proposals, and opted to initiate strike action. The union released an official statement on Monday that came with a call to bring the Residential Construction Council of Ontario (RESCON) back to the bargaining table.
Approximately 15,000 skilled construction workers from six sectors including high-rise forming, self-levelling forming, tile, railing, carpet, and hardwood installers have walked off the job in hopes of a new agreement.
LiUNA is requesting wage increases for its workers, and is arguing that the terms of some contracts – specifically for concrete forming – were written nearly 30 years ago, and that the new agreements need to take into account the rising inflation rates and the increase in the cost of housing that we all – including trades workers – are subject to today.
CIBC Capital Markets – The Week Ahead (May 16 – 20)
Finally, the Canadian labour market feels a bit more normal. The 15k jobs created in April were in line with the pre-Covid pace of hiring. The level of employment is more or less where it would have been if Covid hadn’t happened. Ditto for the unemployment rate, the participation rate, and many other labour market variables that only economists get excited about. But, as usual, the headline numbers mask plenty of interesting stuff. Behind the scenes, Covid has triggered a transformation of historic proportions in the composition of the Canadian labour market.
Read More: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BqRzXAaYtjJChHkJQ4eLDmt81TFrasR6/view?usp=sharing