Bank of Canada maintains policy rate, removes exceptional forward guidance
The Bank of Canada today held its target for the overnight rate at the effective lower bound of ¼ %, with the Bank Rate at ½ % and the deposit rate at ¼ %. With overall economic slack now absorbed, the Bank has removed its exceptional forward guidance on its policy interest rate. The Bank is continuing its reinvestment phase, keeping its overall holdings of Government of Canada bonds roughly constant.
US inflation reached 7% in December as prices rise at rates unseen in decades
The price of goods and services in the US continue to rise at rates unseen in decades, jumping to 7% in December compared to the same month last year – the seventh consecutive month in which inflation has topped 5%.
The news represents a blow to the Biden administration and the Federal Reserve, which until recently have characterized soaring prices as a “transitory” phenomenon brought about by supply chain issues triggered by the pandemic.
On Wednesday, the labor department said the consumer price index (CPI) – which measures what consumers pay for a wide range of goods – rose 0.5% last month compared with November and 7% compared with December 2020.
Read More: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/jan/12/us-inflation-rate-december-2021
Canada’s Top 3 Real Estate Markets For Price Growth Each Climbed Over $250k
Canadian real estate prices show no sign of slowing down, even going into the winter. According to the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), prices jumped by tens of thousands in November. Not in one or two extraordinary markets either, but right across the country. Home prices have increased well over six figures since last year. Values are rising by more than the annual income of a typical family that lives in a typical home.
Canadian Real Estate Prices Increased Over $20,000 Last Month
Canadian home prices are surging higher right across the country. A composite benchmark (a.k.a. typical) home reached $790,600 in November, up 2.7% ($20,785) from a month before. Compared to a year before, prices are now up a whopping 25.3% ($159,634). It was a record for both price and annual growth last month. Keep in mind that this is a typical home price across the country. Many individual markets are growing even faster.
The Bank of Canada Used Lumber To “Prove” Transitory Inflation, Then Prices Doubled
Canada’s central bank used lumber prices to dismiss inflation, but it’s doing the opposite. In October, the Bank of Canada (BoC) used lumber to back its transitory inflation narrative. Short-term supply chain issues are the problem, not monetary policy, they explained. Excess demand fueled by easy money has since been acknowledged as the culprit by the US central bank. Still, Canada has yet to recognize elevated inflation is not transitory. As they sit quiet, the price of lumber has been soaring, driving home costs even higher.
New York real estate agent shows off ‘god awful’ apartment layout: ‘How do these places even exist?’
Fairly often, TikTok will be speechless over New York City apartment options — and this real estate agent’s video tour on TikTok is no different.
From “the worst apartment ever” in the West Village to a 500-square-foot studio that’s basically just a closet, TikTokers feel a level of smugness over New York City housing.
In a recent video, real estate agent Claudia Degteva showed off a New York apartment with a shower in the living room. The location isn’t specified, and the rent is $2,200 per month.
Smart-Home Tech Developers Embrace New Connectivity Standard
This week at CES 2022, the tech industry’s annual mega-show, makers of smart-home products had a buzzword: “Matter.”
About two dozen companies showcased products that would be compatible with Matter, a new smart-home protocol that aims to enable devices to work with each other across different brands and systems. Exhibitors at CES 2022 showed they were on board with the new standard, which is backed by big-name brands like Amazon, Apple, Google, and Samsung. Matter is slated to be released this year, possibly the first half of 2022.
Matter will offer an open source connectivity standard so that smart-home devices can seamlessly integrate with one another. For example, Amazon announced new developer tools to make it easier for Alexa partners to support Matter. Google announced Fast Pair in showing its support for Matter. Other companies like GE Lighting, LG, Mui Labs, Nanoleaf, Sengled, Samsung’s SmartThings, and Belkin all showed products that will support the new standard.
Toronto Real Estate Is On Fire, But It’s Also Ontario’s Worst Performing Market
Toronto real estate prices are some of the fastest growing of any global hub, but it might seem slow at home. Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) data shows Toronto is the slowest growing market in Ontario. Small cities are growing up to 3x faster, closing the gap between the county’s economic engine.
Toronto Real Estate Prices Have Grown Over 28%
Toronto real estate prices have shown massive growth over the past few years. The benchmark price hit $1,188,700 in November, up 28.3% from a year ago. Any double-digit annual growth is considered very fast, but nearly a third higher? That’s huge and unprecedented for the city. Somehow that massive annual growth was the second slowest of any major market in Ontario.
Happy New Year for the housing market? Expect another pandemic-fuelled seller’s market in 2022
Double-digit price gains, investors, condos and suburbs expected to remain hot housing trends in 2022, experts say.
Calgary continues to report high market performance in spite of the traditionally slow winter market
Calgary is currently among the most affordable of the major cities in Canada for real estate, which is particularly attractive given the out-of-control prices being seen in other major markets. According to a recent report, homes in Calgary are actually deeply undervalued. However, according to local realtor Jesse Davies, growth potential in the market means there is still a lot to look forward to.
According to the Calgary Real Estate Board’s (CREB) new statistics release for the month of November, the average price of a detached home in the city was $542,600, up over 10% year over year. Semi-detached homes averaged $429,800 and apartments averaged just $251,700 with the lowest year-over-year increase. In addition, despite winter being seen as a traditionally slow season for the city, according to CREB sales have remained strong at “roughly the same levels seen since August” while inventories continue to fall.