Real estate brokerage firm Royal LePage expects home prices to increase six per cent annually by the end of 2025, according to its annual market survey forecast released Wednesday, with prices set to climb across all major markets as more buyers come off the sidelines amid lower interest rates.

The 2025 survey found that the aggregate price of a home – calculated using a weighted average of the median value of all housing types – will rise six per cent annually by the fourth quarter of 2025 to $856,692. The aggregate price of a home is estimated to be $808,200 in the fourth quarter of this year. The report also says that the median price of a detached home is expected to increase seven per cent annually by the fourth quarter of 2025, from $841,900 this year to $900,833. Condominium prices are expected to rise at a more moderate pace, with prices set to increase 3.5 per cent annually over the same timeframe from $585,500 to $605,993.

Since the federal mortgage stress test rolled out in 2018, a small percentage of mortgage renewers have been trapped with their current lender, like a bad arranged marriage. Government policy effectively blocked uninsured borrowers with higher debt ratios from changing lenders to get a better deal.

Our banking regulator, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI), addressed that problem on Thursday, but with stipulations. Here’s how things went down:

Seven years back, the feds started making uninsured mortgagors prove they could afford payments based on rates at least 200 basis points higher than the rate they actually paid. This “stress test” was key in preventing borrowing excesses and preparing borrowers for the big rate spike in 2022-’23.

But there was a nasty side effect. For some borrowers who accumulated debt — for good, bad or unavoidable reasons — the stress test meant they could no longer pass lenders’ debt-ratio tests.

The federal government’s plan to temporarily stop collection of the goods and services tax (GST) on some consumer products is causing some big holiday headaches for Canada’s small business owners.

The tax break, which passed in the House of Commons late Thursday, is scheduled to take effect on Dec. 14, 2024 and last until Feb. 15, 2025.

It would apply to dozens of items, including certain groceries, alcoholic beverages, restaurant meals, snacks, children’s clothing and toys, car seats, books, print newspapers, puzzles and Christmas trees.

But small business owners who spoke to Global News, describe the plan as “an IT nightmare.”

With the potential for millions of Canadians to see a bit of extra money in their pocket this spring from planned federal and provincial rebate cheques, a new report is suggesting the added money could mean at least one less interest rate cut by the Bank of Canada in the next year.

The report from TD Economics, released Wednesday, suggests the central bank will continue its rate-cutting cycle but with the planned cheques there may be less need for it to continue into 2025 at the same speed.

“The Bank of Canada has been cutting interest rates because they fear that the economy is so weak that they need to provide extra stimulus through lower interest rates,” James Orlando, director of economics at TD Bank, said in an interview.

OTTAWA – The Canadian economy shrank on a per-person basis for a sixth consecutive quarter as higher interest rates continued to weigh on business investment.

Statistics Canada’s gross domestic product report said the economy grew at an annualized rate of one per cent in the third quarter, down from 2.2 per cent in the second quarter.

Economists reacting to the latest GDP figures continue to be divided on whether the Bank of Canada will cut its key interest rate by a quarter or half a percentage point at its meeting next month.

Real estate experts say competition among lenders is expected to rise following a move by Canada’s banking regulator to officially remove stress test requirements for some homeowners looking to switch mortgage lenders at renewal.

The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) announced Thursday that uninsured mortgage straight switches will be exempt from the minimum qualifying rate (MQR). OSFI previously stated in September that it would ease stress test requirements for uninsured mortgages when switching providers, stating its intentions at the time to formally communicate the change in its Nov. 21 quarterly release.

“This eliminates a barrier that previously prevented borrowers from accessing better rates. The new rule will foster a more competitive lending environment where consumers have greater freedom to choose the best mortgage product, encouraging lenders to offer more attractive terms to retain customers,” Leah Zlatkin, a licensed mortgage broker and LowestRates.ca expert, said in a statement Thursday.

The annual headline inflation rate for October climbed to 2.0%, exceeding the 1.9% economists had predicted and up from September’s 1.6% reading. The increase was largely due to higher gas prices, property taxes, and base-year effects, which can distort year-over-year comparisons.

And while fluctuations in the headline reading aren’t unusual, the ‘core’ inflation measures that strip out more volatile items like food and energy prices also ticked up in the month.

As a result, bond markets reduced the odds of a follow-up 50-basis-point rate cut at the Bank’s December 11 policy meeting to 23%, down from nearly 40% before the inflation report.

“This heavy result should take some more steam out of the call for another 50-bps rate cut from the Bank of Canada in December,” wrote Douglas Porter, Chief Economist at BMO. “We have been in the 25-bps camp from the start and this report only reinforces that expectation, along with evidence that housing is stirring, the Fed will turn more cautious, and a limping loonie.”

A new incentive program designed to add as many as 20,000 new purpose-built rental housing units to the City of Toronto — including 7,000 through a municipally-funded first phase — is being scrutinized by development sector stakeholders, many of whom are wary that it doesn’t have the legs to make a meaningful impact.

Made public at the end of October and approved at Wednesday’s City Council meeting in a 23-1 vote, the program is called the Purpose-built Rental Homes Incentives Stream and, at a high level, it pairs qualifying projects with certain perks, including “an indefinite deferral” of development charges (so long as they remain rental in tenure), a “recommended” property tax reduction of 15% for 35 years, and foregone taxes and fees for affordable rental units.

After Toronto and Vancouver real estate boards posted striking year-over-year increases in home sales for October — 44% and over 30%, respectively — it appears they’re not alone, as the Canadian Real Estate Organization (CREA) reported Friday that nationwide sales in October were the highest they’ve been since April 2022.

All in all, sales rose 7.7% on a month-over-month basis and a grew a substantial 30% from October 2023, on a not-seasonally-adjusted basis. In comparison, sales only rose 1.9% month-over-month in September and 1.3% in August, representing a potential breaking of the ‘holding pattern’ that has characterized the last several months, despite consecutive rate cuts.