Foreclosure is the latest nasty buzzword, but there are ways to deal with it before it becomes a reality

Thinking that you might need to file bankruptcy can lead to many sleepless nights, but even more stressful is the thought of losing your home if you can’t keep up with your mortgage payments.
At a time of high home equity line of credit (HELOC) payments and increased mortgage payments due to higher interest rates, I’m hearing the word “foreclosure” more often than I have for quite some time. If you’re worried about the possibility of foreclosure, the best thing you can do is arm yourself with information so that you can either avoid it altogether or navigate it as successfully as possible.
Canada’s condo supply is surging — and it’s not just in Toronto

Hopeful Canadian homebuyers may well have their pick of the litter when it comes to condos in many housing markets across the country, a new report from Re/Max Canada shows. The national brokerage said in its national condo outlook released Wednesday that listings in this segment of the market have “soared” in recent months.
A glut of condos in Toronto — now sitting around seven months’ worth of inventory — has been well documented over the summer. While Re/Max noted that Toronto’s condo listings were up 52.8 per cent year-over-year as of August, the city isn’t alone. B.C.’s Fraser Valley led the way with a 58.7-per cent increase over the same period, with Calgary’s inventory up 52.4 per cent and Ottawa’s rising 44.5 per cent.
The other cities included in the report, Edmonton, Halifax and Vancouver, saw annual gains between 7.3 and 17.7 per cent.
What Canadians with homes in Florida need to know as Hurricane Milton bears down

As Hurricane Milton approaches Florida, the second Category 4 storm to hit the Gulf Coast in two weeks, many Canadians are grappling with uncertainty. More than half a million own homes in the Sunshine State, making them the top foreign buyers of property there. The impending storm raises critical questions about protecting real estate investments in the face of natural disasters. The Financial Post’s Shantaé Campbell explores an increasingly complex foreign ownership landscape.
Canada’s GDP grew 0.2% in July, but August slowdown leaves jumbo rate cut on the table

Canada’s economy grew 0.2 per cent on a monthly basis in July, Statistics Canada said on Friday, more than analysts had expected. However, quarterly growth is still tracking well below the Bank of Canada’s forecast, leaving the possibility of a jumbo-sized rate cut on the table.
While July’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth was more than the 0.1 per cent rate analysts had expected, advance estimates show GDP was unchanged in August, as increases in oil and gas extraction and the public sector offset decreases in manufacturing, transportation and warehousing.
OSFI to eliminate stress test for uninsured mortgage switches starting November 21

OSFI has confirmed that it will remove the requirement for lenders to apply the Minimum Qualifying Rate (MQR) to straight switches of uninsured mortgages.
Superintendent Peter Routledge confirmed that OSFI will formally announce this change on November 21, 2024, as part of the regulator’s quarterly release pilot, with the change coming into effect that same day.
Condo Amenities: 2024 Power Rankings

Condo living in 2024 is about more than just space; it’s about the carefully curated amenities that turn buildings into communities.
Gone are the days of a gym, party room, and concierge being most-appreciated amenities – today, they’re considered must-haves. And they’re now joined by things we once may have never imagined in our condo-dwelling lives, like remote offices, wellness spas, pet washes, and cold plunges.
‘This a bright red warning light’: Toronto’s housing crisis to get worse as development applications drop off, BILD says

Toronto’s housing crisis is on track to get “far worse” without government intervention as the region sees a “serious decline” in development applications, according to a new study commissioned by a group representing GTA developers.
According to the study, which was developed by Altus Group Economic Consulting on behalf of the Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD), the number of new homes being built in the Greater Toronto Area is “lagging significantly behind” population growth.
Opinion | Alberta called. Now it says too many people showed up

It was just six months ago that Premier Danielle Smith was bragging about Alberta’s population growth and cheerfully predicting that we would hit 10 million people by 2050. Remember “Alberta is Calling?”
She even named the city of Red Deer — current population 160,000 — and said she could see it mushrooming to a million. “Because if you have that kind of population base, through the corridor, all of a sudden it makes sense to bring passenger rail from Calgary to Red Deer and on to Edmonton to connect this entire corridor. And I hope that’s what you’re looking forward to in a few years’ time,” she mused hopefully.
New apartments snapped up in old office building

The $12-million conversion of the 10-floor office building at 30 Duke St. W. into apartments should be finished by year’s end, adding 128 one-bedroom units to the city core.
The first and second floors of the building will remain commercial and retail, but the eight floors above that will each have 16 one-bedroom units, said Denny Cybalski, of Setman Property Management Ltd.


