Fewer Canadians are signing up for new mortgages.

According to insights in Equifax Canada’s quarterly Market Pulse report, new mortgage growth fell 8.1 per cent between Q4-2020 and Q4-2021. The largest drops in new mortgages were detected in some of the country’s most expensive housing markets, according to a press release. In Toronto and Hamilton, for instance, new mortgages were down 16.1 per cent and 18.7 per cent year-over-year in Q4-2021.

“There’s no question that sky-rocketing house prices have decreased housing affordability across all segments,” said Rebecca Oakes, assistant vice-president of advanced analytics at Equifax Canada, in the release.

“In addition to high house prices, lenders have also started to move interest rates up in anticipation of rate rises from the Bank of Canada. This could also be limiting the purchasing capacity of many consumers,” she added.

Read More: https://www.livabl.com/2022/03/new-mortgages-dropped-equifax-canada.html

Greater Toronto real estate is still a tight market, but all of a sudden it has a lot more inventory. Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) data shows prices ripped higher in February. Positive price growth news didn’t just end there though, as the market actually saw annual growth accelerated. Oddly enough, this occurred as inventory levels improved dramatically. More inventory but higher price growth. That doesn’t happen often, and when it does it typically doesn’t persist long.

Toronto Real Estate Prices Soared $80k Higher Last Month

Greater Toronto new home prices are seeing growth accelerate even faster as inventory pressure releases. The price of a typical home across TRREB reached $1,340,000 in February, up 6.36% ($80,100) from a month before. Annual growth works out to 35.87% ($273,663) higher. Even with inventory improvements, the annual growth rate has reached a new record high, and with a massive monthly leap.

Read More: https://betterdwelling.com/city/toronto/toronto-real-estate-prices-rose-80000-last-month-as-sellers-surged-78-higher/

Canada’s inflation rate hit 5.1 per cent in January, its highest level since 1991.

Statistics Canada reported Wednesday that if volatile items, like food and energy, are stripped out of the numbers, the cost of living went up at a pace of 4.3 per cent. But even that toned-down figure is the highest dating back to 1999.

Grocery bills continue to rise quickly, with the price of food purchased at stores up 6.5 per cent in the year leading up to January. That’s the fastest pace since 2009.

Read More: https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/canada-inflation-january-1.6353464

On the northwest corner of Bloor and Huron Streets in Downtown Toronto, the Bloor Street United Church, first constructed in 1886, is soon to be integrated into a high-rise redevelopment of the site. Collecdev’s Cielo Condos will rise 29 storeys above the church, bringing 284 units of high-rise density to the Annex neighbourhood.

The complex, designed by KPMB Architects with heritage specialists ERA Architects handling the restorative aspects of the project to handsomely incorporate the church, won a number of major awards at the Nationals 2022 New Home Sales and Marketing Awards, recently held in Orlando, Florida.

Read More: https://urbantoronto.ca/news/2022/02/collecdev-picks-seven-awards-cielo-condos

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.

Read More: https://www.bankofcanada.ca/2022/01/fad-press-release-2022-01-26/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=FADMPR220126

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

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.

Read More: https://betterdwelling.com/canadas-top-3-real-estate-markets-for-price-growth-each-climbed-over-250k/

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.

Read More: https://betterdwelling.com/the-bank-of-canada-used-lumber-to-prove-transitory-inflation-then-prices-doubled/

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.

Read More: https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/news/real-estate-agent-shows-off-164509035.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly9pbXBhY3Rjb25kb2ludmVzdG1lbnRzLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAALtjmpr5EwDJl7mBniV8YwnRrA_bgNGNZsdfE6ei15JrH32n7CUvUIKr8cLRwvL_VGWo8prwP2k5IfDaJzCKiMZbYbY7MY2JrXBeuriARlV0xF1vqez23kRKADQw34UeCOLfZRrEJWodMywVajXvq_4HeeTtnO_GzelGkl2tEv5Q

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.

Read More: https://magazine.realtor/daily-news/2022/01/07/smart-home-tech-developers-embrace-new-connectivity-standard