The trend measure of housing starts in Canada was 199,169 units in January compared to 203,304 in December, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). The trend is a six-month moving average of the monthly seasonally adjusted annual rates (SAAR) of housing starts.

“Housing starts trended down across the country with the exception of Ontario,” said Bob Dugan, CMHC Chief Economist. “The overall decline is mostly attributable to a slowdown in the Prairies where the housing starts trend was at a 4-year low in January. The slowdown in new housing activity coincides...

Home buyer activity remains at near record levels across the Metro Vancouver housing market.

Residential property sales in Greater Vancouver totalled 2,519 in January 2016, an increase of 31.7 per cent from the 1,913 sales recorded in January 2015 and a 10.9 per cent decline compared to December 2015 when 2,827 home sales occurred.

Last month’s sales were 46 per cent above the 10-year sales average for the month and rank as the second highest January on record. “Fundamental economics are driving today’s market. Home buyer demand is at near record heights and home seller supply...

Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) residential sales in the province are expected to edge back 6.3 per cent to 96,100 units in 2016. Home sales surpassed the 100,000 unit threshold for only the third time on record last year, as strong market fundamentals and elevated consumer confidence charged demand. While fewer home sales are expected this year, economic conditions remain robust and will support relatively high levels of housing demand. Strengthening economic conditions at home and abroad are expected to bolster housing consumption activity in 2017. BC MLS® residential sales are forecast...

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s (CMHC) latest Housing Market Assessment (HMA) 2016 Q1 reports moderate evidence of overvaluation in housing markets across the country. Broken down across the 15 centres covered by the HMA, overvaluation and overbuilding are the most prevalent problematic conditions with overvaluation detected in eight centres and overbuilding in seven centres.

“The evidence of overbuilding has increased since the previous assessment in Calgary, Saskatoon, Regina, and Ottawa due to either higher vacancy rates, high inventory of new and unsold units,...

The Bank of Canada today announced that it is maintaining its target for the overnight rate at 1/2 per cent. The Bank Rate is correspondingly 3/4 per cent and the deposit rate is 1/4 per cent.

Inflation in Canada is evolving broadly as expected. Total CPI inflation remains near the bottom of the Bank’s target range as the disinflationary effects of economic slack and low consumer energy prices are only partially offset by the inflationary impact of the lower Canadian dollar on the prices of imported goods. As all of these factors dissipate, the Bank expects inflation will rise to about 2 per...

The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) reports that a record number of home sales were recorded in the province for the month of December. A total of 6,590 residential unit sales were recorded by the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) last month, up 29.8 per cent from the same month the previous year. Total sales dollar volume hit a record $4.62 billion for the month of December, up 55.4 per cent compared to the previous year.

The average MLS® residential price in the province climbed above the $700,000 threshold for the first time in BC last month, rising 19.7 from December...

Frances Bula

Special to The Globe and Mail

PublishedFriday, Jan. 15, 2016 4:47PM EST

Amber and Rob Stefanson didn’t plan to become condo investors. Or landlords. Or renters who are condo investors.

But somehow they have become all three, as they – like many younger people trying to grapple with Vancouver’s increasingly hostile real-estate market – try to figure out a way to accumulate some equity but also live in a place that meshes with their work and family situation.

They thought, when they bought their two-bedroom condo in New Westminster in 2007 for $250,000...

The trend measure of housing starts in Canada was 203,502 units in December compared to 208,204 in November, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). The trend is a six-month moving average of the monthly seasonally adjusted annual rates (SAAR) of housing starts.

“A decrease in both the multiple and single starts segments drove the December trend lower,” said Bob Dugan, CMHC Chief Economist. “Starts increased in 2015 compared to 2014, largely driven by the condominium market in Toronto. Had the Toronto condominium starts remained stable in 2015, national starts...

In a year when the number of homes listed for sale was below historical averages, actual home sales in Metro Vancouver set a new record.

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that 2015 home sales were the highest annual total in REBGV history. This was powered early in the year by four straight months with more than 4,000 sales a month from March to June, another first for REBGV.

Sales of detached, attached and apartment properties in 2015 reached 42,326, a 27.8 per cent increase from the 33,116 sales recorded in 2014, and a 48.4 per cent increase over the 28,524 residential...

Vulnerabilities in the housing sector have edged higher, the Bank of Canada said today in its Financial System Review (FSR), while the overall level of risk to Canada’s financial system has remained roughly unchanged since June.

The Bank continues to identify two key vulnerabilities related to the Canadian household sector: the elevated level of household indebtedness, and imbalances in the housing market. A third vulnerability relates to uncertain market liquidity in fixed-income markets.

Nonetheless, the Bank believes that the Canadian financial system is resilient and that the global financial...

The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) has updated its forecast for home sales activity via the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) Systems of Canadian real estate Boards and Associations for 2015 and 2016.

Since CREA’s last forecast published in September, housing markets in British Columbia and Ontario have strengthened further. As a result, CREA has raised sales and average price forecasts for these provinces.

While housing markets in other provinces have performed as expected through the autumn, prospects in 2016 for a rebound in oil prices – and...

The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) reports that a total of 8,032 residential unit sales were recorded by the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in November, up 34.5 per cent from the same month last year. Total sales dollar volume was $5.38 billion, up 56.4 per cent compared to the previous year. The average MLS® residential price in the province rose to $668,317, up 16.3 per cent from November 2014.

“Housing demand last month was the second strongest ever recorded for the month of November,” said Cameron Muir, BCREA...

The Liberal government is raising the minimum down payment for new insured mortgages to 10 per cent from 5 per cent for the portion of house prices above $500,000.

The new rules will take effect on Feb. 15, 2016. Down payment rules for mortgages for properties below $500,000 will be unchanged.

The move is aimed at cooling overheated housing markets in Toronto and Vancouver but that could risk exaggerating a home price correction in the Prairies.

Ottawa raises minimum down payment for costly homes ( CP Video )

At a news conference in Ottawa, Finance Minister Bill Morneau said Ottawa...

The trend measure of housing starts in Canada was 208,401 units in November compared to 206,125 in October, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). The trend is a six-month moving average of the monthly seasonally adjusted annual rates (SAAR) of housing starts.

“The trend in housing starts increased for a seventh consecutive month due to the multi-unit segment,” said Bob Dugan, CMHC’s Chief Economist. “Rising single home prices continue to support demand for multiples, which are poised to reach the largest ...

 Evan Siddall, President and CEO of Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), spoke today to the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal. In his speech, Siddall explained to the Montreal business community “why housing matters” and how housing can be an effective tool to achieve broader social and economic policy objectives.

He noted that while housing can contribute to broader stability, problems in the housing sector can also be the sign of wider financial instability and he further expanded on the vulnerabilities facing the housing market in Canada.

“In Canada, a...

The Bank of Canada announced on December 2^nd, 2015 that it was keeping its trend-setting target overnight lending rate at 0.5 per cent.

Helped by interest rate cuts earlier this year, the Canadian economy rebounded in the third quarter of 2015 from two previous consecutive quarters of negative economic growth. However, the Bank expects “[economic] growth to moderate in the fourth quarter of 2015 before moving to a rate above potential in 2016.”

The Bank’s latest Monetary Policy Report published in October pegged the rate of potential Canadian economic growth in 2016 somewhere in...

The Bank of Canada today announced that it is maintaining its target for the overnight rate at 1/2 per cent. The Bank Rate is correspondingly 3/4 per cent and the deposit rate is 1/4 per cent.

Global economic growth is evolving essentially as the Bank had anticipated in its October Monetary Policy Report (MPR). The US economy continues to grow at a solid pace, although private domestic demand has proven slightly less robust than expected. Meanwhile, commodity prices have declined further. The ongoing terms-of-trade adjustments and shifting growth prospects across different regions are contributing...

Home sales reached near record levels in November even as home listings began the traditional year-end decline.

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential property sales in Metro Vancouver reached 3,524 on the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in November 2015. This represents a 40.1 per cent increase compared to the 2,516 sales recorded in November 2014, and a 3.3 per cent decrease compared to the 3,646 sales in October 2015.

Last month’s sales were 46.2 per cent above the 10-year sales average for the month and rank as the...

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) released today its third quarter financial report as well as complementary Mortgage Loan Insurance, Securitization, and Covered Bonds Supplements.

CMHC provides mortgage loan insurance and securitization guarantee programs to facilitate access to mortgage financing and to contribute to the stability of the financial system. Consistent with our mandate, CMHC is present in all markets and through all economic cycles. During the third quarter, CMHC provided mortgage loan insurance for over 80,000 units across the...

Commercial sales in the Lower Mainland registered a fiveyear third-quarter high between July and September of 2015 thanks to increased demand for land and office and retail properties, according to data from Commercial Edge, a commercial real estate system operated by the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV).

There were 550 commercial real estate sales in the Lower Mainland in the third quarter (Q3) 2015. This is a 16.8 per cent increase compared to the 471 sales recorded in Q3 2014, a 13.2 per cent increase from the 486 sales recorded in Q3 2013, and a 14.8 per...