Time will tell if the BoC’s tightening was prescient. But I come from the camp that says when uncertainty is running high, it’s best to do nothing
Interesting time for the Bank of Canada to have pulled the trigger, as it raised the policy rate 25 basis points last week to 1.5 per cent.
The move came after signs of decelerating growth in household credit demand and a slowing in wages, ...
Banks cutting variable rate mortgages even as fixed ones head higher
A number of Canadian lenders have slashed their variable mortgage rates in recent days, even as some of those same lenders are raising their fixed-rate mortgages.
HSBC Canada cut its five-year variable mortgage rate to 2.39 per cent on Wednesday, more than a full percentage point below the bank's own prime ...
National sales activity plunges to lowest levels in almost 5 years
Canada’s housing market saw another so-called payback sales drop in February, when the national average home price slumped by 5% from a year ago, after a surge in sales late last year from homebuyers looking to purchase ahead of this year’s new mortgage rules.
The latest monthly figures from the Canadian Real Estate ...
BIS warns of Canadian debt levels
According to a recent report from the Bank for International Settlements, Canada has one of the world’s three most imperilled banking systems. Canadian household debt is through the proverbial roof, and understandably, the BIS’s warning might invoke unpleasant memories of the financial crisis a decade ago.
It’s for that reason, then, ...
Government's cannabis bill faces live-or-die vote in Senate today
Upper house could throw wrench in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's plan for full legalization by summer
The government's cannabis bill faces outright defeat in the Senate today if it can't secure enough support from members of the Red Chamber.
According to an agreed timetable, senators will ...
CMHC says pace of housing starts picked up in February
The pace of new home construction picked up unexpectedly in February driven by strength in the condo market in major cities, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. said Thursday.
Meanwhile, Statistics Canada reported that building permits rose beyond expectations in January — particularly in the condo market — signalling continued ...
Governments bent on cooling home prices could get more than they bargain for
Do falling housing prices eventually impact local and provincial revenue?
While governments in Canada are focused on arresting the growth in housing prices to promote affordability, the unintended consequences of steeper-than-envisioned declines also merit consideration.
Municipal and provincial revenues are ...
Canadian home sales, listings slump in January with arrival of new mortgage rules
Canadian home sales dropped sharply in January to their lowest monthly level in three years amid a retreat in listings as new mortgage rules came into place, according to a new report from a national real estate group.
The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) said Thursday that home sales through the Multiple Listing ...
Ottawa development looking up as condos go sky-high
In downtown Ottawa, you can't build anything taller than the Peace Tower – beyond that, developers are jumping on the opportunity to build up
Up until 1965, you wouldn't find a building taller than the Peace Tower in Ottawa. Federal and city regulations banned developments over 92 metres to preserve the skyline dominance of Parliament Hill. ...
Financial Post
A half a million dollars bought half as much space in Toronto’s condominium market as in other Canadian cities in 2017.
And in Vancouver, it bought nothing at all, with analysts unable to find any new condominiums at or below the $500,000 mark, according to a study of 2017 sales data by the Altus Group.
Buyers with a half a million dollars to spend in red-hot downtown Toronto ...
Ontario real estate agents seek increased transparency in home sales
The group representing Ontario's real estate agents is considering urging the provincial government to allow a transparent bidding process for home sales as part of several proposals to improve the industry's ethics and reputation.
The Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA), which issued a discussion paper seeking input ...
Fintrac's money-laundering penalties in limbo after court ruling
Canada's watchdog against terror financing and money laundering has been partially neutered after losing a landmark court case over the way it penalizes offending businesses.
Since May 2016, the federal agency known as Fintrac has been unable to levy fines on firms that violate tough financing regulations — and ...
Poloz unsure if more rate hikes to come in 2018
ANDREA HOPKINS
OTTAWA
REUTERS
UPDATED JANUARY 25, 2018
Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz said on Thursday that even he did not know what potential there may be for further interest rate hikes this year, reiterating that policy makers remained both data-dependent and alert to developments with NAFTA.
"That's a question ...
Financial Post-Bloomberg.com
One of Governor Stephen Poloz’s predecessors says the Bank of Canada’s current approach to increasing interest rates is too cautious.
David Dodge, who led the Canadian central bank between 2001 and 2008, thinks Poloz should focus more on the long-neglected issue of financial stability and take the opportunity to raise rates now that the economy ...
