WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 16 2024 NEWSREEL WITH VANESSA TOPPLE
James Carville famously said it’s the economy stupid – well, headlines for the past couple of weeks haven’t been that cheery regarding the economy – starting with the latest jobs report....
read moreALBERTA POPULATION SURGE CAUSING RAFT OF POLITICAL AND FINANCIAL PROBLEMS FOR THE PROVINCE
Alberta’s classrooms are crowded. Housing costs are expected to climb, propping up inflation. Economic growth will lag population growth. The province started its most recent fiscal update with good news: It expects a surplus of $2.9-billion this year, more than eight times larger than it originally predicted. Then came the bad: “The rapid and unexpected growth in population has added pressures on government programs and services,” the government said. This clinical description, contained in...
read moreSASK. NDP ANNOUNCES PLAN TO ADDRESS RENT AFFORDABILITY CONCERNS
With an eye toward rental rates, the NDP has made another campaign promise — this time to bring 500 Saskatchewan Housing Authority units online within its first year in government and to cap annual rent increases. NDP Leader Carla Beck made the announcement in a downtown Regina park Tuesday morning, flanked by nominees and current MLAs. She said affordability has been the No. 1 issue expressed by the public during her party’s pre-election, door-knocking sessions in anticipation of the coming...
read moreINVESTORS CONTINUE TO DEMONSTRATE CONFIDENCE IN MULTI-SUITE RESIDENTIAL AND INDUSTRIAL SECTORS
According to Morguard’s 2024 Economic Outlook and Market Fundamentals Second Quarter Update, the Canadian commercial real estate sector showed positive momentum in the second quarter, the multi-suite residential rental property investment remained largely stable due to healthy fundamentals and there was a surge in industrial investment property transactions. In terms of the rest of 2024, further rate cuts by the Bank of Canada and a continued easing of inflationary pressure are anticipated and...
read moreMARKETS ARE UNDERESTIMATING HOW MUCH THE BOC IS GOING TO CUT RATES: CIBC ECONOMIST BENJAMIN TAL
Investors are on edge, with growing recession fears and uncertainty surrounding corporate earnings growth. These concerns, along with high valuations, are fuelling rising volatility in the stock market. To help investors determine if the economy is normalizing or materially deteriorating, I recently spoke with CIBC Capital Markets deputy chief economist Benjamin Tal. He provided his assessment of the economy, updated his policy interest rate forecast and discussed potential implications for...
read moreCANADA’S UNEMPLOYMENT RATE APPROACHING ‘WORRYING LEVELS’: SENIOR ECONOMIST
A senior economist at job-search website Indeed says that Canada’s unemployment rate is approaching “worrying levels” as employment growth continues to lag behind the number of new participants in the labour force. “The story really is that the job numbers aren’t keeping up with that soaring size of the labour force and it’s resulting in a weaker employment situation,” Brendon Bernard told BNN Bloomberg in a Friday interview. Bernard’s comments came immediately after Statistics Canada released...
read moreWEEK OF SEPTEMBER 9 2024 NEWSREEL WITH VANESSA TOPPLE
Ever wondered what a half billion dollars of taxpayer money wasted looks like – well the people of British Columbia are getting pretty familiar with the feeling....
read moreNOVA SCOTIA PROPOSES EXTENDING FIVE PER CENT RENT CAP UNTIL 2027
Nova Scotia introduced a bill Friday to extend the province’s rental cap which currently sits at five per cent per year. The temporary rent increase cap, originally scheduled to expire at the end of 2025, would be in place until Dec. 31, 2027, according to the proposed bill. “The low vacancy rate in Nova Scotia is creating challenges when it comes to the availability and the choice for tenants to decide where they want to live and how they want to live,” said Service Nova Scotia Minister...
read moreTORONTO CALLS ON RESIDENTS TO WEIGH IN ON A NEW RENOVICTIONS BYLAW
The city of Toronto is set to gather feedback from the public this month on a plan for a new bylaw that would crack down on illegitimate evictions. City staff hope the feedback from both tenants and landlords will help in drafting the renovictions bylaw. Renovictions occur when a landlord illegitimately evicts a tenant, claiming they require a rental unit for renovations or repairs. That can lead to significant rental increases or refusing to allow tenants to return to their homes, according...
read moreBANK OF CANADA’S TIFF MACKLEM FORECASTS RENT DECREASES, BUT RISE IN HOME PRICES IS POSSIBLE
Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem says rental prices could come down in Canada, but that does not mean home prices are going to drop. Average monthly rental rates have already started to decline for studio condos across the country. And student housing landlords in university cities such as Kingston have reported a drop in demand after the federal government’s decision to slash the number of study permits available for foreign students. “With mortgage rates coming down, hopefully with more...
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