MISSISSAUGA LAUNCHES $44 MILLION PROGRAM TO BOOST AFFORDABLE RENTAL HOUSING
Mississauga city council has approved a $44 million Community Improvement Plan (CIP) aimed at increasing the supply of affordable rental housing, including financial support for developers committed to constructing affordable rental units. “The availability of affordable rental housing is a critical issue in Mississauga. Through financial incentives, we aim to address some of the financial challenges developers face,” said Andrew Whittemore, Commissioner of Planning and Building. “We listened...
read moreWHY CANADIAN LANDLORD GROUPS SAY PUSH TO VOID ‘NO PET’ CLAUSES IS ‘UNFAIR’
As a petition is being pushed to end pet restrictions in rental housing, some organizations representing landlords in Canada are cautioning voiding such clauses in the proposed federal renters’ bill of rights could create conflicts. Last month, Humane Canada started a parliamentary petition asking the House of Commons to include a specific provision for tenants with pets in the proposed bill of rights, calling for “no pet” clauses to be voided “so that tenants with pets are no longer excluded...
read moreU.S. PROPERTY GIANT HINES HAS $2 BILLION TO SHOP FOR HOUSING DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS IN CANADA
Real estate giant Hines Interests LP is looking to invest up to $2-billion in Canada, and high on its shopping list is land for rental housing developments. The Houston-headquartered firm, which owns and manages about 850 properties in 30 countries, views apartment building developments as a top investment in Canada given the country’s shortage of affordable homes. Its significant pool of capital will let it compete for deals at a time when the commercial real estate sector is reeling from...
read moreTINY SHARE OF CANADIAN HOMES ARE AIRBNBS THAT HAVE POTENTIAL TO BE LONG-TERM HOUSING
A recent StatsCan study indicates that an estimated 0.69 per cent of the country’s housing stock in 2023 was short-term rentals that had the potential to be long-term housing. Less than 1 per cent of the country’s housing stock are Airbnbs and Vrbo rentals that could be turned into long-term rentals or permanent housing, according to a Statistics Canada study. Housing experts have been trying to understand how short-term rentals (STRs) affect the housing market given that rental vacancy rates...
read moreWEEK OF AUGUST 5 2024 NEWSREEL WITH VANESSA TOPPLE
This week we cover the governments addiction to taxes, fees and regulations....
read moreCANADIAN GDP DRIVEN BY PUBLIC SECTOR, PER CAPITA RECESSION DEEPENS
Canada’s economy beat expectations but dive into the details before celebrating. Statistics Canada (Stat Can) data shows real gross domestic product (GDP) grew faster-than-expected in May. However, even with a rapid public sector expansion driving half the advance, it failed to meet population growth. As a result, Canada’s GDP per capita recession printed an 8th consecutive quarter of losses. Canada’s Real GDP Grew Much Faster Than Forecast First, the good news—Canada’s real GDP advanced much...
read moreTORONTO EXPANDS AFFORDABLE HOUSING EFFORTS WITH $50 MILLION FUND TO ACQUIRE VACANT CONDOMINIUMS AMID MARKET GLUT
Toronto has expanded its housing acquisition programs to support the purchase of condominiums — some vacant for months and deeply discounted amid a glut of new units — to bring them into the city’s affordable housing fold. “We often get approached by people who are interested in finding partners to buy units that are currently unoccupied or available, so we have changed some of our programs to enable that to happen,” Abigail Bond, the executive director of the city’s Housing Secretariat, said...
read moreTORONTO’S CONDO MARKET IS FACING ITS BIGGEST TEST SINCE THE 1990S RECESSION
Canadian housing markets have taken some knocks over the past few years as interest rates and inflation soared, but few have had it as rough as Toronto’s condo market. While the low-rise market in the Greater Toronto Area is holding its own, conditions in the condo market are deteriorating to levels not seen in decades, says a report by Benjamin Tal, deputy chief economist at CIBC Capital Markets, and Shaun Hildebrand, president of Urbanation. Their report describes how the condo market has...
read moreOVER 100,000 SHORT-TERM RENTALS COULD BE HOMES: STATSCAN REPORT
A new report by Statistics Canada shows the country’s total number of short-term rental listings increased by more than 60 per cent between 2017 and 2023, while the number of short-term rental units that could be used as long-term housing grew by more than 80 per cent. The report identified more than 100,000 short-term rentals that could be homes. But the fact that figure makes up less than one per cent of Canada’s total housing stock, according to the data, only adds more fuel to...
read moreWEEK OF JULY 29 2024 NEWSREEL WITH VANESSA TOPPLE
This week we head out west to see how the BC – NDP government is imposing a Bill that is intended to help actually looks to be causing – not surprisingly – unintended consequences....
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