"It is going to put the dream of home ownership in reach for more young Canadians," Freeland told reporters Monday, announcing changes she said will come into force in December.

The price cap for insured mortgages will be boosted for the first time since 2012, moving to $1.5 million from $1 million, to allow more people to qualify for a mortgage with less than a 20 per cent down payment.

"That is going to have a real impact for thousands, even millions of Canadians," Freeland said.

The government will also expand its 30-year mortgage amortization to include first-time homebuyers buying any type of home, as well as anybody buying a newly built home.

On Aug. 1 eligibility for the 30-year amortization was changed to include first-time buyers purchasing a newly built home. Freeland said this change better reflects the housing market while "giving first-time homebuyers a leg-up."

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She pushed back on suggestions that the measures will only further inflate housing prices. She said boosting the price cap for insured mortgages reflects how Canada's gross domestic product has grown over years.

"It needs to keep up with the increase in the size of the Canadian economy," Freeland said. "That's just a recognition of economic reality."

Justice Minister Arif Virani is also releasing drafts for a bill of rights for renters as well as one for homebuyers, both of which the government promised in its budget five months ago.

Virani says the government intends to work with provinces to prevent practices like renovictions, where landowners evict tenants and make minimal renovations and then seek higher rents.

Ottawa also wants to boost transparency by making sales price history available on title searches, and protect potential buyers from blind-bidding.

"What we find is important is ensuring that there's a level playing field when you're trying to rent a place to live, or to actually get to the stage of buying a home," Virani said.

The government is touting the measures it announced Monday as the "boldest mortgage reforms in decades," and it comes after a year of criticism over high housing costs.

The Liberals have been slumping in the polls for months, including among younger adults who say not being able to afford a house is one of their key concerns.

Freeland says she plans to table a Fall Economic Statement but would not say when. Such a move may lead to a confidence vote in the Commons, following the NDP ending a formal agreement to prop up the minority Liberal government in such votes.

She also said the government is "absolutely not" considering a home-equity tax on primary residences above a certain value, when asked about government engagement with a group that promotes such a policy.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.

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The report from Rentals.ca and Urbanation finds the average Vancouver rental rate was down six per cent from last year to $3,116 for the ninth straight month of declines, while Toronto rents fell seven per cent to $2,697 for the seventh month of retreat. 

Rents were also down slightly in Ottawa, Montreal, and for the first time since February 2021 in Calgary. 

In contrast, numerous other cities have seen double-digit increases, including a 22 per cent jump in Quebec City to $1,705, an 18 per cent jump in Regina to $1,418 and a 15 per cent increase in Gatineau, Que., to $2,054.

The increases left all provinces outside of Ontario and British Columbia with rising rates.

Overall, rising rents in smaller markets outweighed the reductions in the biggest cities to leave asking rents in August up 3.3 per cent from last year to $2,187.

However, the increase was the slowest annual pace in almost three years, decreasing sharply from growth of seven per cent in June and 9.3 per cent in May, the report said.

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"The moderation in rent increases can be attributed to apartment completions this year reaching their highest total in decades, as well as a recent slowdown in population growth and a softening labour market."

The average rental rate is also down slightly from July when it hit $2,201, but overall rates have seen little change month-to-month recently. 

Rates are up sharply from pandemic lows when they averaged below $1,700, while pre-pandemic, rates were under $1,900. 

The federal government has been rolling out some measures to try and tamp down on rent increases, including a cap on international student enrolments and aiming to overall reduce the number of temporary residents, while also rolling out more funding to build more rental supply. 

Construction of new rental options however have been hampered by high interest rates and rising construction costs.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 10, 2024

Gone are the days of COVID real estate craziness, which saw sale prices rise through the roof, constant bidding wars and properties being wiped clean off the market. Now, there are an above average number of cottages for sale across Canada, even compared to pre-COVID levels.

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For example, Ontario is experiencing some of its in recent memory, according to broker John Fincham who publishes analytics for the province. By April 2024, only 3,400 waterfront properties were sold in Ontario compared to 6,199 the previous year 鈥� a decline of more than 40 per cent and the lowest in more than two decades, he reports.

In other words? "It's firmly, firmly a buyer's market," the Muskoka Re/Max broker tells 麻豆影视. "Buyers are firmly in the driver's seat."

An abundance of unsold cottages can be attributed to several factors, Fincham says. Early this year, the federal government announced it would extend its year-old foreign homebuyers ban until 2027, preventing non-Canadians from buying residential property. Fincham says this, along with inflation and high interest rates, have resulted in more availability on the market.

For Ray Ferris, a realtor from the north shore of Lake Erie, he is not so much focused on the number of cottages currently for sale in his province, but the time it takes to sell. Pre-COVID, cottages in his region would sit on the market for about three months. Now, the average is six months.

"What I'm hearing and observing is there's a lot of economic uncertainty amongst prospective buyers," Ferris, who is also the former president of the Ontario Real Estate Association, says. He notes that when the Bank of Canada cut its key interest rate to 4.5 per cent in July, there was an uptick in the number of cottage sales in his area.

In addition, the current market can be attributed to stubborn sellers who believe the value of their cottage is the same as it was in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Ferris says. He adds that buyers are now waiting longer on the sidelines to see how far prices will go down, giving them more time to make purchasing decisions.

It's not just in Ontario where the cottage market has cooled. In Nova Scotia, fewer people have been looking to purchase "recreational and extraneous" properties, says Chris Melnyk, a realtor with Royal LePage Atlantic. Instead, the real estate market is being driven by homes for function and utility: think entry-level detached homes in the suburbs.

As a result, "now is a great time to buy a cottage in Nova Scotia, especially if you're willing to be a bit further out from the city or you have a bit of a higher price range," he says. "There are a ton of cottages and recreational properties on the market 鈥� and you will get a deal."

This spring, changes to the capital gains tax spurred anxiety in Canada's cottage country. Owners debated whether they should rush to sell their properties before the proposals from the 2024 federal budget came into effect in late June. However, this ended up having little impact on the cottage market, Ferris notes.

"Cottages are really emotional sales. And by that I mean cottages are where families and friends go to create memories," he says, explaining that the number one question he received from clients is how to minimize capital gain as they will one day pass down the cottage to their children or grandchildren.

As the summer selling season starts to wind down, Fincham says he expects concern will mount amongst sellers. Cottages in Ontario are dropping in price daily, and he believes we will see that accelerate into the fourth quarter as fewer waterfront properties are sold in the winter.

However, while most sellers assume the best time to sell their cottage is in the heat of summer, Ferris says he believes there will actually be an uptick in the number of cottage sales by the end of the year.

"People don't make buying decisions while they're here in cottage country on vacation. They end up making those buying decisions into the fall," he says, adding that surprises a lot of prospective sellers. "Sales increase in the fall because most people who had a great vacation want to buy a cottage to call it their own."

His message to buyers?

"In the long term, prices always go up," he says. "[Buyers] now have the luxury of taking their time, doing their due diligence, doing home inspections that they weren't able to do during the craziness of the COVID real estate market."

According to the , which measures builders' selling prices for new residential houses, prices also edged up 0.2 per cent in July compared to the month before.

The month-over-month increase was especially pronounced in Alberta, where prices jumped 0.8 per cent in a month. Over the past year, the price of a new home in Alberta has risen 3.9 per cent, far outpacing every other province.

New home prices have slowly risen back to where they were in summer 2023, though prices are still 0.9 per cent below their high mark in August 2022.

Across Canada

New homes in British Columbia were 0.3 per cent more expensive in July compared to June.

Alberta continues to see new home prices increase, in Calgary especially, where they have shot up 5.2 per cent in the past year.

Saskatchewan saw a monthly increase of 0.4 per cent, which is also the amount prices have grown over the past year. Prices in Regina are still lower than they were a year ago.

Quebec also saw slight positive price movement, though the Sherbrooke region has seen a 1.2 per cent drop in the past year.

Ontario was flat month-over-month, but is down 1.3 per cent overall year-over-year. The Ottawa-Gatineau and Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo regions lead the way in losses, down 4.1 and 2.7 per cent, respectively.

The minimum income required to purchase a home dipped last month across the 13 major cities studied by Ratehub.ca, according to .

Based on average home prices in each area, average mortgage rates and the "stress test" required in Canada to qualify for a mortgage loan at a bank, Ratehub calculated the minimum income a buyer would need to qualify for a mortgage.

That salary threshold dropped by more than $5,000 in Canada鈥檚 two priciest markets of Toronto and Vancouver, and it was overall lower across the board.

One factor in the drop was average home prices, which went down month-over-month in Canada鈥檚 largest markets.

Another factor was decreasing mortgage rates, which lowered from an average of 5.47 per cent in June to 5.29 per cent in July, based on averages for five-year fixed rate mortgages from Canada鈥檚 five major banks. 

A lower mortgage rate means the  is easier to pass. The test uses a mortgage rate 2 per cent above the rate a buyer is getting from a lender (or 5.25 per cent, whichever is higher) to gauge whether the buyer can financially handle a jump in mortgage payments.

The test factors in home price, annual salary and other debts and expenses to come up with a ratio that is essentially total monthly debts compared to total monthly income.

The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada鈥檚  can be used to calculate the "gross debt service" and "total debt service" based on property value, down payment, mortgage rates and debts.

Note: The tool above uses recommended ratios (32 per cent for gross debt service and 40 per cent for total debt dervice) as a guideline. Ratehub鈥檚 calculations used the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation鈥檚 highest allowable ratios (39 per cent and 44 per cent, respectively).

It was a huge seller's market in some places, with not enough inventory to keep up with buyer demand, said Erica Reddy, a real estate agent and analyst in Toronto.

Now, the situation has flipped, with sales slowing down in certain areas, according to Reddy.

have cooled in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), with new listings soaring 36.5 per cent in the second quarter compared to last year, while sales dropped nearly 20 per cent over the same period, according to the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board.

One luxury recently sold at a whopping $320,000 loss.

What's going on in Canada's condo markets? Reddy spoke with CTV's Your Morning about when is a good time to buy.

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State of condo markets

Reddy described the "massive skew" in supply and demand in the GTA as a "perfect storm."

Investors are struggling to break even and see any cash flow on their properties amid high interest rates, she says, resulting in greater inventory and lower prices.

"You're seeing investors really aren't investing in the marketplace right now, because it's prohibitive for them to," she said.

The GTA market saw a larger drop in condo prices, but the situation differed in other areas in Canada.

In , median condo prices were up seven per cent in July compared to the same period last year.

In , the benchmark price fell slightly at 0.3 per cent in July compared to the same period last year.

The average apartment price in was up 4.9 per cent in July year-over-year, while the benchmark price in rose 17 per cent year-over-year.

In , the median price for apartment units changed little, up only 0.8 per cent year-over-year in the second quarter of 2024.

In and surrounding markets, average condo prices were up nine per cent over last June. July figures weren't available yet from the Winnipeg Regional Real Estate Board.

Is it better to buy or rent right now?

With increased supply outpacing demand, prices are lower in some markets, which gives buyers an edge, Reddy said.

It could be time to take advantage of the buyer's market.

"If you're looking at real estate from a long-term time horizon, it's a phenomenal investment," Reddy said.

Reddy says buyers may also find they don't have to rush into snapping up property, unlike a few years ago, when real estate prices and demand skyrocketed.

"Now it's a much more manageable market," she explained. "You've got time, you've got options and you've got lots of product to shop."

For those who are not sure whether they should buy a condo, she said they can always rent, then buy when they feel the time is right.

For the full interview, watch the video above.

Khoo, a University of British Columbia public scholar, was a veteran of Singapore's planning and development sector starting in 1996 before arriving in Vancouver in 2018.

When Eby unveiled BC Builds in February, Khoo said many Singaporean philosophies were instantly recognizable in the provincial program, right down to the exact percentage points in one instance.

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"BC Builds has pegged their rental rates at 30 per cent of the household income, for instance, and that's something the (Singapore Housing and Development Board) has always stuck by," Khoo said.

"The StrongerBC economic plan is also pushing for things like a lot more upstream planning, which Singapore has always done for a long time," she said. "Some of the regulations and proposals that I've seen in terms of the housing plan is very much inspired (by Singapore)."

Singapore's housing model, where the government plays a dominating role in land ownership, property development, financing and other related aspects of society, has been held up numerous times by others such as Eby as a path to affordability here in Canada.

But the idea isn't without its critics, especially when much of the policy may not be applicable in the Canadian social environment.

The BC Builds program aims to use "government, community and non-profit owned" land and $2 billion in low-cost financing to deliver middle-income homes.

Eby has said that more Singapore inspirations are coming for B.C.'s program.

"We're starting with rental housing," Eby said during a February announcement for BC Builds. "We're going to move into housing for purchases as well. This is a model that has been used in Singapore, in Vienna 鈥� we know that it works, and we are taking that model and we're expanding it dramatically.

"This is how we change the direction of housing."

To make the change by adopting the full Singaporean model, however, will be difficult, said Sock Yong Phang, a Singapore Management University economics professor.

The Singapore-based researcher, who co-authored a 2016 Asian Development Bank Institute report on the country's housing policies, said much of the country's unique take on housing came out of necessity.

Full adaptation in a different environment, therefore, will prove challenging, she said.

Singapore faces an acute problem of land scarcity, Phang said. "(So) it is a holistic framework of land-use planning and allocation, housing supply delivery, housing finance and regulation of housing demand to ensure affordable home ownership.

"The framework in its entirety will be difficult to replicate in another setting."

Singapore, often described as a city-state, houses most of its 5.9 million residents on one main island totalling 730 square kilometres. That area is smaller than every top-15 most-populated census metropolitan areas in Canada, with the closest being Oshawa, Ont., at 903 square kilometres.

The lack of land was compounded by an equal lack in adequate housing when Singapore gained self-governance from Great Britain in 1959.

Phang wrote in the report that less than nine per cent of the population was living in public housing at the time "with the majority living in overcrowded prewar, rent-controlled apartments, lacking access to water and modern sanitation," while "others faced housing conditions comparable to today鈥檚 slums."

It led to the creation of the Housing and Development Board to build and sell public housing, as well as laws that gave government broad powers to acquire land for redistribution for "any public purpose."

As a result, Phang said about 90 per cent of Singapore's land is now state-owned, about 70 per cent of all housing units there are built by the government through the development board, and citizens are required to save money for retirement through a central fund that can be used to buy public housing.

The "tightly integrated land-housing supply and financing system" as described by Phang in the report resulted in Singapore having a 90-per-cent home-ownership rate since 1990.

"What we need to keep in mind when we think about Singapore is that it's a city-state, so the entire population is clustered in one larger urban expanse," said Kai Ostwald, director at the University of British Columbia's Institute of Asian Research, who previously lived in Singapore.

"What that means in practice is that the kind of policies and the kind of interventions that a government in Singapore can make are next to impossible to replicate one-to-one in other contexts. So, at best, I think what's possible is that some elements of the approach that Singapore has taken to public housing can be adapted to different contexts."

For Khoo, one aspect of Singapore's approach to housing that could be replicated in Canada is a more comprehensive approach to urban planning for decades ahead.

"Not only do we have the (long-range plan) to say, 'OK, in 40 years, where do we see the country going?' We actually then break that plan down in development phasing called the master plan, so for every site, or every neighbourhood, the planning then becomes a lot more specific," Khoo said of Singapore's model.

"It's not just the housing, but it's also the facilities that come with it," she said. "So, the retail, the commercial 鈥� (the board) is actually responsible for the master planning of the town."

Ostwald said the units in Singapore are also designed to create interaction between the residents.

"When you're downstairs in the common areas, you're also likely to encounter neighbours. That creates familiarity with the surroundings in a way that a lot of housing in Vancouver doesn't allow for."

He said he's lived in different public housing units in Singapore in the last 25 years, "and in almost every case, within a couple of weeks, I knew my neighbours fairly well. And that has to do with the way that units are laid out."

Singapore writer and activist Kirsten Han, who runs the We The Citizens newsletter analyzing the country's human rights situation, said Singapore's housing policy can be viewed as an extension of its broader vision for society, and planning extends into social engineering that may be hard for Canadians to accept.

For instance, Han said that besides eligibility rules limiting the purchase of public housing to citizens or permanent residents, the development board also has an ethnic integration policy and quotas that control the ethnic mix in a community -- down to the "block and neighbourhood levels."

"The racial quota has been very widely praised abroad as, 'Oh, this is how Singapore deals with racism and builds a multiracial society,'" Han said. "But if you talk to ethnic minorities in Singapore, they also talk about how it actually makes it harder for them to sell their flats.

"An Indian person can only sell to an Indian person if the quota is filled," she said.

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Han added that there is also the issue of the labour that's needed to construct the housing projects, which in Singapore's case often comes from foreign migrant workers.

Han said while Singapore is heavily reliant on these workers to provide labour, they are often housed in dormitories separated from other communities creating a significant social issue that is another part of the country's housing model.

"Migrant workers are seen as just here to work and apart from that are dispensable and discardable," she said. "So, it's actually a very exploitative sort of relationship."

But she said the treatment of the workers doesn't seem to provoke enough outrage for the government to make changes.

The International Labour Organization in 2020 said Singapore had more than 1.4 million migrant workers that are crucial for construction as well as domestic work, and that number comprises 38 per cent of the country's workforce.

Khoo said she has heard the criticism against Singapore's housing model, but it does not take away from the fact that policy has largely achieved what it set out to do: Provide citizens with a pathway to affordable home ownership.

"I do believe that Singapore has done housing well," she said. "It is certainly a beacon that holds hope for other cities wishing to emulate."

Khoo also said critics cannot dismiss the complexity of Singapore's approach, and that experts spend decades fine-tuning every aspect in society to align with the housing policy.

"People have said to me, 'You make it sound so easy.' But it is not quite a snapping of fingers. There is actual dogged diligence and a never-say-die attitude to working through each and every problem, big and small, to find creative ways around it to achieve what we see today.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 6, 2024.

That's two billion dollars less than the federal government projected in its spring budget.

The Liberal government proposed making two-thirds rather than one-half of capital gains -- the profit made on the sale of assets -- taxable.

The proposal was met with pushback from business groups as well as physicians who expect to be affected by the change.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has defended what is effectively a tax increase, arguing that it is about delivering generational fairness to young people who need the government to spend more on things like housing.

The increase to the inclusion rate came into effect on June 25, although legislation has yet to pass Parliament.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 1, 2024.

As of Aug. 1, first-time homebuyers will have 30 years to pay off their insured mortgage, which is required when a down payment is less than 20 per cent of the home price. However, the policy will only apply to newly built homes.

"Honestly, it's not going to move the needle," said Frank Napolitano of Mortgage Brokers Ottawa in an interview with 麻豆影视. 鈥淚 think it'll help a few people, but not very many at this point.鈥�

On a $500,000 mortgage, Napolitano said, a 30-year amortization period could help lower monthly payments by $250, but he doesn't think it's significant enough.

鈥淲e're talking about interest rates that are still pretty elevated, and young Canadians that are struggling to come up with a down payment without the bank of mom and dad,鈥� Napolitano said.

Under the current rules, the longest allowable amortization 鈥� the time a homeowner has to repay their mortgage 鈥� is 25 years.

The Liberal government announced the change in April's federal budget as part of a suite of measures to address Canada鈥檚 housing crisis. Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland touted the policy's benefits in Toronto earlier this week.

"This is just one of several measures that our government is taking to help younger Canadians save for that first down payment and afford a home of their own,鈥� Freeland said at a news conference on Monday.

According to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC), in the last half of 2023, only 17 per cent of mortgages in Canada were insured. The Bank of Canada reports first-time homebuyers accounted for less than half 鈥� 44 per cent 鈥� of home purchases in the first quarter of this year.

The federal government considers a first-time homebuyer to be anyone who has never purchased a home, who has not owned their principal place of residence for the last four years, or who has recently experienced the breakdown of a marriage or common-law partnership.

Still, there are questions around whether first-time homebuyers will want to buy a new build.

鈥淲ith all the length of time that is often involved, if one wants to buy a new condo or pre-construction condo, it can take years for that, so it's probably not for everybody,鈥� said Robert Hogue, assistant chief economist for RBC.

Hogue doesn鈥檛 believe the changes to amortization are a 鈥渟ilver bullet鈥� to fix the housing crisis, but rather an incremental measure as part of a suite of housing measures, especially since the new changes will not apply to properties worth more than $1 million.

鈥淭his is a limiting factor in the high expensive markets like Toronto, (and) Vancouver,鈥� Hogue said.

But Hogue also said extending the amortization period for new builds will help increase the housing supply.

鈥淚n our view, it really lies at the core of the issue,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e need to grow our supply of homes in Canada, given that demand is so large.鈥�

In a statement in April following the federal government鈥檚 announcement of the changes, the CEO of the Canadian Home Builders' Association, Kevin Lee, called the policy a "game changer," adding 鈥渢his measure will also go a long way to enable our sector to respond to the government's goal of getting 5.8 million new homes built over the next decade.鈥�

But one Ottawa-area home builder is reporting just two new sales as a result of the program.

"It's not enough,鈥� said Valecraft Homes owner Frank Nieuwkoop of the longer amortization period. 鈥淚 think the government needs to do more."

Nieuwkoop called the new measure a first step, but he would like to see changes to the so-called stress test, which is the threshold that determines if someone will be able to pay for their mortgage if interest rates rise.

鈥淩ather than forcing people to qualify that stress test, if they qualify at a certain amount, make them lock it in for x number of years,鈥� Nieuwkoop said. 鈥淚f they break that well, then they have to pay that penalty.鈥�

The change to the amortization period is just one of a number of measures the federal government has introduced to address the housing crisis.

As of April 16, the amount first-time homebuyers are able to withdraw from their RRSP increased from $35,000 to $60,000. The federal government also launched the First Home Savings Account last year, which Freeland said has seen 750,000 Canadians sign up.

Earlier this year, the federal government unveiled its plan to build nearly four million homes by 2031. The CMHC has previously said Canada needs to build 5.8 million homes by 2030 to restore housing affordability.  

Global Affairs Canada (GAC) has confirmed to 麻豆影视 the current residence is being 鈥渞eadied for sale,鈥� and the revenue of that sale will offset the cost of purchasing the new $9-milion condo, which drew heavy criticism last week for its hefty price tag.  

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Meanwhile, former journalist and Consul General Tom Clark, the deputy minister of foreign affairs, as well as other departmental officials, have been summoned to the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates to justify the government鈥檚 purchase of new unit just south of Central Park.

Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly will also be called if the committee deems it necessary. 

In tabling the motion to call Clark and other government officials, Conservative MP Kelly Block called the purchase of the condo 鈥渄isturbing but not surprising,鈥� later adding, 鈥淲e have seen the complete lack of spending controls on major procurements鈥� with the Liberal government.

Last week, GAC confirmed the department had purchased a unit in the Steinway Tower, located at 111 West 57th St. The condo will be used for 鈥渘etworking receptions, official briefings, and hospitality events such as discussions with business and political leaders,鈥� GAC spokesperson Jean-Pierre Godbout wrote in an email last week.

In a new statement to 麻豆影视 on Wednesday, Godbout wrote the current residence, located in Manhattan's Upper East Side neighbourhood, "is expected to exceed the purchase price of the new unit."

Asked if Clark and other officials plan to testify between Aug. 19 and 27 as the committee had asked, Godbout responded, "One way officials from Global Affairs Canada support the work of Parliament is by appearing before parliamentary committees," adding the department will respond to the committee's invitation "through the proper channels."

Bloc Quebecois MP Julie Vignola supported Block鈥檚 motion, agreeing the $9-million price tag 鈥渘eeds to be examined.鈥�

鈥淣ine million dollars is nine lifetimes worth of work for the average person,鈥� Vignola told the committee.

The committee is also asking that the government provide a third-party assessment of the Manhattan property, if available. The motion also stipulates the department must provide a list of 鈥渁ll properties, including addresses and listing prices, that have been viewed or considered for purchase for the Consulate General's official residence in New York.鈥�

The current residence for the consul general was last renovated in 1982 and does not meet new building codes nor standards of the department, according to GAC.

Citing significant investments needed to modernize the property, the department 鈥渞ecommended a relocation to a new, smaller, more suitable, and more economical apartment,鈥� Godbout told 麻豆影视.

Godbout said the move could save Canadian taxpayers more than $2 million and reduce ongoing maintenance and property taxes.

According to a listing on the real estate website , the new unit is a 3,600-square foot residence boasting three bedrooms, four bathrooms and 鈥渟tunning powder room is finished in jewel onyx.鈥�

Despite the criticism and cost of having a Manhattan residence, former diplomat and current Senator Peter Boehm said it鈥檚 an important place for Canada to promote its culture and trade.

鈥淚f you want to play in the big leagues, you have to pay to some degree," Boehm told 麻豆影视 in an interview.

Boehm admits the numbers may seem high, but adds that he has seen a number of other countries鈥� missions in his travels and he believes Canada鈥檚 is on par.

鈥淐anadian heads of mission, so ambassadors or consuls general, are housed very well and generally in the middle of the pack. So, not so lavish and also not so shabby, but pretty much where we are as a country,鈥� said Boehm.

More than a decade ago, the department of Foreign Affairs under Stephen Harper鈥檚 Conservative Party started a program to sell off a number of properties and downsize others. Macdonald House at One Grosvenor Square in London, the then-residence of Canada鈥檚 high commissioner in the U.K., was sold for $530 million to a developer from India.

Proceeds from the sale of the posh and historic mansion went to help offset renovations of the high commission鈥檚 current location, Canada House, which is located at Trafalgar Square. Then-High Commissioner Gordon Campbell estimated that once the upgrades were completed, between $150 million and $200 million that could flow back to the central treasury. 

According to the , which measures builders鈥� selling prices of new residential houses, prices have been gently rising so far in 2024, with the Canada-wide average up 0.3 per cent in June compared to January.

Prices overall, though, have dropped since reaching all-time highs in 2022. Compared to June 2023, prices are down 0.2 per cent year-over-year. And compared to August 2022, when prices peaked, the NHPI is down 1.1 per cent.

Across Canada

The chart below details the current NHPI for provinces across Canada. Similar to the , the NHPI measures current new housing prices compared to prices at a fixed point in time 鈥� in this case, prices in December 2016 are measured as the baseline and set at 100.

The current index in June 2024 is 124.7, representing a 24.7 per cent increase in prices since December 2016.

Month-over-month and year-over-year changes are calculated as a percentage change in these tables. The index in Alberta, for example, rose 3.8 index points over the past year, from 117.4 in June 2023 to 121.2 in June 2024. That鈥檚 an increase of 3.2 per cent, calculated by dividing the increase of 3.8 by the starting value of 117.4 and multiplying by 100 per cent.

The overall price index in Canada has declined 0.2 per cent in the past 12 months, though some provinces have seen new housing prices rise in that time period. 

In Alberta, prices were up 0.5 per cent month-over-month, and are up 3.2 per cent in the past 12 months. 

Prices saw the steepest monthly drop in British Columbia, where the index dipped 0.7 per cent in June, with prices in Victoria seeing a 1.3 per cent decrease in just one month. 

Ontario has seen an overall price decline of 1.4 per cent in the past year, and the Ontario part of Ottawa-Gatineau in particular has seen a drop in prices of 4.4 per centin the past 12 months.

Prices have been more varied in Quebec, with some regions seeing increases over the past year as others decline slightly.

Saskatchewan has also seen varied pricing, with the index in Saskatoon this year increasing by 0.8 per cent,while Regina has decreased 1.7 per cent.

The , conducted quarterly by Ipsos, dropped six points from the previous quarter to 85 points, which it says signals increasingly negative views on respondents' debt situation.

Two-thirds of respondents say they desperately need interest rates to go down, as more than half indicate they are concerned rates may not fall quickly enough to provide the financial relief they require.

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The central bank lowered its benchmark interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 4.75 per cent in June and economists expect another cut could be in store when it meets Wednesday for its next rate decision.

The MNP report found 46 per cent of Canadians are $200 or less away from failing to meet all their financial obligations, while three-in-ten say they already can't cover their bills and debt payments.

Grant Bazian, president of MNP Ltd., says that with the prices of many daily necessities still high, "many have not seen the meaningful reduction in their monthly expenses needed to ease their financial burdens."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 22, 2024.

Expectations that the bank will lower its overnight lending rate when it makes its scheduled announcement Wednesday have been high since last week's release of the latest Statistics Canada inflation report, which showed annual inflation cooled to 2.7 per cent in June.

The inflation reading was less than the 2.8 per cent that markets had been expecting and has helped to build market confidence that the Bank of Canada may be poised for a second rate cut, on top of the 25-basis-point cut it announced last month.

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"I think it's very likely the Bank of Canada cuts rates again next week. It wouldn't really make sense from a strategic point of view to only cut rates 25 basis points and then leave them there and see how the economy responds, because that wouldn't really cause a lot of change in the trajectory of the economy or inflation," said Royce Mendes, managing director and head of macro strategy at Desjardins.

"So it always made sense that the Bank of Canada was likely going to do at least two rate cuts in a row before pausing. And now recent data has reinforced that view."

Last month's interest rate cut, which reduced the central bank's key rate from five to 4.75 per cent, was the first in more than four years.

In addition to the latest inflation report, Mendes said, recent data showing rising unemployment as well as subdued expectations for growth by Canadian businesses all support the prospect of another cut.

While inflation remains higher than the Bank of Canada's two per cent target, Mendes said he believes delaying any longer could have negative repercussions.

"The interest rates at the levels they are (currently) are actually very restrictive. You can see it in consumer spending trends. You can see it in the housing market," Mendes said.

"I would say if (the Bank of Canada) didn't cut next week, it would signal a much greater willingness to tip the economy into recession, just for the sake of getting inflation down a few tenths of a percentage point more."

The latest Statistics Canada report on retail sales Friday showed Canadians reined in their spending in May as retail sales dropped 0.8 per cent to $66.1 billion.

Sales were lower in eight of the nine subsectors tracked, the agency said.

"What the Bank of Canada is trying to do is just reduce the amount of restraint it is placing on the economy. It's not trying to stimulate the economy, it's just trying to reduce the amount of headwinds it's providing," Mendes said, adding a second rate cut could make Canadian consumers begin to feel more confident about spending again.

The most recent data on the Canadian job market shows the economy stalling in June, losing 1,400 jobs while the unemployment rate rose to 6.4 per cent, from 6.2 per cent in May.

The June result was the highest reading for the unemployment rate since January 2022, another indication that raises the odds of the Bank of Canada lowering rates this week.

But while most market watchers believe an interest rate cut will come this week and be followed by additional cuts later in the year, which view is not unanimous.

Clay Jarvis, mortgage and real estate expert for NerdWallet Canada, said this week's decision could go either way.

"Considering how cautious the bank is, reducing the overnight rate when inflation is still well over two per cent would be fairly uncharacteristic," Jarvis said in a note.

If the cut does happen, shaving 25 basis points off of variable interest rates is unlikely to be enough to shake up Canada's housing market significantly, Jarvis added, as buyers grapple with the prospect of higher mortgage payments.

A survey conducted by CPA Canada (an organization which represents professional accountants) and BDO Debt Solutions conducted shortly after the June rate cut found half of Canadians say interest rate hikes have negatively impacted their debt loads, with seven out of 10 saying the June cut had no impact on their financial outlook.

The survey also found 52 per cent of respondents believe continued interest rate cuts won't go far enough to reduce the financial strain.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 22, 2024.

The housing agency said the seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts in June amounted to 241,672 units, down from 264,929 in May.

鈥淭he higher interest rate environment appears to have caught up with some of Canada鈥檚 major centres as lower multi-unit starts, particularly in Vancouver and Toronto, drove both the (seasonally adjusted annual rate) and trend down in June," said CMHC chief economist Bob Dugan in a press release.

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"While strong starts growth in June and the first half 2024 in Calgary, Edmonton, and Montreal mitigated some of these decreases, we expect continued downward starts pressure across Canada throughout 2024."

Non seasonally adjusted housing starts were markedly lower in two of Canada's three major cities compared with June 2023, with Toronto down 60 per cent and Vancouver down 55 per cent.

However, Montreal housing starts rose 226 per cent in June year-over-year as multi-unit activity picked up significantly.

The actual number of housing starts in urban centres across Canada was down 13 per cent to 20,509 units in June compared with 23,518 units a year earlier. CMHC attributed the decrease to lower multi-unit starts.

The seasonally adjusted annual rate of rural starts was estimated at 18,438.

The six-month moving average of the monthly seasonally adjusted annual rate was down 0.4 per cent at 247,205 units in June compared with 248,260 units in May.

Despite the pullback, TD economist Marc Ercolao said overall starts "remain well above pre-pandemic levels, as builders have broken ground at elevated rates for purpose-built rental and condo units."

"However, we believe this tide will turn and starts will trend lower on the back of weak pre-sale activity in key markets and elevated input costs," he said in a note.

The June data serves as a reminder of "just how little breathing room builders are working with," said NerdWallet Canada's Clay Jarvis in a statement.

"Unless starts settle into a groove of significant month-over-month increases that lasts for the next several years, we won鈥檛 get anywhere near the housing targets set out by the CMHC," he said.

"It鈥檚 hard to feel confident that builders will generate and sustain that kind of momentum, especially those that rely on pre-sales to get projects off the ground."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 16, 2024.

The latest survey by Nanos Research found that housing and the concern around the cost of housing is quickly overtaking jobs, the economy and the environment as the issue of top national concern.

Over the last month, the poll found that concern about housing increased from 8.8 per cent to 12.5 per cent as concerns around inflation being the top national issue dropped from 13.7 per cent to 12.9 per cent.

The chief data scientist and founder of Nanos Research Nik Nanos said the findings were not surprising.

"Many Canadians, especially young Canadians, feel like they are getting crushed with high interest rates and just the general cost of housing, whether they are renting or paying for a mortgage," Nanos said.

"Worry about housing is not going down with all the efforts that the Liberals are putting behind this, it's actually going up."

Ottawa realtor and broker Marnie Bennett says she's been in the business for more than 43 years and has never seen such high levels of anxiety from both sellers and buyers.

"Nobody can predict what is going on in the economy," she said. "We are dealing as real estate people of this whole balance effect right now."

Bennett says the average price of a home in Ottawa is about $750,000 and that's just for what she calls a "typical" 3 bedroom home.

To increase their buying power, Bennett says more and more clients are moving to Ottawa's East End where prices tend to be nearly $150,000 less, buying fixer uppers, or choosing to buy much smaller homes outside the city than they had initially searched for.

Bennett also says she sees more intergenerational homes and parents gifting their children money so they can afford a down payment.

"Everyone's dream is to own a home, but I don't know if that is going to be a reality anymore because how are you going to save the money?" she said.

The latest Nanos federal ballot tracking has the Conservatives now at 41.0 per cent, 15 points ahead of the Liberals at 25.7 per cent. The NDP, meanwhile, are sitting at 17.3 per cent, the Bloc at 8.9 per cent, the Green Party at 4.2 per cent and the Peoples Party at 2.6 per cent.

Nanos says it's young people, who he called a swing-voting block, appear to be deserting the Liberal government.

"In 2015, Justin Trudeau built his majority around many enthusiastic and positively minded young people who were progressive," he said. "Fast forward now, and those same young people have deserted the Liberals and are looking at the Conservatives probably because of the anxiety and frustration they are having with the rising cost of living and housing."

But the problem for the Liberals may stretch beyond any one issue and be more about the Liberal brand itself. Dalhousie University professor Lori Turnbull says that while the Liberals were "late to the party" when it comes to honing in on housing as a major problem, a large number of voters appear to have tuned out the Liberals all together.

"It's more 'are people listening to the Liberals at all?'" she asked. "It wouldn't matter what the Liberals were talking about to some people, it wouldn't matter if they were putting up all the things they wanted to hear and it wouldn't matter because they are not listening."

Turnbull says there is a sense that momentum is gaining behind the Conservatives and that the Liberals, after failing to gain significant strength in poll after poll, are on their path to defeat.

"If it starts to feel like the Liberals are going to lose, then there is going to be less people listening to what their proposed solutions are because they think they will not have the opportunity to implement them anyway," she said.

So how could the Liberals change the channel and get more people's attention? Turnbull says that would likely require a new leader, which she calls an unlikely event.

"Would that be a solution to everything? No," she said. "It looks like Justin Trudeau is on this path and as long as that is the case, it is really hard for a party to show up differently with the same leader, especially when the party has so much taken on the image of Justin Trudeau and remade itself according to his values, his persona."

The association said Friday it anticipates a gradual rebound in the national housing market, with 472,395 properties forecast to trade hands this year to mark a 6.1 per cent increase from 2023 鈥� down from its forecast in April of a 10.5 per cent gain.

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The revised forecast came as CREA reported the latest national home sales and pricing data for June. 

On a year-over-year basis, the number of homes that changed hands in the month fell 9.4 per cent, reflecting stronger activity in spring 2023. But CREA said sales ticked up 3.7 per cent on a month-over-month basis.

鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 a 鈥榖low the doors off鈥� month by any means, but Canada鈥檚 housing numbers did perk up a bit on a month-over-month basis in June following the first Bank of Canada rate cut,鈥� said CREA senior economist Shaun Cathcart in a press release.

It said the average price of a home sold last month amounted to $696,179, down 1.6 per cent from June 2023. Nationally, prices ticked up 0.1 per cent compared with May, the first month-over-month gain in 11 months.

"This could be a harbinger of improved activity ahead," said TD economist Rishi Sondhi in a note.

"Indeed, we think that markets will be stronger in the back half of the year, as the economy holds up and more meaningful interest rate relief is delivered. However, stretched affordability conditions will likely limit the degree of improvement."

CREA said it is now forecasting just a 2.5 per cent annual increase in the average price of a home for 2024 to $694,393. That's down from its previous forecast of a 4.9 per cent increase.

The Bank of Canada began its rate-lowering process with a June 5 cut that brought its key interest rate down to 4.75 per cent from five per cent.

"All told, the resale housing market was subdued across much of the country in June, with little major response to the initial rate cut of this cycle," said BMO senior economist Robert Kavcic in a note.

"For the Bank of Canada, this will be considered good news as the market is not standing in the way of further easing at this point."

Additional potential rate cuts by the central bank later this year should bring more would-be buyers off the sidelines, said John Lusink, president of Right at Home Realty, in an interview.

"I think if they're significant enough, we could see a bit of a surge in activity by mid-to-late Q4," said Lusink, adding he would be "surprised if we didn't see rate cuts throughout the remainder of the year."

"I wouldn't say to any buyer, 'Wait,' but I would say take your time, and there's lots of inventory out there at the moment."

There were about 180,000 properties listed for sale across Canada at the end of June, up 26 per cent from a year earlier but still below historical averages of around 200,000 for this time of the year.

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New listings grew 1.5 per cent month-over-month in June, led by the Greater Toronto Area and B.C. Lower Mainland.

"You've got sellers sitting on one side, buyers on the other and the two aren't meeting in the middle," said Lusink.

"It's sort of a holding pattern."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 12, 2024.

The latest released Thursday, detailing market trends across Canada during the second quarter, said demand continues to outpace supply in the Prairies and Quebec, but Toronto and Vancouver saw slower-than-usual activity this spring.

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Phil Soper, president and CEO of Royal LePage, said prices have remained sticky in Canada's largest markets.

鈥淭his spring, with bank rate cuts highly anticipated, we saw some buyers race to get a deal done ahead of an expected spike in demand,鈥� said Soper in a press release.

"Yet, when that first cut finally occurred in early June, market response was tepid."

A Royal LePage survey conducted by Leger earlier this year suggested 51 per cent of would-be homebuyers would resume their search if interest rates decreased, but just 10 per cent said a 25-basis-point cut would prompt them to jump back into the market.

Around 18 per cent said they were waiting for a cut of 50 to 100 basis points, and 23 per cent said they need to see a drop of more than 100 basis points.

鈥淣ot surprisingly, the quarter-point cut to the bank rate didn't substantially improve the affordability picture," said Soper.

"The tale the market tells as rate cuts get to the point of a material reduction in the cost of borrowing should be a very different one.鈥�

The national aggregate home price rose 1.9 per cent year-over-year to $824,300 in the second quarter of 2024, which was also a 1.5 per cent increase from the first quarter, according to the report.

The figure is compiled from the company's property data nationally and regionally in 64 of Canada's largest real estate markets.

When broken out by housing type, the national median price of a single-family detached home increased 2.2 per cent year-over-year to $860,600, while the median price of a condominium increased 1.6 per cent to $596,500.

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Royal LePage is also forecasting the aggregate price of a home in Canada will increase nine per cent to $860,555 in the fourth quarter of 2024 compared to the same quarter last year.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 11, 2024.

Mary Sialtsis, a mortgage broker in Mississauga, Ont., said it's not impossible to make the dream of homeownership a reality, but there are some challenges that come with a poor credit score.

What is a bad credit score?

Bad credit scores don't have to crush anyone's dreams of homeownership, but it's important to know the reality of your situation.

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Credit scores in Canada range from 300 to 900, with higher scores being considered optimal.

What is considered bad credit varies, but Sialtsis said in an interview with CTV's Your Morning Thursday that 鈥� when it comes to mortgages 鈥� most lenders are looking for a minimum score of 680.

"Generally anything below 680 is considered bad. The worst, by far, is anything below 600," Sialtsis said.

Consumers can find out their by requesting it from Equifax or TransUnion, and they can do this once a year for free. The report will provide a full breakdown, she said.

Those just looking for their credit score, not a full report, may be able access this through online banking services or their banking app, some of which offer regular updates.

What can lower your credit score

Missed payments can lead to what Sialtsis prefers to call "bruised" credit, but even if you're making your minimum payments, another thing can be hurting your score: having a high balance.

"Even though you're paying on time, consistently carrying high balances will have an impact on your score," she explained.

Consumers should keep their credit card balance below 60 per cent of the limit, she recommended, saying below 50 per cent of the limit would be even better.

Mortgage broker vs. bank

Those with "bruised credit" should know what their options are when looking for a mortgage, and what will likely be ruled out.

According to Sialtsis, regular banks won't be able to help them if their score is below the threshold.

She said would-be buyers should first contact a mortgage broker or mortgage professional, who will be able to work with them while shopping around for rates.

Some brokers even advertise that they'll work with clients who have bad credit, trying to get buyers approved even if they've been turned down by their bank.

Brokers may be able to help with other types of mortgages, or with finding alternative lenders.

How to improve your credit score  

Even if they are able to find a mortgage, people thinking about buying a home should try to start "fixing" their credit, Siatalis said.

Paying your bills on time is the most impactful way to improve their credit score, Sialtsis said.

She recommended setting up automatic payments with online banking. Even setting this up so that banks take the minimum amount when bills are due will make life easier, she said.

How long does it take?

It can take years to clean up your credit history, according to Sialtsis.

"So what lenders like to see after you've had a period of bruised credit is ... two years of clean credit history, meaning you've paid on time, your balances are kept lower, there aren't any derogatories or any kind of collection items," she said.

No credit history or a new Canadian?

Sialtsis recommends newcomers to Canada and people without a credit history get a credit card immediately, even if it's a secured credit card.

Secured cards work somewhat like debit cards. The holder pays off the maximum balance before any money is spent, so there's no risk of a bill being missed, and the limit can be set low for those worried about accidentally overspending.

Sialtsis said it may feel "ridiculous" to have this type of pre-paid card, but can provide those who are new to credit with a lower-risk way to build up a score. Over time, as the holder proves themselves to be a good borrower, their credit score will improve and other borrowing options, including possibly mortgages, will become available.

As mentioned, those applying to borrow money for a vehicle or a home often need to have two years of good clean credit history.

In addition, Sialtsis said, lenders may prefer borrowers with at least two different methods of credit, such as a credit card and a line of credit or multiple credit cards. She said ideally those methods of credit have a minimum available limit of $2,500 each, to prove a borrower is responsible.

Typically, the spring and summer months see a boom in the Canadian real estate market. However, an economist expects higher interest rates will "keep a lid on" sales volumes, putting "pressure on housing prices" and bottling market growth.

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"There was some concern that if interest rates fell, we would just see house prices explode again," David Macdonald, a senior economist at the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, told 麻豆影视 Channel on Monday. "But it's not clear to me that the prices are going to go way up."

How long will buyers sit on the sidelines?

In Macdonald's mind, one of the big issues that's throttled growth in the real estate market is that the impacts of higher interest rates are still trickling down through the system鈥攅ven though the Bank of Canada recently cut its key lending rate.

"Many Canadians have yet to even renew at these higher rates," Macdonald told 麻豆影视 Channel anchor Marcia MacMillan. "June is that midway point."

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He warns that even if households are renewing at a rate that's "slightly cheaper" after the latest rate cut, they're "almost certainly" renewing at a much higher rate than they started at.

"This appears to continue to keep a lid on volumes, keeping them very low."

How are supply challenges impacting the market?

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. says the annual pace of housing starts in May climbed 10 per cent compared with April.

But Macdonald says that higher interest rates have caused challenges for more than just home owners; "It has a big impact on new construction of residential houses in general."

He says this is one of the key impacts that higher rates have had on the economy, warning that "we've seen a decline, particularly in single-family home residential investment."

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"If we take a look at the apartment construction side, that's relatively similar to where it was when the rate hike started," Macdonald says. "In large part, that's because governments are backstopping new apartment builds."

Although tax preferences and subsidized government loan programs may have kept new apartment investment from falling, according to Macdonald, he does note that although it鈥檚 鈥渘ot down, it鈥檚 not up.鈥�

"But at least it's not down in the same way that we've seen on single-family homes."

What about interest rates?

Amid widespread speculation that Bank of Canada decision makers will make at least one more rate cut in 2024, how long could buyers remain on the sidelines in the housing market?

According to Macdonald, "we might see (sales) volumes increase" but he warns against the expectations that prices will skyrocket like during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Volumes are way down compared to where they were pre-pandemic."

He did reiterate the fact that even if interest rates "came down by a fair amount," it's unlikely to cause a surge in prices, because "it's still a lot more expensive" than it was in years past for potential buyers to carry a mortgage.

"This big increase that folks are concerned about in terms of house prices just doesn't seem as likely as it might have been."