Home Prices Post Monthly Gain as Supply Tightens National home prices posted their first monthly increase since February as housing inventory tightened further to “extremely low” levels, the Canadian Real Estate Association reported. The average selling price in August was $663,500, up 13.3% year-over-year and a 0.5% increase from July, ending a four-month streak of […]

Annual Inflation In August Rises to 4.1% in Canada–But Are We Close To The Peak?   Today’s release of the August Consumer Price Index (CPI) for Canada posted another uptick in the year-over-year (y/y) inflation rate, but hidden in the details was some support for the Bank of Canada’s position that the spike in inflation […]

Home Prices Still Rising As Falling Sales Reflect Insufficient Supply   Today the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) released statistics showing national existing home sales fell a slight 0.5% nationally from July to August 2021–the fifth consecutive monthly decline. Over the same period, the number of newly listed properties edged up 0.8%, and the MLS Home Price Index […]

August Employment Report Showed Continuing Recovery   This morning, Statistics Canada provided us with some much-needed good news on the economic front following last week’s surprisingly dismal Q2 GDP report. Canada’s labour market continued its recovery in August, especially in the hardest-hit food services and accommodation sectors. The August Labour Force Survey (LFS) data reflect […]

Bank of Canada Responds To Weak Q2 Economy–Holding Policy Steady   As we await the quarterly economic forecast in next month’s Monetary Policy Report, the Bank of Canada acknowledged that the Q2 GDP report, released last week, caught them off-guard. In today’s policy statement, the Governing Council of the Bank said, “In Canada, GDP contracted […]

Royal Bank Added $9 Billion in Mortgages to its Portfolio this Quarter Royal Bank exceeded expectations for its third-quarter earnings, driven in large part by strong mortgage growth. Canada’s largest bank grew its mortgage portfolio by $37 billion over the past year, with a gain of $9 billion in the last quarter alone. President and […]

BMO and Scotiabank Q3 Earnings: Lower Provisions Lead to a Near-Doubling in Profits Bank of Montreal and Scotiabank kicked off third-quarter earnings for the Big 6 banks this week, with both reporting a sharp rise in profits. That was largely due to both banks reducing their loan loss provisions, or money set aside to cover […]

What Does High Inflation Mean for Mortgage Rates? Canada’s inflation rate came in above expectations last week, rising to its highest level in more than a decade. If above-target inflation persists, it could have ramifications for homeowners in the form of shifting rate-hike expectations. Canada’s inflation rate came in burning hot at 3.7% for July, […]

Mortgage Borrowing Grew at its Fastest Monthly Pace Ever in June Mortgage debt in Canada soared above $1.7 trillion in June, growing at a monthly pace never before seen, according to Statistics Canada. The new figures show mortgage debt grew 9.2% compared to the same time last year, a pace not seen since 2008, and […]

Annual Inflation Hits 3.7% in Canada–A New Election Issue This morning’s Stats Canada release showed that the July CPI surged to a 3.7% year-over-year pace, well above the 3.1% pace recorded in June. This is now the fourth consecutive month in which inflation is above the1% to 3% target band of the Bank of Canada. […]