by Neil Sharma Six months into legalization, cannabis is breathing new life into small, struggling markets. According to Altus Group, once-depressed tertiary markets are enjoying resurgence, thanks to the arrival of marijuana production facilities that are priced out of urban markets. One such example is Leamington, Ontario, where Aphria Inc. set up shop in an erstwhile Heinz Ketchup processing plant. Elsewhere … Read More

by Steve Randall The federal government announced Thursday that it is adding more strength to the National Housing Strategy. The right to adequate housing for all Canadians will be supported by several key initiatives: Requiring the adoption and maintenance of a National Housing Strategy (NHS), that prioritizes the housing needs of the most vulnerable and requires regular reporting to Parliament … Read More

by Steve Randall  April 9, 2019 The share of Canadians who believe the housing market is favouring sellers and those who think it favours buyers is aligned. Just 2 percentage points divide the two opinions, making it the first time in 5 years that a balanced market is perceived according to a survey by RBC. Roughly a third of respondents … Read More

The announcement of a new CMHC First-Time Home Buyers Incentive Plan represents a shared equity mortgage program that would give eligible first-time homebuyers the ability to lower their borrowing costs by sharing the cost of buying a home with CMHC. The incentive would provide funding (equity sharing) of up to five percent of the purchase price of an existing home, … Read More

Statistics Canada says the amount Canadians owe relative to their income ticked higher in the fourth quarter of last year as the growth in debt slightly outpaced income growth. The agency says that seasonally adjusted household credit market debt, as a proportion of disposable income, increased to 178.5 per cent in the fourth quarter. That compared with a revised reading … Read More