Canada has some of the highest household debt levels in the world, but last week a new report from Statistics Canada found that that could be starting to change. The country’s household debt-to-income ratio fell to 168 per cent in the first quarter of 2018, after reaching a historic high of 170.5 per cent in Q3 2017. “[The decline hints] … Read More

The first quarter of 2018 was dominated by economic forecasts calling for a rough first quarter for the Canadian housing market, followed by a recovery in the spring. But spring has come and gone, and Canadian home sales are still slumping on a year-over-year basis, while prices in most markets remain stubbornly flat. While provincial housing policy and a rising … Read More

Even as oil prices trade near the highest in four years, offices in the capital of Canada’s energy industry are about as empty as they’ve been since at least 2008. The office vacancy rate in Calgary climbed to about 23 percent in the first quarter of this year, up from 20 percent a year earlier, according to a report from … Read More

Chinese citizen claims property levy discriminates against non-Canadians, in breach of Constitution A landmark civil trial kicked off Monday testing the legality of a foreign buyers tax enacted by the province of British Columbia in response to a housing affordability crisis. The legal battle pits the government against a proposed class of foreign nationals who claim they’ve been discriminated against in violation of … Read More

For now, Seattle-based real estate mega site Zillow is targeting only American eyeballs for Canadian properties through a new deal that gives it a direct feed to Century 21 Canada listings. The company announced Wednesday that it expects to feature Canadian real estate, including the Century 21 listings, later this year. The Zillow Group’s sites and apps, including Zillow.com and Trulia.com, … Read More