Retailers go broke, property and oil fall but maybe the economic pain will speed beneficial changes By: Don Pitts As people are thrown out of work, as businesses fail and as the oil and housing sectors weaken, there is a branch of economics that insists it all may have a silver lining. Just last week the retailer Pier 1, familiar to … Read More

By: Nicole Sullivan Despite sudden drops in housing market sales activity in the last two months, almost two-thirds (60 per cent) of buyers still consider 2020 a good year to purchase a home. A recent survey by Zolo shows that even with higher unemployment and uncertain business conditions, buyers still intend to buy a residential property either this year or over the … Read More

By: Laura Grace Tarpley Everything you thought you knew about buying a home has probably flown out the window during the coronavirus pandemic. Yes, interest rates are at historic lows — but they’re also jumping up and down, making it hard to know whether you’re getting the best rate possible. Lenders are changing their criteria for borrowers to avoid lending to people … Read More

By: Geoff Zochodne The economic shock caused by the coronavirus pandemic will have the housing market in flux in 2020, and its lingering effects could lead to lower resale prices when the dust begins to settle, according to economists at the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. “The expected volatility in overall economic activity in the coming quarters will not skip … Read More

By: Steve Huebl While Canadian lenders stepped forward with unprecedented measures to assist those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, there were still some homeowners unable to make their mortgage payments over the past month. As many as one in 20 homeowners (6%) said they missed their mortgage payment recently due in part or in full to the ongoing pandemic, with another … Read More