IDS GROUP

While this won't have any immediate effect on mortgages, it does give investors hope that the market is beginning to turn around.

Bank of Canada reduces policy rate by 25 basis points The Bank of Canada today reduced its target for the overnight rate to 4¾%, with the Bank Rate at 5% and the deposit rate at 4¾%. The Bank is continuing its policy of balance sheet normalization.

New short-term rental rules come into effect today!

New rules take effect to rein in short-term rentals, deliver more homes | BC Gov News New short-term rental rules that will deliver more homes for people are set to come into effect on May 1, 2024, as the Province releases additional information to guide hosts, platforms and visitors through the changes.

Building Affordably Priced Housing Has Become Impossible. Some developers have put their projects on hold while they wait for prices to drop again. Others have completely cancelled them.

Affordable Housing Has Become Unaffordable to Build | The Tyee A ‘perfect storm’ of rising costs makes it hard to keep rents low, say non-profits.

https://thetyee.ca/News/2023/08/31/Affordable-Housing-Unaffordable-Build/
Building Affordably Priced Housing Has Become Impossible. Some developers have put their projects on hold while they wait for prices to drop again. Others have completely cancelled them.

Affordable Housing Has Become Unaffordable to Build | The Tyee A ‘perfect storm’ of rising costs makes it hard to keep rents low, say non-profits.

https://idsgroup.ca/redevelopment/revolutionizing-affordable-housing-and-promoting-fairness-in-the-rental-housing-market/

Check out this Affordable Housing Proposal article written by IDS Group's President, Josh Adelberg.

Revolutionizing Affordable Housing and Promoting Fairness in the Rental Housing Market – IDS GROUP Revolutionizing Affordable Housing and Promoting Fairness in the Rental Housing MarketBy Josh Adelberg / August 16, 2023 August 16, 2023The current affordable housing strategy results in a disconnect between income levels and rent payments, leading to inequitable situations. For instance, individual...

The cost of homes is being unnecessarily increased, according to a B.C. business tax advocate who is advocating for significant changes to a building charge assessed by many towns.

B.C. pledges development charge reform as housing crisis persists - BC | Globalnews.ca Industry critics say community amenity contributions, negotiated with developers to pay for things like daycares and parks, are adding to the already high cost of housing.

In many areas, obtaining approval for housing projects entails paying questionable even unlawful fees to local administrations, which have led to the accumulation of significant slush funds.

Opinion: Steep municipal fees for housing are "hidden" in prices and rents | Urbanized Community amenity contributions (CACs) and other development related fees are significant cost factors for housing affordability.

There is no "silver bullet" answer to Canada's housing supply dilemma, but policymakers may make progress if they coordinate their efforts at all levels of government, according to a new analysis.

Boosting housing supply requires co-ordination by all levels of government: Desjardins There's no “silver bullet” solution to the housing supply crisis, but policymakers can make headway with a co-ordinated approach. Read more.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and most of his 38 cabinet ministers gathered in Prince Edward Island, promising to heed calls from Canadians to fix the housing crisis, but without any specific new plans to do so.

Trudeau tells Canadians to stay tuned on housing solutions - BNN Bloomberg The federal Liberal cabinet wrapped up a three-day retreat in Prince Edward Island on Wednesday promising to heed calls from Canadians to fix the housing crisis, but without any specific new plans to do so.

Surging construction costs in Canada are putting new pressure on home prices, worsening a severe affordability crunch, according to RBC.

Homebuilding costs in Canada soar 51% as population surges Surging construction costs in Canada are putting new pressure on home prices, worsening a severe affordability crunch, says RBC. Read more

Vancouver homes prices increased in June along with the number of residential home sales, according to the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver.

Real estate: Vancouver home prices rose in June - BNN Bloomberg Vancouver homes prices increased in June along with the number of residential home sales, the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver reported on Wednesday.

Canadians will have to adjust their expectation of what a normal mortgage rate level looks like going forward, economist Robert Kavcic says.

Mortgage rates won’t go back to what they used to be anytime soon: Economist - BNN Bloomberg Canadians will have to adjust their expectation of what a normal mortgage rate level looks like going forward, one economist says.

Ted Rechtshaffen believes that with inflation at 2.5% and mortgage prices not present, it is time for the central bank to stop raising interest rates.

The case for ending the Bank of Canada's interest rate hikes now It's time for the Bank of Canada to stop raising interest rates now with year-over-year inflation at 2.5%, writes Ted Rechtshaffen. Read on.

https://biv-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/biv.com/article/2023/06/bc-launches-500m-rental-building-buy-fund?amp

B.C. launches $500M rental building buy fund Katie Maslechko, CEO, will stick handle controversial B.C. government program that aims to help non-profits buy and preserve older rental apartment buildings

https://www-bnnbloomberg-ca.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.bnnbloomberg.ca/canada-needs-300-000-new-rental-units-to-avoid-gap-quadrupling-by-2026-report-1.1898927.amp.html

Canada needs 300,000 new rental units to avoid gap quadrupling by 2026: report Canada's rental housing shortage will quadruple to 120,000 units by 2026 without a significant boost in stock, Royal Bank of Canada said in a report Wednesday.

https://cibccm.com/en/insights/articles/the-week-ahead-time-to-waive-or-defer-hst-on-purpose-built-rentals/

The Week Ahead: Time to waive or defer HST on purpose-built rentals - CIBC Capital Markets Something very interesting happened over the last few months. Literally minutes following the Bank of Canada’s January announcement of its intention to pause, home buyers all over the country woke up, causing sales and the average home price to rebound by no less than 21% and 13%, respectively, si...

On the Monday after his inauguration as premier, David Eby unveiled the Housing Supply Act, which would grant the province government the power to mandate housing targets for local municipalities and possibly impose "compliance options" when necessary.

How BC Chose The 10 Municipalities To Be Given Housing Targets The 10 municipalities that will be given housing targets include the City of Vancouver, Victoria, Port Moody, Delta, and Abbotsford.

Housing experts and renters say the supply of affordable rental homes in Metro Vancouver is 'out of control' with closet-sized space rents amounting to 800 a month.

Would you pay $800 a month to live in a closet? In Vancouver, that may be all you can afford | CBC News Exorbitant rents in Metro Vancouver are nothing new, but renters in the region say the listings they’re coming across have reached a whole new level of absurdity.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau revealed to Canada's mayors that his government will launch a new long-term, housing-based infrastructure plan this fall.

Trudeau Promises New Housing-Based Infrastructure Plan This Fall Speaking to Ontario mayors on Friday, Trudeau said the federal infrastructure plan "will have very direct links to housing."

Inflation is being fueled by rising mortgage interest rates, targeting homeowners.

Surging mortgage interest costs are fuelling inflation and putting homeowners in the crosshairs Homeowners renewing their mortgages could face huge increases as interest costs soared 28.5% in April, driving up inflation. Read on.

A recent report discovered that excessive regulatory burden contributes to housing prices being much higher than the cost of producing new dwellings.

High cost of regulation makes housing in Canada unaffordable Housing in Canada is unaffordable due to the high cost of regulations and a lack of access to developable land. Read more here.

According to the most recent housing market outlook published by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), Canadian home prices will continue to decline through the middle of 2023.

Canada's home prices haven't hit bottom yet, says CMHC Canadian home prices forecast to decline until mid year before they bottom out and start rising again through 2025. Read more from CMHC

According to statistics released by the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV), market activity is once again picking up based on the data on property sales.

Homebuyer Confidence Returning in Greater Vancouver: REBGV In April, the Greater Vancouver region registered 2,721 residential home sales, according to REBGV data, after 2,511 in March.

The City of Vancouver has a backlog of rezoning applications and inquiries, and the City is considering adopting a prioritization structure to allow some applications to move through approval processes more quickly.

Vancouver Looking At New Rezoning Prioritization Process The City of Vancouver says it has a backlog of rezoning applications and is proposing a prioritization framework for certain proposals.

According to the monthly data issued on May 2, prices in the Vancouver real estate market continued to rise in April, while the number of properties for sale remained below historical levels.

Vancouver home prices rise 5% so far this year with listings stuck near record-lows Meanwhile, new listings in Vancouver fell 30% in April from the year before. Find out more.

Trudeau's immigration policies are worsening the home affordability crisis, according to economist David Rosenberg

Trudeau's immigration policy worsening housing affordability crisis: Rosenberg Immigration targets are worsening the housing affordability crisis and could jeopardize Liberal re-election, says David Rosenberg. Read on.

Vancouver is looking to increase developer CAC Rates as much as 111%. If approved, the new rates would come into effect on September 30.

Vancouver Looks to Increase Developer CACs as Much as 111% The City of Vancouver is set to increase target rates for Community Amenity Contributions (CACs) that it charges developers for rezonings.

As rising interest rates make house ownership increasingly out of reach, Canada's housing scarcity is showing up in new ways, with people battling to rent homes as opposed to those fighting to buy one.

Rents on the rise again as demand outpaces supply The annual asking rent in Canada rose 10.8 per cent to $2,004 in March as a shortage of supply hit markets. Read on.