In the City: A new report on the housing crunch in Toronto and an agency dials back the overvaluation warning.
Elsewhere: Why Ottawa must rethink the stress test, a dark side to the California dream and where Europe would be hurt most by a no-deal Brexit.
Toronto
'People are stuck': Report highlights Toronto's housing crunch as city prepares 10-year plan (CBC)
Delisi's experience points to a "grim" trend highlighted in a new report underpinning the city's next wave of housing planning: Toronto residents are grappling with a housing crunch that's on track to get worse if there's not enough government action, thanks to low rates of social housing and purpose-built rental construction coupled with rising population growth.
Housing Agency Dials Back Warning of Overvaluation in Toronto (Bloomberg)
Homes in Canada’s biggest city are showing fewer signs of being overvalued, taking some pressure off a market that remains highly vulnerable, the federal housing agency said.
How a 32-year-old managed to accumulate 10 homes in Toronto (Toronto Life)
All of my purchases were in the middle six figures, so I didn’t feel as though I was paying outrageous prices. And all of them were in areas well served by subways, which both boosted the rent I could charge and increased each property’s potential for price appreciation.
Tenants occupy damaged Junction-area house rather than risk losing affordable housing (Toronto Star)
Deborah Savage is standing in her apartment more than three weeks after a fire at the house, looking up at a hole cut in the wall of her living room and waiting for police to walk through the door.
Canada
Why Ottawa must rethink the stress test on mortgage switches (The Globe and Mail)
Since Canada’s most recent mortgage stress test began a year ago, more than one in 10 potential borrowers can no longer qualify for a bank mortgage, real estate prices are falling, homes are taking longer to sell, record numbers of Canadians are turning to costly higher-risk lenders and untold numbers of mortgage renewers are now paying higher rates.
Short sellers renew bets against Canadian banks in 2019 — so far they're paying a high price (Financial Post)
“We think the housing sector is the poster child for all the problems and imbalances we see in Canada today,” Costa said. “It’s pretty clear to us that the financial sector … when the economic cycle turns, are the ones that take the most hits.”
Canada's housing market still 'vulnerable' even as Toronto valuations cool, says CMHC (Financial Post)
The country’s overall real estate market remains “vulnerable” despite an easing in overvaluation in cities like Toronto and Victoria in the third quarter, according to a report by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.
USA
Article 34, which remains in effect, requires voter approval before public housing is built in a community. At the time it passed, the real estate industry argued taxpayers should have a right to vote on low-income housing projects because they were publicly funded infrastructure similar to schools or roads. The campaign also appealed to racist fears about integrating neighborhoods and featured heated rhetoric about the need to combat socialism.
No, Zoning Reform Isn’t Magic. But It’s Crucial. (City Lab)
Freemark’s paper is largely a discussion of whether upzoning certain areas of Chicago did actually increase density within five years, not whether increasing density makes places more affordable. Increasing supply, on the whole, can be expected to lead to lower rents. But in the study, supply didn’t actually increase, even though it could have.
The Perfect Rent-Controlled Apartment (NY Times)
“Hardly anyone had taken any automatic rent increases, and I felt bad paying so little,” said Mr. Bennett, now 93. “I had this beautiful apartment. She was a good landlord and never asked for automatic increases. And I liked the house so much. So I made a generous offer.”
International
Where Europe Would Be Hurt Most by a No-Deal Brexit (NY Times)
By most accounts, Britain's economy would be hammered if it crashed out of the European Union without a deal. The gloomiest projections show that Britain would lose 9.3 percent of its gross domestic product, housing prices could sink by 30 percent and the pound could fall against the dollar to $1.10. (The pound, seen as a barometer of confidence in Brexit, is now at about $1.29.)
The tiny home that can be built in four hours (BBC)
The Philippines has one of Asia’s fastest-growing populations and it desperately needs more houses –12 million by 2030, according to estimates.
February 8, 2019
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