Condo Market Turbulence + Bank of Canada Weighs Mortgage Rules Impact

Toronto: Condo market may hit turbulence and can the city afford mid-rise housing?

Elsewhere: New mortgage rules will figure prominently in Bank Of Canada's interest-rate decision, Trumps tariffs price Americans out of housing market and the UK's largest estate agent group sees massive shares drop.

Toronto

High-Flying Toronto Condo Market May Be About to Hit Turbulence (Bloomberg)

Evidence of a slowdown is emerging as new rules make it tougher to get a mortgage and borrowing costs rise for the first time in almost a decade. That’s reducing the appeal of Toronto condos, whose average price now exceeds C$560,000 ($420,000). Projects are taking longer to sell and, in some areas, developers are using incentives to move units.

Toronto wants mid-rise housing, but can we afford it? (The Globe and Mail)

Builders in Toronto are facing something of a dilemna: Residents want fewer high-rises and planners are making available more sites suitable for more compact buildings, but costs are making mid-rise residential properties exceptionally expensive to construct.

Don't blame real estate investors for rental market woes (Financial Post)

One oft-cited statistic suggests that 47 per cent of the dwellings in the city are rental units, with owner-occupied housing at 53 per cent constituting a small majority. While this figure tells us that owners inhabit 53 per cent of the dwellings in the city, it says nothing of how much housing owned by private households is rented out.

Toronto's mayor says it can't handle more refugee claimants but some say finding housing feels impossible (CBC)

"Right now, we're saying, we have a problem and we need help," Tory told reporters on Tuesday. "We have exhausted our available sites, our resources and our personnel. We need the other levels of government to step up and assist Toronto in a true partnership."

Canada

Trade dispute, housing to 'figure prominently' in central bank's rate decision (CBC)

The impacts of both the escalating cross-border trade fight and new mortgage rules will "figure prominently" for the Bank of Canada ahead of its upcoming interest-rate decision, governor Stephen Poloz said Wednesday.

Homebuyers still believe foreign buyers heavily influence market, despite data: CMHC (CTV)

Foreign buyers might make up a small sliver of Canada's biggest real estate markets, but homebuyers in Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal still believe they are heavily influencing housing activity.

B.C. signs agreement with Canada to pump almost $1 billion into affordable housing over 10 years (Global)

British Columbia has signed a deal with the federal government that will see almost $1 billion go to affordable housing across the province over the next decade. The provincial and federal governments say more than $990 million will be spent on building, repairing and expanding social housing and supporting housing affordability.

Amid Canada’s housing crisis, to live in a coffee shop isn't all that unusual (The Guardian)

Ted’s living situation was shocking, but it is mirrored across Vancouver, a city that is in the grips of an unprecedented housing crisis. A dwelling here now costs $1.4m (£800,000) on average, making it the least affordable city in North America.

USA

Trump’s tariffs on Canadian lumber are pricing Americans out of the U.S. housing market (Global)

“Today, we discussed with Secretary Ross our mutual concern that lumber prices have risen sharply higher than the tariff rate would indicate, and that this is hurting housing affordability in markets across the nation,” Noel said in the statement by the NAHB.

Yet another sign that San Francisco's housing market is out of control (CNN)

The formula takes into account an area's median family income, as well as its housing costs. Those who make 80% of the formula amount are considered "low income," while those earning 50% are "very low income" and those making 30% are considered "extremely low income."

Who Gets to Decide Where to Build Housing? (NY Times)

When state legislation designed to override local zoning laws and permit construction of apartment buildings in a half-mile swath around transit lines across California died earlier this year, opponents said the decision of where to build desperately needed housing should be left to local communities.