In the City: What's in store for the Toronto condo market and politicians tackle the problem of (their own) high rents.
Elsewhere: Average Canadian house price moves down, Microsoft steps up in Seattle and how a simple housing insulation system can save lives.
Toronto
Why Toronto’s condo market could get rougher this year (The Globe and Mail)
In recent years, Toronto’s condo market has been a story of rising prices, rising rents, limited supply and a decoupling from the detached market. And as analysts and developers look at 2019 there are signs the market could get rougher still for new buyers, builders and renters.
Toronto Rents Poised to Ease in 2019 After Last Year’s Surge (Bloomberg)
“The emerging slowdown in rent increases will be a first step towards calming condo-price growth, which has faced continued upward pressure, partly due to investors looking to buy units and rent them out,” Hildebrand, said in an email.
Developer behind cancelled Icona condos applies to build similar project on the same site (Toronto Star)
Gupta Group, which cited financial reasons for Icona’s cancellation, has applied to build a nearly identical development at the same site at Highway 7 and Edgeley Blvd. near Vaughan Metropolitan Centre. But Icona buyers say a “restrictive covenant” prevents the developer from building residential units on the site — a restriction they say still exists.
Legislators hike their housing allowance by 20 per cent as Toronto rental rates jump (The Star)
Ontario legislators have quietly increased their rental housing allowances by around 20 per cent arguing that they’ve been paying out of their own pockets to subsidize housing in Toronto’s hot real estate market.
Canada
Average Canadian house cost $472K in December, down 4.9% in 2018 (CBC)
December is not typically a busy year for home sales, but this year's look even worse when compared to the same month in 2017, because at the time, new rules for stress testing mortgages were about to be implemented, and buyers were rushing to buy before they came into force in January 2018.
Canada's Housing Markets End 2018 With A Thud Amid 'Sharp Slowdown' Worldwide (Huffington Post)
Among major cities, very few are still seeing price growth. The Teranet house price index, a separate measure of housing prices from CREA's data, shows that prices fell in nine of 11 major Canadian cities in the fourth quarter of 2018.
In Canada's housing slowdown, Vancouver proves to be the weakest link (Financial Post)
Sales in the west coast city plunged 32 per cent last year, driving benchmark prices down 6.5 per cent over the past six months, according to Canadian Real Estate Association data released Tuesday. Toronto also saw sales fall sharply, but by half as much as Vancouver and with prices in Canada’s biggest city little changed in recent months.
USA
Mortgage Market Weighs Fed Intentions After Lackluster 2018 (Bloomberg)
Mortgages had a rough 2018, seeing their worst performance versus Treasuries since 2011 and worst percentage return since 2013. Now the minutes from the Federal Reserve’s December meeting have raised new questions over the central bank’s intentions regarding its $1.6 trillion agency MBS holdings.
Microsoft Pledges $500 Million for Affordable Housing in Seattle Area (NY Times)
Microsoft’s money represents the most ambitious effort by a tech company to directly address the inequality that has spread in areas where the industry is concentrated, particularly on the West Coast. It will fund construction for homes affordable not only to the company’s own non-tech workers, but also for teachers, firefighters and other middle- and low-income residents.
What Cities Are Getting Wrong About Public Transportation (City Lab)
The result is a set of measures that can explain a lot more about what certain cities get right or wrong on transit, and what they can do to improve their lot. The key, the reports stresses, is getting a better balance between jobs, low-income households, and people in proximity to public transit.
International
How A Simple Housing Insulation System Can Save Lives (Forbes)
Inside Huawei’s New, Giant Faux-European Campus (Bloomberg)
From faux Italian towers to artificial lakes and classical palaces, Huawei is recreating a wide swathe of Europe in its backyard. Ren—a civil engineer by training—is overseeing the construction of a massive new campus that neatly sums up Huawei’s global ambitions.
January 18, 2019
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