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1. Homebuyer plan unlikely to work, for at least two reasons

   The federal government recently launched its First-Time Home Buyer Incentive, which offers a contribution (up to 10 per cent of the price of a first home) for households earning up to $120,000, in exchange for a stake in the home’s equity ...

2. When explaining home prices, the fundamentals matter

   This year has been revelatory for Canadian housing markets. After years of rapid home-price growth emanating from key metro areas—notably Toronto and Vancouver—average prices have either dropped or stabilized, revealing important lessons ...

3. Developer fees rising in Metro Vancouver

   A recent Fraser Institute study compared 17 of Metro Vancouver’s 21 municipalities on spending, revenue and debt from 2007 to 2016, underscoring the changing makeup of municipal revenues in the region. As shown in the chart below, ...

4. More duplexes in Vancouver—one small step in the right direction

   Vancouver City Hall has certainly caught on to the fact that there’s plenty of room to grow in British Columbia’s biggest city. This week, at the city’s last council meeting before October’s municipal election, outgoing Mayor Gregor ...

5. Even homeowners want lower home prices—it’s time for governments to act

   Survey says large majorities of homeowners in Metro Vancouver and the Greater Toronto Area want housing prices to stop rising. ...

6. Housing takes centre stage in Toronto election

   Though Toronto’s mayoral election is still months away, this has not stopped candidates from trading barbs on hot button issues. In particular, it appears housing has taken centre stage, with frontrunner candidates (current Mayor John ...

7. In Florida, they’re snowbirds—in B.C., they’re ‘speculators’

   Heavy-handed policies such as B.C.’s “speculation” tax target symptoms rather than causes. ...

8. Dear Montreal, don’t lose your housing advantage

   In 2016, average rents in Montreal were $835 a month compared to $1,242 in Toronto and just under $1,300 in Vancouver. ...

9. Falling interest rates—an often-overlooked contributor to rising home prices

   Appeared in the Vancouver Province, August 17, 2017 Despite recent measures taken by provincial governments in British Columbia and Ontario, house prices remain high in Canada’s most desirable markets. In fact, after a brief pause during the latter half ...

10. B.C. throne speech acknowledges importance of housing supply on affordability

    In its recent speech to the throne, the B.C. government added a laundry list of measures that were not included in its election platform. Regardless of the motivations for this manoeuver, the speech included an important admission on ...