3 days ago
Steady interest rate complicates mortgage math and the Home of the Week: Canadian real estate news for the week of June 6
Hi, I'm Moira Wyton, an audience editor at The Globe filling in for Jacob from Vancouver, the other real-estate hotbed of Canada.
This week, we're crunching the numbers on why the Bank of Canada's decision to hold its key interest rate could make it harder for homeowners and prospective buyers to figure out their mortgage plans. Plus, we'll dive into the downsides of downsizing and one property worth a look.
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The Bank of Canada held its policy rate at 2.75 per cent for the second consecutive time, citing 'unusual uncertainty' around inflation and continuing trade tensions with the United States.
The BoC's decision will have some reverberating effects on the real estate market. As Erica Alini writes, a rate hold doesn't help homeowners who are facing a hefty increase in their mortgage renewal in the next few weeks. Even though the gap has shortened in the past year, homeowners are still left to work out the math on their finances.
And as Salmaan Farooqui writes, the BoC announcement won't be seen as encouraging for first-time homebuyers who have been waiting on the sidelines for a sign to dive into the housing market. Some experts think later this year will be the time for housing markets to heat up – if more rate cuts materialize.
If Ottawa's plan to offer a GST rebate to first-time buyers of new homes is meant to ease affordability and speed up construction, some builders say it will barely move the needle where it's needed most – and could actually drive up prices elsewhere.
Last week the Department of Finance said it would remove GST on new homes sold for less than $1-million and rebate some of the tax on homes below $1.5-million. But as Shane Dingman writes, critics say those limits don't reflect the prices facing buyers in Canada's most expensive housing markets in Toronto and Vancouver, limiting the rebate to apply to a modest condo at most. And while it may not make a dent in the most expensive cities, one real estate agent says the threshold would include, ironically, 'luxury'-level homes virtually everywhere else in Canada.
That could give investors a further leg up in those markets and drive out-of-reach prices even higher for first-time buyers. Their share of new home sales has already shrunk to barely five per cent as investors dominate pre-sales over the last 15 years, according to industry data. The rebate also wouldn't include anyone 'buying up' – moving from a condo to a townhome, or from a duplex to a detached home – when builders say those buyers are critical to generating pre-sales, which have sharply declined in the GTA and other areas since last year.
And as builders push Ottawa to remove GST on all new homes, a decades-long rebate debate has been revived over whether a new home should be considered a consumer good at all, or taxed like one.
Downsizing is a popular choice for those looking to simplify their lives and spend less time and money caring on upkeep, but many homeowners are still unaware that less space doesn't necessarily mean fewer problems. As freelancer Katrya Bolger writes, the downsides of downsizing range from unforeseen financial costs, like penalties for breaking a mortgage or storage fees for belongings, to lifestyle challenges, like having less outdoor space or room for guests.
Michelle Thorne learned that lesson the hard way. She downsized in 2015 while she was still working as a teacher in Barrie, Ont., going from a four-bedroom house to a three-bedroom townhouse close to shops and services she figured she would use in retirement. But it was a hard adjustment to a smaller space. She missed the quiet of her old neighbourhood and the time she had spent outside in her garden, realizing she had been thinking too much about what she'd need in the future rather than how she wanted to live in the present. Two years later, Thorne moved again to a quiet two-bedroom bungalow near the water. Other downsizers Katrya spoke with also had advice on how to make it work – like decluttering instead of paying for extra storage – and how to know when smaller isn't necessarily the best for you.
Personal finance advice, in this economy? Tariff uncertainty, stock market volatility and the unpredictable whims of a certain U.S. President have left many Canadians wondering whether it's a good time to buy or sell a home, renovate or lock in their mortgage rates.
Globe reporters answered 42 of the most-asked money questions from readers to help Trump-proof their finances. And as personal finance reporter Sal Farooqui notes, it's no wonder readers had so many questions about real estate.
'It's hard to understate Donald Trump's impact on real estate in this country,' Sal told me. 'Economists and real estate professionals generally thought our housing market would be chugging along now that interest rates have dropped notably. Instead, buyers are sitting scared on the sidelines and purchases are at extremely low levels because Trump's global trade war has made things so uncertain.'
The advice covers everything from downsizing to investment properties and mortgage rates, and the gist is that if you can wait to offload an investment, you should. But on the other hand, it could also be a better time to buy than usual for first time home buyers who have secure employment 'because rates are low, prices have dropped and there's very little competition,' says Sal.
Rates shown are the lowest available for each term/type and category (insured versus uninsured) as of market close on Thursday, June 5.
As the vacancy rate goes up in Vancouver, renters do have more options – but unfortunately, those renters don't include lower-income households, notes real estate writer Kerry Gold. The city is 'still far from an abundance of affordability in our time, especially for those on living wage incomes,' said Andy Yan, associate professor of professional practice in urban studies at Simon Fraser University. Even as the market downturn drove the city to approve more purpose-built rental buildings than condos in 2024, a reversal of the proportion pre-2022, lower rents still haven't materialized. That's because of the high cost of land, construction, insurance, financing and more are making developers more likely to hit pause than to lower rents, said Prof. Yan.
90 Madison Ave., Toronto – Full gallery here
You don't need a cat – or nine lives – to enjoy this Annex-style brick mansion that takes a classic to new heights. Bought by a born-and-raised New Yorker in the early 2000s, the home's massive addition centred around a three-storey atrium now maximizes natural light, something the buyer longed for growing up in the East Village. Now they sometimes need sunglasses in their living room, but it's created the feel of a ski chalet or backcountry cottage right in the city. Parts of the Victoria mansion are woven into the renovation, along with brushed steel, light wood and suspended catwalks, plus an elevator installed later for an aging relative. There are also still two separate apartments in the original building – either a nice income stream or a potential for expansion.
