Mandeep Toor's blog

While the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) housing market may have weathered the initial COVID-19 storm, it’s far from over, as the region must now overcome its next pandemic-induced obstacle: housing affordability.

(Bloomberg) -- In December, Aaron Moore bought an unremarkable three-bedroom house in the Toronto suburb of Brampton and, after throwing on a fresh coat of paint and laying down new hardwood floors, put it right back on the market.

In March, he found a buyer. The price tag: C$810,000 (about $649,000), a stunning 28% more than he had just paid.

Overall Consumer Debt Climbs due to Increased Mortgage Activity

TORONTO, ON (March 04, 2021) – Increased mortgage activity and rising house prices in the fourth quarter of 2020 pushed the overall consumer debt level to $2.07 trillion, up 1.5 per cent from last quarter and up 4.1 per cent from Q4 2019, according to Equifax Canada’s most recent report on consumer credit conditions.

The Bank of Canada could soon start pulling back stimulus from the nation’s surprisingly robust economy, with the first clues on its next moves coming as early as this week.

Mortgage credit grew in the fourth quarter of 2020 as Canadian consumers took steps to reduce all other forms of debt, according to new data from TransUnion.

'Amid a hot housing market in major Canadian cities that has pushed ownership further out of reach for young first-time prospective home buyers, there are increasing calls for the government to address the issue – starting with the tone from the top.

Despite early signs of overheating in Canada's housing market, Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem so far has no plans to raise interest rates until the economy and employment are back on track following the slump caused by COVID-19.