11 h. ago Tariff uncertainty is affecting Canadian real estate and Ontario is hardest hit

While spring is typically the busiest time of the year to buy a home as more properties become available and competition increases, the housing market this season appears to be in a bit of a decline in Canada —and especially in Ontario — amid the ongoing trade war with the United States. According to a new report from the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), home sales in the country fell sharply from January to February, as many prospective home buyers chose to remain on the sidelines due to the threat of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs. Sales activity recorded over Canadian MLS Systems dropped 9.8 per cent month over month in February, marking the lowest level for home sales since November 2023, and the largest month-over-month decline in activity since May 2022. "The moment tariffs were first announced on January 20, a gap opened between home sales recorded this year and last. This trend continued to widen throughout February, leadin...

Economics

32 h. ago Homes now living memorials in kibbutz targeted by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023

KFAR AZA, Israel — Just beyond the gate, past a row of destroyed and burned-out homes, one can see the ruined buildings in the northern portions of Gaza City. On a good day, you can even see the Mediterranean. Kibbutz Kfar Aza was one of the first — and among the hardest hit — Israeli […]

Other

5 d. ago Zenbase Partners with Cogir Real Estate to Empower Ontario Residents with Credit

CALGARY, Alberta — Cogir Real Estate (Multi Residential Ontario division), a leading property management company, has partnered with Zenbase, a financial technology company specializing in rent payment solutions, to offer Ontario residents powerful tools to build credit and manage rent payments more flexibly. Through this partnership, Cogir residents will now have access to Zenbase’s CreditBuilder […]

Economics

7 d. ago These identical house designs could soon appear all over Ontario

After more than a year of planning and consultation, the Government of Canada has released today the final details of its Housing Design Catalogue — dozens of standardized templates to help achieve housing affordability for low-density infill developments.In preparation for the full rollout of the catalogue, the federal government is providing final renderings, floor plan layouts, and key building design details to provide builders with a head start to consider using these templates and begin planning.The intention is to reduce design and construction costs and simplify and accelerate housing approvals and construction for builders who choose to use these templates. As well, these templates help estimate construction costs."These standardized designs will help smaller homebuilders cut through the complexity, speeding up the time between concept and construction and lowering costs of building," said Nathaniel Erskine-Smith, the federal minister of housing, infrastruct...

Other

1 week ago Why Abbotsford would be the B.C. city hardest hit by U.S. tariffs (and it's not just the agriculture)

The Fraser Valley city of 170,000 ships agricultural products to the U.S., but also has a growing manufacturing base, including in aerospace

Society

2 w. ago These stock market sectors are getting hit hardest by the trade war

Technology, financial and energy companies took the biggest hits

Economics

2 w. ago U.S. tariffs could have devastating effects on real estate in Ontario

Even if you want to try and avert your gaze from the tariff talk that is dominating headlines this week, it is hard to ignore the reality of how ruinous the tolls will likely prove to be for Canada.Despite our various leaders' attempts to mimic Donald Trump's bombastic patriotism (including in the form of retaliatory levies), the damage to the Great White North's economy is already being felt. While sectors like the auto industry are among those hit hardest, there are also set to be huge impacts to the real estate market, among others.As Ontario Premier Doug Ford said during the initial countdown to tariffs last month, "the coming days and weeks will be incredibly difficult. Trump's tariffs are going to devastate our economy and will put up to 450,000 jobs at risk from every sector in every region. No one will be immune, everyone will feel the impact."Now that a 25 per cent tax has been added to virtually all goods Canada sends into the U.S. (...

Economics

2 w. ago OREA Congratulates Premier Doug Ford and the Progressive Conservatives on their 2025 Provincial Election Win

TORONTO, Feb. 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — “The Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA) would like to congratulate Premier Doug Ford and Ontario’s Progressive Conservatives (PCs) on winning their third majority government. Ontario’s REALTORS® look forward to working with the newly re-elected provincial government and all elected MPPs to bring housing affordability back for Ontario’s young […]

Politics

2 w. ago Ontario sees another enormous jump in people not paying housing and other bills

As if we needed more facts and figures to remind us how bad Canada's economy is at present, a new report has offered a glimpse into just how many people nationwide have been unable to cover their major bills, with mortgage delinquency in particular at an all-time high.And, residents of Ontario are the worst culprits.The data, published by Equifax Canada this week, comes from the final months of 2024, a year in which consumer debt across the country grew by 4.6 per cent, to a total of an unthinkable $2.56 trillion.Though falling lending rates over the course of the year helped to relieve the debts of some, the credit company says that "financial pressures intensified" for many others, especially those with mortgages in our two most exorbitant provinces for property: Ontario and B.C.When looking at the fourth quarter of the year versus the same time in 2023, there was a shocking 90.2 per cent increase in the number of Ontarians who hadn't made a mortgage ...

Other

3 w. ago 2025 Ontario Election – How Each Provincial Party’s Housing Platform Stacks Up

OREA surveyed and reviewed each provincial party on their commitment to fix the housing affordability crisis TORONTO, Feb. 19, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — To keep Ontarians informed on which candidates say they will support pro-growth, pro-ownership, and pro-affordability housing solutions in the upcoming 2025 Ontario election, the Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA) surveyed all major […]

Politics