Podcast

In an attempt to curb rising inflation, the Bank of Canada has been hiking its policy interest rate – with the most recent increase being 50 basis points to 1 per cent. The Bank’s target for the Overnight Lending Rate directly impacts the cost of borrowing for variable rate mortgages and lines of credit and indirectly…

Before the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns struck in March 2020, spending on home renovations in Ontario was already outpacing the rest of the economy, with more than $80 billion spent on improvements in 2019 according to Altus Group research. Since the pandemic hit, renovation permit applications are up a further 18 per cent across the province.…

The impacts of climate change are undeniable, and growing year after year. Since the 1950s, disaster loss insurance claims have doubled every five to 10 years, and in 2005, they approached $100 billion. As the majority of many Canadians’ equity is within the home they own, it’s imperative to protect that investment from extreme weather…

REALTORS® have an obligation to act in their clients’ best interests, whether they’re buying their first or dream home, or looking to be a tenant or landlord renting out an investment property. They have to act within the confines of the law, and that is where real estate lawyers can help.  On a recent episode…

Buying and selling real estate has garnered a lot of media attention, especially with rising home prices both before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. The rental market – and especially so in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) – has also seen its share of sweeping changes brought on or exacerbated by pandemic-induced shifts in the…

The COVID-19 pandemic caused a fundamental shift in work in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), with a huge impact on the traditionally bustling downtown core of office buildings. Two years into the pandemic, with some semblance of “new normal” on the horizon, what can employers and employees expect about the changing nature of work? TRREB…

It’s an anxiety-inducing time for many Ontarians in these first couple of months of 2022. A continued pandemic, rising inflation, and climate challenges all lend to changes in spending behaviour for residents of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and beyond. But how do worries at the forefront of our minds play out in the real…

Lack of available housing supply continues to be the major challenge for affordability in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), whether we’re talking about ownership or rental housing. This presents the real estate market with unique challenges. What are some ways to address them? On a recent episode of TRREB’s Ready to Real Estate podcast, host and TRREB Chief…

What makes Canadian cities like Toronto and Vancouver so expensive to live in? Analysts and pundits point to issues such as foreign investment and speculation, as well as housing supply restrictions. But, recent findings from a British Columbia-based expert panel show that the housing supply in Vancouver is uniquely less responsive to changes in demand…