Author: homegoal.ca
Manitoba’s housing sector demonstrated resilience in March 2025. Manitoba’s residential real estate market demonstrated sturdy performance in the first quarter, balancing record-high price levels with rising sales activity. While new listings showed year-over-year growth, overall supply metrics remain below historical averages, resulting in lower months of inventory. At the same time, rental rates continued to climb modestly. Sales Source: Manitoba Real Estate Association For the month of March 2025, according to the Manitoba Real Estate Association, MLS® home sales showed a 5.3% year-over-year increase compared to March 2024. Sales remained slightly below historical norms, at 11.6% under the five-year average…
Saving for a home is no easy feat in Canada’s housing market. With the backdrop of high inflation, high home prices, and an unstable political climate, it’s taking longer for first-time homebuyers to save for a down payment. In the just-released Desjardins Affordability Index (DAI): Finding Shelter From the Trade War Storm, Desjardins economist Kari Norman highlights the factors behind this reality and how tariffs could impact housing affordability. The DAI compares the average household after-tax disposable income with the income needed to qualify for a mortgage on an average-priced existing home, using the five‑year fixed mortgage rate and a…
Canadian real estate sales may be slow, but the few people buying are paying more. Brookfield’s Real Property Solutions (RPS) released its House Price Index (HPI) for April, showing annual growth continuing to decelerate. However, the 12-month change fails to capture a potential shift in sentiment—last month prices made the biggest jump in 9-months. The Real Property Solutions House Price Index Most readers are familiar with the CREA HPI and its benchmark home. It uses a benchmark home, a fictional dwelling composed of the features found in a typical unit in the region. This appraisal strategy then tracks the value…
With power outages on the rise and utility bills climbing, more Canadians are looking for reliable, cost-saving ways to power their homes. From city condos to rural cottages, green energy upgrades like battery storage and solar panels are gaining popularity across the country. We spoke with Travis Riggin, Vice President of Sales at Solwel—a Canadian solar and battery storage system distributor—to get a clearer picture of today’s green energy rebates and home upgrades. He shared what’s driving demand, how battery systems work in real life, and how homeowners can take advantage of current incentives. Let’s break down what’s available now…
Stock photo (Canva) At Wednesday’s annual general meeting, members of the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board decisively rejected proposed bylaw changes that would have shifted some decision-making powers, including control over membership dues, from members to the board of directors. Sources inside the room confirm the motion failed to pass, with the final vote count 393 in favour, 635 against. Critics argued the proposed reforms threatened transparency and accountability, especially amid financial pressures and declining membership numbers. Supporters of the motion insisted it was necessary for operational efficiency. More to come. …
Alberta’s housing market from Q1 2024 to Q1 2025 reflected the impacts of rapid population growth, shifting supply conditions, and notable differences in performance between Calgary and Edmonton. The period began with very strong sales and a tight seller’s market, gradually shifting to more balanced conditions by early 2025, with Edmonton emerging as a comparatively tighter and stronger market than Calgary in various respects, according to reports from Edge Realty Analytics. Sales Alberta home‐sales reached their high point in Q1 2024 with a 31% year-over-year (y/y) increase. Each quarter that followed showed progressively weaker quarterly gain. Q2 and Q4 dipped,…
The Burnaby Housing Authority, the City of Burnaby’s new municipal housing corporation, has appointed John Brendan McEown as its inaugural Chief Executive Officer, STOREYS has learned.McEown, who started in the role on Friday, May 9, joins the Burnaby Housing Authority (BHA) via BC Housing, the provincial housing corporation, where he earned extensive experience leading affordable housing development through provincial partnerships and public-sector collaboration.After joining BC Housing in 2016 as a Development Manager, McEown was elevated to Senior Development Manager, then Director of Regional Development, then finally Associate Vice President of Development Strategies.During his time at BC Housing, McEown oversaw the…
Median incomes, by definition, don’t reflect the full range of individual financial situations. That’s why Zoocasa calculated the maximum affordability for both the lower and upper bounds of middle-class incomes, using data from SmartAsset’s income ranges, to better capture the full spectrum of housing affordability for middle-class Americans. Who is middle class in America? 51% of Americans are in the middle class (Pew Research Center). The median national income is $80,610. A middle-class income ranges from two-thirds to twice the median income, resulting in a national range of $53,740 to $161,220. Middle-class Americans are hard to define. They make up…
Demographics are shifting when it comes to who’s buying recreation properties. Families are now surpassing retirees as the primary buyers of recreational properties, according to Re/Max Canada’s 2025 Cabin and Cottage Trends report. Families are leading activity in 83 per cent of surveyed regions, compared to retirees at 70 per cent This is in contrast to 2018, when retirees were the dominant force in 91 per cent of markets. The report attributes the shift to lower interest rates, lower property prices, and lifestyle changes sparking buying activity among the younger population. Similar to many urban markets, a quieter-than-usual spring market…
British Columbia’s housing market opened 2025 on a different footing than it did a year earlier, as home buying activity slowed while listings and available inventory climbed. Sales In Q1 2024, provincial home sales were on an upswing – 8.9% higher than in Q4 2023 and 0.6% above Q1 2023 levels. By contrast, the first quarter of 2025 saw transactions plunge 13.3% from Q4 2024 and sit 5.1% below year‐ago volume. The slide in sales coincided with a rise in mortgage arrears, from 0.15% in Q1 2024 to 0.19% in Q1 2025, and a climb in the unemployment rate from…