Author: homegoal.ca

One of the many subplots of the ongoing trade war with the United States is that it has raised the value of the Canadian dollar, somewhat covering up the fact that the CAD has been on years-long slide. In March 2024, the CAD to USD exchange rate was at about $0.74 and then stayed above $0.70 — with fluctuations — before dipping to a 22-year low of $0.68 on January 31, the day before 25% tariffs levied by US President Donald Trump on nearly all goods from Canada and Mexico were set to come into effect.”I think everybody knows that…

Maybe next year? Canadian renters are hitting pause on their plans to buy a home in the next 12 months, according to a Bank of Canada (BoC) consumer survey in Q1 2025. Following a quarter of record buying intentions, the share looking to buy this year made the sharpest quarterly decline on record. The combination of a federal election while engaged in trade wars with the world’s two largest economies, has created economic uncertainty likely to worsen before it improves.  Canadian Renters Abandon Plans To Buy A Home This Year The share of Canadian renters who plan to purchase a…

The Major League Baseball season is officially in full swing, and many loyal fans would love the opportunity to attend all 81 home games of their favorite team. But as the cost of living rises and disposable income shrinks, how many home games can a family of four realistically afford to attend?  The link between affording baseball tickets and disposable income gives us a greater picture of how high and low cost of living cities shape our financial well-being. Cities where families can attend more baseball games indicate greater financial flexibility, while those with fewer games suggest a strain on…

A Realtor dedicated to empowering underserved youth in her community has been named this year’s recipient of the Canadian Realtors Care Award. Kandice Henry with iPro Realty in Brampton, Ont., was selected from among 53 nominees, receiving the prestigious award at CREA’s Annual General Meeting in Ottawa on Apr. 8.   A ‘fierce advocate for social justice’   Described as a “fierce advocate for social justice,” Henry has positively impacted the lives of more than 400 children and youth in the Greater Toronto Area. After a transformational volunteer trip to Africa, she founded the Shining Lighte Youth Charity (SLYC) in…

Reductions to sales taxes on new housing, excessive red tape associated with building residential developments, and tackling exorbitant development charges (DCs) are in the offing for Ontario. We know this because Premier Doug Ford made the commitment on all three in his election campaign and the top contenders for the prime minister’s job — Liberal Leader Mark Carney and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre — have pledged to reduce the sales tax on new homes.What we need now is clarity combined with urgency. Declining new home sales due in large part to excessive government-imposed costs have had a chilling effect on…

Canadian business uncertainty is riding high but reality may not be as bad as expected. The Bank of Canada (BoC) released the results of its quarterly Business Outlooks Survey (BOS) for Q1 2025, revealing a sharp decline in the country’s future GDP growth. A report from BMO warns this erosion in expectations is very real, and has likely worsened since the survey was conducted. However, reality shows that businesses have underestimated the country’s economic output in recent years. BoC Survey Shows Canadian Businesses Are Bearish On The Economy Uncertainty is bad news for consumers and businesses, and Canadians face a…

After years of runaway price growth, Canada’s housing market is undergoing a significant reset, and sales volume is leading the charge. From the country’s largest metro areas to smaller, secondary cities, the pace of buying and selling has dramatically reshaped the pricing landscape, revealing a tale of two very different markets. Zoocasa used data from the Canadian Real Estate Association to analyze home sales and price changes across Canada over the past three years. Sales Plunge in Ontario and BC Some of the most significant corrections in the housing market have occurred in Canada’s priciest regions, especially Ontario and British…

Canadian Realtors have avoided an additional association fee after a proposed $75 per-member special assessment was voted down at the Canadian Real Estate Association’s annual general meeting in Ottawa on Apr. 8. The fee had been intended to provide a substantial boost to CREA’s legal fund amid escalating litigation tied to ongoing commission-related lawsuits and a Competition Bureau investigation. CREA previously told members its legal costs surged substantially from $626,000 in 2023 to over $4-million in 2024—a nearly 540 per cent increase. The vote was close, with 57 per cent of delegates voting against the assessment.   CREA’s response  …

Alberta’s Residential Tenancies Act governs landlord-tenant relations; new procedural updates for 2025 bring important changes regarding the treatment of security deposits. These revisions require landlords to adjust the interest rates applied to security deposits based on current market conditions.What’s Changing in 2025?Effective January 1, 2025, Alberta has implemented new interest rate adjustments for security deposits held throughout the calendar year. This change means that landlords must now calculate and pay interest on security deposits using the updated rates set by the provincial government. The rate of interest that landlords must pay on tenant security deposits effective January 1, 2025, will…

It’s been a long and arduous journey thus far, but the light at the end of the insolvency tunnel is now coming into view for The One, the high-profile high-rise tower in downtown Toronto conceived by Sam Mizrahi that has become the single largest project in the country to face insolvency in recent years. After a months-long court-ordered sales process launched in June 2024 returned no buyers for The One, Toronto-based real estate company Tridel was selected in December as the developer to bring the troubled project to completion, as previously outlined by STOREYS.Since entering into a term sheet at…