Author: homegoal.ca

Each Wednesday, Real Estate Magazine shares insights, experiences and advice from top-performing teams and agents across Canada. If you’d like to contribute or nominate a colleague or team, send us an email.   With more than 35 years in real estate, Elizabeth McQueen has built her career on consistency, relationships, and a business-first mindset. From her first sale in 1989 to her current status as one of Canada’s top-producing individual agents, McQueen has stayed true to her independent path — proving that in real estate, discipline and authenticity never go out of style.   REM: How did you first get into…

There’s been a lot of discussion lately about 50-year mortgages. Will it improve housing affordability? Can it help first-time buyers? What are the downsides? How does it differ from a 30-year mortgage? How much interest will you pay? With so many questions, Zoocasa decided to crunch the numbers. Using the median single-family home price, we calculated mortgage payments in twenty of the biggest cities in the U.S. to see exactly how a 30-year mortgage and a 50-year mortgage differ. Mortgages were calculated assuming a 6.22% fixed rate with a 20% down payment.  By far the largest benefit of a 50-year…

For the last five months, Toronto-based real estate platform Listed has been cut off from sought-after data that’s helped make it popular with consumers, and a useful sales and marketing tool for nearly 1,200 paying agents in Ontario.  Founder and CEO Catharine MacIntosh is now making a plea to the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) to have the data restored. Listed powers single-agent websites and apps, and touts a consumer experience that “makes real estate as easy as scrolling through your Instagram feed.” Critical to its popularity is the display of Virtual Office Website (VOW) data, which includes nuggets…

It’s no surprise that Canada’s cost of living and ongoing affordability challenges remain at the forefront in 2025. According to FP Canada, money remains the nation’s biggest source of stress, increasing from 38% in 2021 to 42% in 2025. Still, despite higher grocery bills, rising rents, and growing concerns about job security, Canadians are holding on to one thing that makes the daily grind worthwhile: the chance to escape. As stated in a recent BMO survey, more than half (55%) of Canadians reported their plan to take a leisure trip in summer 2025, up from 47% in 2024. The trend…

Royal LePage president and CEO Phil Soper has been elected chair of the board of directors for The Realty Alliance, a network of North America’s largest full-service real estate brokerages. Soper is the only Canadian on the board, according to a press release from the company. Royal LePage says his appointment will help ensure Canada’s real estate market is represented in discussions among major firms on the continent. “The real estate industry is in a period of profound change,” Soper said in a statement. “Consumers are demanding better experiences, regulatory environments are shifting, and technology and data ownership have become…

Canadian households are borrowing as rates come down, but not in the way many anticipated. Statistics Canada (StatCan) data shows household debt made an unusually sharp climb in September. That growth wasn’t driven by mortgages—even though they make up the bulk of household credit. Even the mortgage growth that did occur likely reflects old commitments, not new buying. Let’s dive into the data. Canadian Household Debt Surges $14.8B, Fastest Growth Since 2021 Canadian household credit posted an unusually strong monthly gain in the latest data. Debt rose 0.5% (+$14.8 billion) to hit $3.14 trillion in September, marking the fastest growth…

With the winter season fast approaching, we took a deep dive into Etsy’s Fall and Winter 2025 Trend Report to uncover what’s capturing shoppers’ attention this holiday season. These winter decor trends will help you refresh your space, stay ahead of seasonal style shifts, and get inspired to create cozy interiors that are sure to impress all your guests. Here are all six trends from the report, along with advice on how to achieve each style in your home.  Nutcrackercore: Ballet-Inspired & Romantic Nutcrackercore draws inspiration from ballet-inspired themes such as pastel-colored ribbons, velvet stockings, and delicate bows. This aesthetic…

As a child, Francesca Albertazzi loved the sense of anticipation that came with the holiday season — few things felt more exciting than waking up on Christmas morning to see what Santa had tucked into her stocking. Today, Albertazzi is an interior designer with her own studio, Studio Albertazzi, and the lead designer on Pamela Anderson’s HGTV series Pamela’s Garden of Eden. She continues to draw on that sense of wonder in her work, including her recent collaboration with Hycroft for the Holidays, a long-standing Vancouver tradition. This year’s theme, Winter Garden, draws inspiration from the historic Hycroft estate and…

Canada’s sweeping plan to double homebuilding over the next decade is drawing cautious optimism, with experts saying Ottawa is right to invest in new construction methods — but warning that missing details, shaky consumer confidence and a looming labour crunch could stall progress before it begins. Royal LePage CEO Phil Soper says the government’s investment in modular construction is a critical early move, especially given Canada’s weak manufactured-home sector. “It would build two birds with one stone. It would allow us to produce housing more quickly and efficiently, plus potentially create an export industry, given we’ve got an abundance of…

Canadian inflation may look cooler on paper, but you’re forgiven if you have a hard time seeing it in reality. Statistics Canada (StatCan) reported the headline Consumer Price Index (CPI) slowed in October, entirely due to falling gas prices. Excluding gas, inflation was unchanged—while core measures remained at the upper bound of the central bank’s target. The biggest cost pressure came from shelter: soaring rents and a sharp jump in property taxes.  Canadian Headline Inflation Flat—Only Due To Cheaper Gas Source: StatCan. Canada’s annual headline inflation rate eased to 2.2% in October, down from 2.4% in September. The drop was…