Construction trades a good career path
Posted on Jun 25, 2023
If you have — or if you know — somebody who’s trying to decide on a career path, it might be a good idea to point them in the direction of building houses. Of course, that means anything connected to building a house: electrician, flooring specialist, general contractor and any number of trades.
As the country’s population hit 40 million people this...
Could this real estate market theory apply here?
Posted on Jun 18, 2023
There are analysts and specialists, economists and theorists, all with suggestions or sometimes predictions about where the real estate market is going. This is far from an exact science and often results in multiple projections that can be at odds with each other.
The bottom line is it’s too complicated for even the best of them to be certain about...
Return of the interest rate increase
Posted on Jun 07, 2023
Perhaps most people were a little smug about this week’s interest rates announcement, taking for granted that nothing was going to change because that’s the way it has been since January. Stability seemed inevitable.
Not so fast, said the Bank of Canada.
Surprising many, the Bank increased its overnight rate to 4.75 per cent, a bump of .25 per cent.
I...
Housing starts: 10 municipalities first in line
Posted on Jun 04, 2023
The Provincial Government has revealed the first 10 municipalities that will be expected to “up their game" when it comes to building new housing faster.
The first 10 municipalities identified are those with the greatest need and highest projected growth, determined by measures that prioritize the urgency of local housing needs. Land availability a...
The new world of mortgage amortizations
Posted on May 28, 2023
The lyrics of a once-popular song could be applied to mortgages: “…we all got ‘em…what do we do with ‘em?”
What to do with a mortgage has become more important than ever since the pandemic, and since the unprecedented increase in interest rates. And what more and more Canadians are doing is getting a mortgage with a longer amortization.
As in more t...
Vancouver’s West End to get own twin towers
Posted on May 21, 2023
Long reputed to have the most people per square kilometer of any part of Canada, Vancouver’s West End will be increasing its densification with this month’s approval for the building of two high rises.
They are being called the twin towers, although one will be 56 storeys tall and the other 59, and they’ll go up where Barclay Street intersects with...