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We have assembled a collection of thought provoking articles, reports, surveys, industry information, and other interesting content for your enjoyment.
by Yvonne von Jena | January 13, 2016
Royal LePage announced its expectations for the Canadian housing market in 2016. Overall, it expects continued price increases in most markets, but not at the pace that has been the recent norm. Instead, the national real estate market is expected to slow later this year, principally due to the effects of a dampened economy in Western Canada and eroding affordability in Toronto and Vancouver.
by Yvonne von Jena | January 12, 2016
Canadian new home construction ended 2015 with a whimper with overall Canadian housing starts falling by 18% month-over-month in December 2015 and reaching 172,965 units. On a 6-month moving average basis however, the trend in housing starts still stands at an elevated level of 203,502 units, with activity in 2015 fairly strong overall.
by Yvonne von Jena | January 9, 2016
The previous Harper government had eliminated the twice-a-decade mandatory census in favour of a voluntary national household survey, which many economists and statisticians believed provided lower-quality data that was not comparable with the higher-quality data from earlier censuses. The new Trudeau government undid that change in November and has remained true to its word; it is currently hiring 1,400 to work in its census operations centers set to start in the next couple of months.
by Yvonne von Jena | January 9, 2016
Recently, three of the big 6 banks raised their mortgage rates in the past week and more increases are expected because of rising mortgage funding costs, increasing regulations and a weakening economy.
by Yvonne von Jena | January 8, 2016
Canada is facing a long and painful fallout from a “seismic shift†in global resource prices that could last up to five years and drain $50-billion a year from the economy says the Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz. Further, Canadians will have to live with a cheaper dollar, higher-priced imported goods and bumpy growth across the country.
by Yvonne von Jena | January 7, 2016
Driverless cars are stealing the show at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, and highlight how close we are to a world driven by driverless cars. This also means that we are closer to a revolution that will change all our cities and is already changing some. By combining driverless cars, ride sharing and car sharing, MIT research has shown that it would be possible to live with 80% fewer cars. This in turn will have significant consequences for cities by measures such as parking, traffic, infrastructure and the environment.
by Yvonne von Jena | January 7, 2016
The Bank of Canada’s Governor Stephen Poloz recently said that we should expect Canada’s policy to diverge as economies adjust to shocks, that these diverging monetary policies are the natural consequence of large declines in resource prices. and these forces that have been set in motion simply "must work themselves out".
by Yvonne von Jena | January 6, 2016
The CBC is reporting that B.C. property assessments have spiked up to 30% in Vancouver. Assessor Jason Grant said in a written statement, "The 2016 assessments are indicating significant increases from 2015... Increases of 15-25% will be typical for single-family homes in Vancouver, North Vancouver, West Vancouver, Burnaby, Tri-Cities, New Westminster and Squamish."
![[ATB Financial] Alberta's Economic Outlook](https://www.rpsrealsolutions.com/img/blog/2016/01/Alberta.jpg)
by Yvonne von Jena | January 6, 2016
According to an interview of ATB Financial chief economist Todd Hirsch, low oil prices took a toll on the Alberta economy in the latter half of 2015 but the price of crude is forcing a "recalibration" which will better prepare the province's petroleum sector for when oil prices eventually rebound.
by Yvonne von Jena | January 4, 2016
TransUnion provides a good, simple overview of a credit bureau report and score, including a breakdown of the composition of a person's credit score.