Time for your cheat sheet on this week’s top stories.
Canadian Real Estate
Canadian Real Estate Weakness Is Mostly Just Ontario & Nova Scotia
Canadian home prices fell according to the national index, but it may not tell the whole story. About three-quarters of markets across the country actually saw home prices rise. If excluding Ontario and Nova Scotia, that jumps to 90% of markets. The price drops in those two provinces were just so substantial they pushed the national index lower.
Canadian Population Growth Slowing As Unemployment Rises
Canada’s population growth slowed, but it’s far from “slow.” Stat Can estimates the population hit 41 million people in Q1 2024, rising 3.0% from last year. The rate edged slightly lower than the previous quarter but still places the country amongst the fastest-growing in the world. Experts state it’s too early to tell if the slowdown will lead to a broad trend but warn the unemployment rate has already begun to climb.
Canada Has Strong Population Growth But Poor Productivity: OECD
Canada’s breakneck population growth isn’t helping its economy, but hurting it. The OECD’s latest outlook notes that worker productivity is falling despite the robust population growth. Not just slightly either, the productivity growth rate is lower than any other advanced economy. The organization suggests the country begin tax reform to incentivize small businesses, as well as reign in government stimulus. Both measures are contrary to the budget policymakers recently announced.
Canadian Real Estate Lagged TSX Returns Over The Past 20 Years: BMO
Canadians feel that real estate is the best investment that can be made, but that’s not the case. BMO Capital Markets crunched the numbers and found that the TSX outperformed home prices significantly over the past 20 years. That includes the subpar performance that was recently recorded. Considering Canada’s real estate markets are driven primarily by investors, the realization can mean a big shift in capital sunk into the market.
Canadian Real Estate Sales Plummet While Inventory Soars
Canadian real estate’s anticipated Spring boom was a bust. CREA data shows home sales fell further in May, while inventory climbed even further. The industry anticipated that falling financing costs would provide a boost to market activity. It appears that only sellers got that note, while buyers pulled back.
 "BCCI want Test specialists to play domestic cricket; Rohit, Virat, Bumrah to be exceptions")
