WHY HIGH CANADIAN HOUSEHOLD DEBT IS MANAGEABLE Canadian household debt has swollen to record highs during a period of low mortgage rates, but an economist with Canada's sixth-largest bank says the debt level is "manageable". "Analysts often raise alarm bells by pointing to measures such as debt-to-disposable income. But as we often caution, comparing a stock variable such as debt to a flow variable such as income has its limitations," writes Krishen... [read more]

GTA NEW HIGH-RISE CONDO SALES IN MAY FLY TO 2ND-HIGHEST MONTHLY TOTAL EVER There is only one month on record in which a greater number of new high-rise homes were sold across the GTA than this May.  High-rise home sales totalled 3,623 units last month, the second-highest monthly tally after November 2011's and up a blistering 76% from a year earlier, according to the latest data from Altus Group, a real estate data company.  In November 2011, new high-rise sales... [read more]

THIS IS WHY THE GTA CONDO MARKET IS STILL RED HOT, DESPITE A DIP IN SALES Sarah Niedoba, BuzzBuzzHome Image courtesty of: Menkes The GTA housing market has been seeing year-over-year sales drops every month since January, and the condo market is no exception. Yet despite the dip in sales, prices have continued to rise. The reason? It all has to do with a historically low level of listings. One of the big reasons we're not seeing a cool down in the condo market in spite of... [read more]