Canadian households

By the measures of price-to-rent and price-to-income, Canada’s housing market is historically overvalued.

In an unexpected move by council on Wednesday, a proposal to allow the building of a nine-storey, 180-unit building on Laurier at Friel, previously accepted by the city planning committee, was voted down 14 to 9. One reason for the reversal was that the size of the proposed structure, which would have replaced six existing homes, was not in keeping with the neighbourhood streetscape.

Here are a few things you should know about mortgages to avoid getting fleeced.

Canadian households keep getting wealthier and the good news is that growth of asset values has outpaced that of credit.

The Royal Bank of Canada says the ability of Canadians to keep up with housing costs has been improving of late, but warns that’s about to change.

Last week’s federal budget showed the Harper government is still carefully watching the housing market as it reduces the risk it’s willing to have taxpayers bear.

Canadians’ indebtedness moderated in 2013 unlike any other recent year, supporting the view that policymakers have bigger risks to address in the economy.

TD, another big Canadian bank, has lowered some of its mortgage rates slightly after an initial reduction by the Royal Bank over the weekend.

Despite falling sales activity, house prices in Canada are rising driven by tighter supply conditions in certain large markets.

Canada’s biggest banks say consumers are reaching the limit on how much they can afford to borrow, and that’s likely to slow loan growth this year.

Canadian housing data for November suggests a balanced and well-behaved housing market. It’s almost as if no news is good news for the housing market, which continues to be under the watchful eye of the federal government.

October’s national home sales fell 3.2 percent, according to the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), which released the figures Nov. 15, 2013.

A new survey shows that a majority of Canadians say they are honest when it comes to their taxes.