New construction sales hit record lows in February, significantly below historical averages, while new construction prices showed slight divergences. Housing construction remained strong, with both housing starts and completions being well above historical averages.
Market Report
March 2024
By Daniel Foch
Director of Economic Research
RARE’s Economic Research Department meticulously examines TREB’s monthly data releases, distilling them into an easily digestible and insightful format within our market report.
Introduction
Landing: Soft or Hard
Inflation
Growth Slump.
Canada’s economic and productivity performance is lagging, with labour productivity growing by only 0.2 percent annually between early 2015 and the end of 2023. This is the slowest growth over an eight-year period ever recorded. Income growth has also stalled, affecting daily living standards. Growth in earnings and labour compensation has also been low – only twice in the past century has growth been more sluggish than today, both during serious recessions.
Economy
Recession?
TD Economics acknowledge that, based on consumer spending the Canadian economy already feels like it’s in a recession. In fact, consumer spending is worse than the 2008-2009 recession but still not as bad as the 1990s recession.
Population Forecast
Population Growth.
RBC has already been among the choir of economists speaking out against Canada’s non-permanent residence strategy, and its associated population growth. Immediately after the governments, decision to reduce non-permanent, resident growth. Recall that Desjardins forecast that a reduction in NPR growth would push Canada into economic hard landing territory.
About Daniel Foch
With over 15 years of experience in the real estate industry, Daniel Foch has amassed a wealth of expertise, having worked with prominent organizations like Interrent REIT, CBRE, and Hydro One, facilitating transactions exceeding $250M across various asset classes. He also made significant contributions to the University of Guelph’s Real Estate Faculty, founding the International URECC event and earning recognition for affordable housing innovation from CMHC and the University. Recognized as a trusted and balanced source of real estate insight, Daniel frequently appears in Canadian media outlets such as The Wall Street Journal, CBC, and The Globe and Mail. Leveraging his expertise, he has cultivated a sizable audience of over 100,000 real estate investors on social media platforms by delivering primary research and market analysis.