Canadian Housing News
The latest news on rental markets, tenant rights, housing policy, and real estate across Canada.
Grosvenor Ups Vancouver Mayfair West Master Plan To 2,600 Units
Years after unveiling redevelopment plans, and nearly 10 years after the site was first sold, UK-based developer Grosvenor has significantly revised the plan for Mayfair West, the master-planned community set for what was formerly known as the Oakridge Transit Centre in Vancouver. Mayfair West is set for a 14-acre site that includes the former Oakridge Transit Centre at 929 W 41st Avenue, plus the three adjacent parcels at 5469, 5489, and 5507 Willow Street. BC Assessment values the properties at $199,935,000, $3,251,300, $3,005,000, and $3,674,000 for a total assessed value of $209,865,300. The properties are now held under OTC Project BT Limited. The site had served as a bus yard since 1948 before TransLink sold the site for $440 million to Intergulf Development Corporation and Modern Green Canada (MOMC) in December 2016, in what TransLink said was one of the largest real estate transactions in the province’s history. Intergulf later departed the project and sold its share to MOMC, before Grosvenor acquired the site in July 2022 with MOMC and Transca Real Estate Development as capital partners. A master plan was approved by Vancouver City Council in 2020; Grosvenor submitted a development application for Phase One in late-2023, but has since submitted a new and revised master plan rezoning application. The Mayfair West site and its surrounding context. (Grosvenor, Arcadis, Hariri Pontarini Architects) The previous proposal was for 17 buildings between four and 26 storeys with a total of 1,630 homes, including 1,120 strata units, 180 market rental units, 45 affordable rental units, and 330 social housing units, as well as 24,000 sq. ft of commercial space, a two-acre park, and a 69-space childcare facility. The new proposal will include 16 buildings ranging from 6 to 33 storeys with a total of 2,627 units, including 1,231 strata units, 1,238 market rental units, and 158 below-market rental units, as well as 52,975 sq. ft of commercial space, a two-acre park, an
Canada adds 18,200 jobs in June, jobless rate falls to 6.5%
Employment in Canada rose 18,200 in June and the unemployment rate fell to 6.5% as the country’s labour market shows some signs of tightening.
Office, industrial real estate vacancies dropping amid strong demand: Colliers report
A new report says Canada's commercial real estate sector is seeing strong demand for downtown office space alongside shrinking industrial supply.
Ontario Consumer Insolvencies Hit Highest Level Since The Financial Crisis
Canadian consumer insolvencies are rising fast, but nowhere are they rising quite like in Ontario. Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy Canada (OSB) filings rose in May. They’re rising so fast that Ontario just saw its second-highest number of May filings on record, only behind the 2009 Global Financial Crisis. Ontario Consumer Insolvencies Hit Second-Highest […] The post Ontario Consumer Insolvencies Hit Highest Level Since The Financial Crisis appeared first on Better Dwelling.
Trophy Office Assets Standing Out In More Ways Than One: Report
Since the pandemic, investor appetite for office assets has dropped significantly as a result of the increased uncertainty around offices. Have downtowns been changed forever? When will workers return to the office? What are office buildings worth? As a result of that uncertainty, office sales as a proportion of all commercial real estate transaction volume dropped to around 17% by 2025, while other sectors like industrial and multi-family saw increases to 38% and 27% — a combined two-thirds. “Elevated vacancy, opaque pricing, and the lack of clarity around the future of office demand pushed many institutional participants to the sidelines,” said Avison Young in a recent office investment analysis. “But that dynamic is now beginning to shift.” In Q1 2026, office transactions represented 19% of total sales volume, which is still below the 26% from the 2014-2019 cycle, but nonetheless an improvement. There are also signs that this cycle is a bit different, as the flight-to-quality trend seen with leasing is also taking form when it comes to sales. “Since 2025, Trophy office sales accounted for 25% of the total square footage and 39% of the total dollar volume of office sales in Canada,” says Avison Young President Mark Fieder. “This is up considerably from the period 2014 to 2019 and of course a major increase when compared to 2020 to 2024. This supports the narrative of institutional office investors narrowing their focus to core assets with a sustainable competitive advantage to enhance their offering to occupiers.” According to Avison Young, the office market is now defined by “a pronounced and persistent bifurcation in asset quality” between the trophy segment — newer, Class AAA and A office buildings downtown — and the value-add segment — Class B and C — and this divergence is expected to persist, both in terms of leasing velocity, rent growth, and investor invest. “After several years of hybrid work, the link between workplace quality, employee engagement, a
National Bank pushes deeper into Western Canada with Truvera Trust deal
The acquisition gives National Bank Trust a local foothold in British Columbia’s estate and trust market as the bank continues to build out its wealth management capabilities outside Quebec.
Canada’s Latest Real Estate Investor Report Isn’t Just Bad—It’s Reckless
Large institutional investors are an almost insignificant share of Canadian housing. That was the takeaway from a new Statistics Canada (StatCan) report examining the influence of institutional ownership of rentals in 2022. Even more shocking is the agency just discovered that Canadian real estate is the most perfectly competitive market in the world. All they […] The post Canada’s Latest Real Estate Investor Report Isn’t Just Bad—It’s Reckless appeared first on Better Dwelling.
Canadian banks too rich after searing 66% run, Jefferies says
Canada’s biggest bank stocks are running out of runway as valuations have fully priced in future growth, according to analysts with Jefferies Securities Inc.
Experts On Canadian Housing: What You Missed At SiteSummit 2026
SiteSummit 2026 — presented by SiteNews and EllisDon — leaned into its "Summer School" theme, packing its Toronto program with sessions on everything from AI adoption to modular construction. Among them, three sessions dug into housing from very different angles: a market update, a materials-focused deep dive on mass timber, and a policy panel on what it'll actually take to make things move. Between them, a market analyst, a real estate broker, a trio of architects and engineers, and a panel of housing executives laid out where the correction stands, where the industry is looking for new tools, and where the policy conversation is getting stuck. Resale is stabilizing, but new construction is still in freefall During Housing 101: State Of The Housing Market, Urbanation's Shaun Hildebrand laid out just how deep the GTA condo correction has run — with new launches nearly stopped, standing inventory in the thousands, and default rates climbing toward 15–20% in 2026 — but pointed to early stabilization on the resale side specifically: listings pulling back, downtown months of supply tightening, and HST removal narrowing the new-versus-resale price gap. Daniel Foch of Valery.ca zoomed out nationally, noting this correction rivals anything on record since the 1960s, with Ontario and BC diverging sharply from provinces like Alberta, where rental construction and migration are still driving growth. His read on the path forward: prices have already done most of the correcting, and it's wages that need to catch up next. Mass timber is having a moment, but the economics are still catching up Structural engineer David Moses and architect Chris McQuillan joined moderator Joseph Ogilvie for Mass Timber 101: Mass Timber's Killer Applications, to talk through why timber is gaining ground on concrete and steel — sustainability, labour shortages, and volatile steel supply chains among the drivers — with healthcare emerging as an unexpected growth area. The sticking points: moisture
Liberals shut down debate over proposed probe into B.C. condo buyout plan
Liberal MPs shut down a Conservative attempt to have the House of Commons ethics committee investigate the government's plan to turn unsold condos into affordable housing in British Columbia.
Average asking rents fall over 4% in June compared to last year, new report says
Asking rents in Canada continued to sink lower last month compared with a year ago, with a new report pegging the average cost at $2,033 for June.
Canadian Insolvency Filings Rebound To 4th-Highest May On Record
Canadian insolvency filings improved last year, but that progress is rolling back. Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy Canada (OSB) data shows insolvency filings climbed in May. Both consumer and business insolvencies are on the rise once again, and they’re both at historically elevated levels. Canadian Insolvency Filings Hit 4th-Highest May On Record Canadian total […] The post Canadian Insolvency Filings Rebound To 4th-Highest May On Record appeared first on Better Dwelling.