Home of the Week: 6999 Highway 3, Hunt’s Point, NSConcept Measures
Here are The Globe and Mail’s top housing and real estate stories this week, with the lowest mortgage rates available in Canada today, commentary from our mortgage expert and one home worth a look.
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Freeland’s fall economic statement announces housing incentives, new Canadian Mortgage Charter
The federal government unveiled its 2023 fall economic statement on Tuesday, with promises of new spending to help build affordable homes, support renters and clamp down on Airbnbs, writes Marie Woolf. This includes an additional $1-billion to build affordable homes, and an extra $15-billion in loans to support the construction of rental apartments.
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland also announced the new Canadian Mortgage Charter, which lays out and enforces consumers’ rights when renegotiating their mortgages. Under the charter, lenders will be expected to notify mortgage holders four to six months in advance of their renewal date, and emphasizes that lenders are expected to have appropriate mortgage relief policies for consumers at risk of losing their homes.
This week’s lowest available mortgage rates
With borrowing costs near multidecade highs, most lenders require borrowers to prove they can afford payments at rates above 8 per cent. That makes it too hard for some to get final approval for regular financing, even if they already had a preapproval. As a result, a small but growing number of preconstruction buyers are compelled to sell their contracts to others before their home is completed, writes Robert McLister in his weekly column. These contract sales could offer a good opportunity to find a good deal, but timing is everything.
Millennials whose parents owned a home twice as likely to be homeowners: Statistics Canada
A Statistics Canada report found that those born in the 1990s, currently between the ages of 24 and 33, had a home ownership rate of 8.1 per cent in 2021 if their parents did not own property. But that rate almost doubled if their parents owned one home, and tripled if their parents owned two or three properties, writes Rachelle Younglai. “Inequality of homeownership appears to be reproduced across generations as parents’ property ownership conveys significant financial advantages to their children,” the researchers said in the report.
B.C. policy advisors warn of unintended consequences of new housing measures
The B.C. provincial government has introduced a host of new housing measures this month that would give it the authority of municipal planning departments, writes Kerry Gold. That move alone has raised eyebrows among housing experts who wonder if the province has the expertise to pull it off. One bill in particular, which calls for significant new height and density around transit areas, will require more collaboration with local governments if it is going to protect citizens against unintended consequences, like displacement or heightened housing costs, say those who are involved in housing policy.
Home of the week: A Nova Scotia home at the water’s edge
Home of the Week: 6999 Highway 3, Hunt's Point, NSConcept Measures
6999 Highway 3, Hunt’s Point, N.S.
Everything about this home is designed to respond to the ocean – the wooded property gives way to a rocky shore where the house sits, just feet away from the water. Built in the 2010s by a couple hoping to retire there, the home is set up around three main “pods” that resemble small cottages, linked together by walkways that resemble massive lanterns. The pods include a guest suite with three bedrooms, a foyer, and a self-contained primary retreat with its own bathroom, office, and media room – all overlooking the ocean.
Guess the price
a. The asking price is $3.1 million.