Inder Chawla's blog

More than half of Canadians say they are not living in their ideal home, according to a new report. While most want more space, a majority cited affordability as the top barrier for moving into their dream dwelling.

Report also found that the average Canadian buyer has a budget of nearly $677,000 and is looking for a three-bedroom home with 2.5 washrooms. According to the Canadian Real Estate Association, the national average sale price for a home in February 2026 was $663,828, down 0.2 per cent from a year ago.

The Canadian dream of owning a moderate stand-alone house with a few bedrooms...

Federal funding meant to speed up housing construction

The federal government is proposing a $1.7-billion fund to help provinces and territories lower the cost of homebuilding.

The federal funding is meant to help provinces reduce development fees or other levies on new housing to speed up the pace of construction in Canada.

The money can also be used to boost productivity in construction and reduce internal trade barriers between provinces and territories to help get more homes built.

Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne and Housing Minister Gregor Robertson announced the...

The deal will cut development charges in half for three years, Carney said

Ontario and Ottawa will spend billions to help cut municipal housing development charges in an effort to spur new builds across the province, Prime Minister Mark Carney and Premier Doug Ford announced Monday. 

The federal and provincial governments will each spend $4.4 billion on housing-related infrastructure over the next 10 years, Carney announced alongside Ford and Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow at a joint news conference in Etobicoke. 

The deal will cut development charges in half for three years, Carney said....

When you sign up for a discounted banking account — one marketed specifically to newcomers, students or Indigenous clients — you expect the fee waiver to work as promised. For more than 101,000 Canadians, it didn't.

The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC), the federal regulator that protects users of financial products, applied a $4 million penalty against Bank of Montreal (BMO) for charging monthly plan fees that should have been waived or discounted (1).

While the bank conceded that the overcharged fees were due to the bank's billing errors, the FCAC investigation and February...

Ontario's housing start projections have been revised downward once again in the province's budget, putting the government even farther off track from building 1.5 million homes over 10 years — a target to which the ministers in charge say they pay no mind.

The province is projecting just 64,800 housing starts this year — 10,000 fewer than it expected for this year in last year's budget and 30,000 fewer than the 2024 plan projected.

The government's own math early on in its bid to get 1.5 million homes built by 2031 showed that housing starts should be at 175,000 per year. That was a...

Interest rates started to drop last year and while people with variable-rate mortgages have been vindicated in their choice, homeowners renewing their 3 to 5 year fixed-rate mortgages this year could see some savings coming their way.

With such an economic reality facing Canadians, homeowners will need to shop around to find the best rates and terms so they can see if it's worth switching their mortgage right now. You should always check current mortgage rates to see if you're paying more than the market. The great news is it’s entirely within your power to switch your mortgage before the...

Vacation home prices are expected to grow this year, despite concerns about the economy and global turmoil putting a damper on demand in some parts of the country.

A new report released recently forecasts the median price of a single-family home in Canada’s so-called recreational regions to rise four per cent year-over-year to $604,552. It said the weighted median price of a single-family home increased 4.3 per cent year-over-year in 2025 to $581,300.

Each provincial market is expected to see price increases this year, led by a 5.5 per cent gain in Saskatchewan and Manitoba to a median...

Premier Doug Ford says the province and federal government plan to temporarily expand the HST rebate for new homes in the province, allowing all buyers a rebate of up to $130,000.

The HST rebate on new homes was previously only available to first-time homebuyers under the federal GST/HST First-Time Home Buyers Rebate.

But for a one-year period, the province is proposing that the offer be extended to all buyers in the province.

According to the Ford government, homes valued at up to $1.5 million would be eligible for a maximum of $130,000 in relief.

A reduced rebate would be available for...

If lower interest rates can’t push homebuyers off the sidelines, perhaps a year’s worth of free borrowing costs will.

That’s the hope for one developer whose offer joins a growing list of incentives aimed at luring buyers, as hesitation lingers across most major housing markets in Canada.

The campaign announced last week by Mattamy Homes would see the firm cover mortgage payments for up to a year on its new builds located within six neighbourhoods in the Calgary and Edmonton areas. Eligible properties must be ready for occupancy by the end of 2026 and Mattamy has capped the total...

Imagine signing the agreement on your first new home, budgeting for a $50,000 tax rebate — and then finding out you don't qualify.

It's not hypothetical. Canadian home buyers who agreed to purchase a newly constructed home between March 20, 2025 and May 26, 2025, are not eligible for the First-Time Home Buyers’ (FTHB) GST Rebate.This new federal home buying rebate was announced on March 20, 2025 but wasn’t introduced into law until May 27, 2025 — two months later (1). Anyone who signed a purchase agreement to in those two months are not eligible for the rebate. That’s a loss of up to...