The Weekly 411:

Today we're covering

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Canada's Temporary Resident Population Hits New Record High

📉 Canadian Home Sales Sees Worst Drop in 15 Years

🌲 Canada's Cottage Market Stabilizes 

🤑 Vancouver Ranked 3rd Least Affordable City in the World 

🤔 Our 'WTF' of The Week

Read Time: 3 minutes

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Canada's Temporary Resident Population Hits New Record High

• Canada's temporary residents hit of 6.8% of the total population— a new record for the country.

• This is a significant increase from 3.5% two years ago, with a growth of over 1.2 million temporary residents.

• The population of Canada grew by 243,000 (0.6%) in the first quarter, reaching a total of over 41 million.

• Temporary residents include:

  • International students (1 million, up 60% in two years)

  • Work permit holders (1.3 million, up 152% in two years)

  • Asylum claimants and others (including family members)

• The federal government plans to reduce temporary residents to 5% of the total population (around 2.05 million) over the next three years.

• To achieve this, the number of temporary residents would need to decrease by over 20% by 2027.

📉 Canadian Home Sales Sees Worst Drop in 15 Years

The Canadian real estate market experienced significant declines in May 2024:

• Annual Decline: 

  • Sales-to-new-listings ratio dropped to 46.5%, indicating a buyer’s market.

  • Sales fell 24.8% in May 2024 vs. last year (largest annual decline since 2009).

  • Inventory levels surged 63.6%.

  • Average home price decreased by 4.1%.

• Monthly Decline: 

  • Sales decreased 4.3% in May vs. April (largest monthly decline since February).

  • Newly listed homes increased by 0.4%

  • Average home price fell 2.6% from last month to $711,000.

🌲 Canada's Cottage Market Stabilizes 

• Canada's cottage property market is stabilizing after a pandemic-driven boom and subsequent bust.

• The national median single-family recreational home price is $678,930, a 59% increase from 2019, and is expected to rise another 5% this year.

• Ontario prices are expected to rise 8% this year, with Haliburton and Kawarthas seeing sales up 3% and prices up 5%.

• Muskoka prices are down 5% from last year, despite low inventory levels.

• Capital gains tax hike is having minimal impact, as many owners choose to hold onto properties.

🤑 Vancouver Ranked 3rd Least Affordable City in the World 

• Vancouver has been ranked as one of the least affordable housing markets in the world for 16 consecutive years, 

• Vancouver ranks as the third-least affordable city in the world, after Hong Kong and Sydney, Australia.

• Four of the six Canadian cities in the report (Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, and Ottawa-Gatineau) are rated "severely" or "impossibly" unaffordable.

• The report bases its ratings on housing prices and median household incomes.

🤔 WTF of The Week

GTA condo inventory surpasses 9,000 active listings