Friday News Round Up: September 29, 2017
Here’s what caught our eye this week:
UBS weighs in on Toronto’s housing bubble debate
Global financial services company UBS released its Global Real Estate Bubble Index this week, and Toronto topped its list as the city at highest risk of developing a housing bubble. The company’s rankings are grounded in the relationship between home price increases and the capacity of cities to keep pace with housing demands. They cite Toronto’ average home price growth of 50 per cent over the past five years as a key element contributing to the city’s bubble risk. Toronto is also joined by Vancouver on the top of the UBS rankings, with Vancouver taking the fourth spot on the global list.
Local Toronto experts have noted that recent policy changes, such as the 15 per cent foreign buyer tax, have actually helped “deflate” Toronto’s housing bubble in recent months.
Ontario developers pull the brakes on rental units
According to a new report by The Federation of Rental-Housing Providers of Ontario (FRPO), the province has started to see negative consequences from Ontario’s rent-control rule expansion from earlier this year. The group claims that four rental projects (consisting of 1,000 rental units) have now been slated to become condos as backlash against the rent control rules. The group claims that a number of additional rental units in the province are at risk. In order to circumvent a potential housing crisis, the group recommends an average of 6,250 rental units must be built per year in Ontario, for the next ten years.
Snoop Dogg invests in Canadian cannabis business
Toronto’s tech industry was tapped by rapper Snoop Dogg this week. The west coast rapper’s venture capital firm is leading a U.S. $2-million seed round for Toronto-based cannabis inventory management software provider, Trellis.
Interest in the cannabis industry and related businesses has spiked significantly as Canada draws closer to national legalization on July 1, 2018. Licensed providers are also bracing for the increased industry demands that are soon to come. Earlier this year a number of providers enlisted the help of Advertising Standards Canada to develop branding and promotional guidelines for next year.
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