Late January Press Review

The news in the second half of January focused on the year 2021. These include skyrocketing real estate prices and housing starts in 2021; a rise in prices that is expected to continue; a probable increase in the Bank of Canada's key interest rate; and the unveiling of the Tribunal administratif du logement's (TAL) rent setting criteria.

Countrywide, the year 2021 set a record for the number of home sales. As reported in Les Affaires, 667,000 properties changed hands, eclipsing the previous record for annual sales by 20%. It should be noted that there are currently the lowest number of properties for sale on record, which helps keep prices high.

The growth in housing starts in Canada is mainly driven by single-family homes and rental units. Figures from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation show that the trend has been downward since the month of December, which saw a drastic decrease compared to previous months. This phenomenon was also observed in Montreal where the month of December 2021 was 33% less active than December 2020. Nevertheless, as Le Soleil reminds us, 2021 was the best year since 1987 when 77% of construction involved rental housing.

There is also the Bank of Canada's announcement regarding the key interest rate that catches our attention. The impact of an increase will be felt on our borrowing, particularly for variable rate mortgages. As reported by Radio-Canada, most financial institutions expect the key rate to rise by 0.25% times five during the year. This would bring the rate to 1.5%. However, on January 26, the Bank of Canada maintained its policy rate, stating that the global economy should be able to regulate itself by 2023.

Probably the headline that caught our attention the most at CORPIQ was the unveiling of the TAL's rent setting criteria. In La Voix de l'Est, it was reported that "steep" increases for tenants are in fact a reflection of the constraints experienced by landlords. CORPIQ took the opportunity to publish a press release: "Relatively low rent increases due to high inflation, which hurts landlords". Our response was picked up by various media outlets as pro-tenant groups called for tighter rent control. We can read that CORPIQ reminds us that an increase could reach 5% "if the increases in municipal taxes, insurance, and energy costs are 'more pronounced'".

It should also be noted that the Plante administration has adopted a budget that the opposition voted against. The Journal de Montréal quotes the leader of the official opposition as saying that the city is "heading for a 'wall'" and will be unable to fulfill the promises made three months ago.

Finally, CORPIQ contributed to the television show "À vos affaires" with Pierre-Olivier Zappa on LCN by answering questions from listeners, including a question on whether a vaccination passport can be mandatory in an apartment building. CORPIQ recalled that it is not the role of a property manager to control the vaccination passport to allow access to common areas and adjacent services. The power of a landlord lies rather in the application of sanitary measures to allow access or not to certain services such as training rooms or swimming pools, regardless of the vaccination passport.