“The changes to increase affordability are costly, cash-flow punishing, increase indebtedness and trick the financially illiterate (like the finance minister, apparently) into a false conclusion,” writes Garth Turner.
“In weeks, Trump will take office. His aggressive cabinet picks suggest what he said in the campaign is what he’s going to do. That has a bunch of economists losing their lunch. The consensus is his agenda will end up whacking Canada,” writes Garth Turner.
“It’s clearly time for a real estate update, especially now that we understand where Donald Trump is headed. Expect surprises in the next year or two regarding mortgage rates,” writes Garth Turner.
“Trump may have his wall. Gerry has his. One is designed to keep people out. The other says come on in,” writes Garth Turner.
“If you want to have a B&B, this town is your pal. Other places ban the practice of renting out a room or a suite short-term unless you live in the place. Not here,” writes Garth Turner.
Why did Tony Caldwell pay $200,000 more than asking for an uninhabitable and vacant pile that cleaners refused to enter without hazmat gear? Garth Turner speaks with the man who just bought the “mould house” in Old Town about his plans to preserve this heritage home.
“It’s worth remembering why people always wanted to come to this place. Now more than ever,” writes Garth Turner.
“In the last 90 days, virtually nothing sold for more than $1.5 million. The average house takes over 100 days to get an offer — and six in ten are conditional on the buyer being able to sell,” writes Garth Turner.
“One fear is Trump will ultimately tank our dollar, stall the economy and add almost 2 per cent to mortgage rates. But there’s no guarantee, of course, he’d govern with the same machismo as he campaigns. Let’s hope so,” writes Garth Turner.
“The public mood is sour. Houses are crazy. High rates didn’t bring lower prices. There are still 8,000 people in NOTL without a family doctor. And now there’s employment anxiety,” writes Garth Turner.
“The scenic cornrows of grapes, the river’s majesty, the horses and storybook gardens of the Old Town hide a troubling anti-establishment buzz. Animosity is growing,” writes Garth Turner.
“Building more places with the same land values, labour overhead and material costs won’t make them affordable. Developers aren’t charities,” writes Garth Turner.
“There are some 1,500 workers around here. Most stay eight months. They do tasks Canadians reject. Our growers depend on them. To my eye, they also respect and help them,” writes Garth Turner.
“If there’s one thing Canada got right in the last four years, it was allowing the central bank do its job. Letting career politicians mess with monetary policy is a sketchy idea,” writes Garth Turner in this week’s edition of The Turner Report.
Entrepreneur and 2022 mayoral candidate Vaughn Goettler, writes Garth Turner, is “pragmatic, driven, a tad rumpled, safely retired but far from finished. He has fine real estate, toys and ambition.”
“Have we priced ourselves out of the economic reality in which most Canadians live? Of course,” writes Garth Turner in this week’s edition of The Turner Report.
“Dividing the world into left and right, as the Americans are doing (and we’re following) solves nothing. One side is not right and good, the other wrong and evil. Trust me. I’ve been on both,” writes Garth Turner.
“A nice heritage home sold in Old Town this week. The asking price was competitive, but no cigar. The new owner got it for 14 per cent less,” writes Garth Turner.
“Rates have now dropped twice, with two more chops likely in 2024. In NOTL the market, like the weather, has been uncomfortably sticky,” writes Garth Turner
“On this side of the river, we’ll have to deal with a situation new in our lifetimes. Religion, race, tribalism, patriotism and a battle between left and right make the coming presidential vote a rising risk to wealth,” writes Garth Turner.
Some days you never forget. It was Monday. I was a columnist and business editor for one of the city’s big dailies (remember them?). Without warning, stocks crashed. The New York market shed
Sure, it’s a nice place. Most folks would be happy living in the coach house. But is it $4.5 million nice? The latest listing on my Old Town street (one block from the flip now on sale at $3.9 million) is part of a larger local story.
It was raining, so we drove. But forget about parking. The streets of Old Town were jammed. Dorothy and I ended up walking through the wet and the dark halfway back from where we started.
Who hasn’t stood on the river bank and stared across at Fort Niagara? In Niagara-on-the-Lake, America is close. No wonder so many from New York state and beyond trek here. They love us.
This marks the debut of columnist Garth Turner as a regular contributor to The Lake Report. He’s a longtime journalist, commentator and former federal cabinet minister. We look forward to his insightful contributions.
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