housing – Urban Analytics Institute

Working from Home is here to stay

Murtaza — Tue, 06 Dec 2022 19:24:18 +0000

Murtaza Haider, in his weekly co-authored column, explains that working from home (teleworking) is not just a fad. With over three times increase in teleworking from 2016 to 2021, the 2021 Census found millions of employees working from home during the pandemic. Even in May 2022, the Labour Force Survey revealed that teleworking was stubbornly prevalent, albeit at a lower rate than the one seen during the early days of the pandemic.

You can read the Column in the December 06 issue of the Financial Post.

Rental markets are showing increasing weakness

Murtaza — Mon, 09 Nov 2020 16:33:29 +0000

Murtaza Haider writes in the Financial Post about the weakening rental housing markets. See the URL below for the column.

https://financialpost.com/real-estate/listings-skyrocket-while-leases-are-up-and-rents-are-down-making-sense-of-the-complex-covid-rental-market?

“Rental markets are showing signs of weakness, with rents falling and vacancies climbing, particularly in and around the downtown cores.

“From Manhattan to Toronto, and San Francisco to Vancouver, rental markets are transacting at a discount, which is what many of those priced out of centrally located communities need to find digs in choice neighbourhoods.

“Take the Greater Toronto Area. The average rent for a one-bedroom apartment was down by 11.1 per cent in the third quarter from a year earlier, according to the recently released Q3 rental market report by the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB).

“The recent shift could be troubling for landlords that have enjoyed years of escalating rents and falling vacancy rates, but the decline in average rents has brought many new renters to the market. Apartment rentals in the third quarter were up by 30.2 per cent from a year earlier.”

Why do Supply Skeptics ignore the need for new housing construction?

Murtaza — Mon, 28 Sep 2020 15:56:42 +0000

Housing affordability has been a large concern for Canadians who saw rents and prices climb rapidly over the years with no commensurate increase in incomes. Academic and professional literature has repeatedly pointed out that increasing housing supply is likely to moderate housing prices and rents. The Supply Skeptics though believe that tightening regulations for credit supply and immigration is the way forward.

Professor Murtaza Haider writes in the Financial Post to explain why supply skepticism will exacerbate the housing affordability challenges in Canada. To read his co-authored op-ed with Stephen Moranis, please CLICK HERE.