The Canadian Real Estate Association and the Toronto and Vancouver real estate boards are gearing up to fight a proposed ban on ‘blind bidding’ for houses—which keeps potential homebuyers in the dark about the other bids on a property. 

What happened: As part of the federal budget announced earlier this month, the government announced the measure as one that “could help bring down soaring home prices,” but some in the industry argue that the measure will only take away the rights from sellers.  

Real estate laws are also governed at the provincial level, meaning the federal government cannot unilaterally ban the practice and must work with individual provinces to enforce it. 

• Yesterday, Ontario announced it will give sellers the option to opt out of blind bidding if they so choose, but Premier Doug Ford is firmly against banning the practice entirely. BC has looked into removing blind bidding since 2017. 

Why it matters: The ban could help cool down housing prices further: according to The Canadian Real Estate Association, the average sale price of a house dropped 3% between February and March (from $816,720 to $796,000) and 5.6% fewer houses sold. 

• These decreases were likely in response to the Bank of Canada’s first key interest rate this year back in March. 

Despite the dip, Royal LePage still projected the aggregate price of a home in Canada to rise 15% year-over-year in 2022, suggesting interest rate hikes alone won’t do the trick.  

Bottom line: Blind bidding directly contributes to sales that are obscenely over asking prices—even millions in some cases. Banning it is not a fix-all, but keeping it could continue to disadvantage potential homebuyers at a time when housing prices continue to rapidly outpace Canadian wages. 

Move over, Meta: Amazon has reportedly been looking to hire for several senior roles to develop an unannounced virtual reality product in recent months. 

Buy Canadian (please): Canadian construction material manufacturers risk being hit by new ‘Buy American’ provisions and need to fight for necessary exemptions. 

Not-so-budget air: High fuel prices will be passed on to passengers (even as competition ramps up among discount carriers), says Swoop president.

To the moon: As Twitter continues to try and block Elon Musk’s $43B bid for the company, private equity firm Apollo Global Management has discussed a potential takeover. 

Unlucky charms: The FDA is investigating reports of sickness from Lucky Charms, as detailed (warning, in graphic terms) on iwaspoisoned.com.

Netflix lost subscribers for the first time in more than ten years last quarter, leaving the after-hours stock chart looking like the scariest ride at Wonderland (as shares cratered more than 25%). 

• The streaming giant says it lost 200K subscribers thanks to increased competition, password sharing, and shutting down its service in Russia (a 700K subscriber loss), and expects to lose 2 million more this quarter.

Netflix is hardly the only video streaming service struggling to attract new eyeballs, which will likely start to change your personal streaming experience.

• Across the board, platforms face challenges including higher content costs and user subscription fatigue. So now, they’re offering a deal: Lower prices in exchange for showing ads, just like the good ol' days.  

Per The New York Times, companies that once shunned ads are now warming up to the idea:  

• Netflix is not dismissing the possibility of a low-price, ad-supported option. 
   
• Disney+ will offer an ad-supported subscription for a reduced fee later this year.
   
• HBO Max already shows ads on its service for non-premium subscriptions. 
   
• Last week, Amazon doubled down on its free, ad-supported streaming service, renaming it Freevee, from IMDb TV. 
   
• Other streamers, like Hulu, Paramount+ and Peacock, already offer ad-supported services.

Rolling out ad-supported membership tiers is an attractive option for platforms looking to enable fast subscriber growth in emerging markets—where disposable income is generally lower than in Canada (like India, for instance). 

Why it matters: Streamers are under pressure to produce pandemic-like growth figures and see ads as a solution, but whether viewers will pay more to opt-out of commercial breaks during the new season of Better Call Saul remains to be seen.

Ever wanted to live in a provincially-designated heritage building? Well, now’s your chance!

This stunning Tudor-style property located in the Shaughnessy neighbourhood of Vancouver was built in 1915 for a local whiskey baron (the best kind of baron) Edward Tulk, who named the estate ‘Rosemary’ after his daughter. It has numerous interesting past owners, including a former Lieutenant Governor of BC and a Roman Catholic convent that used it as a retreat. 

You can join this list of owners and revel in Rosemary’s nine bedrooms, 12 bathrooms, and hand-carved oak grand staircase. Check out the listing here!

Ahh Coachella… the music festival (dubbed the SuperBowl of fashion) for the who’s who of influencing returned this past weekend, giving fashion brands a boost after two years of stay-at-home chic (sweatpants). 

As COVID restrictions become a thing of the past, big events are back… at least according to fast-fashion sites Boohoo, H&M, Asos, and Nasty Gal, which saw a 173% boost in sales of festival fashion items compared to 2019, per The Business of Fashion.  

• As we mentally recover from last weekend’s social media takeover by self-tanned and sparkle-covered festival-goers (who care more about selfie lighting than music acts), we’re also bracing for week two, fuelled by brands trying to connect.
   
• Household brands like Hugo Boss and Levi’s also count on festivals to fuel sales and drive trends, joined by non-fashion companies like Meta that set up activations. 

But no brand does festivals like Revolve, an online fashion retailer for young, mostly female, shoppers, that spends much of its marketing budget harnessing the power of social media, hosting productions, and tapping influencers to drive sales. 

• Last weekend’s invite-only ‘Revolve Festival’ welcomed countless famous guests, but despite looking perfect on social media, some attendees called it a disaster.
   
• But whatever they’re doing, it’s working: In 2021, the company reported profits of $126 million, up 76% from $72 million in 2020. 

Why it matters: Music festivals are becoming less about the music and increasingly more about showcasing brands–nowadays, attendees spend a good chunk of time in various lounges or brand experiences that promote sponsors (and get you to buy things). 

📉 3.6%. How much the IMF predicts the global economy will grow in 2022, a sharp fall from an earlier forecast of 4.4% driven by disruptions caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

💵 $0. The salary Elon Musk says he’ll pay Twitter’s board of directors if he manages to take over the company, down from current compensation levels of up to $350,000 per year.

🦢 1. The amount a Canada goose poops (in kilograms) per day, creating a headache for cities and towns left to clean up after the birds arrive every spring.

• Deadline: There's only 10 days left to enter for a chance to win a $2000 Air Canada gift card as part of our summer getaway sweepstakes. Enter now.

• Why commuting to business parks is better in the Netherlands than in Canada.
   
• A Stanford psychologist thinks he discovered exactly what separates one-hit wonders from musical superstars with enduring appeal.
   
• Giving new meaning to the “euphoria” stage of a bubble, crypto-themed dating shows have arrived.
   
• This Reddit thread on survival myths that are completely wrong and could get you killed is sure to come in handy if you’re ever stranded in the desert or escaping an alligator.
   
• Mystery solved: Why pre-cooked rotisserie chickens are often cheaper at the grocery store than raw ones.