With Canada rushing to build housing, it should be no surprise that some entrepreneurial minds feel like it’s a business worth getting into. 

Driving the news: The federal government made a wave of announcements this week for housing initiatives that will feature in the 2024-25 budget. They include a $6 billion pledge for housing construction and infrastructure, and a $1.5 billion fund to protect existing rental units.

Did you hear that? It’s the sound of over a million real estate agents questioning their line of work.

What happened: Late last week, the U.S. National Association of Realtors settled an antitrust lawsuit alleging the trade group worked to artificially inflate sales commissions for years. Now, it will do away with its restrictive rules guaranteeing 6% commission for brokers.

In the midst of a housing shortage, city officials are looking to build homes on top of some of the country's ~97 million parking spaces.

Driving the news: Toronto is the latest Canadian city to look into converting public parking lots into housing, following the examples of Vancouver, Calgary, Windsor, St. Catharines, and London. Roughly 74 parking lots, about a quarter of the city's lots, could be up for grabs. 

Another day, another plan from a provincial government to do something, anything, to build more homes. 

What happened: The federal government is chipping in $2 billion worth of loans for B.C.’s new BC Builds program, aimed at boosting the construction of affordable rental housing for middle-class renters.

We have a recommendation for a special advisor on the Canadian housing crisis: the Count from Sesame Street. 

Driving the news: The widely cited estimate that Canada will need 3.5 million extra housing units by 2030 to achieve housing affordability could be short by as much as 1.5 million, per a new report from CIBC economist Benjamin Tal, due to underestimated population growth. 

 On this week’s episode of Free Lunch by The Peak, we sat down with Russell Hixson, who writes about the construction sector, to talk about what’s driving growth in housing costs.  

A new housing report has confirmed a tough truth: Canada’s rental market has become more crowded than a gym’s weight room in early January.  

Driving the news: According to new data from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, both rent prices and the number of empty rental units reached new records last year, creating the tightest rental market the CMHC has ever documented in Canada.

After 115 years in business, Leon’s Furniture is getting into the house-building game. No word yet on whether homes come fully furnished with brand-new pieces from the showroom.

What happened: Leon’s, the Canadian furniture chain best known for letting shoppers ho-ho-hold the payments, has received approval to rezone the 40 acres of land around its Toronto-area headquarters and build as many as 4,000 residential housing units. 

After months of pressure to crack down on colleges that have been accused of exploiting international students, Canada is capping study permits at about 360,000 students this year. 

What happened: The federal government is reducing the number of international student permits by 35% as part of a temporary two-year cap on foreign enrolment. The move also aims to ease some strain on Canada’s housing market and healthcare systems. 

 On this week’s episode of Free Lunch by The Peak, we sat down with Daniel Foch, co-host of the Canadian Real Estate Investor podcast, to talk about the future of the housing market.