The Home of the Week is a hideaway in Ontario's Parry Sound Remote Area.Ivory + Quill Co.
This week: Why RV living could be a solution to B.C.’s rural housing crisis, and what to know about the war in Iran’s impact on your mortgage. Plus, real estate insolvencies are on the rise, and one property worth a look.
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Interest rates
How the Iran war could affect your mortgage and more
From interest rates to gas prices, the recent military conflict – and the risk of a prolonged standoff – could affect Canadian consumers and investors.Chris Young/The Canadian Press
From shuttered airports to rising oil prices and volatile stock markets, the global economy is feeling ripple effects after the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran, and Iran retaliated on targets across the Middle East.
As Erica Alini, Andrew Galbraith and Mariya Postelnyak write, it might even have a chilling effect on interest rates in Canada.
Worries about inflation have prompted investors to push up bond yields and pare back expectations that the Bank of Canada will lower its trendsetting policy rate this year.
This is bad news for anyone who was hoping for declines in either fixed mortgage rates, which are influenced by bond yields, or variable ones, which tend to follow movements in the central bank’s rate. But there are steps you can take to protect yourself.
From travel to gas prices to the stock market, read more about how the war could affect your wallet.
Affordability
B.C.’s rural RV-dwellers push for permanent protections
Tom and Beverley Griffiths (and their cat Ralph) in front of their RV home in Parksville on Vancouver Island.Lori Monty/Lori Monty
For thousands of British Columbians squeezed by the housing crisis, RV stands for residential – not recreational – vehicle. Some RV-dwellers on Vancouver Island, like Tom and Beverley Griffiths, enjoy the unconventional lifestyle by choice, but in the area around Nanaimo, there are plenty of others who would otherwise be homeless. The couple have been pushing for the province and local government to allow year-round RV occupancy in rural areas, where rental options can be limited and prices still far out of reach, particularly for seniors. “This way, it makes living a little more affordable for some people. It’s the only way they can live,” Tom Griffiths told Kerry Gold.
Pressure on the Nanaimo Regional District to go beyond the interim measure of creating three-year permits for full-time RV-dwellers is one example of the challenges small and rural communities are facing to house their populations.
“I was surprised that such a scenic coastal escape like Vancouver Island has this widespread hidden homelessness and near-homelessness problem,” Kerry told me, adding that the anger people feel towards governments for perceived failures to build enough housing also took her by surprise. “I’ve interviewed a lot of people about housing over the last 18 years, and more than ever, I’d say people feel truly abandoned by their government.”
This week’s lowest fixed and variable mortgage rates in Canada
Rates shown are the lowest available for each term/type and category (insured vs. uninsured) as of market close on Thursday, March 5.
Market stress
Real estate insolvencies are on the rise, and the worst isn’t over
By whatever metric you want to use, Canada is experiencing its worst real estate cycle in decades.
According to data from the commercial real estate data firm Altus Group, “distressed sale” transactions have been increasing across the country, with 119 in 2023, totalling properties worth $767-million, 191 transactions worth more than $1.5-billion in 2024, and last year, there were 252 distressed sales, totalling more than $1.42-billion, Howard Chai writes.
Altus Group VP Raymond Wong said they define “distress sales” as ones that involve a court proceeding – creditor protection, receivership, foreclosure, power of sale – so the data does not include, for example, a property sold by an owner at a heavy discount due to financial distress. The data also only includes completed sales.
While most of these sales are currently affecting developers and commercial interests, there is a similar situation happening in the consumer space, where home sales might fall through due to heavily indebted homeowners.
Design corner
Bringing coastal charm to your dining room
Favourite Room: Victoria Armour’s Chester, N.S., cottage is a charming take on coastal decor.Matthew McMullen/The Globe and Mail
For much of the year, Chester, N.S., is a chilly place with damp fog and icy winds. But in the warmer, sunnier months of June, July and August, visitors arrive from around the world to gaze out at the sun-soaked islands and the sandy beaches.
Victoria Armour is one of those summer travellers. Based in Halifax, she owns a cedar-shingled cottage right by the seaside. But before Armour could enjoy the view, there was much work to be done. Her house is 120 years old and, in keeping with the era in which it was built, the walls were lined with solid wood panelling stained a deep coffee colour — not very conducive to taking advantage of the sunlight.
Instead, she painted much of the panelling white and layered in accents that are a little bit Caribbean, a bit Canadian East Coast, while still keeping the natural architecture of the building.
Read the full story and check out some of Armour’s design choices here.
Home of the Week
Into the woods for a remote hideaway
4198 Eagle Lake Rd. offers the chance for a permanent or weekend getaway.Ivory + Quill Co.
4198 Eagle Lake Rd., Lount Township, Ont. – Full gallery here
Whether you’re looking for a weekend retreat or to escape the city for good, this remote property answers the call of the wild. The farmstead and hunting lodge were used as vacation rentals while previous owners lived in the converted barn, but the current owner was in search of her own hideaway. Sara Moore saw the potential, kept the main house for herself and built a geodome from scratch to cater to the glamping crowd year-round. “A wood stove keeps it warm in the winter so it can be 28 degrees inside and minus 20 outside,” she said.
Clad in sunny yellow siding, Moore updated the two-storey home’s interior style from hunting resort chic to more of a modern farmhouse vibe. There are four modestly sized bedrooms upstairs, plus an additional rustic wood-panelled bedroom and another bathroom tucked up in the attic. The sun can be seen rising over the treetops from Moore’s bedroom each morning, and soaking in the claw-foot tub in the second-floor bathroom overlooking the forest is another welcome retreat.
Guess the price
b. The asking price is $1,199,000.