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Value: Weighed and Measured
John Clark AACI | Vice President, The Regional Group of Companies Inc.

Interest rates, inflation, overheated housing prices; it’s messy out there

John Clark Residential Market Trends National Apr. 11 2022
The average selling price of a house in our nation’s capital has doubled in six years. How many people can say the same of their paycheques? Most anyone who entered this period of over-exuberance in the housing market, whether in

The change genie is out of the bottle … where do we go from here?

John Clark Commercial Pandemic National Mar. 7 2022
In December, HR firm Lifeworks (formerly known as Morneau Shepell), released The Mental Health Index. About 24 per cent of this study’s respondents reported their work has hindered their mental health and 20 per cent of Canadian workers reported feeling

Inflation, interest rates and those troublesome boomers

John Clark Residential Market Trends National Feb. 16 2022
Considering how trucker protests and political party leadership changes have dominated headlines recently in Canada, you can be forgiven for failing to notice the other nonsense that’s been making the rounds. Given how much fresh nonsense there is on a

Want to bet on 2022 being a post-war economic boom year?

John Clark Residential Market Trends National Jan. 25 2022
Canada needs more capacity to generate more electricity if it wants to hit its climate targets, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said recently. Well, tell us something we don’t know. It’s no secret our federal government is eager to demonstrate

It’s time to recognize, and reward, the high value of low-cost labour

John Clark Commercial Pandemic National Sep. 17 2021
German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, otherwise known to history as a right-wing individual, in 1889 instituted what led some critics to label him a socialist. He led Germany to adopt the world’s first old age security program. In a speech

Housing unaffordability in Canada calls for flexibility

John Clark Residential Affordable Housing National Aug. 12 2021
So, how do we remedy the fact communities across Canada are becoming increasingly unaffordable places in which to live? Housing unaffordability is not the result of some mysterious, unmanageable force. Nor is it a phenomenon unique to the pandemic. A

Are we headed for a housing crash? Unlikely. Boats and RVs, however …

John Clark Residential Buying and Selling National Jul. 22 2021
The housing market across Canada has been on a 16-month tear that could be considered overly exuberant, but has this left it on a crash course? I don’t think so, judging by the 2021 half-time housing data. Let’s start with

Of hybrid work, road moratoriums and the insurers’ take on climate change

John Clark Commercial Market Trends National Jul. 8 2021
Wherever you may fall on the spectrum of climate change believers, skeptics and outright deniers, it’s hard to ignore the facts presented by the insurance industry. Insurers are closely tracking the financial impacts of climate change . . . and

If manufacturing is poised to rush back to N. America, it’ll look very different

John Clark Commercial Market Trends National Jun. 10 2021
Eighty-three per cent of North American manufacturers intend to re-shore at least some part of their supply chains in 2021. That is a compelling figure. It comes from the 2021 State of North American Manufacturing Report produced by Thomasnet.com. To

History tells us we face low inflation risk, despite some runaway prices

John Clark Residential Market Trends National May. 25 2021
Trillions of dollars in economic stimulus, supply chain disruptions and sky-high lumber prices that mean a backyard deck project this summer could cost as much as a small car . . . if you can find a car to buy.

If we can weather COVID-19, we can hit Canada’s emission targets

John Clark Commercial Market Trends National May. 5 2021
Bold claims need bold action to back them up . . . are we there yet? When it comes to climate, the federal government would have us believe Canada is well on its way. In releasing its budget earlier this

Infrastructure investment key to Canada’s recovery … if it’s the right investment

John Clark Commercial Pandemic National Apr. 14 2021
Canada has lost ground on many socio-economic fronts over the past year. A big part of the fix rests with making crucial investments which were needed long before the pandemic. I speak of infrastructure in all its varied forms. Critical

Affordable housing: The real challenge is paying for long-term upkeep

John Clark Residential Affordable Housing National Mar. 24 2021
With all the focus in the media these days on an overcharged housing market, it can be easy to forget the challenges with affordability that continue to face those on the lower end of the economic spectrum. The true victim

Let’s not be dense about urban densification

John Clark Residential Market Trends National Mar. 1 2021
I live in an older central Ottawa neighbourhood that is long-established and well-accustomed to the status quo. My wife and I have been here since the ’80s. We didn’t then, and don’t now, favour the idea of our neighbours being

Ottawa’s proposed new Goldbelt, and the costs of urban sprawl

John Clark Residential Development National Feb. 10 2021
Urban sprawl is a legitimate issue for cities across Canada and has been a discussion topic for decades. It leads to more traffic congestion, more infrastructure to build and maintain, and more impact on the natural environment. There is merit

The CRE sky hasn’t fallen; it’s time to look beyond the pandemic

John Clark Residential Investors National Jan. 27 2021
Real estate is persistently durable, malleable and resistant to negative momentum. Sure, there are always ups and downs, the point being, ups eventually do follow the downs. Buildings have a lifecycle – this is not new. They get repurposed, or

As we head into 2021, a piece is still missing from the housing puzzle

John Clark Residential Buying and Selling National Dec. 15 2020
Yes, the pandemic did depress activity in the resale housing market during Q2 2020 in what is normally a hyper-busy spring season – but does this subsequent pent-up demand truly account for the mad rush we continue to see through

Your property assessment vs. the pandemic: Time for a correction?

John Clark Residential Taxes National Dec. 2 2020
Ontario is about to start the fifth year of what originally was planned to be a four-year assessment cycle. Notwithstanding this extension of the current cycle, has anything material recently changed with regard to assessment? Has this COVID event changed

Boomers didn’t start this real estate fire, but are we fanning the flames?

John Clark Residential Market Trends National Nov. 12 2020
Who would have thought that we boomers would prove to be such a persistently tiresome group? For those of you who enjoy the armchair sport of market watching in residential real estate, it’s been an interesting couple of quarters. Take

Whatever the future holds, how we use real estate will change

John Clark Residential Market Trends National Oct. 26 2020
There is a certain desperation in the air these days for evidence that speaks to any kind of return to normalcy in the near future. As I wrote last time, it promises to be a long, dark winter. The only

Winter is coming: Our mental health matters more than ever

John Clark Residential Market Trends National Sep. 28 2020
How much can we take? That’s the pivotal question as we face the hard crash of a pandemic second wave, the added complications of the regular cold and flu season, and a snowy time of year already known for contributing

We’ve adapted to much change in six months, we can adapt some more

John Clark Commercial Pandemic National Sep. 10 2020
Where do we go from here? There are two primary forces at play right now: the social, as we face winter with an ongoing pandemic and a vaccine unlikely before spring thaw; and the economic, where opportunity goes in hand

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