Montreal real estate and household incomes

Rob Carrick from the Globe & Mail is back at with an article entitled "Can you afford a home in these cities?" I love how Rob keeps it real and puts things in a comparative perspective. Rob again applies his Real Life Ratio indicator when looking at home affordability in various Canadian cities. According to him, "Montreal's a trouble spot, with actual household income well below the estimated income required to carry the average home." I would agree with him that "Falling prices would help some prospective home buyers, but its not a big factor as you'd expect." I also agree that if the Real Life Ratio, i.e. the common sense calculation for owning a home doesn't work then it's okay to rent or save on building a large down payment.

Canadian household debt

Happy rainy Monday Montrealers. Today, an article in the Montreal Gazette caught my eye entailed "Household debt worries ease as mortgage borrowing slows in May: RBC." The RBC states that Canadian homeowners have been slowing down on the amount of mortgage debt that is assumed. Yes debt-load and market values are critical indices in Canada and I have no doubt that we're taking on less debt but I don't think it's because we are smarter consumers.

Are we managing our household debts better?
Picture: Huffington Post & Alamy Photo 

Perhaps Canadian homeowners are "hitting a wall" when it comes to assuming more debt and mortgages. This is an income issue. I am sure that if wages went up then Canadians would most likely assume more debt as well.

.

Canadian Muslim Forum & the Quebec Election 2014

Lately, I've gotten the political bug back. As many of you know my education is in public policy and international relations. I think I've been more inspired lately because of the upcoming charged Quebec election. We all have responsibility to vote and voice an opinion. 

Last Sunday I spent the evening with the Canadian Muslim Forum (CMF) in Laval. The CMF hosted an excellent town hall format meeting attended by many Provincial parties (Liberal, Green, Coalition Avenir Québec and Québec Solidaire). The candidates spoke to the community and answered many questions. I'm not surprised that the PQ did not send any candidates to speak. The CMF organizers posed various predetermined questions about: future hopes for Quebec, Quebec identity and the economy.

Canadian Muslim Forum event @ Chateau Royal in Laval

Clearly the room was frustrated with the Charter and politics of division in this province. The common theme discussed was: job creation, access to education and a strong anti-charter sentiment. The best strongest reply from the night came from Rita Da Santis, current elected Liberal Member of National Assembly for Bourassa-Sauve riding, "...an uneducated person is not free," highlighting how important it is to create a neutral government that tolerates all religions and peoples.

Alex Tyrell (Leader of Green Party in Quebec) addressing the public

Second, Rita's quote also relates to creating accessible education in Quebec. Society is not created equal, she stated, however access to education is critical. Rita pointed out that this creates a society of confident citizens but also confident society that attracts investment.

One question addressed to all candidates was about job creation. I liked Alex Tyrell's, leader of the Green Party in Quebec, comments about eco-jobs. This is something that needs to be explored further in our province. A knowledge and eco-based economy may be one of the remaining areas that have not seen much political action. How does that related to mortgages? Simple. We need better quality jobs and better paying jobs in Montreal and the rest of Quebec. Job creation and job innovation feels flat in Quebec. Our Province has many untapped talents. Creating jobs in manufacturing is passe. We need innovation and job creation in knowledge and eco-based industries.