York Region is calling on the province to give the Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority the power to oversee implementation of the Lake Simcoe Protection Plan. That was one of eight key recommendations York Region has put forward to the Ontario government in its engagement process to determine whether the plan needs to be updated or amended. The recommendations put forward by the region were received for information by councillors during their committee of the whole meeting on... [read more]

Context I wrote a lot of articles earlier this year, but started doing more visual analysis for Instagram, Twitter & YouTube to grow my audience on those platforms. I've decided I should write a bit more again. I managed to put together a few data sets aimed at understanding the way people are changing their relationship with urbanized housing as a result of the covid-19 pandemic, and the consequential lockdowns that followed it. The information was well received by the media.... [read more]

Link to article: https://www.greaterfool.ca/2020/11/12/outta-here-4/ Exerpt: Realtor Daniel Foch, a house-slinger from north of Toronto, did some interesting plotting recently. He tracked 211 deals reported by the real estate board in the course of one day, following the links between the sale address and the agent’s office address, showing the path of buyer migration. It’s an exodus, he says, from the urban core to the fringes. To the east Durham was a big winner.... [read more]

The pandemic has had an unexpected impact on the housing market, and they’re calling it the GTA migration. Daniel Foch is a Real Estate Broker out of Keswick and says more people are moving away from the GTA as a work-from-home lifestyle takes over. “The uncertainty of the workplace has people seeking certainty elsewhere,” Foch told Barrie 360. “They also want more space to work from home; your home is becoming a mixed-use dwelling now.” Image courtesy Daniel... [read more]

I really enjoyed this conversation with Frances Donald, Chief Economist at Manulife Investment Management. We discuss the Canadian economy, housing, urbanization, the concept of urban exodus and financial competitive advantage between cities.             [read more]