Link to full article: https://www.wsj.com/articles/housing-boom-fades-world-wide-as-interest-rates-climb-11658142000  "With Canada mortgage rates at their highest level since 2009, house sales in June were down 24% from a year earlier, according to the Canadian Real Estate Association. Real-estate brokerage Realosophy said Toronto sales declined 40% in May from a year earlier and now sit at a 20-year low. The median price for a Toronto home, excluding condominiums, is... [read more]

The attention economy. We currently live in the most attention-scarce market in history. This requires people who serve products and services to that market to adapt at an accelerating pace. Things follow this rule in a variety of industries, even ones that operate on longer cycles, including politics, as we've learned.  The most epitomic illustration of this can be found in Netflix's documentary called "The Big Hack". When I look at this solely from the perspective... [read more]

Long-distance calling costs once played a role in purchase decisions. A few days ago, I was preparing a bit of a commentary on Rogers’ introduction of unlimited data. I was trying to conclude how unlimited data may play a role in making rural living a little bit more attractive. As an example, I can now stream Netflix at the cottage in Dwight, where Season 3 of Stranger Things would’ve previously cost me $250. Completely independent of my thought-gathering... [read more]

Real estate is a technology. I've had this idea marinating in my head for a little while that is sort of an expansion of the concept I've already communicated I believe in: real estate is a technology. Land is the surface of a floating rock in space we're lucky enough to exist upon. It is a piece of the universe. Real estate, then, is an expansion upon it. Through this system, we interact with the world, and with one another. Real estate is a collection of technologies... [read more]

The CN tower is Toronto's baby. It's our landmark and the face of our city. It may also have a role in Toronto's housing supply shortage by suppressing supertall development near it. I remember distinctly during my time at Cornell's CIRECC event in New York City, both of the two tallest buildings in NYC were being built. Each of the developers were at the CIRECC event as judges, and in dialogue with the 432 Park developer, I learned that their site 432 Park Avenue was going... [read more]