Toronto’s condo comeback as sales climb in Q1
 
Toronto’s downtown condominium segment is primed for a comeback with sales approaching pre-pandemic levels. Data from Urbanation found that new condo sales in the Greater Toronto Area totalled 5,385 units in the first quarter of 2021, which was just shy of the 5,593 condos sold a year ago. Rising interest in condos is helping to bring homebuyers back to the downtown core with 2,886 new units sold in that area, twice the amount sold in both the second and fourth quarter in 2020.
 
Vancouver real estate recovers from pandemic lows
 
Vancouver home sales in April bounced back from last year’s lows as sales surged 342 per cent, according to data from the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver. The heightened demand for suburban properties in B.C.'s biggest city brought the composite benchmark price up to $1.15 million. Despite the surge in year-over-year sales, overall activity in the Greater Vancouver housing market dropped 14 per cent in April compared to March.
 
Canadians aim to curb unnecessary spending post-COVID: Survey
 
More than one-third of Canadians said they plan to eliminate unnecessary spending from their lives after the COVID-19 pandemic is over, according to a survey released by Scotiabank. The survey found the top activities Canadians are looking to do post-pandemic is to gather with friends and family as well as travel. D’Arcy McDonald, senior vice president of deposits, investments, and payments at Scotiabank, said they are seeing a record number of savings in bank accounts which could create opportunities for Canadians to spend on hard-hit sectors like the hospitality industry once the economy fully reopens.

The case for why you shouldn't 'sell in May and go away'

Timing the market can be hard and creates added risk, making it difficult to decide whether you should follow the old adage of locking in investment gains in May. Ian Tam, director of investment research at Morningstar Research Canada, found that over the past 40 years, leaving the market in May and returning in November mostly resulted in lower returns than leaving your investments alone. So what should you do instead? CTV's Chief Financial Commentator Pattie Lovett-Reid suggests taking the time to rebalance your portfolio.

Real estate frenzy to reach its peak in 2021: CMHC

The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. expects Canada's hot real estate market to moderate from its "unsustainable" levels seen so far during the pandemic. They don't anticipate home sales to be as high in 2022 and 2023 due to economies reopening post-pandemic and interest rates moving higher. However, they do expect house prices and the pace of sales to remain elevated for years to come and see the average home price rising as high as $704,900 by the end of 2023.

How to protect yourself financially from the risks of dementia

Dementia is a challenging disease for many Canadians with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic further complicating the lives of those living with it. According to Statistics Canada 747,000 Canadians are living with Alzheimer's or another form of dementia. CTV's Chief Financial Commentator Pattie Lovett-Reid looks at ways people can set themselves up financially should dementia strike.