Capital: Ottawa
Language(s): English and French
Area: 9,984,670 km²
Population: 34,482,779
GDP (PPP): 2012 estimate
Total: $1.488 trillion
Per Capita: $42,734
Canada Case Studies - Map
Covering most of the northern part of the North American continent and with an area larger than that of the United States, Canada has an extremely varied topography. In the east, the mountainous Maritime Provinces have an irregular coastline on the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the Atlantic.
After 2.5% economic growth in 2011, Canada's economic expansion moderated with an annualized rate of 1.9% in Q1 2012. Part of the slowdown was the spillover effect of turbulent economic conditions in Europe. "The outlook for global economic growth has weakened in recent weeks. Some of the risks around the European crisis are materializing and risks remain skewed to the downside. This is leading to a sharp deterioration in global financial conditions," says the Bank of Canada.
The MLS Home Price Index (HPI) raised 5.2% during the year to May 2012, to a benchmark price of CA$451,900 (US$438,610), according to the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA). The national house price index rose by 6.39% (5.08% in real terms) during the year to end-May 2012, according to Teranet-National Bank of Canada.
Home sales in Canada had their first monthly decline of the year in May. However sales were still 9% higher than a year ago, according to CREA. There was 5.9 months inventory on the market, up from 5.7 months in April.
Toronto is not the best place in Canada to buy for rental returns, but it has been a great investment! For medium and large apartments in Toronto, i.e., apartments of 120 square meters (sq. m.) and 200 sq. m., there has been a drastic increase in average prices per sq. m
In Montreal, house prices have dropped, as have monthly rental incomes. Square meter prices of apartments in Le Plateau-Mont-Royal and Ville-Marie dropped by an average of 20% from last year, while average rental incomes dropped by 13%. Average rental yields increased to 7.19%, from an average of 6.06% last year.
In Vancouver, a downward trend, but much less strong, also seemed visible. Unfortunately, our Vancouver sample size did not allow us to come up with monthly rental income and rental yields data.
