Canadians have binged on low interest rates by loading up on household debt, pushing up home prices to levels that are now “moderately overvalued,” say economists. Continue reading →

Dea Sagnella (seated) and her partner Moria Devereaux went out of their way to landscape the front and back of their home (with help from a cooperative landlord), going a long way to winning friends in the house-proud neighbourhood.

In the late 18th century, at the end of the American Revolutionary War, many British loyalists fled to Canada, among them George Playter of Pennsylvania who settled on a tract of land east of the Don River. Today, Playter Estates is an exclusive leafy handful of streets lying north of The Danforth and lined with large, mainly Edwardian homes. Sometimes called “Rosedale East,” average house prices are in the $700,000-plus range with the most elegant hitting as high as $2 million.

On Playter Blvd, among the most exclusive of these streets, sits one of the few rental homes in the neighbourhood, although you wouldn’t be able to distinguish it from all the others. And, occupying a $1,500-a-month, 850-square-foot two-bedroom on the second floor, live a couple who, like Playter, long ago left America for its northern neighbour. Continue reading →

On November 2, 2010, Steve Paiken and the Agenda ran an interesting episode  on the pros and cons of renting versus owning. Check it out.

“The Debate: The Case Against Home Ownership