Market Media Monday - March 16, 2026

A curated list of recent headlines relevant to real estate in Canada or locally, with short excerpts. Click each headline link to read the full article on the source site.

[ CMHC reports February housing starts up 4.5 per cent from January ]
"Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. says the annual pace of housing starts rose 4.5 per cent in February. The national housing agency said the seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts was 250,900 units in February compared with 240,148 units in January."

[ Canada inflation cools as Iran war clouds next BoC move ]
"Canada’s inflation downshift in February landed at exactly the moment policymakers least wanted a surprise. Annual CPI eased to 1.8%, undercutting economist expectations of 1.9% and moving below the Bank of Canada’s 2% target just as the Iran war pushed global oil prices sharply higher."

[ Homeowners with stronger credit scores are increasingly defaulting on mortgage payments ]
"Homeowners with stronger credit scores are increasingly defaulting on their mortgage payments, an alarming trend that reveals the impact of higher mortgage rates on traditionally lower-risk borrowers."