September 17, 2025
!BREAKING NEWS! Ozbuzz is eliminating subscribers
Now that we have your attention, I need to share an oddity.
OZBUZZ.ca experienced some unusual activity, someone was adding a lot of emails into our system – we thought. I mean I have a big head, but adding 2000 new subscribers a week? Even I could see something was wrong when we hit 41,000.
We are using the mailserver ‘mailchimp’ and we were assured that everyone had to add their email and that mailchimp was writing them back assuring that the email was genuine.
Anyway facts are facts (remember our old name in 2000 – ‘Facts by Fax’?) so we took these steps:
- We added CLOUDFLARE, which makes sure any new subscriber is human. Takes 3 seconds.
- We eliminated any subscriber which sported an email that did not open their Ozbuzz for 2 months. We figure if they open the Ozbuzz email, they are genuine. (Some 8000 or so are gone and we may add to that number next month.)
- It is now possible that we eliminated the odd wrong person, so please – if we did – sorry! Please just subscribe again.
Technology, eh?
LE GRAND BOOK SALE
Comment received: Thanks for the book sale. Can’t believe I never read it before. You should update it a tad and relaunch. It should be in every store. Incredibly good advice.
A: Thank you for kind remarks! It is actually a rewrite of my 1998 book “Forget About Location, Location, Location”. All principles still apply today – if not more so! And it was originally launched with a publisher and was in every store in Canada.
If you still need quality Christmas gifts for your customers, you can still pick up books (by the case) for under $10 from our office.
(Each video is also available AS A PODCAST on
Spotify, Apple, Amazon, Pocketcast and many others!)
See ozbuzz.ca/category/podcasts/
AGENDA
- OZZIE HAS A DEAL FOR YOU!
- NEW PROMISES? (YES, IT WAS MADE FOR 1O YEARS – BUT WHO REMEMBERS?)
- PRIVATE REITS – BEWARE!
- VANCOUVER SF SALES UP 13%!
- FOLLOWING THE CUT IN RATES – WHITHER MORTGAGE RATES?
- THE NUMBERS STUDY:
– HIGHEST PRICE ACHIEVED COMPARISON
– 5-YEAR AUGUST TO AUGUST COMPARISON - CANADA: INFLATION – UNEMPLOYMENT
- USA: INFLATION – UNEMPLOYMENT
- GOVERNMENT UNVEILS PREFAB HOUSING
- GOVERNMENT UNVEILS NEW INITIATIVE ($13 BILLION TO START)
- .COM BUBBLE CRASH REPEATED IN AN .AI CRASH?
- OZZIE AND BRENT CHAT AT YOUTUBE.COM/JUROCKVIDEO:
– Co-signing, reverse mortgage, the markets, deals
THE CASE FOR AND AGAINST PREFABRICATED HOUSING IN CANADA
The Liberal Party has committed to establishing Build Canada Homes (BCH), which will include $25 billion in debt financing and $1 billion in equity financing to support ‘innovative’ Canadian prefabricated homebuilders. While the government asserts that their prefabricated homes initiative will dramatically accelerate homebuilding efforts, is very doubtful.
Construction delays are the primary causes in Canadian residential development. Its administrative processes at all levels of Govt., rather than construction speed or costs.
Government approvals, particularly at the municipal level, can take up to 31 months in Canada’s largest cities.
Canada currently lacks the necessary infrastructure—factories, supply chains, and workforce—to deliver tens of thousands of prefab homes in a short timeframe. That could take years.
Major Point: We say, cut DCRs in half, cut approval times in half, harmonize Feds, Province and municipal costs.
LATE NEWS – THE PREFAB ANNOUNCEMENT IS SUPERCEDED BY A NEW INITIATIVE:
On September 14, 2025, the government unveiled details off Build Canada Homes (BCH), a new federal agency aimed at addressing the nation’s housing crisis. Of course, it has been addressing this crisis for 10 years and we are building half the number of homes than we did in 2017. But here is the latest incarnation of promised government action:
- Initial Investment: The agency is backed by an initial capitalization of C$13 billion to finance large-scale housing projects.
- Utilization of Public Land: BCH will leverage federal lands, including 88 properties spanning approximately 463 hectares listed on the Canada Public Land Bank.
- Construction Goals: The agency aims to build 4,000 factory-built homes on federal land in its initial phase, with potential capacity for up to 45,000 units across its portfolio. The first six sites are located in Dartmouth, Longueuil, Ottawa, Toronto, Winnipeg, and Edmonton. (Sorry, nothing in BC!)
- Innovative Building Methods: BCH plans to employ modern construction techniques such as factory-built, modular, and mass timber housing (ah there is the prefab again) to reduce building timelines by up to 50%, costs by up to 20%, and emissions by approximately 20% during construction. (Sorry, just swallowed my tongue … still giggling.)
- Supportive Housing Initiatives: A $1 billion fund will be allocated to build transitional and supportive housing for individuals who are homeless or at risk of homelessness,
- Rental Protection Fund: BCH will manage the $1.5 billion Canada Rental Protection Fund to help community housing organizations acquire at-risk rental buildings, ensuring their long-term affordability.
Major Point: Question for you: Whose timeline is reduced by 50%? Who makes the 20% profit on savings, while also saving 20% on emissions. Generally, I support all initiatives … but this one? Alas we have been there before – again and again.
QUESTIONS, QUESTIONS!
Q: I heard that you film your short videos (90 seconds) really for your grandchildren. What a great idea. Can I add mine (I have 3)?
A: Haha. Actually in 2003, I was on my boat with the famous German artist Roland Schicht and I discussed some of the ‘world wisdoms’ I was espousing. ‘Wisdoms” that I learned in a long career of running Canadian, Taiwanese and US corporations. A lot of these wisdoms took to task some of the nonsense ‘run of the mill’ quotes we use at will. Beliefs, like “you learn from other people’s mistakes” (NOT!). I was thinking of doing a 50-card set. He was taken with it, he said give me 50.You do the words, I do the artwork. I did and he did and 40,000 copies later, there was a card set that is one of the most beautiful sets you will ever see. Based on the principle of ‘commitperformmeasure.com’ they are the best thing I have done. Well, so YES, every week, I take one of the cards and make a short video out of it https://www.youtube.com/@ozziejurockvideo/shorts. And yes, they go my older grandkids first. I also post them on my YouTube channel.
Q: I heard you are selling URLs. Do you have anything with the word best in it? Like best Vancouver, best country, best province/etc.
A: No, but we own TorontoFirst.com, EdmontonFirst, VancouverFirst, Commoditiestrader.com etc.,etc.
Q: I always thought of private REITs as a decent investment, fairly tracking value and paying monthly income via distributions … incl being fairly liquid given their size. in many cases over $1B. But … Apparently not, as many might be over leveraged or over valued vs publicly traded REITs like Killam, Boardwalk, CAP REIT etc. !!!
A: Thanks for sharing. Indeed, the drawback in private investment in real estate has always been illiquidity when people ran for the hills. G&M excerpt: “Canadian private real estate funds with at least $16 billion in assets have had their redemptions halted or limited since the troubles started three years ago, and the constraints are a warning.”
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PRIVATE EQUITY FUNDS AND INSTITUTIONAL FUNDS:
G&M: “…troubles can arise because these funds invest in illiquid assets that can’t be sold in a flash, yet investors can redeem their money regularly, often once a month or once a quarter, usually with a cap of 5 per cent of total assets each period. (Institutional private equity funds, meanwhile, often lock investors in for five to seven years.)…” –Globe and Mail article
Q: How can the prime minister get away with the bombastic statements?
A: He is not the only one. Just wait till we see the budget.
Q: I want my employees to be in the office. They are all in, also, no one complains. We get off on each other. Celebrate our victories, cry about defeats, plan comebacks – together! There is no other way. Stick to your guns, Ozzie.
A: Love that – particularly the ‘comeback together’ – yeah! Eventually, our world will be run by AI – like it or not. But it is still learning, and it has to experience defeats first. In the meantime, work and play together!
Major Point: What defeats? The biggest invention in AI, is also the most dangerous for stocks.
The late 90s ‘.com boom’, followed by the enormous ‘.com crash’; peaked around March 2000. Many internet startups with “.com” in their name had huge valuations but weren’t profitable, and when funding dried up, many collapsed. The Nasdaq Composite, heavily weighted towards tech, rose dramatically before collapsing about 78% from its peak by around 2002. Ok, ok, AI is different! But is it? Huge valuations but not profitable?
Q: We should force our BC government to stop banning STRs at least for FIFA! Millions are coming, where will they stay?
A:Force our government? Haha! But I hear you – several people responded to last month’s item. Mike and I are debating the question on September 14 on mikemoneytalks.ca (still on podcast now!) . We have 13,000 hotel rooms. There won’t be millions coming, but the 7 games alone in Vancouver will bring 50,000 visitors each. 1 billion will be spent during the time and the 3 years after (according to B&B). But will they come when we have $1,500 a night (Taylor Swift) hotel rooms, or NO accommodation.) At least stop STR restrictions for May-August 2026.
Q: What is the minimum vacancy rate and for how long a city must be below in order to allow a removal of STR?
A: Yes, BC enforces a principal residence requirement for short-term rentals in municipalities with populations over 10,000 and certain adjacent communities. This means that, generally, short-term rentals are only permitted in the host’s primary residence and one secondary suite or accessory dwelling unit on the same property. A Municipality can opt out if…
–it has rental vacancy rate of at least 3% for two consecutive years.
–a formal resolution must be submitted by March 31 of the year in which the exemption is sought. If approved, the exemption takes effect on November 1 of the same year.
Look at it here: Province of British Columbia’s official page on short-term rental legislation.
Q: Hi. Enjoy reading and listening to your site. My question is we are in our late 60s, retired from our jobs with just OAS and CPP. We were late to the investing game but managed to buy 4 houses with suites in Merritt, Quesnel, and Kamloops when interest rates were 1.99%. After renewing at higher rates our income has gone down substantially. We are thinking of selling. Do we stagger the sales over one a year?
A: You can see on the BC stats below that Kamloops sales are actually up 8.3 %. Check all the markets you are in, hire a professional local realtor and then look at your personal situation. Sell annually – depends on your expectations and your pocketbook, The question always is: What will you do with the money you receive?
Q: Ozzie, until people get your take on the difference of monetary hard asset inflation and economic commodity price inflation, they will not get why real estate always goes up!
A: Yes, indeed. It has since…since….since…forever!
SEVERAL COMMENTS/QUESTIONS ON INTEREST RATE IN US AND CANADA, INFLATION AND UNEMPLOYMENT.
CANADA: INFLATION – UNEMPLOYMENT
Our unemployment rate was 7.1%, the highest since 2016 this August! 66,000 jobs were lost. Our most recent inflation data shows a 1.7% CPI for July 2025. The Bank of Canada has a 2% target.
Interestingly it’s not job loss but a greater challenge for people to find jobs. Particularly in the Youth Unemployment area, which reached 14.5% in August 2025, and 17.9% for students in the summer of 2025. The current economic conditions allow for growth and job creation as (official) inflation continues to fall towards their target.
Major Point: This is why the BOC reduced its overnight rate by an expected .25% to 2.5%. We are back into rate-cutting mode. This is the first reduction since March this year, it also means that we now cut the interest rate by 50% over the past 18 months. Reasons? The national economy contracted by 1.6% in 2025’s second quarter. Question is, will ourbank reduce the rate further (on October 29 and December 10). Our top banks expect at least one more rate cut, to 2.25%. Remember , this bank rate affects variable, short term rates, Helocs etc. BUT fixed rates dance with our bond yields…so can be higher, even while the BOC lowers its rate.
USA INFLATION AND UNEMPLOYMENT
Here we have unemployment rising giving a nasty surprise from the jobless claims data, that seals the case for an easing. I mean for the week ending September 6, 2025, initial unemployment claims surged by 27,000 to 263,000—the highest level since October 2021 and significantly above the 231,000 forecasted by economists. Consumer prices rose 0.4% in August, driving the annual inflation rate to 2.9%, the highest since January. This reading marked an acceleration from the 2.7% increase seen in July. Food at home prices rose 0.6% — the highest monthly jump in nearly three years — and gas prices climbed by 1.9% after falling 2.2% the month before.“ Fresh fruits and vegetables up 2% in one month.
Major Point: Well, the Feds agreed and approved a rate cut and signaled that two more are on the way before the end of the year as concerns intensified over the U.S. labor market. In an 11-to-1 vote signaling less dissent than Wall Street had anticipated puts the overnight funds rate in a range between 4.00%-4.25%.
Q: I heard you talk about 40% discounts in Tsawwassen and North Van.|
A: Tsawwassen was a while ago.(also was partly on leasehold land – 99 years). It was 30% not 40%. North Van was a 20% discount. Both were Aquilini developments. Currently Aquilini ad says North Van Seymour village condo that was $649,900 is now $519,900!
Q: I like your focus on developers and why they are not building. In your cycle theory you used to argue about the 4 -5 years cycle. Do you still see that?
A: An old (but likely very good looking) subscriber! That cycle theory (part of my forecasting the 4 legs of my philosophy (read the 4 legs in detail in Ozbuzz) was actually started by CMHC in the nineties. If you applied the same reasoning, you would be in the 4- 6-year framework today (starting in 2023). It did not work in 2008…was much faster.
Q: I did not even know about the step code!
A: It’s not new – it started at step 1 – now it is a must do at step 3. And you will die when you study step 5. Nothing affordable about it.
Personal Comments
I received a number of emails regarding several items we covered in the past
- Silly retorts: (You want me to tell the truth? No, I want you to lie!)
- Toilets of the world (ha-ha, send me new ones)
- Song of the month (look below – tell me what you like)
Frieda Gold – (In German)
“Things have changed – I miss you so” Youtube link
“In our next life – we’ll do things right” Youtube link
Books of the Month
Currently I am revisiting the (very old) Psycho-Cybernetics. The only way we learn and can change our habits. (Dr Maxwell Maltz). Psycho-Cybernetics is a founding book – Motivational and self-help! Many experts in personal development, including Zig Ziglar, Tony Robbins, Brian Tracy have based their techniques on Maxwell Maltz. Many of the psychological methods of training elite athletes are based on the concepts in Psycho-Cybernetics as well.
Self service counters – They are winning. They switched: Shoppers, Whole Foods, Home Depot (“…it’s not self service it’s assisted serving”). I still shop IGA, where smiling counter clerks pack your bags – professionally.
Major Point: Dear Readers, Hobby Horses seem petty when we look at the mad world around us. And yet, like Don Quixote we need to keep fighting…even windmills. Thanks for all the comments and questions.
NOTE: I TRY TO GET TO ALL THE questions. If you have a question, put this in the subject line: ‘Subject: Ozbuzz Question” If you are a subscriber, I will answer.
Also look for answer at Youtube.com/jurockvideo
Remember: You are reading Ozzie’s opinion, not advice! And, yes, I have lots of opinions! But use only your personal professional lawyer/realtor/accountant/ to make any personal investment.
THE NUMBERS, THE NUMBERS
CANADA NUMBERS
Eat your heart out – ‘click-baiting collapse crowd’. The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) reported that national home sales in August 2025 reached their highest level for that month since 2021, marking the strongest August in four years.
This uptick represents the fifth consecutive monthly increase, with sales rising 1.1% from July and totaling 43,276 units on a seasonally adjusted basis. The growth was driven by increased activity in markets like Montreal, Greater Vancouver, and Ottawa, which offset a slight decline in the Greater Toronto Area.
New listings also rose by 2.6%, helping to ease the sales-to-new listings ratio to 51.2%, indicating balanced market conditions. The average unadjusted sale price increased 1.8% year-over-year to $664,078 CREA’s senior economist, Shaun Cathcart, noted that sales momentum could accelerate further this fall.
Major Point: A month not a market makes, but it sure is much better than it was (even in Toronto). Understand your local markets and understand what you are comparing. Look below and note that SF sales in Vancouver are up 13% in August, but condo sales are lower by 5%. However, the general consensus reported. We are up 3%. Really a useless number.
Toronto
Toronto reported (general Market ) 5,211 home sales in August 2025 – up by 2.3 per cent compared to August 2024. New listings entered into the MLS® System amounted to 14,038 – up by 9.4 per cent year-over-year. New condo market is still struggling.
BRITISH COLUMBIA
Year-to-date, BC residential unit sales are down 5 per cent year-over-year at 48,842 units, while the average MLS® residential price is also down 3.7 per cent to $949,157. While BC MLS® unit sales were up a bit over 2024, they were 24.2 per cent lower than the ten-year August average.
From BCREA – study your local area, hire a local professional.
VANCOUVER AND FRASER VALLEY
VANCOUVER
While SF sales are UP 13% OVER LAST August, they are still below AUGUST 2021 when we sold 946 SF homes.
Vancouver SF active listings are up 10%, condominium new listings are actually down by 3%.
Here is a 5-year AUGUST 2025 over AUGUST 2024/2023/2022/2021 comparison.
VANCOUVER – Single Family
Major Point: Vancouver SF price in AUGUST are back to 2021 price and well below the $2,312,000 high achieved in March 2022.
The Vancouver and Fraser Valley Real Estate Boards have the BEST current statistics. Get your professional realtor give you the numbers for the sub-area that YOU are interested in.
FRASER VALLEY – Single Family
Major Point: Fraser Valley – SF Sales are down 14% over 2024. Active SF and NEW listings are up 12/13%. New listings are actually down in condos by 11%.
- As always, we say that there is no best deal market, there are only the best deals that you negotiate! And in September 2025 you CAN negotiate. Hire experienced realtors, quality experienced mortgage brokers (not all brokers have access to all lenders) and real estate-oriented lawyers. For recommendation ask Ozzie.
MAJOR, MAJOR POINT:
NOTE: We now expect a further .25 cut in both Canada and the US … we also see a fairly strong uptick in inflation next year. Anecdotally, we heard there are more offers out there. Watch our video “from the trenches” with Bent Roberts at youtube.com/jurockvideo
Oz Buzz Podcast
Disclaimer
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OZZIE’S YOUTUBE CHANNEL
You can watch all videos and podcasts on my YouTube channel at youtube.com/jurockvideo. It is a great way to check on what I said 10 years ago.
Moneytalks Podcast
Ozzie, Michael Campbell, Michael Levy and Victor Adair and guests are now on podcasts every week: mikesmoneytalks.ca/category/mikes-content/complete-show/ (See Victor Adair’s Trading Desk notes! victoradair.ca)
OZBUZZ.CA
Why subscribe if I can just go to the website at ozbuzz.ca? Hot properties and the latest podcasts are DISTRIBUTED TO SUBSCRIBERS FIRST– posted 2 weeks later on website.
HAVE A QUESTION OR COMMENT?
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