Home ownership dreams may be coming to an end for some Canadians
 
With real estate prices climbing to all time highs, 36 per cent of young Canadians under the age of 40 said they have given up on the idea of buying a home according to a poll from Royal Bank of Canada. With increased demand and short supply raising prices, 62 per cent of respondents also said they expect most people will be priced out of the market over the next decade.
 
Asset disputes fuelling divorce activity during pandemic
 
With the pandemic forcing couples to spend more time together than they typically have, some divorce lawyers are seeing a rise in demand. Ron Shulman, founder and managing partner of Shulman & Partners LLP, said his offices have seen a 40 per cent increase in divorce inquires in recent months. Shulman found that separation dates were one of the main trends spurring divorce disputes. "Many individuals are concerned about the exact date of separation since an asset may be worth a whole lot more today than it was two months ago,” Shulman said.
 
Work-from-home fatigue weighing on employees
 
At the start of the pandemic, some people may have thought working from home would be easier. Now two years into the pandemic, employees are realizing that is not the case. Endless video calls and longer work hours are making the burn out feel real. As vacation time piles up for many, CTV's Chief Financial Commentator Pattie Lovett-Reid urges why Canadians should take it even if they can't travel. Policymakers can’t flip a “magic switch” to reset home equity

Liberal MP Adam Vaughan, whose portfolio covers housing issues as parliamentary secretary for the Liberal government, joined BNN Bloomberg this week to argue that a housing correction may not be a silver bullet solution to the housing affordability issue. Vaughan added that targeting home equity as a solution is “not fair” to recent homebuyers who could risk being underwater in their mortgages.

(Mostly) cooler heads prevailed during COVID market mayhem

More than half of Canadians (52 per cent) hunkered down and resisted the temptation to buy or sell their investment, according to a survey by the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC). Many of these stand-your-ground investors were women and older Canadians. The remaining 48 per cent were active investors who saw an opportunity to buy more investments for a variety of reasons. The survey added that 63 per cent of these active investors boosted their overall holdings by buying more investments than they sold.

Flexible working is more than just a laptop at home, survey says

A survey done by King’s College London found that employers might be creating an unhealthy environment in a post-pandemic world if remote work continues without true flexibility. Most organizations polled said they plan to have a hybrid work model of at home and in-office work, but only 36 per cent said they are redesigning job roles. The survey suggested set hours, compressed days, job sharing and school term-time working as ways to make sure flexibility is in place.