This week: Doug Ford promises to get back “every penny” of the missing money in the aftermath of the iPro Realty scandal, but faces challenges in doing so. Plus, an Ottawa couple searches for their next home, and one property worth a look.

When Christine Ung and Jack Glick became a couple in 2023, they would spend a lot of time commuting between their two homes in Ottawa and Gatineau, respectively. In 2024, the couple began thinking of moving in together, figuring they could sell their homes to purchase a larger property together. They were approved for a mortgage up to $950,000 but hoped to keep the purchase under $800,000. They set out to find a place in Gatineau with four bedrooms, a double garage that would allow for two vehicles side-by-side, plus a den or space to set up a home office, since they both worked hybrid schedules. Click here to read the couple’s journey in finding the right home, and to vote for which property you would have picked.

The first test of the Real Estate Council of Ontario’s new administrator may be figuring out how to pay for promises made by Premier Doug Ford. Mr. Ford gave a speech on Monday at the Ontario Real Estate Association’s annual conference where he appeared to suggest that realtors who have commission income trapped in iPro Realty Ltd. bank accounts – frozen by court order – will be able to fully recover those funds.

“My biggest concern is get that money into their pockets. If we have to cover them, these people work their backs off. They deserve their commissions,” Mr. Ford said. “We’re going to cover each and every single agent that’s owed every single penny.”

But, as Shane Dingman and Laura Stone write, Alternative Risk Services, the insurance company running the claims process for realtors who have been affected by the freezing of iPro’s bank accounts, warned that there was not going to be enough money to pay back all affected realtors. If the existing insurance can’t fully cover the lost commissions, industry experts say it leaves open the question of where the funds will come from to make good on Mr. Ford’s pledge.

Rates shown are the lowest available for each term/type and category (insured vs. uninsured) as of market close on Thursday, Dec. 4.

The average Canadian renter is not only leasing their home later into their lives, they’re also more squeamish about jumping into home ownership in today’s economic environment, according to two new studies. Data from SingleKey, a renter services platform that screens tenants, show that the average age of renters is now 32 across Canada, and rising closer to 34 in bigger cities like Toronto. Meanwhile, a survey from Bank of Nova Scotia released Thursday found that 62 per cent of buyers who are hoping to enter the housing market said that economic uncertainty is negatively affecting their finances and causing them to delay their purchasing plans.

Renting isn’t just seen as a path to homeownership anymore, and more Canadians are seeing renting as a long-term solution. Salmaan Farooqui explains why some Canadians say they’d rather rent than save up for a home.

218 King Street, Saint John, N.B. – Full gallery here

Owner Martin McNamara has been living in and restoring old homes for over 15 years in London, Montreal and now Saint John. He says he was first attracted to the home on King Street because of how much it hasn’t changed since it was built in 1885. A mix of ornate brickwork and carved stone decorates the exterior, well above the standard of a typical Victorian home. A flight of stairs leaves about half the basement level above the street and leads to a grand set of double doors. The ceilings on the main level are 14 feet high, and the doorways are framed with elaborate wood mouldings – some carved and angular with Greco-Roman influences, others with smooth sweeping arches. On the back of the house is an addition that hous