{"id":195931,"date":"2026-09-04T12:35:14","date_gmt":"2026-09-04T12:35:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/195931\/"},"modified":"2026-09-04T12:35:14","modified_gmt":"2026-09-04T12:35:14","slug":"fixed-mortgages-rates-rise-toronto-returns-to-office-and-the-home-of-the-week-canadian-real-estate-news-for-the-week-of-sept-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/195931\/","title":{"rendered":"Fixed mortgages rates rise, Toronto returns to office and the Home of the Week: Canadian real estate news for the week of Sept. 4"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

The Home of the Week is a Brockville manor with a story beneath.Supplied<\/p>\n

This week: What a steady interest rate and the trade war mean for your mortgage, and Toronto returns to the office. Plus, a city gets creative with multiplexes, and one property worth a look.<\/p>\n

Bank of CanadaInterest rate holds, but trade war drives up fixed-rate mortgages<\/p>\n

Despite nearly a year of steady key rates in Canada, uncertainty is the only thing potential buyers and mortgage shoppers can count on right now. The Bank of Canada this week held the benchmark at 2.25 per cent yet again, because, as Erica Alini reports<\/a>, the latest exchange of tariffs with the U.S. has only heightened the two risks it\u2019s balancing: inflation and a potential major economic slowdown. <\/p>\n

\u201cSo far, that has meant stability for variable mortgage rates, which tends to move in tandem with the Bank of Canada\u2019s policy rate,\u201d Erica writes, but it\u2019s not good news for every rate. \u201cOn the other hand, investors\u2019 concerns about U.S. debt, inflation and the U.S.-Iran war are among the reasons for the recent global run-up in bond yields, which influence fixed-rate mortgages.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now you\u2019d be hard pressed to find a fixed rate below the 4-per-cent mark, and as Rachelle Younglai reports<\/a>, that\u2019s already keeping buyers on the sidelines. Toronto home sales fell in August<\/a> after five months of rebound, showing that the trade war may cancel out any confidence the steady rate decisions give buyers. Our coverage of the BoC\u2019s decision<\/a> has all the details, and here\u2019s Erica\u2019s guide to how Canada\u2019s countertariffs might hit your wallet<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Back to the officeThe office is back, in downtown Toronto at least<\/p>\n

Has traffic seemed worse lately, or is your train to work really getting more crowded? If you\u2019re in Toronto, it\u2019s not just your imagination. Return-to-office mandates are bringing workers back to the downtown core \u2013 sometimes much to their chagrin \u2013 and transforming the urban economy in the process.<\/p>\n

The reversal has been fast and shocking, as Jason Kirby, Rachelle Younglai and Vanmala Subramaniam report. Many of Toronto\u2019s tallest towers are filled to the brim when, as recently as 15 months ago, blocks of their floors sat empty. Companies landlords once courted with steep discounts and perks are now competing for leases, turning corporate real-estate back into a landlord\u2019s market.<\/p>\n

But with many workers frustrated by long commute times and no desk space when they do come in, the return to office hasn\u2019t been all smooth sailing. Read the team\u2019s deep dive into how in-office<\/a> mandates are reshaping Toronto\u2019s downtown, and how employees are feeling about it.<\/p>\n

This week\u2019s lowest fixed and variable mortgage rates in Canada<\/p>\n

Rates shown are the lowest available for each term\/type and category (insured vs. uninsured) as of market close on Thursday, Sept. 3<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Zoning zoneGentle density takes Calgary by stormOpen this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

New zoning policies are helping designers in Calgary get creative, like with the New Monica multifamily housing project in Inglewood.Bold Workshop Architecture<\/p>\n

Looking for a home that\u2019s anything but cookie-cutter? Much-needed \u201cmissing middle\u201d housing is starting to look a little different in Calgary, thanks to changing land-use policies<\/a> that leave designers room to get creative.<\/p>\n

After the city allowed densification on lots previously zoned for just one or two dwellings, about 5,000 standard row houses popped up in two years. As Ximena Gonzalez reports, that zoning\u2019s requirements for height, footprint and setback can make the designs seem repetitive, and they\u2019ve changed the face of some Calgary neighbourhoods.<\/p>\n

But after the city rescinded that policy, designers told Ximena they\u2019re taking advantage of other recent land-use classifications that offer the flexibility to build livable multi-family dwellings with character. From a window-filled design that spared mature trees to a low-rise building geared at seniors and students, these Calgary projects are breaking the mould<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Design cornerShould you turn your closet into a home office?Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Toronto actor and podcast host Torri Webster says she loves that her combined closet and office ‘genuinely feels like a workspace.’Torri Webster\/Supplied<\/p>\n

If you \u2013 and your lower back \u2013 are tired of working from a kitchen stool or the couch, here\u2019s a potential solution that won\u2019t make your desk an eyesore. \u201cCloffices<\/a>\u201d are on the rise as people who work from home try to keep some semblance of work-life separation in smaller spaces. <\/p>\n

But are they creative or claustrophobic? While working in a closet might make some feel like Harry Potter in his cupboard under the stairs, designers and people with cloffices told Matthew Hague the set-ups \u2013 if done right \u2013 are far from depressing. From folding desks in the pantry to built-in units that combine workspaces and storage, here are their expert tips and tricks to make a cloffice work<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Home of the WeekA manor home steeped in historyOpen this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Woodfield Manor’s original features, such as the home’s high ceilings, shine through.Supplied<\/p>\n

55 Cochrane Dr., Brockville, Ont. \u2013 Full gallery here<\/a><\/p>\n

Civil engineer Samuel Keefer built this Georgian home four years before selecting the plans for the Parliament Buildings in Ottawa, but you don\u2019t have to be as technically minded as he was to appreciate the heritage details. Woodfield Manor \u2013 also sometimes called Butterfield Manor, after later owner George Butterfield \u2013 has been carefully restored to its original 1855 glory. And while not every heritage feature survived, those that remain continue to tell the home\u2019s story. <\/p>\n

Five marble fireplaces adorn the 6,000 square feet of living space, where the antique pine floors have been refurbished and ceilings soar high over original woodwork. Owners Debbie and Peter Lafrance thoughtfully reimagined the home as a hub for entertaining, adding modern features like a custom chef\u2019s kitchen with large windows and heated black-and-white porcelain tiles in the entrance. But if you look closely, you\u2019ll still see plenty of reminders of an earlier way of life, like the servant\u2019s bell or the hitching post for horses outside.<\/p>\n

The couple also spent long hours creating and mending a covered patio, in-ground pool, conservatory with motorized windows and a widow\u2019s walk to enjoy the views of the Gananoque and the Thousand Islands area they\u2019re both originally from. Atop the roof, the widow\u2019s walk offers a perfect view of ships coming in and out of the harbour, and when sunset hits or bugs come out, they enjoyed taking cover in the conservatory with a glass of wine.<\/p>\n

\n What do you think is the asking price for the property?\n <\/p>\n

a. $1,789,000<\/p>\n

b. $1,839,000<\/p>\n

c. $2,089,000<\/p>\n

d. $2,239,000<\/p>\n

\n d. The asking price is $2,239,000.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: The Home of the Week is a Brockville manor with a story beneath.Supplied…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":195932,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[3128,902,903,904,1637,484,16124,48,137,906],"class_list":["post-195931","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-toronto","tag-ac-community","tag-aud-growth","tag-aud-headline","tag-aud-url","tag-newnewsletter","tag-noastack","tag-realestate-roundup","tag-toronto","tag-yesapplenews","tag-yessnap"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/195931","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=195931"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/195931\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/195932"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=195931"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=195931"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=195931"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}