Could Canada’s housing crisis and economic headwinds be solved with smarter policy coordination? In this episode of the Colliers Talks Economics podcast, host Adam Jacobs is joined by Randall Bartlett, Deputy Chief Economist at Desjardins, to unpack why the condo market has cooled so dramatically, how purpose-built rental has surged in response, and what higher-for-longer interest rates and evolving demographics mean for developers, investors, and lenders.

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What You’ll Learn:

• Why the condo market collapsed and why it won't recover without fundamental price corrections
• How to pivot development strategy from condos to purpose-built rental
• The infrastructure bottleneck killing downtown viability and office occupancy
• How to recalibrate population growth expectations and navigate their impact on project underwriting
• Why soft costs and development charges now represent the single largest obstacle to housing affordability

Randall Bartlett is the Deputy Chief Economist at Desjardins, leading economic research and forecasting across Canadian and provincial economies, housing markets, and fiscal policy. With vast experience as Director of Economic Research at Omers, where he supported global investment decisions across asset classes, Randall brings deep expertise in macroeconomic trends, demographic shifts, and their cascading impact on real estate markets.

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Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/canadas-economic-reset-rates-inflation-real-estate/id1541655070?i=1000741709754

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1YpOxQ8P92zxChHy3BeVeq?si=wwvzvsDKR7qhkK6Tx78YgQ

YouTube: https://youtu.be/CfMqXEtP4Es