|  Housing affordability erodes Some Canadians are struggling more than ever to enter the housing market amid high inflation and rising interest rates. Western University professor Mac Ross is one such Canadian. He and his family of four have been renting a home in London, Ont., for the last couple of years and are looking to make the leap into homeownership. While he’s been able to find homes on the market within his price range, bidding wars are putting them out of reach. Meanwhile, a recent report from Mortgage Professionals Canada (MPC) showed only 29 per cent of respondents felt now was a good time to buy a home in their community — the lowest that figure has hit in the 12 years the survey has been conducted. For more on the latest housing struggles, read more from Global News reporter Craig Lord here.  Commuters rethink return to office amid high gas prices As companies begin ushering their employees back to the office in the wake of easing COVID-19 restrictions, some workers are taking a pause. That’s because the cost of getting to work has soared for some commuters as gas prices sit at record highs amid the ongoing war in Ukraine. Greg Quirk, a product marketing manager at Ottawa-based Kinaxis, went to the office last week for a trial run after working remotely for the last two years. The office is a short drive from his home, but Quirk says that he kept an eye on his odometer while commuting the past week and timed out in his head what it would be like to cycle instead. He’s considering cycling to work when the weather warms up. "It's not only in terms of being able to save money, because gas prices are quite high and my car uses premium gas, but just from the activity aspect of it," he says. Read more on the cost of commuting here.  Protecting your money as inflation soars Canada's inflation rate now sits at a 30-year high of 5.7 per cent, according to the latest reading from Statistics Canada Wednesday. To make matters worse, economists say that the February rate is unlikely the ceiling as Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues to put pressure on a number of commodities, from oil to wheat. The economic uncertainty is underpinning global stock markets, leading many investors to wonder: where should I put my money? Tesla CEO Elon Musk took to Twitter Monday to recommend investors buy "physical things" such as homes or "companies you think make good products" when inflation is high. Toronto-based investment advisor Allan Small says since the war began, he has received a flurry of questions from clients. "There's a lot of uncertainty, a lot of scared individual investors out there," he said. "I think everyone's wondering, you know, how low these markets can go?" Small didn’t disagree with Musk that conventional wisdom has sometimes seen investors hedge their money in physical commodities such as gold when inflation is soaring. But Small also said the tumbling stock market does not change the value proposition behind companies with solid fundamentals. Read more from Global News reporter Craig Lord here. ________________________ – THE QUESTION – “I plan to put a down payment on a house by drawing from my RRSPs and using the Home Buyer’s Plan. However, I am in a common-law relationship with someone who currently owns a condo and rents it out. Am I still able to use the HBP because I’m a first-time homebuyer, even though my partner isn’t? Does this approach make sense” — A Money123 reader “The Home Buyer's Plan (HBP) allows first-time homebuyers to withdraw up to $35,000 from their RRSP for a down payment, tax free. In order to be considered a first-time homebuyer with respect to the HBP you can not have occupied a property that you or your spouse/common-law partner owns, within a four-year period before your new home purchase. The-four year period begins on January 1, four years prior to the year of your new home purchase. It's important to note that you must withdraw your HBP funds within 30 days of taking ownership of the new home, otherwise the funds will not be eligible under the HBP and you will be taxed on it. In your case, if you have not lived in your common-law partner's condo in the required four-year period before your new purchase, then you should be eligible for the HBP. For more details on HBP eligibility, visit the Government of Canada's HBP page. Keep in mind that there are many tax credits and rebates available to first-time homebuyers so make sure to do your research in order to maximize your savings.” — Jamie David, business director of mortgages and director of marketing, Ratehub.ca
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