Cory Cook’s initial plan was to build out his backyard deck. But as the pandemic drags on, he’s looking to overhaul his entire basement. “The renovated basement would generate rental income and offer financial security in the event of a job loss,” says the 43-year-old Toronto father of two.

If you’re getting a five-year fixed mortgage today, rates will likely be more than one percentage point higher by the time you renew. That’s what Canada’s bond market is now pricing in.

With a severe contraction in the number of houses for sale in Toronto and surrounding cities, anxious buyers have been lobbing money at the few properties that do arrive on the market.

Prices have been spurred by strong demand amid a boom in home remodeling and construction fueled by stay-home orders. The onslaught of demand has handicapped producers’ abilities to restock inventories quickly enough, further supporting prices. The rally has stoked concerns of inflation bleeding into the home-buying market.

Canadians added a record amount of mortgage debt to their balance sheets in 2020, part of a frenzied home-buying climate that has thrived in spite of the COVID-19 pandemic.

After a lull in March and April, sales activity and prices set new records month after month. With interest rates at historic lows, homeowners sick of their living arrangements upscaled to roomier digs in the cities, the suburbs and rural areas. The cost of detached homes rose fastest of all in most markets, with momentum accelerating into this year, with new records for sales and prices yet again.

On February 9, a buyer picked up the two-storey home with a basement for $2,950,000. The selling price was $551,000 over the listed price.

Now that metaphorical stature takes on a new dimension, with Salesforce.com Inc. — the anchor tenant of the 61-story building’s Class A office space — announcing a permanent “work from anywhere” policy that lets employees remain on remote or flexible schedules after the pandemic ends. As San Francisco’s largest private employer, the customer-management software giant is a heavy hitter on the list of companies with similar plans set to affect downtown office spaces, including Twitter, Facebook and Square, prompting tough questions about the vitality of the city’s core and overall economy.