Reno intentions down as spending rises

TORONTO ― The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce has reported that the housing market is in the grip of “gridlock”, with homeowners looking for new homes but hamstrung by a lack of affordable options. In this climate, the Financial Post reports, home improvement spending rises, yet most is currently directed at landscaping, which adds little to home values. “The shift in focus from indoors to outdoors is surprising,” said Barry Gollom, CIBC’s VP of mortgages and lending. Independently, Altus Group has found that renovation spending in 2014 exceeded investment in new homes by $20 billion, and the amount is expected to continue growing this year, a forecast backed up by the CIBC data.