Resurrection shuffle: General Motors hiring in Oshawa?

My daughter bought a house in "the Shwa" four years ago. A few months later, GM announced the closure of their Oshawa plant, the community's biggest employer.

I thought, that's a kick in the teeth. She and her partner, a freshly-minted Doctor Phil in Chem from U of T, would be hard-pressed to stay above water with their new house. Millennials in their first house, they were maxed out.

Fast forward to 2022. The GM plant that was moth-balled in 2019 is building pickup trucks again. And they're hiring! In fact, they're so desperate for workers, they've got a huge "Now Hiring" banner attached to the plant that you can see from the 401!

The start rate for new hires is a tad under $24/hour. While I will denounce two-tier contracts till my last breath, even I gotta admit that's not a bad start in the modern era.

What's happened since that kick in the teeth, is that the value of a home in Oshawa has roughly doubled. The bad news is, a detached house in the 'Shwa now runs $800k plus.

The good news is, according to the numbers I just put through the TD Mortgage Affordability Calculator, a couple of kids in those starter jobs in Oshawa will qualify for a $750k mortgage. 

And while I don't want to rain on the parade... anybody who ever had to renew a mortgage at 18% knows not all dreams have happy endings.