The subject of whether Canada’s red-hot housing market is heading for a crash has been a hot topic of debate everywhere but the campaign trail. Canada’s political leaders have been largely quiet about whether they think the housing market is sustainable.
Canada’s housing sector has been a bright spot in an economy hit hard by lower energy prices and a struggling manufacturing sector. The average price of a new home in Canada rose to $502,643 in the third quarter, according to the Royal LePage House Price Survey released Wednesday. That’s up 8 percent from the same period a year ago.
But that growth may be unsustainable warn groups such as the International Monetary Fund and the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. Last month, a CMHC report said Toronto, Regina and Winnipeg were all at risk for a housing correction.
Despite those warnings none of the political three major political party leaders are proposing measures to cool the housing market – or Canadian’s mounting mortgage debt.
In an interview with BNN last month NDP Leader Tom Mulcair said historically low mortgage rates are fueling mortgage growth, but stopped short of saying whether a New Democrat government would further tighten the market.
“Right now there is a serious danger. I think that (in) some cities the prices are too high,” Mulcair told BNN. “There could be a bubble created there, and we could be in for a terrible surprise.”
Full article: http://www.bnn.ca/News/2015/10/14/Canadas-hot-housing-market-debated-everywhere-but-the-campaign-trail.aspx
