Canadian Real Estate Could Still Get Way More Expensive, Data Shows

According to the Bank of Canada, as house prices rise at a rapid pace, Canadians are growing increasingly worried about home affordability, especially in the Vancouver and Toronto areas.

A new report from National Bank Financial indicates that affordability could be worse. The chart attached to this post shows global comparison of home prices for downtown living and three of Canada's largest metro areas are on the chart.

The chart was created by economists Kyle Dahms and Matthieu Arseneau. According to the chart, downtown living in Canada's three largest metro areas (Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver) is far more affordable than downtown living in 15 major cities across Europe, Asia-Pacific and North America.

Downtown housing is far more affordable in Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver than it is in cities like New York, Paris, London, Tokyo, Vienna, Hong Kong, Stockholm.

The chart also indicated that affordability levels in Canada are similar to levels seen in Australia. Australia has a similar resource-based economy to Canada.

The comparison chart only looked at downtown condo prices therefore there is no information about how single-family homes and suburbs compare. Single-family homes in Vancouver and Toronto have experienced the largest rise in prices over the past several years.

On Friday, The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) stated that home sales in Canada was at its peak during the month of April. Home sales fell for the past two consecutive months.

CREA also said that the number of new listings increased. This suggests that the market is becoming a little more favourable to buyers than sellers.

Reference:

Huffington Post Canada

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/…/housing-affordability-canada…