One of the country’s top economists is calling bullsh*t on the supply-price narrative. BMO chief economist Douglas Porter sent a client note disputing an inventory shortage. He thinks it’s important to “crush” two myths about Greater Toronto’s blowout home sales in March. Let’s dive into that take. Myth 1: Last March Sales Were Distorted By […]
Quantitative ease (QE) is a simple concept, but not well understood by most people. Increasingly folks tell me, “QE inflates home prices,” and “prevents prices from dropping.” The first part is true, but the evidence on the second part is a little shaky. It can help to push home prices higher during a tight market, […]
Canada’s largest bank warned the country’s real estate markets are approaching systemic risk. Not credit risk, banks are more than adequately protected. Instead they see it as a risk for the whole darn economy. RBC senior economist Robert Hogue, who isn’t a traditional bear, warned the market is out of control. Canada’s nurturing of the […]
One of the world’s largest real estate bubbles is getting a new round of affordability measures. Earlier this year, the New Zealand Government said they would put home prices at the top of their agenda. This week they followed up with the first actions they’ll be taking. Property investors will soon see most tax advantages […]
Time for your cheat sheet on this week’s most important stories. Canadian Real Estate Bank Of Canada Wants A Housing Bubble, While Other Central Banks Try To Pop Them The Bank of Canada is embracing fast rising home prices, but that’s not a normal reaction. Especially at this time, in markets with overheated real estate. […]
Unless you’ve been sleeping under a rock, you’ve probably noticed something unusual this recession – high unemployment and higher home prices. Odd, right? Usually when people are at risk of losing their jobs and business, their cost of living doesn’t rise. Free markets tend to manage risk this way, choking off credit as economic risk […]
Canada’s central bank’s rate announcement was brief, but had a lot of details for investors to unpack. Bank of Canada (BoC) announced they would be making no changes to rates at this time, as widely expected. Two details did stand out though – housing, and quantitative ease (QE). The central bank is surprised by housing […]
Central banks are flooding economies with cheap credit, and trying to prevent bubbles. Well, some countries are trying to prevent bubbles. Canada has decided home price inflation is an uncontrollable consequence of the environment. In fact, the country’s central bank welcomed the rapid home price growth as “needed.” That’s not normal. Not by a long […]
New Zealand’s central bank will consider the impact of monetary policy on housing. Not just to preserve home prices either, but to consider affordability. The New Zealand Government‘s latest remit goes live on March 1. After which, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) needs to explain regularly how it seeks to assist with affordability. […]
