Assessing House Prices in Canada

Assessing House Prices in Canada
Author: Michal Andrle
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
Total Pages: 25
Release: 2019-11-15
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1513519182

This paper assesses house prices in 11 Canadian Census Metropolitan Areas (CMA) using the borrowing-capacity and the net-present-value approaches. The results indicate that by the end of 2018, house prices in most metropolitan areas are aligned with macroeconomic fundamentals. However, in Hamilton, Toronto, and Vancouver house prices have increased beyond the values implied by the fundamentals.

Is the Canadian Housing Market Overvalued? A Post-crisis Assessment

Is the Canadian Housing Market Overvalued? A Post-crisis Assessment
Author: Ms.Evridiki Tsounta
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
Total Pages: 22
Release: 2009-10-01
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1451873824

Canadian house prices have increased significantly between 2003 and early 2008, with a marked downward trend since mid-2008, especially in the resource-rich western provinces. This paper estimates the evolution of equilibrium real home prices during this period in key provinces and finds that, following recent declines, home prices are now generally close to equilibrium throughout Canada. However, house prices in Alberta and British Columbia remain around 8 percent overvalued at the end of the sample (second quarter of 2009). Despite the limitations of econometric estimates of house-price dynamics, the measured small degree of overvaluation suggests that the Canadian housing market is essentially at equilibrium.

Personal Finance 101 Canada’S Housing Market Analysis Buying Vs Renting a Home

Personal Finance 101 Canada’S Housing Market Analysis Buying Vs Renting a Home
Author: Dmitry Newman
Publisher: Xlibris Corporation
Total Pages: 60
Release: 2016-02-05
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1514454734

Real estate market growth in Canada experienced unprecedented growth in the last five years, driving housing prices to an unaffordable level for an average household and giving an impression of a housing bubble, similar to the one seen in the United States in 2007. Yet a large number of Canadian families are dreaming of becoming homeowners at any cost (even if they are not able to afford it) without clear understanding of risks and costs associated with a home purchase. But under current market conditions, homeownership is a luxury rather than a profitable investment. The book provides a real-life illustration of two options available for a family debating between buying and leasing a townhouse in Toronto (the readers are able to easily extend this analysis to other types of residential properties). One of the findings from this mathematical exercise is that an unchanged house price by the end of a five-year term results in a $90,000 loss by the homeowner. This implies that the only rational explanation for a desire to buy the townhouse is expectations of capital appreciation that will be sufficient to compensate for the additional costs of homeownership. The analytical section of the book provides an insight into an upcoming price moderation stage for the Canadian housing market. Analysis include a discussion on the forces of supply and demand that drove the Canadian housing prices to the level where they are today and an outlook on what is likely to happen with these forces in years to come. The user-friendly Excel model is available for download by readers free of charge and can be used for evaluation of their own personal options.

Canada

Canada
Author: International Monetary Fund. Western Hemisphere Dept.
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
Total Pages: 71
Release: 2019-06-24
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1498321992

Growth has slowed to a more sustainable level and financial vulnerabilities have eased. But risks remain. Household debt is high, the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA) awaits legislative approval, and ongoing trade tensions between the United States (U.S.) and its major trading partners are weighing on the global outlook.

Canada

Canada
Author: International Monetary Fund. Monetary and Capital Markets Department
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
Total Pages: 85
Release: 2019-06-24
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1498321119

This Financial System Stability Assessment paper discusses that Canada has enjoyed favorable macroeconomic outcomes over the past decades, and its vibrant financial system continues to grow robustly. However, macrofinancial vulnerabilities—notably, elevated household debt and housing market imbalances—remain substantial, posing financial stability concerns. Various parts of the financial system are directly exposed to the housing market and/or linked through housing finance. The financial system would be able to manage severe macrofinancial shocks. Major deposit-taking institutions would remain resilient, but mortgage insurers would need additional capital in a severe adverse scenario. Housing finance is broadly resilient, notwithstanding some weaknesses in the small non-prime mortgage lending segment. Although banks’ overall capital buffers are adequate, additional required capital for mortgage exposures, along with measures to increase risk-based differentiation in mortgage pricing, would be desirable. This would help ensure adequate through-the cycle buffers, improve mortgage risk-pricing, and limit procyclical effects induced by housing market corrections.

Fundamental Drivers of House Prices in Advanced Economies

Fundamental Drivers of House Prices in Advanced Economies
Author: Ms.Nan Geng
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
Total Pages: 24
Release: 2018-07-18
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1484369122

House prices in many advanced economies have risen substantially in recent decades. But experience indicates that housing prices can diverge from their long-run equilibrium or sustainable levels, potentially followed by adjustments that impact macroeconomic and financial stability. Therefore there is a need to monitor house prices and assess whether they are sustainable. This paper focuses on fundamentals expected to drive long run trends in house prices, including institutional and structural factors. The scale of potential valuation gaps is gauged on the basis of a cross-country panel analysis of house prices in 20 OECD countries.

Canada-U.S. Tax Comparisons

Canada-U.S. Tax Comparisons
Author: John B. Shoven
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Total Pages: 400
Release: 2007-12-01
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0226754820

In the increasingly global economy, domestic tax policies have taken on a new importance for international economics. This unique volume compares the tax reform experiences of Canada and the United States, two countries with the world's largest bilateral flow of trade and investment. With the signing of the U.S.-Canada Free Trade Agreement and the tax reforms of the 1980s, there has been some harmonization of tax systems. But geographic, cultural, and political characteristics shape distinct national social policies that may impede harmonization. As the U.S. and Canadian economies become even more integrated, differences in tax systems will have important effects, in particular on the relative rates of economic growth. In this timely study, scholars from both countries show that, while the United States and Canada exhibit similar corporate tax structures and income tax systems, they have very different approaches to sales tax and social security taxes. Despite these differences, the two countries generate roughly the same amounts of revenue, produce similar costs of capital, and produce comparable distributions of income.

Cottage Country in Transition

Cottage Country in Transition
Author: Greg Halseth
Publisher: McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP
Total Pages: 312
Release: 1998
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780773517295

The cottage is a powerful image of rural Canada. This image, however, often ignores the rural community that surrounds it, producing a geographically and socially divided landscape and creating friction between cottage owners and rural communities. Cottage Country in Transition is a wide-ranging exploration of the interaction and evolution of these two communities.

Affordable Rental Housing: Making It Part of Europe’s Recovery

Affordable Rental Housing: Making It Part of Europe’s Recovery
Author: Khalid ElFayoumi
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
Total Pages: 97
Release: 2021-05-24
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 151357020X

Many European economies have faced pressure from rental housing affordability that has widened social and economic divergence. While significant country and regional differences exist, this departmental paper finds that in many advanced European economies a large and rising share of low-income renters, the young, and those living in cities is overburdened. In several locations, middle-income groups also increasingly face rental affordability issues.

Assessing China’s Residential Real Estate Market

Assessing China’s Residential Real Estate Market
Author: Ding Ding
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
Total Pages: 26
Release: 2017-11-16
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1484324811

China’s real estate market rebounded sharply after a temporary slowdown in 2014-2015. This paper uses city-level data to estimate the range of house price overvaluation across city-tiers and assesses the main risks of a sharp housing market slowdown. If house prices rise further beyond “fundamental” levels and the bubble expands to smaller cities, it would increase the likelihood and costs of a sharp correction, which would weaken growth, undermine financial stability, reduce local government spending room, and spur capital outflows. Empirical analysis suggests that the increasing intensity of macroprudential policies tailored to local conditions is appropriate. The government should expand its toolkit to include additional macroprudential measures and push forward reforms to address the fundamental imbalances in the residential housing market.