CMHC: housing market in Canada 'highly vulnerable'

Sunday, October 29, 2017

In a quarterly news release on Thursday, state-owned Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) said Canada's housing market is highly vulnerable, especially in Toronto and Hamilton in Ontario, Vancouver and Victoria in British Columbia, and Saskatoon in Saskatchewan. It also identified a growing concern of overbuilding in Calgary and Edmonton in Alberta.

The release said Calgary and Edmonton, the largest and second largest cities in Alberta, have a large inventory of unsold homes. The CMHC expressed concern this may drive down prices of homes in the area.

Vancouver, which is now reportedly less affordable than Manhattan in the US; Toronto; Victoria; and Hamilton were all assessed by the CMHC's quarterly report as highly overvaluated.

The housing markets of Winnipeg in Manitoba, Ottawa in Ontario, Montreal and Quebec in Quebec, Moncton in New Brunswick, Halifax in Nova Scotia, and St. John's in Newfoundland, were all assessed as low or moderate risk.


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