Four reports released Tuesday offered different takes on Canada’s housing market, but the tone overall was one of worry about the possibility of an abrupt slowdown.
- Reuters
- A mortgage brokerage office on Danforth Avenue in Toronto.
Thanks to interest rates hovering around near-record lows, Canada’s housing market continues to show signs of frothy sales and prices despite concerns from policymakers about high household debt levels.
That home price growth has been “broad-based and rapid,” and has moved at a faster pace than what fundamental drivers would suggest, bond-rating firm Fitch Ratings said in a report.
Fitch sees Canada’s housing market as about 21% overvalued, with homes in British Columbia, Quebec and Ontario seen as being at risk of a significant price correction.
“With a high level of employment and individual net worth tied to the value of the housing stock, a housing downturn could have serious consequences for the overall economy in Canada,” said Stefan Hilts, director at Fitch.
http://blogs.wsj.com/canadarealtime/2013/11/19/reports-show-canada-housing-market-worries-remain/
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