Guess who’s buying all those new homes in Canada? Apparently, almost no one. The central question that the article fails to ask is this: whose balance sheets are taking the hit? In any case, retirees are never going to take up all the slack that investors are leaving behind.
There were just over 300 new homes sold across the entire Toronto region in April. A population of about 6.4 million people was mainly too scared to pull the trigger.
It was one of the worst months ever for sales, according to the Building Industry and Land Development Association. The market hasn’t improved much since.
“It’s a crazy market out there with condos,” she said, fully aware of the drop in sales and prices. June sales were just 510 units, 82 per cent below the 10-year average for the month, BILD said.
“Still at the top in terms of inability to own in North America”
https://x.com/ronmortgageguy/status/1960785976332091574
Government and real-estate developers hoped to stimulate the real estate market through immigration. What they did instead was create a market where no one can afford to buy – except for institutional investors, who would rent properties. (“You will own nothing, and be happy”). This was partly coincidental, and partly by design.
The sort of people who dominate government and urban planning authorities hoped to change the pattern of home ownership and housing development, and push people into smaller, multi-family dwellings; whether they liked it or not. I used to live across the street from a CMHC executive who glibly explained to me that Canadians weren’t “entitled” to live in detached homes on large lots like his home. People, he said, needed to “adjust their expectations” if the nation was to address environmental concerns and population growth.
To a certain extent they have succeeded. For the past five years, no one has been building anything but townhouses and multiplex homes. The landscapes in suburban areas are blighted with thousands of cheaply-built 4-plex homes that will become valueless within two decades because of underlying structural issues.
The people living there don’t care. They will remain only so long as they can continue to send money home, and many don’t exhibit a long-term attachment to this country.
The problem is that the damage to the underlying economy has become so severe and the investing environment so toxic, that even institutional investors don’t want to play in Canada any more, so no one’s developing anything, while new residents continue to pour into the country.
Now we have the unprecedented situation of a housing market collapse simultaneous with a housing crisis. New residents will continue to arrive in Canada even if they can’t get housing, because there is so much wealth relative to their home countries being transferred out of Canada that it’s still worth the expense and discomfort. The problem for politicians is that Punjabis and other second world residents will tolerate a lot more of that than Canadians will, and native citizens are starting to loose patience. Not to worry: they are “replaceable, and will be replaced”.
The real fix to this is situation is something that no Liberal politician can even begin to contemplate right now, and I don’t think they care at this point. What they have planned in response is to nationalize housing as much and as quickly as they can, and to enrich themselves through the construction of communist-style, fully subsidized high-density housing. However, very soon they won’t be able to finance that without significant disruption to our tax system.
Get ready, it’s only a matter of months before governments begin to talk about “crisis” and an “emergency response” to this problem – at which point if you’re not already employed in public service I’d hold on to my wallet!
“The landscapes in suburban areas are blighted with thousands of cheaply-built 4-plex homes that will become valueless within two decades because of underlying structural issues.”
True, but now its getting worse. In Calgary,they are now building 6 plex units where formerly a single family house stood but don’t worry the infrastructure can (yeah right) handle it.
Oh yeah, they also cut down all the trees on the lots.
“However, very soon they won’t be able to finance that without significant disruption to our tax system.”
Dead on. Their plan is already in effect. Theft of your wealth via inflation and capital gains taxes.
Here’s where I remind you that because of another modest UP day in the US Markets … my portfolio has never been $BIGGER$ since I bought the Panickan Trump Tariff Dip. Never been BIGGER … and I’m only a few days away from another month’s worth of Dividends and Interest.
Betting against Trump is just about the most INSANE thing imaginable. Like Trans-psycho INSANE … like SUICIDE insane.
And the entire nation of Canada has gone ALL IN suiciding themselves over Trump. Over common sense. I pray for my Canadian friends, specifically praying for Prairie Independence.
Toronto centric etc,
Now do Kelowna.
depends.
Toronto centric etc,
Now do Kelowna.
depends.
How long before Canadian 14 year olds are brandishing a knife and an axe to keep from being molested?
Or are they already, and we just haven’t heard?
There are 24 MPs in Parliament from Toronto and 23 of them are Liberals.