So, if federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty is set to potentially raise down payment requirements as a way to avoid a possible housing bubble, thereby making it harder for you to buy your first home, wouldn’t you expect he’d be reasonably sure that a bubble would actually be on the way?
Interestingly enough, he’s not. Nobody is.
Canadian Real Estate Association Chief Economist Gregory Klump recently stated very bluntly to 660 AM Radio News business reporter James Munroe that a housing bubble is not in store for Canada, even after receiving data showing December was the strongest month on record for Canadian real estate.
Klump also pointed out that a new supply of homes will help to stabilize currently surging prices due to high demand for housing. Figures from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation suggest new supply is on its way into the market. That new supply is no small number. We’re talking about 174,500 new units nationally in December alone. That figure beat analyst estimates by about 10,000 units. Klump argues this is just more evidence of a normal stage in the housing cycle, not the bubble Minister Flaherty fears. So, why is Minister Flaherty still toying with the idea of barring so many potential first time homebuyers from entering the market by buying their first home?
Klump isn’t the only dissenting voice out there either. Benjamin Tal with CIBC World Markets has also told The Globe and Mail that he too, believes new housing units coming into the market will help stabilize prices. He also warned that the government could overshoot its goal, saying: “You do not kill a fly with a hammer.”
Interestingly enough, there’s even dissension from the Bank of Canada itself! Bank of Canada official David Wolf recently delivered an address in Edmonton on behalf of deputy governor Timothy Lane. In the address, he warned that any talk of a housing bubble at this point was “premature.”
We hope Minister Flaherty is listening to the counsel he’s getting and does away with this idea, before it affects the dreams of so many first time homebuyers and our valued clients. We’ll have even more on this topic in the next little while so keep checking!
Elke Babiuk and Michelle Larcher
MaxWell Canyon Creek Realtors
