The Economic Analyst

Teranet House Price Index shows widespread declines in September

NOVEMBER 24, 2010

The Teranet House Price index recorded broad month-over-month declines in September. This index calculates price changes by tracking the observed or registered home prices over time. Properties with at least two sales are required in the calculations. Such a “sales pair” measures the increase or decrease of the property value in the period between the sales in a linear fashion. It's methodology is similar to the widely referenced Case/Shiller index out of the US.

Banks pressure Ottawa to rein in consumer debt; Peter Mansbridge interviews Ed Clark

DECEMBER 13, 2010

Banks calling for prudence

Quick tour through the board stats- December 2010

JANUARY 06, 2011

It’s that time of the month again. We once again turn our eyes to the big realtor boards and dissect the sales, inventory, and price trends in their real estate markets. Click on the city name to see the actual press release from each board. Victoria

Tour through the board stats: February 2011

MARCH 06, 2011

It's that time of the month again. Let's once again turn our eyes to the stats released by the big real estate boards and look for developing trends. You may recall that finance minister Jim Flaherty announced new mortgage rule changes back in January. Those rule changes are set to take effect in mid March and include primarily the shortening of allowable, insurable amortization lengths to 30 years from the current 35 years.

Tour through the board stats: April 2011

MAY 04, 2011

Examining house prices and rents in major Canadian cities

MAY 11, 2011

NOTE:  For more on why house prices and rents should pace each other over time, check out this article.  You may also be interested in how house prices and rents compare in other Canadian cities.

Tour through the board stats: May 2011

JUNE 07, 2011

It's that time of the month again.  Time to look at the most recent board stats from across the country to see if any trends are emerging.  The story of the past few months has been the rot in Victoria and BC's lower mainland, flashing warning signs in Vancouver, and strength in Toronto on the back of exceptionally low inventory numbers.  Let's see how May shaped up...   Victoria:

Misleading averages and bad science

JULY 06, 2011

Don's really not a bad guy....confused, but nice.

House price and income ratios in Canadian cities: Part 2

JULY 12, 2011

We continue on with part 2 of our three-part series examining the price-income ratio of various Canadian cities. 

Tour through the board stats: July 2011

AUGUST 10, 2011

It's time to once again take a look at any emerging trends in the monthly real estate board stats. Victoria: As has been the case for many months now, the Victoria market continues to bleed.  And rightfully so.  We know what the price/income ratio looks like in that city...

"Shall I rent or shall I buy"; Ottawa braces for austerity

AUGUST 14, 2011

"Shall I rent or shall I own"

How vulnerable are the economies of various Canadian cities? Part 1

SEPTEMBER 14, 2011

We begin a two-part series examining the role that housing-related industries have had in boosting economic and employment growth in various Canadian cities.   Part 2 can be read here.

House prices and rents: Reason for concern...Part 2

OCTOBER 03, 2011

Please read part 1 of this two part series for a detailed explanation of why house prices and rents tend to move in tandem over long periods of time.  In that post, we examined house prices and rents in some larger centres from BC east to Manitoba.  Today, Ontario and the rest.  If your town is not included, it's not for lack of trying on my part.  The available data only covers so many towns.

"Balanced market" nonsense

AUGUST 15, 2012

I had to chuckle at the following quotes: "The vast majority of markets had sales-to-new listings ratios consistent with balance between supply and demand, including Toronto and Vancouver" -RBC "Based on a sales-to-new listings ratio of between 40 to 60 per cent, two thirds of all local housing markets were in balanced market territory in July" -CREA

House sales in October: Better, but not quite as strong as reported

NOVEMBER 15, 2012

October resale numbers are out.  In general, the sales trend picked up in most metros relative to September, but the improvement was not quite as sharp as reported.

10 Canadian Housing and Economic Trends to Watch in 2013: Part 1

JANUARY 01, 2013

Part two of this series can be read here. First off, Happy Holidays and all the best for the New Year! On the housing and macro economic front, 2013 is shaping up to be…..interesting, to say the least.  While I no longer enjoy the free time to blog on a regular basis, I will endeavor to keep readers ahead of the big trends by posting as often as my schedule permits.  I do appreciate the loyal readership.

Canadian housing and economic trends: The good, the bad, and the ugly

APRIL 09, 2013

It's been a while since I've been able to find the time to post here.  Interest in Canadian housing research has gone parabolic in the past couple months.....for obvious reasons.  As a follow-up to a post I did in January on housing trends to watch, I thought I'd throw out some observations on what's happening in Canada on the housing and macro economic front in terms of the good, the bad, and the ugly data points.