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Originally Posted by blankall
Firstly, Calgary is one of the more affordable markets in Canada. Calgary has also always been a relatively affordable city. It's a fact though that housing in Canada is the least affordable it has been since the crisis in 1980 and inflation adjusted wages are lower than they were in 1980. Other goods like food, childcare, etc.. are all more expensive.
And yes, people can afford a $500k house now, if they pull it all together. What happens when mortgage rates go back to historical norms, or even 5%? That $2000/month becomes $3,500+ and a lot of people are in trouble.
As for Gen Xers, they just don't have the power in society that baby boomers do.
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Good post, but I personally don't think we will ever see mortgage rates start to go back up. Everyone has too much invested in the housing market to see it cooled to any degree. Even marginal changes like the BC Spec/Foreign Buyer Tax cooled the market to such a degree that it halved the province's annual economic growth.