Quote:
Originally Posted by opendoor
Regarding the "lowest # of housing units per capita in the G7", comparing Canada (median age of 41.8) to the 3 oldest countries in the world in Japan (median age of 48.6), Germany (47.8), and Italy (46.5) doesn't make a whole lot of sense given that kids don't buy or rent houses. Here's a slide from a presentation by BMO's Chief Economist which drives that home:
And France, which has by far the highest number of units per capita, and which has had basically stagnant population growth over the last decade, has seen property prices double in the last 10 years. There is clearly far, far more going on when basically the entire industrialized world with vast differences in population growth and immigration is all seeing huge increases in property prices. |
The housing shortage isn't just in Canada, it's global:
https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/the-glob...the%20pandemic.
And the fact that Canada, a country with a lot of land, is near the top of multiple housing unaffordability lists, suggests that there has been exceptionally poor planning here. There are clearly some market factors outside of Canada's individual control going on, but Canada, amongst its peers of similar economic development, should be near the bottom of unaffordability not near the top.
To be clear I don't think supply is the only issue. For example, Canada has most certainly allowed investors to plunder the housing market. However, supply most certainly remains a major issue.