For some reason Huffington Post does not provide embed codes for its videos, so I can’t post them here directly on JD, but they have done a few excellent big picture reports on the history of Canadian home prices. This one focuses on Toronto in particular (although boom-bust cycles play out simultaneously in varying degrees across most of the country).
Canada’s addiction to building houses “a loud alarm bell” https://t.co/icf51gGCs0 via @HuffPostCanada
— Danielle Park (@kdaniellepark) March 31, 2017
They point out that prices have fallen 37% of the time over the past 6 decades (23 of the past 63 years). Boom cycles end with high leverage, indiscriminate buying and rich valuations followed by a bust and years where prices remain lower than the prior cycle peak. This time is likely to be the same.
If we are owning real estate today in Canada, we should be comfortable holding it and paying all the associated costs and upkeep for the next decade. If that will not suit our finances, now is the time to consider any changes needed.
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