Nah. Canada real estate has to take the hit.
* Plenty of land
* Plenty of wood
* Plenty of sources of fresh water
* Pro-immigrantion policy could reducing construction costs
* Seemingly high rate of 'cottage' ownership which seems like a second home to me, which seems to indicate abundance?
* Remote working situation good
* Fiber can't be that hard to roll out to new places right next to roads plus Starlink exists
* People don't seem to mind the weather too much?
In US, these things seem less abundant as lots of our land is allocated already as opposed to just being crown land
I would start with questioning this assumption.
Also, based on their terrible choices of ISP and mobile networks, I would question this one too:
> Fiber can't be that hard to roll out to new places right next to roads plus Starlink exists
Land is generally not very valuable by itself, it is locations that are valuable (specifically desirable locations in growing cities). There are highly limited locations available in Canadian cities, particularly the desirable cities of Toronto and Vancouver.
Same with the Bay Area, NYC, Hong Kong, Singapore, Sydney, Auckland etc. Singapore does probably the best job of the above at keeping housing relatively affordable despite very limited locations.
1. There has been more demand for living in cities and less for rural areas
2. That demand has not been met with the same increases in housing supply, so prices rise
3. Low interest rates make housing an even more attractive investment, and throw gasoline on the fire
You can also let your rate float with the market, which is called a variable rate mortgage.
The mortgage market was very tightly regulated to really only permit the 30-year fixed-rate mortgages until 2002.
Anyone who has taken a five-minute look at the real estate market in any major US city can see those market distortions plain as day.
The U.S. has been heavily subsiding mortgages since the great Depression, through programs such as FHA. Banks would not be willing to loan people money at such low rates over 30 years unless the government and taxpayers backed the loan.
It's not at all clear whether the policy actually helps ownership.
I purchased a home at the start of this mess with an 2.6%. Right now it's hovering around 6%. I would say I MASSIVELY lucked out.
Does Canada not fix the rate? I am confused -
I have my doubts that the US will allow that to happen. The resource curse is real.
So in these times where rates go up, it makes Canadian homeowners suddenly have to pay more for their houses they're already living in.
In variable rate mortgages, the amount going to principal vs interest changes. The monthly payments remain constant.