For the past four years we have been following three different housing stories here in Canada. In Alberta and Saskatchewan, we have seen a significant slowdown in housing coupled with falling prices, as the economy works through adjustments to lower oil prices.
In sharp contrast, we saw housing booms in Toronto and Vancouver, both of which were experiencing strong population and employment growth and supply constraints on new housing. Low interest rates were of course supporting strong housing demand. Rising house prices fuelled even stronger demand, as first-time homebuyers feared missing out. Foreign buyers were attracted to both markets, adding more fuel.