Many people have pointed out this link: Fortune Magazine on the likelihood of a major Canadian housing market crash:
Canadians easily obtained mortgages with only 5% down and payments running out 35 years. More than 65% of Canadian mortgages are fixed for five years (and now face more stringent renewal terms and likely higher interest payments). But variable rate mortgages offered in Canada were at least as creative as those doled out in the US, with banks allowing terms as short as six months. Unlike in the US, people who default on mortgages in Canada don’t just lose their houses, they risk other assets as well.
A fast or unexpected rise in interest rates (Canada was the first G7 country to begin moving them higher following the recession) could leave Canadians with little cushion. Last year the IMF noted that, by some measures, Canadians were paying a larger percentage of their income for housing than Americans did prior to the housing bust.
That level hasn’t improved. Recent government data shows that the average Canadian with a two-story home spends almost 50% of his household income on mortgage servicing, with the average is closer to 70% in red-hot markets like Vancouver. “By and large the affordability situation remains within a safe range in Canada; however there are local markets where the share of household income taken up by homeownership costs is at worrisome levels,” the Royal Bank of Canada wrote in September, adding that the situation in Vancouver raises “a red flag.”
Timely warning or sour grapes because our housing market is strong while the US market sags? You can read the full article here an make up your own mind..
