This is compilation of Canada's housing timeline. The sources and analysis are from government staff, to economists, experts, and private institutions. Please note, these are all a compilation of news articles, reports published online and available. Some sites may become defunct depending on the source. Another thing to note is this does not encompass all of the articles written during the timeline presented here.
Canada is in the grip of a housing crisis more severe, by some measures,than anywhere else in the world. Household debt now amounts to more than 100 per cent of the country's gross domestic product, according to the Basel-based Bank for International Settlements, one of the highest of any developed nation. House prices have raced ahead of wages for years, boosted by loose lending, low interest rates and lax controls on foreign money.
Source: Canada's housing market flirts with disaster
Housing affordability in Canada's most expensive market - Vancouver - is at "crisis levels," according to a new study, which says the re-acceleration of home prices, along with higher interest rates, are "slamming" ownership costs again.
Source: Housing affordability at 'crisis level' in Canada's most expensive market, say economists | CBC News
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is defending the way his government has handled a surge of asylum seekers, a day after Ontario's new government blamed him for the influx and demanded Ottawa pay for it
A statement from Ford's office, meanwhile, said the spike in refugees has resulted in a "housing crisis" and a strain on provincially run services.
Source: Justin Trudeau defends policy on asylum seekers, as Ford blames Ottawa for 'housing crisis'
Canada added 37,000 apartments this year, but demand rose by even more - 50,000 Canada's overall vacancy rate dropped for a second year in a row, as demand for rental housing grew at a faster pace than supply, according to the Canada Mortgage Housing Corp.
Source: Rental vacancy rate dips to 2.4% across Canada, CMHC says
A recent report from Rentals concludes the ongoing housing shortage will drive monthly rents even higher in 2019. Annual rental rates could increase by as much as 11 per cent in Toronto, 9 per cent in Ottawa and 7 per cent in Vancouver, the report predicts.
Vacancy rates are getting even lower in several major Canadian cities, including Vancouver and Toronto, observed Ben Myers, president of Bullpen Research & Consulting Inc. Immigration is at a record high nationally and expected to increase.
The change in the mortgage stress test has reduced credit availability and pushed more people to rent that were looking to buy in 2018. The increase in rental demand has not been offset by new supply.
Source: Affordable rental housing on national agenda - REMI Network
Those are just some of the findings from the Canadian Centre of Economic Analysis and the Canadian Urban Institute's Toronto Housing Market Analysis report.
Commissioned by the city's affordable housing office in 2018, the 53-page document is meant to offer insight as city staff develop the next long-term housing and homelessness action plan for the decade ahead.
The report projects almost double the rate of population growth to 2041 from what the city has experienced since 2006, "resulting in a significant increase in housing demand."
Source: 'People are stuck': Report highlights Toronto's housing crunch as city prepares 10-year plan - CBC News
"Immigration into these two landing pad cities (Toronto and Vancouver) is likely to increase in this year and next, putting additional strain on their rental markets," the report predicted.
The sales slowdown following the stress test has also prompted developers to start construction on fewer units, the report noted, potentially creating a supply problem down the road.
Source: Canada's Mortgage Stress Test 'Sidelined' 40,000 Homebuyers: TD Bank - HuffPost Business
Toronto is a big city, but its population is getting out of hand. In fact, a new study found that the city is growing at such a rapid pace, that pretty soon housing supply won't be able to keep up. The report was conducted by Ryerson University's Centre for Urban Research and Land Development. It found that Toronto is the fastest-growing city in Canada and the U.S. by a huge margin.
Source: Toronto's Rapid Population Growth Could Cause Housing Crisis: Expert - Storeys
Canadians may be worried about the ability of communities to absorb more newcomers due to housing and other infrastructure shortages, but Hussen says the answer is not to cut the number of immigrants coming to Canada.
"It's not a zero-sum game," he said. "I think the answer is to continue on an ambitious program to invest in infrastructure, to invest in housing, to invest in transit, so that everyone can benefit from those investments and that we can then use those community services to integrate newcomers, which will also benefit Canadians."
Source: Poll suggests majority of Canadians favour limiting immigration levels - CTV News
"It was 2013 where we start to see a decline in construction and that was mostly to do with every category
Greg Rivard, chair of the city's planning committee, said there have been a lot of contributing factors to the housing crisis, which he calls "a perfect storm." Those include immigration increases both internationally and inter-provincially the addition of short-term rentals to the market and the decrease in multi-family units for those few years.
Source: What created Charlottetown's housing crisis - CBC News
Nearly 60 per cent of that growth took place in Ontario and British Columbia, and these people need places to live. With shifting demographics and increasing rents and housing prices presenting an affordability crisis in Toronto and Vancouver, shortfalls could continue for the foreseeable future.
Source: Record population growth has huge housing impact - RENX Real Estate News Exchange
Better yet, rental supply is extremely tight. Canada has built hardly any apartment buildings since the 1970s, pushing vacancy rates to near historic lows, particularly in and around Toronto and Vancouver.
Across the 44 Continuum buildings, the average vacancy rate is just 0.3 per cent. Meanwhile, demand for all types of housing is soaring. The federal government is welcoming more immigrants to help fuel economic growth and cities such as Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver have become hot spots for global tech talent.
This week, The Globe reported that Amazon.com Inc. is embarking on a major expansion in Vancouver that will triple its planned downtown footprint and take up an entire city block.
Source: The rental rush: Investors are scooping up apartment buildings and tenants are getting squeezed
The data suggest a positive correlation between the stock of immigrants and growth in house prices (Fig.1). Nevertheless, other factors, such as: employment, incomes, and interest rates, can also impact house prices *Conclusion* Immigration increases demand for accommodation and, all else being equal, likely manifests into higher house prices. However, the predictable impact of demand and supply on prices may be moderated by the attitudes and beliefs of market participants.
This week, The Globe reported that Amazon.com Inc. is embarking on a major expansion in Vancouver that will triple its planned downtown footprint and take up an entire city block.
Source: The rental rush: Investors are scooping up apartment buildings and tenants are getting squeezed