Cracks in the Foundation Widening

Canadian houses have caught the eye of global investors following decades of consistent growth and all but a slight decline during the great recession. Then as home prices started catching fire, foreign money started pouring in, leading to provincial governments in British Columbia and Ontario to step in to try to make things affordable for home dwellers. As with any form of government intervention, it is closely scrutinized and often ridiculed. As with any economic data, the results are often delayed, so determining immediate effect is difficult. The question remains: were the measures too firm and going to push home prices drastically lower? This past Wednesday, when the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) released their monthly sales and pricing data, it was not surprising to see the numbers highlighted as a top story on Bloomberg.