Toronto’s home prices accelerated at the fastest annual pace since 2017 in November, as surging demand falling supply inflates prices.
“An increasing number of home buyers impacted by demand-side policies over the past three years, including the 2017 Ontario Fair Housing Plan and the OSFI mortgage stress test, have moved back into the market for ownership housing,” said Michael Collins, president of TREB. While the Bank of Canada is worried about inflaming housing and mortgage markets like it did when it eased in 2015, Scotiabank questions whether cutting the policy rate would further inflame housing.
As TREB argues, what the market really needs flexible housing market policies that will help sustain balanced market conditions over the long term, like the one Toronto proposed yesterday.