The moderate risk rating is the third in a row from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. after it flagged the market as high risk for two and a half years.
It says the narrowing risk comes as home prices ease somewhat, with the average price down 0.6 per cent in the second quarter of this year compared with last, while the young-adult population continued to grow at 1.9 per cent to increase the pool of potential first-time homebuyers. The agency says Toronto has been downgraded from high risk to moderate as prices dipped by 0.8 per cent in the second quarter while inflation-adjusted disposable income grew by 0.5 per cent, though prices have been climbing in the third quarter. It also moved Hamilton from high to moderate risk.
CMHC says Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Saskatoon, Regina, and Winnipeg still show a moderate degree of vulnerability. It says cities including Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec, Moncton, Halifax and St. John's show a low degree of vulnerability.
Homes are for living in, not for investment speculation. Excessive greed in the real-estate game destroys the affordability and causes serious problems to the fabric of society. Politicians are hopeless out of their league understanding this reality.