Canadian Real Estate Needs More Immigration, Foreign Buyers: National Bank

Canadian real estate remains out of reach for young adults, but the show must go on. That’s the takeaway from a new housing report from National Bank of Canada. Slow home sales have led to a backlog of developer inventory, but billions in public bailouts are being used to support prices. National Bank urges policymakers to increase their immigration targets and reintroduce foreign buyers to help developers reduce inventory. Canadian Real Estate In A Slump Despite Billions In Bailouts The Great Canadian Real Estate Slump isn’t exactly news, but not everyone may be aware of how slow it’s been. Over 1 in 4 (28%) newly completed homes remain unsold, charting new territory for excess supply. “The inventory of completed and unsold housing units across all census metropolitan areas stands at 20,700 units, its highest level since records began in 1990,” warns the bank. Existing homes aren’t doing much better. Seasonally adjusted sales saw a monthly drop of 2.3% in September, sliding 13% below the 10-year average. While Canadian home prices are now in the biggest correction on record, the almost 5-year slump only rolled back 13 months of price gains. That’s with taxpayer-backed bailouts. “T...