That figure is very low, and speaks of dangerous complacency. Contrast this with the (clearly minority) opinion of Mark Carney, Governor of Canada, who recently stated that he expects “marked weakness” in Canadian housing for the next 6 quarters. The bull:bear ratio for the Canadian RE market is thus 7 to 1. Last week, Wednesday 5 May 2010, when the US stock market peaked, the ratio for that market was at a historically extreme 3.5 to 1. Sure, RE is not stocks, but,… you get the idea. -vreaa
Excerpts from ‘Rising mortgage rates, rising trouble’, by Tavia Grant, The Globe and Mail, 10 May 2010 -
“Canadians across the country believe house prices will rise further. Almost one half of those surveyed, or 49 per cent, expect prices to rise and 44 per cent expect them to remain stable.”
“Almost half a million more mortgage holders would be in trouble if their rates hit 5.25 per cent, a national survey showed Monday.”
“The survey suggested buying activity is slowing. While Canadians are “positive” about the housing market, just 3.4 per cent say they are very likely to buy – “suggesting activity may slow during the remainder of this year.”
“A very large majority of Canadian mortgage borrowers have acted prudently within a challenging housing market,” the report concluded.
[Based on "a biannual report by the Canadian Association of Accredited Mortgage Professionals", "compiled from an online survey of 3,000 Canadians, almost 1,800 of whom were home owners with mortgages. The survey was conducted by public-opinion firm Maritz for CAAMP, during April."]
