November 17, 2009

The Canadian housing market may look like a bubble, but low interest rates, a relative shortage of new supply and mortgage innovation should keep it going for some time to come.

Instead of looking at affordability calculations or house prices on their own, it is far more telling to see how the value of housing assets compares to various benchmarks. Economists at Scotia Capital suggests a price-to-earnings proxy that involves comparing prices to rent, where rent is the equivalent income stream to housing as corporate earnings are to equities. This compares the choice of owning versus renting.
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November 12, 2009

Canadians are more likely to rely on credit to pay for emergency expenses than any other country surveyed in a new report on household financial stability.

The survey, conducted by TNS Canadian Facts, asked more than 14,600 people in 15 countries around the world whether or not they could come up with $2,000 (or equivalent value in local currency) within a month to pay for health care costs or sudden car or home repairs, and if so how they would get the cash.