Reports

OPINION: Just like it did the prior month, Vancouver drove the Composite index in January – without Vancouver, the Composite index would have retreated for a fifth month in a row (top chart). On a y/y basis, Vancouver’s index for condos surged 23.0%, while the index for other types of dwellings rose 13.5%. The fact is that Vancouver’s home resale market remained tight even after the introduction of a tax on acquisitions by foreigners (middle chart). The same cannot be said of Toronto, where the market turned from tight to balanced after the introduction of a similar tax last April. Toronto’s index was nevertheless up in January for the first time in six months, after the unsmoothed index (see note on methodology on next page) rose for a third month in a row (bottom chart). This firming of home prices in Toronto might reflect a rush to buy with pre-approved mortgages granted before more stringent rules on qualification for an uninsured mortgages were applied starting January 1st. With further increases in mortgage rates still to come (according to CMHC, posted 5y rates were at 4.14% in January against a low of 3.59% last May), it is premature to conclude that home prices have definitely turned the corner in Toronto.

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OPINION: Without Vancouver, the Composite index would have declined for a fourth month in a row (top chart). The strength of Vancouver’s index is consistent with continued tight home resale market conditions. Toronto’s index declined for a fifth consecutive month, but the unsmoothed index (see note on methodology on next page) rose for a second month in a row (middle chart). Unless the unsmoothed index relapses in January, the sequence of declines in the smoothed index should then be interrupted. However this improvement is likely to prove temporary, as it might have resulted from buyers rushing to avoid the new bylaws on qualification for an uninsured mortgage (implemented in January 2018). This view is supported by the increase in Toronto home sales in November and December compared to previous months (bottom chart). Therefore, a resumption of the downward price trend early this year cannot be excluded.

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201712 TNB monthly commentary

OPINION: Housing starts declined sharply in the last month of 2017 but still managed to beat consensus expectations (211K). A retracement was always in the cards after the unsustainable figure posted in November (251.7K). A good chunk of the decline in December stemmed from an expected fall in multi-unit starts in Ontario (-34.0K) after the latter reached an all-time high in the previous month. Excluding that category, housing starts countrywide were roughly flat month on month. Looking at quarterly data, starts advanced an annualized 13.5% in the fourth quarter, following a +35.6% print in Q3. Despite that jump, it is hard to know whether or not residential construction contributed to economic growth in Q4. True, quarterly data showed a marked increase in multiple starts (+35.8% annualized), but ground-breakings for single units, whose per-unit contribution to GDP is greater, slumped 28.6% in annualized terms. One thing is for sure: 2017 has truly been a banner year for residential construction in the country, with starts totaling 220.5K, the best figure in ten years. Such a performance is unlikely to be repeated in 2018. Indeed, with the implementation of the new B-20 guidelines for mortgage lending, and considering that the Bank of Canada

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FACTS: The Teranet–National Bank Composite National
House Price IndexTM dropped 0.5% in November, a third monthly
decline in a row. The index fell in four of the 11 constituents
cities: Toronto (-1.4% – a fourth consecutive decline in the
largest real estate market in Canada), Hamilton (-1.6%),
Ottawa-Gatineau (-0.8%) and Edmonton (-0.7%). The indexes
were stable in Vancouver and Victoria. They rose in Montreal
(+1.0%), Quebec City (+0.9%), Halifax (+0.8%), Calgary (+0.7%)
and Winnipeg (+0.5%). On a y/y basis, the Composite index
rose 9.2%, a fourth softer reading in a row following the
record gains of 14.2% in both June and July, and the lowest
since June 2016. November’s y/y rise was led by Victoria
(+14.0%), Vancouver (+13.5%), Hamilton (+12.3%) and Toronto
(+10.6%). The 12-month advance was much smaller in
Montreal (+6.7%), Ottawa-Gatineau (+4.9%), Halifax (+2.1%),
Calgary (+1.8%), Quebec City (+1.0%) and Edmonton (+0.2%).
See charts on next page.

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Nov 2017 TNB Commentary

November Housing Starts

FACTS: Housing starts reached 252.2K units in November,
rising 29.5K (13.2%) from the level in October (top chart).
The monthly increase can be explained by a 25.3K (16.9%)
advance for multiple starts in urban areas, which
complemented the smaller rise for singles – the latter grew
4.2K (7.5%) to 60.4K. Rural starts, for their part, edged
slightly down 0.1K (-0.4%) to 16.8K. Starts declined in
British Columbia (-8.5K), Quebec (-5.4K), Saskatchewan (-
1.3K) and New Brunswick (-0.9K) but those were more than
offset by gains in Ontario (+37.9K), Alberta (+4.8K),
Manitoba (+1.5K), Nova Scotia (+1.2K).

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OPINION: The last two monthly declines in the Composite index are mostly due to Toronto (top chart), but there are signs that the downward pressure on prices in that city is fading. For instance, its unsmoothed index (see note on methodology next page) fell 0.7% in October after declining 3.7% in August and 2.1% in September (middle chart). Following the introduction last April of a tax on foreigners’ acquisitions, market conditions (as depicted by the active-listings-to-sales ratio) loosened in Toronto. But they went from extremely tight to balanced (active-listings-to-sales close to its long-term average – bottom chart). Furthermore, market conditions have stabilized over the last few months. Balanced and stable market conditions support the view that downward pressure on home prices is fading in that city. Market conditions evolving from tight to balanced is a positive development for affordability. Unfortunately, this cannot be said of Vancouver, where conditions remained tight despite the implementation in August 2016 of a tax on foreigners’ acquisitions. In the latter city, prices of condos (the most affordable category of dwellings) rose more than 17% over the last 12 months.

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