If Canada’s biggest housing markets are bubbles, why aren’t they popping?

In today’s Big Story podcast, last week, a Swiss bank’s annual ranking put Toronto No. 1 and Vancouver No. 6 on its list of the world’s ‘bubbliest’ housing markets. And although both cities have seen declines in home prices this year, the dips do not even come close to erasing the gains made during the pandemic. Still, it’s hard to say with certainty that this is a bubble, and we may not know for sure until it pops.

Ari Altstedter is a reporter at Bloomberg News, who covers — among other things — the Canadian real estate market. He joins us to discuss the bubble rankings, and break down what they actually say about the state of Canada’s hottest property markets.

“If home values decline far enough, fast enough, some people may find that the market value of their home is less than their mortgage,” he said.

So what does a popped housing bubble actually look like in cities with limited supply? What would it do to homeowners who have their life savings in their property? And what would it mean to those who for whom home ownership in these cities feels entirely out of reach?

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