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These are stories Report on Business followed this week.
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Canada's housing market certainly appears frothy to some observers, but many economists still believe there's little to fear.
Three reports have now put Canada in the bubble category. And this week's big sales numbers, as reported by The Globe and Mail's Tara Perkins, could fan those concerns.
However, expectations of higher mortgage rates are driving people to buy earlier than they otherwise might have, helping to pump up sales in cities like Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary. Coupled with that is the fact that the real estate market was slumping a year ago as the federal government brought in new mortgage restrictions aimed at preventing a bubble.
"The larger story is that, after last year's plunge in response to tighter mortgage rules, home sales have stabilized near normal levels and prices are rising moderately in most regions - a near perfect soft landing with shades of taking flight again," said senior economist Sal Guatieri of BMO Nesbitt Burns.
He was referring to reports this week from some of the country's regional real estate boards. As Ms. Perkins reports, property sales in Vancouver surged 52.5 per cent in August from a year earlier, Toronto a jump of 21 per cent, Calgary a gain of 27.5 per cent, and Victoria an increase of 20.7 per cent.
Prices were up in Toronto and Calgary, though down in Vancouver.
The International Monetary Fund, the Organization for Economic Co-operation, and the Economist magazine believe Canadian properties are overvalued.
They differ somewhat on the specifics, but the sentiment is the same.
In a report last weekend, the Economist ranked Canada as second only to Hong Kong on a price-to-rent reading. In June, the OECD ranked Canada third, behind Belgium and Norway, based on a combination of price-to-rent and price-to-income measures. And late this week, in a report on what it said is a housing bubble in Norway, the IMF put Canada fourth based on the price-to-rent ratio in late 2012, behind Norway, Belgium and New Zealand.
"On this basis, Canada's house prices are bubbly whereas Japan's are undeservedly flat," the Economist said, referring to the price-to-rent reading.
Senior economist Matthieu Arseneau of National Bank took exception to that in a report this week that says immigration is helping to drive population growth, largely in the 20-44 age group, meaning more families in a key demographic where housing is concerned.
"We expect that this phenomenon will cushion the effect of rising mortgage rates on the Canadian housing more," Mr. Arseneau said.
"With economic prosperity depending on a country's ability to attract capital and skilled labour, we are confident that Canada can hold its own for now."
He pointed specifically to The Economist, rejecting its conclusions.
"A more thorough analysis of home price sustainability must also take into account demographics," he said.
"For that reason, we believe that the Canadian housing market will do better than what many observers, including The Economist, expect."
- Tara Perkins: Mortgage fears drive up Canadian home sales
- Canada's housing market among most 'bubbly' in world, Economist finds
- Sean Silcoff in ROB Insight (for subscribers): If rising rates don't cool housing, Flaherty may have to
- Tim Kiladze: Bank of Canada should hike rates if worried about housing: Scotiabank
- The Economist: Mixed messages
- David Parkinson in Economy Lab: Immigration boosting housing sector: report
- Tara Perkins: Regulator eyes tighter mortgage rules
- Canadian homes among most overvalued in OECD ranking
- OECD chief on Canadian housing: It’s not a bubble (just way overvalued)
The week in Business Briefing
- Canada's housing market among most 'bubbly' in world, Economist finds
- BlackBerry has talked to potential bidders, plans fast sale: Report
- Jim Flaherty lauds 'frugal' Germans, rejects U.S. 'printing more money'
- Who cares about the Keystone XL oil pipeline? Not U.S. refiners
The week in Streetwise (for subscribers)
- Hedge fund launches new broadside at Barrick
- The Big Six reveal their playbooks for the coming year
- $1.1-billion Ainsworth deal shows heat in forestry sector
- Want to be a banker? Put down that novel
The week in Economy Lab
- Right-to-work laws are no solution to manufacturing job woes
- When it comes to competitiveness, Canada can't compete
- Evaluating the worth of a university degree
- Fracking is an economic boon to U.S. - love it or hate it
The week in ROB Insight (for subscribers)
- Has Calgary's economy decoupled from rest of Canada?
- Aircraft sector casts long shadow over trade deficit
- Poor marks for bank reform on Canada's G20 report card
- China's foreign policy is shifting on energy fears
Required reading
Nairobi is one of several hotbeds for developers building computer hardware tailored to Africa's tough conditions, Geoffrey York reports.
Can Microsoft Corp.'s blockbuster deal this week for Nokia Corp.'s handset operations revive the software giant's wireless strategy? Eric Reguly looks at the question.
Verizon Communications Inc. ruled out expansding into Canada in the wake of its deal to take full control of its wireless arm, eliminating Ottawa's best hope of attracting a new wireless carrier to compete with the country's three incumbents, Rita Trichur and Kathryn Blaze Carlson write.
The North American auto industry's most difficult crisis has disappeared from the rear-view mirror, as Americans buy new vehicles at a pace not seen since before the Great Recession, Greg Keenan reports.
Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz lamented the slow pace of the global recovery as the central bank delayed – once again – a move to raise rock-bottom interest rates to more normal levels. Barrie McKenna reports.
Home values look tame next to the dramatic run-up in farm-country real estate, Barrie McKenna writes.