Market News

Canada

Stress tests by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC)—the government-owned body that sells insurance to residential mortgage lenders—indicate that if oil stayed at US$35 per barrel for five years, Canadian house prices would fall 26%. Within a few days, oil reached the $35 level for the first time since 2009.

The CMHC also said that in 2015, foreign ownership of condos had increased to 3.5% in Vancouver from 2.3% in 2014. The figures for Toronto were 3.3% and 2.4%, respectively.

November is usually a quiet month for sales in Vancouver, but this year saw the number of home sales increase 40.1% from November 2014. The average sale price of a detached home in Vancouver reached C$1.6 million (US$1.2 million) in November 2015.