TD Bank:OVERPRICED AND OVERBUILT: CANADIAN HOUSING

依勒特

During Canada’s “Housing Boom”, which ran roughly
# M/ T/ r3 [; P0 U5 J. t  gfrom 2002 to 2008, unsustainable price increases drove
unsustainable levels of building. Our view is that house
3 v! I: ]9 y' A9 G1 t: ~  O( ~) {prices exceeded the value of housing that was justified by
fundamentals by approximately 9% nationwide. This
overpricing compelled a level of residential construction
' t/ J8 t6 x5 j+ f/ v* fthat exceeded its fundamental-justified level by approximately
12%, an excess that was exaggerated in the past
three years.
# W! b2 v  G/ w8 o0 G6 x, `By “overpricing” we mean that prices detached from
their fundamentals, as witnessed by a steep erosion of
/ j1 \8 h# V. l8 J) l4 Raffordability. The current unwinding of house prices reflects
both a cyclical downturn and a return of house prices
" ?6 x! Y% F9 R+ I0 k) Cto fundamentally justified levels.
We consider “overbuilding” of two forms: “demanddriven”
where homebuyers buy up too many houses and
that this demand cannot be sustained; and “supply-driven”
where builders accumulate excessive inventories. Although
' o# o9 e' V6 {2 g! |2 M6 O4 J6 ithere is evidence of both types, we contend that Canada’s
4 s9 |" x. v1 c. J“overbuilding” was mainly of the first type, where
0 x5 j2 l- t$ ~- K+ E* nhomebuyers pushed homebuilding to an unsustainable pitch
that is now being rapidly reined in.
5 J/ y" T1 _1 q8 Z, H; k9 MWhile most markets won’t face U.S.-style overhangs,
' D: h- U1 J$ s+ w8 A6 j' Othe construction of too many new homes over the boom
7 O6 \8 u! x4 x4 b2 t  I$ Mmeans a deepened slump. This overbuilding will likely weigh
3 a, f+ G5 \' p$ yon markets over the next few years. Even as Canada recovers
from the cyclical downturn, house price growth will
2 g4 l. h  F2 \( d" I+ hremain choppy and new residential construction will be
dampened, owing to this structural weakness. Construction
is now undershooting fundamentals and we expect this
to persist over 2009 to 2011. We anticipate that nationwide
residential construction will fall further to around
9 `6 Y* u4 J7 u+ Y$ b$ K% \$ S125,000 starts over 2009 with a trough around 115,000 units
in the fourth quarter.
. ]2 i/ g. B* pTo quantify the degree of overpricing and overbuilding,
3 u) z  r; ^( z* jwe first develop an empirical model, based on long-run
# E* R# y6 Q2 B, }fundamentals of house prices and housing starts in each
' F% P. @8 ~! b0 P; }' z( ~7 Aprovince. Affordability is the key concept behind home
% Q+ a" \$ g1 xvalues since house prices should track incomes over the
long-run. Since homebuilders build to meet demand, we
, ~# }$ w7 |2 k  S0 ]6 @7 Sregard housing prices and household formation as the drivers
of residential construction.
To examine the degree of overbuilding, we employ a
“counter-factual,” asking what level of residential construction
would have occurred if housing had been priced
( g. _, d/ D+ U) z9 a. N) Qoptimally. We find that actual homebuilding exceeded this
fundamental-justified level by about 12%. Although new
* N/ S! r0 d2 x% p. z' C8 Nunits were being absorbed, homebuyers simply bought too
4 S+ p5 Q$ A, {many houses at prices that exceeded fundamentals.
Regionally, we see the greatest strains on the Prairies,
where housing demand will further contract under waning
population inflows. Saskatoon, Calgary and Edmonton are
- Y! a) L. {3 ?) n8 L7 b! z5 G9 malready witnessing surges in their unsold new homes at the
: D: D: i* `1 D* K- c: bvery time that the resale market has swung into strong
buyers’ territory. Homebuilding in the Atlantic provinces
1 Y4 k1 \- Z( |# i5 ^4 w" y) ?has been relatively balanced but, while not plagued by structural
6 r$ T' ]3 F9 D1 G$ t- r0 lweakness, will be singed by the downturn nonetheless.
Québec shows signs of strain – especially given the
strange accumulation of unabsorbed multiples on l’Île de
" \8 G' g# p4 C# }Montréal – but recent building has been relatively balanced,
given the province’s history of under-building and low ownership
rates. While Ontario homebuilding will reel from a
7 e- E% ?# E: `cyclical downturn, the degree of structural weakness appears
limited – with the important exception of the Toronto
condo market. Both in Toronto and Vancouver, historically
high levels of apartment-style units presently under
. O6 w5 Z5 D3 b6 A% @2 U! _construction mean that record numbers of condos will
3 Q( U" V9 ^7 O6 breach completion during 2009. If absorption rates fall, as
cyclical factors would indicate, condo inventories could
$ R2 U. r  S! c3 T+ o/ Bspike severely – particularly in Vancouver. However, while
residential construction in B.C. will definitely droop, we
anticipate that the West Coast will continue to benefit from
inter-provincial and international migration over the coming
) I$ x0 {# A  E3 J( [; byears, which, along with improvements in affordability,
- S! L, H! U, y' C$ Mwill alleviate some of the pressure from overbuilding.
0 F& ]  Q4 j6 ?; m: XOVERPRICED AND OVERBUILT: CANADIAN HOUSING
MARKET RETURNS TO FUNDAMENTALS
$ @. P/ h) N2 S+ X- J1 HGrant Bishop, Economist
) z2 X+ \% c* w416-982-8063
Pascal Gauthier, Economist
416-944-5730
; ?# Q1 D6 L( Q+ f
' J- D7 O3 h( P! ]http://www.td.com/economics/special/gb0409_housing_exec.pdf

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