TD Bank:OVERPRICED AND OVERBUILT: CANADIAN HOUSING

依勒特

During Canada’s “Housing Boom”, which ran roughly
# \$ l( ?6 r# G% pfrom 2002 to 2008, unsustainable price increases drove
6 F, |1 Z- R0 v9 M7 _8 n" V% u2 Yunsustainable levels of building. Our view is that house
prices exceeded the value of housing that was justified by
1 U; W; e. u  O5 dfundamentals by approximately 9% nationwide. This
* P9 f( |' r3 k3 @' toverpricing compelled a level of residential construction
that exceeded its fundamental-justified level by approximately
12%, an excess that was exaggerated in the past
  ]: h4 C6 d+ z! I4 ?three years.
By “overpricing” we mean that prices detached from
& z. T7 M; ~( D- N/ A: k" Ktheir fundamentals, as witnessed by a steep erosion of
: T% y  U# ^1 z1 Uaffordability. The current unwinding of house prices reflects
both a cyclical downturn and a return of house prices
to fundamentally justified levels.
We consider “overbuilding” of two forms: “demanddriven”
! z0 T  i, Y5 Z- d. |; P$ Twhere homebuyers buy up too many houses and
  Q$ n" p- @4 V8 p  x. f& z+ x( j0 sthat this demand cannot be sustained; and “supply-driven”
  [- q3 Y# j. w' F) ~where builders accumulate excessive inventories. Although
there is evidence of both types, we contend that Canada’s
8 x- S: R0 O7 v) a“overbuilding” was mainly of the first type, where
homebuyers pushed homebuilding to an unsustainable pitch
that is now being rapidly reined in.
While most markets won’t face U.S.-style overhangs,
the construction of too many new homes over the boom
& R+ l1 W0 e- }  \  G( e  C( i1 x$ Ameans a deepened slump. This overbuilding will likely weigh
on markets over the next few years. Even as Canada recovers
from the cyclical downturn, house price growth will
remain choppy and new residential construction will be
& o2 `7 D) r& a5 P$ `dampened, owing to this structural weakness. Construction
is now undershooting fundamentals and we expect this
; b- X' |, A* [to persist over 2009 to 2011. We anticipate that nationwide
* p+ k5 \9 R  q' O* a$ h: ?residential construction will fall further to around
125,000 starts over 2009 with a trough around 115,000 units
in the fourth quarter.
To quantify the degree of overpricing and overbuilding,
we first develop an empirical model, based on long-run
fundamentals of house prices and housing starts in each
province. Affordability is the key concept behind home
5 `, a* u; h, dvalues since house prices should track incomes over the
% k2 T0 e& v+ @3 J3 Z# t( c% }long-run. Since homebuilders build to meet demand, we
regard housing prices and household formation as the drivers
of residential construction.
# q1 f0 X! n, d5 o4 lTo examine the degree of overbuilding, we employ a
; L! |) A5 m7 o1 h0 k$ F7 f0 o“counter-factual,” asking what level of residential construction
would have occurred if housing had been priced
optimally. We find that actual homebuilding exceeded this
fundamental-justified level by about 12%. Although new
5 R2 E+ c, P6 M% l* Wunits were being absorbed, homebuyers simply bought too
many houses at prices that exceeded fundamentals.
Regionally, we see the greatest strains on the Prairies,
: B" B, ~6 S7 F  ywhere housing demand will further contract under waning
  u6 y+ F2 O4 ppopulation inflows. Saskatoon, Calgary and Edmonton are
" b* u9 X# m. |3 e4 q  a6 N: halready witnessing surges in their unsold new homes at the
very time that the resale market has swung into strong
buyers’ territory. Homebuilding in the Atlantic provinces
has been relatively balanced but, while not plagued by structural
& m. W, D8 `3 O6 W; ~weakness, will be singed by the downturn nonetheless.
Québec shows signs of strain – especially given the
strange accumulation of unabsorbed multiples on l’Île de
: W) i/ \- U0 y! B. X- yMontréal – 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
cyclical downturn, the degree of structural weakness appears
8 h8 ]/ J7 }9 h# E2 N  U0 \limited – with the important exception of the Toronto
. U+ K; Y; }' B0 ?( e, x3 ?condo market. Both in Toronto and Vancouver, historically
high levels of apartment-style units presently under
construction mean that record numbers of condos will
reach completion during 2009. If absorption rates fall, as
. I" q9 F( @# J5 Q0 j' K7 q5 y. xcyclical factors would indicate, condo inventories could
spike severely – particularly in Vancouver. However, while
7 z  k2 N" K* ^# ?5 ?. F9 U% Tresidential construction in B.C. will definitely droop, we
anticipate that the West Coast will continue to benefit from
7 h/ E5 K$ s( R% |, uinter-provincial and international migration over the coming
years, which, along with improvements in affordability,
9 I$ b9 m1 G6 b$ M$ dwill alleviate some of the pressure from overbuilding.
OVERPRICED AND OVERBUILT: CANADIAN HOUSING
' h1 N1 i; R: AMARKET RETURNS TO FUNDAMENTALS
Grant Bishop, Economist
7 N' G$ `2 Q6 t! q416-982-8063
Pascal Gauthier, Economist
416-944-5730
: }5 S) f" J4 E! P5 D: d
http://www.td.com/economics/special/gb0409_housing_exec.pdf

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