TD Bank:OVERPRICED AND OVERBUILT: CANADIAN HOUSING

依勒特

During Canada’s “Housing Boom”, which ran roughly
from 2002 to 2008, unsustainable price increases drove
unsustainable levels of building. Our view is that house
prices exceeded the value of housing that was justified by
fundamentals by approximately 9% nationwide. This
$ K3 G0 I/ u1 T; v: hoverpricing compelled a level of residential construction
! Z2 z4 s/ v- _9 O$ N& pthat exceeded its fundamental-justified level by approximately
12%, an excess that was exaggerated in the past
three years.
( i1 j3 a: W2 B) }0 BBy “overpricing” we mean that prices detached from
1 z9 S9 ^8 e# I  T0 Wtheir fundamentals, as witnessed by a steep erosion of
& [8 P7 m. h# @affordability. The current unwinding of house prices reflects
both a cyclical downturn and a return of house prices
to fundamentally justified levels.
: A3 Y% r0 ~. ?8 _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
( Y5 k* I2 u6 n7 cthere is evidence of both types, we contend that Canada’s
/ M' [" N6 f1 Y  w3 }8 \“overbuilding” was mainly of the first type, where
8 f0 ^# {: k# D* G2 M& e; Ghomebuyers 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
means a deepened slump. This overbuilding will likely weigh
on markets over the next few years. Even as Canada recovers
7 z5 e8 U. P% r, H5 qfrom the cyclical downturn, house price growth will
remain choppy and new residential construction will be
$ Y# X4 K: @4 a+ i5 s& ], V' ?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
125,000 starts over 2009 with a trough around 115,000 units
' A7 G" T' d2 X' `8 e- Zin the fourth quarter.
% [4 I. ?4 P; t6 \8 |3 k) j, `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
6 w8 t2 @! @2 J$ c0 ~values since house prices should track incomes over the
long-run. Since homebuilders build to meet demand, we
regard housing prices and household formation as the drivers
of residential construction.
6 R4 A! G& n0 q" P( Z0 L  JTo examine the degree of overbuilding, we employ a
) m" g6 c& `& M' a5 F. _4 ~0 v5 F“counter-factual,” asking what level of residential construction
/ g9 J" N6 D% u4 m5 cwould have occurred if housing had been priced
% @: K' u8 G& E) \* |. O6 coptimally. We find that actual homebuilding exceeded this
2 I" n5 A2 |/ V3 r# c3 J" @5 vfundamental-justified level by about 12%. Although new
units were being absorbed, homebuyers simply bought too
2 }$ J9 \' q1 o. g  f( l  gmany houses at prices that exceeded fundamentals.
/ Z( e& r3 t4 }( X4 a4 A5 }( CRegionally, we see the greatest strains on the Prairies,
% L0 l4 n% s) d  _3 Y, kwhere housing demand will further contract under waning
7 u- ~5 J' C  e- {$ }" J! [" ]population inflows. Saskatoon, Calgary and Edmonton are
, x  M% [" E' l' h. M6 D4 ialready 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
* ], `8 D- ~" h& ~" qhas been relatively balanced but, while not plagued by structural
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
/ b( E- ~- A- L0 b  mMontréal – but recent building has been relatively balanced,
given the province’s history of under-building and low ownership
; d3 w+ R! n- ?  s4 ?; Trates. While Ontario homebuilding will reel from a
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
, N5 m& \) ?; M  uconstruction mean that record numbers of condos will
" }3 g  {1 L  @: rreach completion during 2009. If absorption rates fall, as
% e- A) S0 p, x3 f; v( I% gcyclical factors would indicate, condo inventories could
. X6 N& J, O8 W8 a% J, u. N5 tspike severely – particularly in Vancouver. However, while
residential construction in B.C. will definitely droop, we
- ~# |: T+ p. _" Janticipate that the West Coast will continue to benefit from
! s% g* D% x8 t0 b& `inter-provincial and international migration over the coming
5 d4 N( N5 }- Myears, which, along with improvements in affordability,
will alleviate some of the pressure from overbuilding.
; G3 n/ ]. p1 H5 D( ?2 X+ _OVERPRICED AND OVERBUILT: CANADIAN HOUSING
MARKET RETURNS TO FUNDAMENTALS
2 ^! r( B+ e% i/ u* VGrant Bishop, Economist
416-982-8063
  V: o* ^1 I  K% i+ d* ~Pascal Gauthier, Economist
3 }3 Y8 g% ?, W. {0 `# g; @4 O416-944-5730

$ ^7 \4 y) |0 B/ X) phttp://www.td.com/economics/special/gb0409_housing_exec.pdf

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