{
  "title": "Canada’s Housing Market Slowdown",
  "publication": "IMF Blog, August 7, 2019",
  "sourceUrl": "https://www.imf.org/en/blogs/articles/2019/08/07/canadas-housing-market-slowdown",
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  "summary": "Following a period of escalating prices, Canada’s housing market is cooling.",
  "sections": [
    {
      "heading": "Overview",
      "content": "- Following a period of escalating prices, Canada’s housing market is cooling.\n- Credit (photo: vkyryl/iStock by Getty Images)\n- Chart of the Week — Financial sector risk\n- The Editors — August 7, 2019"
    },
    {
      "heading": "Housing market developments",
      "content": "- Residential mortgage credit slowed to just 3.4 percent annual growth in December 2018.\n- Nationwide, house prices are 2.5 percent lower than the peak in mid-2018.\n- Prices in most major cities have stabilized; in Toronto and Vancouver, declines in house prices reduced speculative “froth” but prices remain overvalued."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Financial stability and policy measures",
      "content": "- Policies designed to strengthen financial stability included more stringent tests of borrowers’ ability to repay their loans and higher interest rates, which together made mortgage financing more expensive.\n- These measures succeeded in containing housing-related financial stability risks to some extent.\n- The stock of household debt remains high at 176 percent of disposable income."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Risks and scenarios",
      "content": "- The IMF noted persistent housing market imbalances remain a key domestic risk factor.\n- A sharp reversal in housing market prices, particularly if accompanied by a rise in unemployment and a collapse in people’s consumption, could spark additional risks to financial stability and growth."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Key statistics",
      "content": "- Residential mortgage credit growth: 3.4 percent (annual, December 2018)\n- Nationwide house prices: 2.5 percent lower than peak in mid-2018\n- Household debt: 176 percent of disposable income\n\nCanada’s Housing Market Slowdown — The Editors, August 7, 2019\n\n---\n\n\n References\n\n- https://www.imf.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Canada-Chart-1.png\n- https://www.imf.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/eng-june-20-canada2.jpg\n- Canadian economy\n\nSource: https://www.imf.org/en/blogs/articles/2019/08/07/canadas-housing-market-slowdown"
    }
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    "Authors: The Editors",
    "Published: August 7, 2019",
    "Following a period of escalating prices, Canada’s housing market is cooling.",
    "Credit (photo: vkyryl/iStock by Getty Images)",
    "Chart of the Week — Financial sector risk",
    "The Editors — August 7, 2019",
    "Residential mortgage credit slowed to just 3.4 percent annual growth in December 2018.",
    "Nationwide, house prices are 2.5 percent lower than the peak in mid-2018.",
    "Prices in most major cities have stabilized; in Toronto and Vancouver, declines in house prices reduced speculative “froth” but prices remain overvalued.",
    "Policies designed to strengthen financial stability included more stringent tests of borrowers’ ability to repay their loans and higher interest rates, which together made mortgage financing more expensive.",
    "These measures succeeded in containing housing-related financial stability risks to some extent.",
    "The stock of household debt remains high at 176 percent of disposable income.",
    "The IMF noted persistent housing market imbalances remain a key domestic risk factor.",
    "A sharp reversal in housing market prices, particularly if accompanied by a rise in unemployment and a collapse in people’s consumption, could spark additional risks to financial stability and growth.",
    "Residential mortgage credit growth: 3.4 percent (annual, December 2018)",
    "Nationwide house prices: 2.5 percent lower than peak in mid-2018",
    "Household debt: 176 percent of disposable income",
    "[https://www.imf.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Canada-Chart-1.png](https://www.imf.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Canada-Chart-1.png)",
    "[https://www.imf.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/eng-june-20-canada2.jpg](https://www.imf.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/eng-june-20-canada2.jpg)",
    "[Canadian economy](https://www.imf.org/en/Countries/CAN)"
  ],
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