Canada's Housing Affordability Hits Worst Levels in a Generation, IMF Says

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has reported that housing affordability in Canada is at its lowest in a generation. Despite overall economic stability and a "soft landing" for the Canadian economy, supply struggles to keep pace with increasing demand.

Key Points:

• Affordability Crisis: The IMF highlights a severe disparity between housing supply and demand, exacerbated by ambitious immigration targets.
• Economic Context: Canada's economy shows stability with improved inflation rates and avoided recession, but affordability issues persist.
• Projections: The IMF expects a slight increase in real GDP growth, driven by monetary policy adjustments, eased fiscal policy, and ongoing immigration.
• Recommendations: The IMF calls for a tighter fiscal stance, better supervision of nonbank financial institutions, and enhanced efforts to boost housing supply across all levels of government.

Next Steps: The IMF stresses that all levels of government need to address the significant housing gap to improve affordability.