The Canadian housing market is the most overvalued in the developed world, according to Deutsche Bank’s top international economist.
Homes are 63 per cent overvalued and Canadians are falling deeper into debt because of it, according to a report from Deutsche Bank AG’s Torsten Slok. That puts Canada ahead of second-place New Zealand (56 per cent) and Belgium (53 per cent).
Slok released a series of damning charts this week comparing Canada’s housing market to other countries in the developed world, including the United States.
One chart titled ‘Canada is in serious trouble’ shows the average Canadian household debt is well above average income, and 50 per cent above current levels in the United States. That accumulated debt includes mortgages, non-mortgage loans and consumer credit.
Deutsche Bank pegs Canada’s household debt at about 150 per cent of household income. However, Statistics Canada numbers released in December put Canadian household debt at 162.6 per cent, meaning Canadians owe $1.63 for every dollar of disposable income they receive.
High household debt contributed to the bursting of the U.S. housing bubble eight years ago, when banks were unable to collect on the massive mortgages they handed out. That plunged the U.S. into a deep recession from which it is still recovering.
