JosefHanus via Getty Images An aerial view of Burnaby, B.C., in the Greater Vancouver area, with New Westminster in the background.

The Greater Toronto and Greater Vancouver housing markets are growing tighter, and that could mean a return to rapid house price growth, a new report says. In a report issued Thursday, Capital Economics noted that the supply of homes on the market is shrinking, even as buyers are returning, pointing to stronger house price growth. “The recent jump in the home sales-to-new listings ratio seems to point to a renewed period of rapid house price gains, which would normally be matched by a pick-up in consumption growth,” senior Canada economist Stephen Brown wrote. Watch: How Canada’s housing market is impacting jobs. Story continues below.

But Canadians’ high debt loads mean they won’t be spending much more, at least over the next year or so, Brown added, and that will also limit how much house prices will be able to rise. The Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) reported Thursday that home sales in the metro area jumped 22 per cent compared to the same month a year earlier, though that is still below the 2016 peak for the month. Meanwhile, Greater Vancouver saw home sales soar 46.3 per cent, compared to the same month a year earlier, though sales levels were very low last year. The big jump in sales brings things back in line with their historic average, the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) said. “We’re seeing more balanced housing market conditions over the last three months compared to what we saw at this time last year. Home buyers are more willing to make offers today, particularly in the townhome and apartment markets.” the board’s president, Ashley Smith, said in a statement.