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Conditions are broken down into four categories, overheating, price acceleration, overvaluation and overbuilding. Each category gets a weak, moderate or strong rating and 15 centres are studied with an overall rating and then further overall rating produced for the country.

Five of the 15 received a red label for their overall category, down from six cities a quarter ago. Regina has been lowered to moderate evidence of overall problematic conditions but Saskatoon remains labelled red along with the two Ontario and two British Columbia markets mentioned by Dugan.

The Ontario government announced moved last week to cool the housing markets in the Greater Golden Horseshoe which includes both Hamilton and Toronto. Among the changes brought in were a 15 per cent tax on foreign buyers purchasing in the GGH, subject to certain exemptions.

“It’s difficult to say because these measures are very new,” said Dugan, about what impact Ontario’s plan will have on the market. The province is also imposing stricter rent control rules and changes it hopes will boost supply like a tax on vacant land. “I would say in Toronto, it is definitely a centre where we can identify strong evidence of problematic conditions. This is the eighth consecutive report which we have flagged overall market conditions in Toronto as being problematic.”

CMHC says there is strong evidence of problematic conditions in both Toronto and Hamilton, when it comes to overvaluation, but weak evidence of overbuilding. Builders and the province have sparred over the new regulations. Some in the real estate industry maintain provincial regulations have driven supply shortages to a point that March average resale prices in the Greater Toronto Area were up 33 per cent year over year.