Some of us are still feeling rich because of the housing boom in parts of the country, which should mean we’re going to spend.

But only to a point. And only in certain cities.

What all of this means, according to Toronto-Dominion Bank, is that markets for new and existing homes should continue to help prop up Canada’s flagging economy until mid-2016.

TD economist Diana Petramala looked at both the levels of housing starts and resale numbers.

While construction starts slipped in January, for the second month in a row, the “trend level” has been steady at an annual pace of about 200,000 since September, she said.

“As such, every house started will boost real GDP for the following four quarters,” Ms. Petramala noted.

“New home construction should contribute positively to real GDP growth at least for the next six months even as housing starts edge down over the course of 2016.”

Then there’s the resale market, and numbers suggesting “that the Toronto and Vancouver housing party rolled into the new year, offsetting what has been extreme weakness in commodity-heavy markets.”

That plays out in two ways: First, home buyers generally spend “significantly more” in the year after a purchase to renovate and buy furniture.

Then there’s the “feel richer” aspect from rising property values, which spurs home buyers to spend, particularly on big things, Ms. Petramala said, citing the fact that auto sales hit a record last year.

Housing, said Moody’s Analytics economist Adam Goldin, accounts for much more than stocks in terms of Canadian wealth, climbing as a proportion of assets of households to 44 per cent in 2012 from 38 per cent in 1999.

“With house price growth still holding firm, thick homeowner equity cushions are likely to support consumer spending through the short-term volatility of stock market returns.”

Ms. Petramala believes home price increases will ease as the year wears on amid higher mortgage rates and new federal restrictions that just came into effect.

Just yesterday, too, B.C. unveiled tax changes in its latest budget to cool down housing.

And the story is different across the country, largely because of the boom in Toronto and Vancouver, and the oil-related troubles in Alberta.

The national average sale price across Canada rose 17 per cent in January from a year earlier, the Canadian Real Estate Association said yesterday. But if you strip out British Columbia and Ontario, average prices actually dipped by 0.3 per cent.

“We expect increasingly strained affordability will begin to slow demand in the booming Toronto and Vancouver markets – which together account for 25 to 30 per cent of national sales,” said Adrienne Warren of Bank of Nova Scotia.

“Meanwhile, weak employment and income prospects and reduced migration inflows will likely keep downward pressure on home sales and prices in Canada’s oil-producing provinces.”

Here, by the way, is the latest look at Canadian markets from BMO Nesbitt Burns.

The strongest in Canada is, of course, Vancouver, said BMO senior economist Robert Kavcic. The weakest is “quite simply, any city or region exposed to oil prices.”