Article content

Canada emerged from the U.S.-led real-estate crash of 2008 largely unscathed, but there are ‘concerning’ signs the country’s economy could be on a worrying path of its own, says the author of “Boombustology” in this Bloomberg Surveillance clip.

“Credit and debt has been rising very rapidly, so the absolute level of household debt is concerning,” Vikram Mansharamani says on the show, noting house prices that collateralize much of that debt have also risen at a fast clip in recent years.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Canada's household debt problem all the more 'concerning' amid collapsing oil prices, expert says Back to video

Vancouver, for instance, was recently ranked the second-least affordable housing market in the world, he says.

What makes these trends all the more concerning right now is the potential economic repercussions of collapsing oil prices and the emergence of a private mortgage market, Mansharamani explains.

“The reason I’m worried about it right now is crude oil prices. The economy has been driven by crude oil.”

Watch the full clip above.