Overview: How bad is the housing market?

Recent figures show Canada's soaring home prices are more than just a Toronto-area problem – and if the real-estate bubble bursts, few parts of the country would escape the economic blow. Home sales across Canada hit a record high in March, with the actual national average price up 8.2 per cent compared with a year ago, and Toronto prices are up a record 33 per cent.

Two big political events are reshaping how provinces and cities respond to the threat of a housing correction. One is the B.C. provincial election, where voters will weigh in on how Christy Clark's Liberal government has handled the housing file. The other was the Ontario government's 16-point plan for overhauling the housing market, released in April, which included a proposed foreign buyers' tax and an expansion of provincial rent-control rues.

Why Toronto’s price shock is Canada’s problem Real estate figures in the country’s largest city are at red-hot levels, and the rest of Canada will ultimately have to pay for it, Barrie McKenna and David Parkinson report.

Report blames Ontario's 2006 growth plan for soaring house prices While units built in the Greater Toronto Area over the past decade were in step with population growth, there has been a dearth of in-demand ‘ground-level’ houses, a Ryerson review says.

Has home affordability actually improved in Vancouver? Two measures suggest significant improvements have yet to occur, Matt Lundy and Tom Cardoso report.

Taxing home sales and foreign speculation

What Ontario is doing: The Ontario government announced a "Fair Housing Plan" that includes a tax on real-estate speculation by non-residents and a B.C.-style tax on vacant homes, which Toronto Mayor John Tory has sought for the city. The province has also started collecting data on prospective home buyers' citizenship status.

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Ontario’s new measures: A 15-per-cent foreign buyers tax and more 2:02

Ontario’s rent and housing reform: 16 big changes, explained in charts On Thursday, Ontario announced it would widen its rent-control rules and take pages from B.C.’s playbook to bring skyrocketing housing prices down. Here are the highlights.

Rob Carrick: What owners and buyers need to know about Ontario’s overhaul Home owners and buyers are going to need an attitude adjustment as rationality seeps back into the country’s hottest real estate market. (for subscribers)

What B.C. has done: What Ontario Finance Minister Charles Sousa has called "property scalping," and what the province's announcement called "paper flipping," differs slightly from what British Columbians came to call "shadow flipping" after a Globe investigation of the practice last year. The B.C. practice involved existing homes, whereas Ontario's measures specifically target pre-construction homes that are sold on assignment before they're finished. In the wake of The Globe's investigation, Ms. Clark's government adopted new measures to curb real-estate speculation. The B.C. government also implemented a foreign buyers' tax and cities new powers to tax vacant homes, which Vancouver has begun to do.

How the foreign buyers tax could endanger B.C.’s housing windfall One of B.C.'s most lucrative sources of revenue, the property transfer tax, is showing signs of weakening, Justine Hunter explains.

Victoria looks to follow Vancouver on foreign-buyers tax Mayor Lisa Helps said the city does not want to target foreign buyers who come to live and work in Victoria, but would like to deter real estate speculators who are not residents, Janet McFarland reports.

Five measures B.C. is watching in Ontario’s real estate overhaul Some of Ontario’s measures will be familiar to British Columbians, but there may also be lessons to learn. Frances Bula investigates.

Unsweetening the deal for buyers

One of the easier measures governments can take is to not introduce any more incentives for first-time home buyers that would keep demand and prices high. At an April 18 meeting, the federal, Ontario and Toronto governments agreed to dial down on policies that stimulate sales, meaning Ottawa and Queen's Park will not expand tax credits or limits on RRSP deductions new home buyers can make for down payments.

No new measures for Toronto home buyers: Finance ministers 1:58

Giving renters a leg up

Ontario's package of housing measures expands the province's formula limiting annual rent increases to all new rental properties, not just those built before 1991, The Globe has learned. But several economists say that rent control isn't the solution to Ontario's housing problem.

Rent asunder: Landlords using evictions, hikes to circumvent rent control, Toronto tenants say A growing number of tenants say their landlords are forcing them out to charge higher rent, according to data from Ontario’s rental-dispute board. Jeff Gray and Tom Cardoso investigate.

What buyers can do

Be careful: Toronto's record-high sales numbers have renewed calls from analysts to think twice about entering the real-estate market. Here's some reading material about the risks involved.

Rob Carrick: Six stunning numbers about Toronto real estate and your personal finances Monthly price increases for resale houses in the city are amazing enough in their own right. But when you look at them in the context of household incomes and budgets, they can blow your mind.

How to lose money in real estate Canada’s booming property market has spawned a cottage industry of small lenders that operate on the fringes of the mortgage business. Tamsin McMahon and Tim Kiladze explain why some of their investors have been left feeling burned.

Don't bet the farm: Can you afford to own a home in Toronto without going into severe debt? Here are some resources to help you figure that out.

The Down Payment Tool: Find out when you’ll be a homeowner How long will it take you to break into the market? Find out with an interactive tool from Christopher Manza, Rob Carrick and Matt Lundy.

Rent responsibly: Even if you decide the housing market isn't for you, the rental market has its pitfalls too. Here are some resources to help you navigate it safely.

Where in Canada can you afford to rent? Try our calculator Do you make up to $50,000 a year? Find out what your ideal affordable Canadian city is.

Gen Y: The 'Can I Afford to Move Out?' Calculator Just over 42 per cent of Canada's young people aged 20 to 29 lived at home with their parents. Can these members of Generation Y accord to move out on their own? This calculator lets you know.

Get informed: The Globe's House Price Data Centre offers detailed and exclusive data about where prices are headed in major cities. Stay tuned to our real estate hub for more news and personal finance advice.

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With reports from The Canadian Press and Globe staff

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