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Don’t count on the Bank of Canada to change its course of gradually higher interest rates because the housing market is weakening. After all, that’s what policy changes, particularly in British Columbia and Ontario, were put in place to do.

(The bubble) has ceased. It has expired and gone to meet its maker

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The Canadian housing bubble — long feared to be vulnerable to a dangerous pop — is no more.

“It has ceased. It has expired and gone to meet its maker,” said Douglas Porter, chief economist at BMO Capital Markets, parroting a famous Monty Python quote. “This is a late bubble. Bereft of life, it rests in peace.”

Canada’s housing market corrected for a fourth consecutive month in July, led by the cooling in Ontario. Yet the declines appear to be moderating, as the 2.1-per-cent monthly drop in nationwide home resales marked a significant moderation from the 6.4-per-cent average rate of decline in the previous two months.

“Housing market developments in July are consistent with our view that Canada’s market is in the process of moderating to a more sustainable level of activity,” said Robert Hogue, senior economist at RBC Capital Markets.