FRAUD? WHAT FRAUD?
So, Canadian real estate. Yeah. The prices in Canadian residential real estate went from an already obscene high in 2020 to a peak 40% higher in 2022. (By contrast, Australia, another one of the hottest housing markets on the planet, only grew by 25% at this time.) Such a large jump in such a short period resulted in wacky valuations — within the context of a supremely screwball marketplace built on insane valuations. As a result, the credit ratings giant Fitch Ratings has estimated Canadian real estate to be 29% overvalued. (They also highlighted significant risk in Canada’s mortgage bond market...) Along with that the agency assessed monthly payments on fixed rate mortgages rose an average of $300 while variable rates shot up an average of $700. All of this comes at a time when the Canadian credit bureau and global data and analytics company Equifax tells us Canadian consumer debt climbed to $2.36 trillion, up 7.3% since previous reporting (which is huge) and with both credit limits and payment delinquencies reaching record highs. All of this means that, on top of mortgages (!), Canadians have an average personal debt load of $21,000 (!!), while their largest investment is likely worth far less than its assessed value. (!!!)
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