Canada is not close to restoring housing affordability, says central bank

Kitco Media
By Reuters
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Reuters
Canada is not close to restoring housing affordability, says central bank teaser image

OTTAWA, Oct 1 (Reuters) - Canada is on the right track to addressing the issue of housing affordability but ​still has a way to go and needs ‌more time, senior Bank of Canada deputy governor Carolyn Rogers said on Thursday.

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Restoring affordability will require more supply, better planning and infrastructure, regulations ​that protect resilience, and incentives that do not ​add demand to a market already short on supply, ⁠she told a business audience in Victoria, British Columbia.

Here ​are the highlights of her speech:

* As house prices go ​up they push rents higher as well as limit people's ability to buy, but at the same time if prices fall it shrinks ​the overall household wealth. "It feels a bit like a ​trap," she said.

* The affordability goal has to be a mix of ‌policy ⁠which could increase supply, protect resilience and reduce the economy's dependence on rising house prices.

* "We're on the right track on many of these things, but we have a way to ​go and ​it will take ⁠time," she said.
* Monetary policy can influence demand across the economy, including demand for housing, ​but it is too blunt a tool ​to deal ⁠with affordability issues

* There are no simple fixes to the monetary policy framework that can help

* The BoC needs to ⁠explain ​these trade-offs better and be clear ​with Canadians about what monetary policy can and cannot do, she said.

(Reporting by ​Promit Mukherjee, editing by David Ljunggren)

((Reuters Ottawa editorial; david.ljunggren@tr.com, opens new tab))

Keywords: CANADA CENBANK/

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