In a strongly worded response, CIBC Deputy Economist Benjamin Tal is criticizing individuals who compare the current state of the Canadian real estate market as similar to what happened to the United States in 2008. In a report from business.financial.post.com, the report, which he co-authored with fellow senior CIBC economist Andrew Grantham, belittled the analogy made between the 2015 Canadian market and the 2008 US market.
The report read, "We purposely did not compare the current situation in Canada to the US market in 2006. That would be setting the bar too low. Comparing Canada to the pre-crisis US market is not only wrong but also irresponsible. And looking at Canada in absolute terms reveals a multidimensional market and differing directions at the same time."
They also said that there is still a possibility that Canada's domestic housing market would overshoot its goals. The two took potshots at the issue that foreign investment in the local housing market caused many issues currently being faced, as they saw how the reaction was with speculative activities being done in the market.
The reaction has snowballed, as reported by vancouversun.com. There was even a rally held with a hundred or so in attendance, where calls for transparency in governance, as the protestors wanted to see what was the extent of foreign investment was in the Vancouver housing market.
Amongst the most vociferous of the protestors is Eveline Xia, who had started the discussion on housing affordability with her social media hashtag #donthave1million. She said, "With mounting evidence from academics, overwhelming anecdotal evidence from the public and sympathetic realtors, and even statements from the Chinese envoy to Vancouver, we know there is something bigger going on that's pushing Vancouver's housing to unbelievable heights."
She added, "Now dislocated from the local economy, and even beyond reach of doctors and engineers, limited land, low interest rates and the beauty of this city just can't be the only explanation."