Foreigners aren't to blame for high house prices

New housing data showing that non-residents account for only a small fraction of the housing stock and claims that these foreigners aren’t to blame for high housing prices have been meet with ridicule and scorn among locals. We think the new data provide additional insight into housing prices. While average home sale prices in the smaller Vancouver market have, to a certain extent, been influenced by sales to foreigners, the same cannot be said for the larger Toronto market. Overall, we still firmly believe that excessive credit growth has been the primary driver of high housing prices.