MarketWatch asks if Vancouver has a housing bubble

Mostly a mood piece. Reporter asks self question, calls a few folks on the rolodex, submits to editor.

Does ultra-pricey Vancouver have a housing bubble?

Patti Croft, who recently retired as Chief Economist at RBC Global Asset Management,  recently wrote a column in the Toronto Globe and Mail stating that one of the key metrics she uses in determining whether there’s a housing bubble is affordability.  She cites the latest RBCHousing Affordability Measure showing that affordability has again “deteriorated” in the red-hot Vancouver market.

She says these data show that home ownership costs for an average two-storey home in Vancouver account for a whopping 83 percent of household income. No, that’s not a misprint.