Global Housing

The similarities between the Canadian and Australian governments concerning immigration and housing are astounding.

The largest immigration-driven population boom in Canadian history created the country’s worst ever rental crisis.

According to Statistics Canada, the country’s population increased by a record 1,273,000 people in the year ending March 2024, representing a growth rate of 3.2%.

There were so many ways to take the news, momentous as it was.

The latest population data from Statistics Canada was startling, with the country’s population surging by 1,273,000 people in the year to March 2024, representing a growth rate of 3.2%: The National Bank of Canada described the population numbers as a “demographic heat dome”, with “atmospheric temperatures dialed up to downright dangerous levels”.

MB has repeatedly shown that record net overseas migration (NOM) is behind Australia’s rental crisis.

This month, Canada recorded its largest population increase in history, with 1.27 million residents added in 2023.

Young Canadians squeezed by housing are turning away from Justin Trudeau’s left-leaning Liberal Party: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was elected in 2015 with the support of younger Canadians drawn to his optimistic messaging and socially progressive values.

Australia is experiencing one of the most significant housing shortages in history, following population growth of 660,000 in the year to September 2023 and net dwelling additions of only 156,000 over the same period.

The media in Australia and around the world were enthralled last year by a study showing that ‘upzoning’ planning amendments introduced in Auckland in 2016 had a substantial impact on lowering property prices.

The National Bank of Canada has released some stunning charts on the rental crisis gripping Canada following the biggest immigration-fueled population explosion in the nation’s history, which saw the nation’s population grow by 1.25 million people in a single year.

Australia’s YIMBY movement argues that if policymakers simply upzoned suburbs, thereby permitting high-density apartment developments everywhere, then the nation’s housing affordability crisis would magically resolve.

The media in Australia and across the world were enamoured last year with research claiming that ‘upzoning’ planning reforms implemented in Auckland in 2016 had a significant impact on lowering house costs.

The primary cause of Australia’s current rental crisis is obvious: the record surge in the nation’s net overseas migration, which saw an unprecedented 518,000 net migrants land in 2022-23: This surge in population demand has driven rental vacancy rates to historical lows, while driving rental prices to the moon.

Arguably, the biggest accomplishment of the Albanese Labor Government has been delivering the worst rental and homelessness crisis in living memory. The Albanese government has lifted net overseas migration to an estimated record high 500,000, driven by surging temporary migration (mostly foreign students).

The latest Demographia housing affordability survey ranks New Zealand as having one of the most expensive housing markets in the world when median house prices are compared against median household incomes: This follows a decade of hyper house price growth across New Zealand.

One of the biggest accomplishments of Australia’s Albanese Labor Government has been the worst rental and homelessness crisis in living history.

Bloomberg has released a video report on YouTube claiming that “Australia’s housing crisis is a warning for the world” (video below): “Alarms are going off in Sydney, known as Australia’s bellwether property market.

Independent economist, Tarric Brooker, has published an interesting chart on Twitter showing how “the ramp up in migration has supported housing prices in Canada, New Zealand and Australia”: The chart uses the month Auckland, Sydney and Toronto house prices bottomed as the base or month 0.