[URBAN NOTE] “Speculation likely still driving up house prices in B.C., Toronto, Hamilton, CMHC says”

And so, as CBC reports, the housing boom in Canada’s cities goes on.

Three months after issuing its first red warning on the state of the country’s housing market, CMHC said Thursday that strong evidence of “problematic” conditions nationally have continued for a second consecutive quarter.

The federal agency said in its latest quarterly market analysis that those conditions persisted due to overvaluation and price acceleration.

CMHC said its assessment largely accounts for market conditions in Vancouver and Toronto, where strong price growth has been spreading to other areas.

“Price acceleration in Vancouver, Victoria, Toronto and Hamilton indicates that home price growth may be driven by speculation as it is outpacing what economic fundamentals like migration, employment and income can support,” said Bob Dugan, the agency’s chief economist.