I'd suggest that you take a look at the technical version of the paper; it was written with people like you in mind. This seemed like the best solution given the complexity of the topic on the one hand, and CCPA's space constraints on the other.

github.com/nikoblock0/N...

In any case, this article is about changes in property values over the long run, not rent. As I'm sure you are aware, property values have a major long-term influence on rents, but the short-term pricing dynamics between the two are fairly different.

I would argue that it is much more meaningful to show how rent changes in relation to income, rather than CPI.

Can you tell me where these graphs were published? I am curious to know about the mechanics of the inflation adjustment in the change in rent. As you probably know, the cost of shelter is a big part of CPI, so this may be deflating rent partially by itself.

Anyone wishing to explore my analysis in greater detail can read the technical version on Github. My source data and Stata code are also posted there.

github.com/nikoblock0/N...

The trends strongly indicate that financialization, and not population, has been the dominant driver of housing inflation. This means that Canadian policymakers should seriously consider regulatory reform of the banking sector.

For the purposes of this analysis, I define the financialization of housing as an inflationary tendency induced jointly by banks’ desire to expand mortgage lending and buyers’ confidence that the value of their properties will rise.

Finally, debt has skyrocketed as well, roughly paralleling home price. The household sector's total debt relative to its income was 0.6 in 1976, and rose to 1.5 in 2023.

Meanwhile, dwellings per capita have also risen dramatically, from 290 per thousand people in 1971 to 403 in 2023.

Housing inflation has been steep. I estimate that the cost of a benchmark single-family home relative to the median family income has risen from 2.8 in 1976 to 6.7 in 2023. (Data are from StatsCan, CREA, and the Macrohistory Database.)

If adding supply were the "the key to restoring affordability" as CMHC claims, then we should expect to see evidence that increases in dwellings per capita lower prices over time. But data reveal the opposite trend.

The numbers don’t lie: The housing crisis is not caused by a supply shortage - CCPA Financialization, not demographics, caused the cost of housing to explode

My analysis for @policyalternatives.ca shows that arguments about immigration and "supply shortages" cannot explain housing inflation in Canada.

#cdnpoli #housing #financialization

www.policyalternatives.ca/news-researc...

New in Perspectives Journal: @nikoblock.bsky.social explains why Canada’s corporate tax system is too weak, too complex, and too generous — costing public revenue and deepening inequality.

It's time for a real debate on tax fairness.

Read more ⤵️
perspectivesjournal.ca/corporate-ta...

Neither Carney nor Singh have offered a coherent strategy to break this pattern. For there to be any hope of progress under the next government, the NDP needs to bring more ambitious ideas forward and pose a credible threat to the Liberals.

Since 2000, rising oil prices boosted the value of the CAD, which has undermined other every other area of Canadian manufacturing. The overall losses relative to the supposed economic gains of oil are astonishing.

I give a quick rundown of Canadian political economy and the "staples trap", then recap a key arg from @jimbostanford.bsky.social: that the Canadian dollar's tightening linkage to oil has given us a case of Dutch disease.

In a nutshell: If Canada wants to become more self-reliant then it needs to rebuild its manufacturing sector, which has been profoundly undermined by the oil sands.

Canada’s Oil Habit Is Wrecking Its Future Canada’s climate plans are a PR front for a carbon-export economy: its oil sands are distorting the economy and derailing any hope for transition. The country’s upcoming election reveals how far leade...

For anyone wondering how this election fits into the major themes in Canadian political economy, here's an analysis I wrote for @jacobinmagazin.bsky.social
jacobin.com/2025/04/cana...