Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
250
Vancouver
Toronto
200
Victoria
150
Hamilton
Ottawa
100
Calgary
Montreal
Halifax
50
0
1971
1975
1980
1985
1990
1995
Year
Figure 5.7
MLS real house prices in eight Canadian CMAs, 1971-96 (Ley and Tutchener 2001, reprinted
by permission of Taylor & Francis Ltd)
are unexpected, for the conventional view is that large cities have diversified
economies that balance out trade cycles and avoid the exaggerated oscillations
of less complex economies. Such frontier-style boom and bust episodes seem
anomalies in the primate cities of mature economies - unless of course
Australia's primate city has the status of a one-dimensional town at the scale
of global capital flows. The profiles of house price changes in eight major
Canadian cities, measured from Multiple Listing Service (MLS) sources,
have closely followed the Australian model (Ley and Tutchener 2001).
Examining the trajectories of real prices over the 1971-96 period three prin-
cipal trends are evident (Figure 5.7). First, whether graphed in real (1986)
or nominal dollars, there is broadening variation among Canadian cities.
A narrow range in average house prices in 1971 has widened considerably
over the succeeding quarter century. In some cities, notably Montreal and
Halifax, there was almost no change in real prices over this period after dis-
counting general inflationary pressures. In contrast Vancouver and Toronto -
and the nearby secondary cities of Victoria and Hamilton that recorded a
spill-over effect from their larger neighbours - experienced substantial price
increases between 1971 and 1996. Second, aside from a brief but dramatic
