Richard Florida writes that Canadians great love for homebuying (with a greater home ownership rate than even the U.S.) could be economically instable.
While Florida agrees that homeowners are good for communities, the tying up of all those Canadian dollars in homes means a lack of investment in other markets.
He writes, "A study by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas in 1998, well before the boom and bust, found the U.S. had over-invested in housing relative to other forms of capital since 1929. It has drained off capital from productivity improvement, innovation, medical technology, software or alternative energy: sectors that could drive growth well into the future.
Here as well, housing sucks up a huge share of national capital that should go to support innovation and new industries."
FULL STORY: Housebound: why owning a home can be bad for Canada
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