[dangerwill]

It's not a function of density, there are plenty of incredibly dense cities in Europe and Asia that don't have anything like the price inflation of Canada. Canada has a) not been building nearly enough housing (same story as the US, UK, Australia, NZ, etc) to keep up with demand and b) their version of fannie mae/freddie mac is fully part of the government instead of a private/public thing. In 2008 the Canadian government just allowed people to borrow more to keep home prices intact instead of the US where there was a big drop as the bottom of the market fell out.

And the Canadian government since has continued letting people leverage themselves harder and harder so the market doesn't dip. That is how modest homes are selling for over a million CAD. The US is in the same trajectory but with higher salaries and the dip in 2008 we are just 5-10 years behind Canada on this.

See also the UK now allowing for mortgages to be passed on to the children of the home buyer, so that the term length can exceed a human lifetime, so as to not explode the monthly payment.

[dukeyukey]

> See also the UK now allowing for mortgages to be passed on to the children of the home buyer

Are you sure that's true? I googled it it and it looks like the Johnson Government floated the idea but I can't see anything saying it's now a thing. And we've got two Prime Ministers since then.

[dangerwill]

Ah sorry, I remembered the news about this plan but the latest is from 2022 so maybe that never got implemented. And ha, I once heard someone refer to 2022 as the year of the three Prime Ministers

[FalconSensei]

I'm not saying that's all the reason. But the thing - and another commenter mentioned - is that you kinda HAVE to live in one of those few cities if you want to work in a top company, or don't hate your live because of the winter.

Whereas in the US you have way more options.

We are building in Canada, but because of local regulations and just the fact that everybody wants to live in those few 3 or 4 major cities, it's way more difficult. Prices in other cities are WAY more reasonable.

[dangerwill]

Japan has 3x the population of Canada (125 million vs 38 million). The corridor from Toronto to Quebec is about (eyeballing this) 50% of Japan's land area, with the greater metro areas of Vancouver, Winnipeg, and Calgary probably adding up to another 15-25% of Japan's land area. If you had Japanese style land use you could fit 2-3x more people in the existing large metro areas of Canada

[tivert]

> If you had Japanese style land use you could fit 2-3x more people in the existing large metro areas of Canada

If you built high-rise dorms or tiny apartments, you could probably fit even more.

https://www.designboom.com/design/brownstone-shared-housing-...

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/03/business/tiny-apartments-...

[kneebonian]

> See also the UK now allowing for mortgages to be passed on to the children of the home buyer, so that the term length can exceed a human lifetime, so as to not explode the monthly payment.

This is horrifying that anyone even considered this. That is 100% a straight up return to serfdom. If things get that bad I suggest we take a page out of the French revolutionaries and the IRA on the proper way to respond.

[seanmcdirmid]

> This is horrifying that anyone even considered this.

The mortgage can be passed on to children, they aren't being forced on them.

My sister got lucky when my dad died that they let her assume the mortgage they took out together on their house. Not having that option would have been difficult for her, because she really wouldn't qualify for one by herself, and the payments on the home were less than it would be to rent something equivalent.

Actually, why not make this an option: children can assume the mortgages of properties they inherit from their parents? Because it isn't automatic right now, even if they are joint on the mortgage already.

[dukeyukey]

This doesn't exist right now, and in the form it did, it's up to the child to take it. A parent can't force debt on you like that.

Honestly, why do you think they could?