Scotiabank is forecasting that Canadian housing starts will fall to 155,000 units this year, below long term replacement demand, and far below the 211,056 units registered in 2008.
"The housing boom is clearly over, and if anything, that's an understatement," said Scotiabank economist Adrienne Warren.
Soper said the Canadian market has in the past been driven by Generation X and first time buyers who have "largely checked out."
"This is a generation that has been much more comfortable than their parents with mortgages," said Soper at the conference. "But they have checked out in large numbers. They're living at home, they're renting, they don't have to buy."
