This is an interesting chart from the Globe and Mail. It shows GDP, Gross Domestic Savings (how much a country's residents and businesses save), Gross Fixed Capital Formation (technical term for investments in productive long-term assets), and the share of total investment going into housing for the 20 largest economies in the world.

One of the key takeaways from the chart is that Canada invests the most into residential real estate (figures are from 2024). Now, I'm not an economist, but the risk here is that we are tying up too much of our capital in housing, as opposed to investing in new ideas, emerging tech, and the future. And this imbalance could help explain why Canada has had weak productivity growth for decades.

Housing demand should be a byproduct of a strong economy; simply building housing won't drive an economy forward on its own. And I say this as a developer of housing.

Cover photo by Roshan Raj on Unsplash

Table via the Globe and Mail

This is an interesting chart from the Globe and Mail. It shows GDP, Gross Domestic Savings (how much a country's residents and businesses save), Gross Fixed Capital Formation (technical term for investments in productive long-term assets), and the share of total investment going into housing for the 20 largest economies in the world.

One of the key takeaways from the chart is that Canada invests the most into residential real estate (figures are from 2024). Now, I'm not an economist, but the risk here is that we are tying up too much of our capital in housing, as opposed to investing in new ideas, emerging tech, and the future. And this imbalance could help explain why Canada has had weak productivity growth for decades.

Housing demand should be a byproduct of a strong economy; simply building housing won't drive an economy forward on its own. And I say this as a developer of housing.

Cover photo by Roshan Raj on Unsplash

Table via the Globe and Mail