Canada

I found this interesting, but not at all surprising:

Bowers' view is partly based on what happened in the U.K., where the government introduced a program that gave first-time homebuyers in London "generous" down payment grants.

When the program was later assessed, Bowers explained, they found the prices of starter homes had gone up by the exact amount of the government subsidy, essentially wiping out any affordability gains.

CMHC says the focus right now must be on increasing the number of available homes, since a shortage is what's driving prices higher. "What you need to do is make more supply and make it a more balanced market and have more housing at different price points, so that people don't have to spend so much money on mortgage debt."

Sounds reasonable to me. Allowing people to sign up for 30, 40, 50 year mortgages isn't the solution to increasing housing costs.

CMHC doing something right. Wooooo