Oh, in the case of canada there's another variable involved: housing quality. The vast majority of the newer buildings they're making are done with poor materials and made by guys with minimal experience in the industry (gotta cut costs somewhere). One of my buddies has been in the construction industry for almost 15 years and did tours of a few of the buildings being put up in vancouver, and according to him these things will be lucky to last the next 10 years without significant foundation issues.