Canada’s housing outlook varies wildly by region – and property quality
The good news is that homebuying activity hasn’t fallen off a cliff and the economy remains resilient despite the enormous headwinds it’s faced since the beginning of last year. The labour market added 75,000 jobs last month, a much better return than expected, as the unemployment rate slipped to its lowest level for two years.
And while the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) has downgraded its forecast for national home sales, some mortgage industry members are reporting a brisk pace of activity even with prospective buyers facing steep challenges.
Sarah Albert (pictured top), a New Brunswick-based broker with Premiere Mortgage Centre, told Canadian Mortgage Professional activity was muted in spring after an encouraging start to the year, partly because of the outbreak of the US-Iran war and huge question marks over its likely economic impact.
“When that war started, our fixed rates all went up,” she said. “Clients were like, ‘Hey, I could get 3.79% and now it’s 4.09%. What’s going on?’ It was really busy in January and February and then it just fell off a ledge. And now it’s on fire again.”
Competition remains strong for higher-quality product
For many markets, demand is also concentrated in higher-quality properties, with inventory of a lower calibre or wrong price point often taking much longer to shift.
