Investors, relax. According to a new report from Re/Max, their 2013 Outlook that was just released, the doom and gloom crowd just doesn’t have their facts right. The housing market in Canada is not likely to go into a full cardiac arrest. If anything it will be a long, slow ride as prices and inventory stabilizes. Those waiting for a crash in Vancouver real estate prices could be waiting for a long time.
Gurinder Sandhu who is from the Ontario-Atlantic Canada Re/Max office, the regional director in fact, noted that the sky is just not falling. Chicken Little is not calling the shots. Sales of homes have slowed down a bit, but are still in healthy territory.
By December 31st of 2012, sales nationwide are expected to decrease by an additional one percent. Then in 2013 sales are expected to moderate. Even if the recent change of mortgage rules still has an effect, there is still an expectation that 454,000 homes will sell during 2013.
The Re/Max report gathered data from 26 markets, all dispelling the crash and burn theory. Things looked at included interest rates, immigration trends and population growth, all of which got positive reviews. While sales activity in Vancouver is expected to pull back a bit, Alberta and Saskatchewan are expected to pick up the sales pace.
Those thinking about investing should consider that in many parts of the country rental vacancy rates have decreased while rents have increased. This is particularly true for places like Edmonton and Calgary which have the oil sands in their backyard. The jobs are there and more and more people are coming to town to fill them. The most recent change in mortgage rules has also put homeownership out of reach for more people, thus increasing the need for rentals.
According to Yahoo News, the listed average price of a detached property in Canada is predicted to be around $365,000 this year. While we can only dream of this in Vancouver, it is still an increase in the overall average in the country. Predictions range from remaining the same to increasing a percent or two in line with inflation.