Canadian House Price Increases Poised to Continue Thru Year End

July 21st, 2008 Categories: Real Estate

Royal LePage’s just released House Price Survey is predicting average Canadian home prices will be up 3.5% in 2008, including the Vancouver market.

In Vancouver, a spike in inventory during the second quarter simmered the heat in the long-standing hot market, resulting in single-digit average house prices increases for most areas examined, when compared to this time past year. Despite the increase in listing volumes, buyer’s interest remained strong and it is anticipated that much of the inventory will be absorbed over the next few quarters, leading to low single digit price appreciations through to the year’s end.

Canada’s real estate market is poised to maintain the momentum gained from a solid second quarter through to the end of 2008, with Regina set to experience the greatest rise in house prices. While home prices are expected to appreciate in all but two major markets during the year, activity levels across the country are expected to decline from 2007’s record-setting pace, as pent-up demand is satisfied and some buyers retreat to the sidelines in the face of increasing economic uncertainty, according to a House Price Survey and Market Survey Forecast report released today by Royal LePage Real Estate Services.

During the second quarter, average house prices rose across most of the country with rates of appreciation easing from the dramatic spikes that were observed in 2006 and 2007. Continued robust demand led to strong double-digit gains in Saskatchewan, Winnipeg and St. John’s; while a surge in inventory caused Alberta’s white-hot market to record the country’s only major-market price decreases.

“Canada’s resale housing market proved resilient in the second quarter. In fact, we have been pleasantly surprised that strong fundamentals, such as enduringly positive employment numbers and reasonable mortgage rates, have countered increasingly pessimistic consumer sentiment, based primarily on the American housing recession,” said Phil Soper, president and chief executive officer, Royal LePage Real Estate Services.

Added Soper: “After several years characterized by a persistent shortage of listings, home buyers have felt the pressure of bidding wars and take-it-or-leave-it counter offers ease during 2008; home sellers have had to come to grips with the longer time it is taking to sell properties, but can take comfort in a market that continues to support reasonable price increases. Our research indicates that all markets will continue to perform well, albeit at a tempered pace.”

The national average house price is forecast to rise by 3.5 per cent, to $318,000 by the year’s end. Home sale transactions are projected to decrease by 11.5 per cent to 461,000 unit sales by the end of 2008.

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This entry was posted on Monday, July 21st, 2008 at 3:06 pm and is filed under Real Estate. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.