Home prices in the Greater Toronto Area are expected to slide once again next year, according to a new report from one of the country’s largest real estate brokerages.
In a report published on Tuesday, Re/Max said it is predicting prices to dip in the GTA by three per cent in 2024. This comes as the average sale price dropped by 5.9 per cent in 2023.
While a price decline is in the forecast, a surge in home sales is also expected. According to the brokers and agents surveyed for the report, home sales in the GTA are expected to rise by more than 10 per cent next year. This uptick follows a 13.5 per cent drop in sales in 2023.
“Not unlike other regions across the country, inflation and the interest rate environment has had the largest impact on homeowners across the GTA, and this is expected to remain prevalent into 2024, Cameron Forbes, CEO and General Manager/Broker at RE/MAX Realtron Realty Inc., said in a written statement.
“This has forced many buyers and sellers to take a ‘wait-and-see’ approach in the latter half of 2023. Given this, activity is poised to increase through the year with the anticipated plateauing and reduction in interest rates.”
A series of interest rate hikes by the Bank of Canada over the last two years has led borrowing costs to skyrocket for many current and prospective homeowners, leading to period of lower sales activity. Some experts are predicting that the Bank of Canada could begin cutting interest rates as early as the second quarter of 2024.
While Toronto has typically been a “seller’s market,” it is expected to transition to a “buyers/ balanced market” next year, the report notes.
“The GTA market is anticipated to gain balance in 2024 but is also expected to favour buyers at certain points of the year,” according to the report.
“Considering the interest rate environment and the cost of living this year, housing market conditions in 2023 have fluctuated. As interest rates have recently paused, many markets are stabilizing with several regions in Ontario (61 per cent), expected to remain unchanged in 2024 from their current market conditions.”
According to the report, Niagara, Mississauga, Durham Region, Brampton, Grand Bend, North Bay, Muskoka, Haliburton, and Kingston are among the Ontario regions that are currently considered to be “buyers’ markets.”
Hamilton and Burlington have experienced “varying conditions throughout the year,” the report notes, but both have “shifted toward buyer’s markets in Q4 of 2023.”
“Looking ahead to next year, Mississauga, Brampton, Simcoe County, Muskoka and Haliburton are likely to balance out,” the report states.
Re/Max is predicting prices to rise by an average of 0.5 per cent nationally in 2024.
“The slower market we’ve been experiencing across the country this fall could be an early indicator of an active 2024, as reflected in the modest price increase and sales outlook for next year, and the balancing of conditions in several regions across the country,” Christopher Alexander, president of Re/Max Canada, said in a written statement.
The average price of a home across all property types in the GTA peaked at $1,334,062 in February 2022, according to data from the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board.
The latest data from October suggests that the average price in the GTA now stands at 1,125,928 after a 3.5 per cent increase over the previous 12 months.
HALIFAX – A village of tiny homes is set to open next month in a Halifax suburb, the latest project by the provincial government to address homelessness.
Located in Lower Sackville, N.S., the tiny home community will house up to 34 people when the first 26 units open Nov. 4.
Another 35 people are scheduled to move in when construction on another 29 units should be complete in December, under a partnership between the province, the Halifax Regional Municipality, United Way Halifax, The Shaw Group and Dexter Construction.
The province invested $9.4 million to build the village and will contribute $935,000 annually for operating costs.
Residents have been chosen from a list of people experiencing homelessness maintained by the Affordable Housing Association of Nova Scotia.
They will pay rent that is tied to their income for a unit that is fully furnished with a private bathroom, shower and a kitchen equipped with a cooktop, small fridge and microwave.
The Atlantic Community Shelters Society will also provide support to residents, ranging from counselling and mental health supports to employment and educational services.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 24, 2024.
Housing affordability is a key issue in the provincial election campaign in British Columbia, particularly in major centres.
Here are some statistics about housing in B.C. from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s 2024 Rental Market Report, issued in January, and the B.C. Real Estate Association’s August 2024 report.
Average residential home price in B.C.: $938,500
Average price in greater Vancouver (2024 year to date): $1,304,438
Average price in greater Victoria (2024 year to date): $979,103
Average price in the Okanagan (2024 year to date): $748,015
Average two-bedroom purpose-built rental in Vancouver: $2,181
Average two-bedroom purpose-built rental in Victoria: $1,839
Average two-bedroom purpose-built rental in Canada: $1,359
Rental vacancy rate in Vancouver: 0.9 per cent
How much more do new renters in Vancouver pay compared with renters who have occupied their home for at least a year: 27 per cent
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2024.
VANCOUVER – Voters along the south coast of British Columbia who have not cast their ballots yet will have to contend with heavy rain and high winds from an incoming atmospheric river weather system on election day.
Environment Canada says the weather system will bring prolonged heavy rain to Metro Vancouver, the Sunshine Coast, Fraser Valley, Howe Sound, Whistler and Vancouver Island starting Friday.
The agency says strong winds with gusts up to 80 kilometres an hour will also develop on Saturday — the day thousands are expected to go to the polls across B.C. — in parts of Vancouver Island and Metro Vancouver.
Wednesday was the last day for advance voting, which started on Oct. 10.
More than 180,000 voters cast their votes Wednesday — the most ever on an advance voting day in B.C., beating the record set just days earlier on Oct. 10 of more than 170,000 votes.
Environment Canada says voters in the area of the atmospheric river can expect around 70 millimetres of precipitation generally and up to 100 millimetres along the coastal mountains, while parts of Vancouver Island could see as much as 200 millimetres of rainfall for the weekend.
An atmospheric river system in November 2021 created severe flooding and landslides that at one point severed most rail links between Vancouver’s port and the rest of Canada while inundating communities in the Fraser Valley and B.C. Interior.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2024.
