The pandemic put the brakes on the real estate market in March.
The Durham Region Association of Realtors (DRAR) reported a shift in the housing market in March due to the outbreak of COVID-19, fielding only serious buyers and a shortage of new listings.
DRAR president Vicki Sweeny reports there were 1,101 residential transactions in Durham for all of March.
The housing market began to experience a shift in the middle of March when COVID-19 first appeared in the province.
Local real estate agent Wade Kovacic has witnessed these market shifts.
“In January it started to take off and in February we had multiple offers coming in, with lots of calls to list in March, however, once it all hit, the brakes went on,” says Kovacic.
Overall, Kovacic notes the amount of showings have gone way down since mid-March, “but serious buyers, the people who needed to move, they are still out looking,” he adds.
Most of Kovacic’s listings have been from before the outbreak of the virus, so safety wasn’t much of a concern, however, he says, “I’m starting to get calls now, they want to move for whatever reason, so I’m just asking more questions – have you been anywhere, do you have any symptoms,” he says, adding while can still do showings, “I try to do as much as I can online.”
DRAR has also recommended all realtors stop conducting in-person open houses, and also avoid in-person meetings.
“During these unprecedented times, it is imperative as a community we follow measures to protect our families, clients and the most vulnerable at this time,” said Sweeney. “REALTORS® have been deemed an essential service during this government shutdown. That does not mean realtors should be operating under the assumption business as usual.”
While the provincial government has deemed realtors an essential service, it is only for when they are needed by clients who are mid-transaction, and also need to buy or sell their homes for a number of necessary reasons.
“As a society we are experiencing extraordinary times, changing how we work and live. Realtors have been using virtual open houses and tools to assist their clients while keeping the health of everyone involved as the utmost priority,” said Sweeney. “I know collectively we are leaders, involved in supporting our communities through volunteerism and service. It is important to continue this now more than ever.”
DRAR states the impact of the pandemic on the housing market will be evident in the coming months. Kovacic echoes this statement.
“If it doesn’t go on for too much longer, we’re going to be able to bounce back, but if it persists, the ripple effect is going to be huge,” says Kovacic. “The longer this lasts, the longer people are going to be hurting.”
TORONTO – One expert predicts Ottawa‘s changes to mortgage rules will help spur demand among potential homebuyers but says policies aimed at driving new supply are needed to address the “core issues” facing the market.
The federal government’s changes, set to come into force mid-December, include a higher price cap for insured mortgages to allow more people to qualify for a mortgage with less than a 20 per cent down payment.
The government will also expand its 30-year mortgage amortization to include first-time homebuyers buying any type of home, as well as anybody buying a newly built home.
CIBC Capital Markets deputy chief economist Benjamin Tal calls it a “significant” move likely to accelerate the recovery of the housing market, a process already underway as interest rates have begun to fall.
However, he says in a note that policymakers should aim to “prevent that from becoming too much of a good thing” through policies geared toward the supply side.
Tal says the main issue is the lack of supply available to respond to Canada’s rapidly increasing population, particularly in major cities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17,2024.
OTTAWA – The Canadian Real Estate Association says the number of homes sold in August fell compared with a year ago as the market remained largely stuck in a holding pattern despite borrowing costs beginning to come down.
The association says the number of homes sold in August fell 2.1 per cent compared with the same month last year.
On a seasonally adjusted month-over-month basis, national home sales edged up 1.3 per cent from July.
CREA senior economist Shaun Cathcart says that with forecasts of lower interest rates throughout the rest of this year and into 2025, “it makes sense that prospective buyers might continue to hold off for improved affordability, especially since prices are still well behaved in most of the country.”
The national average sale price for August amounted to $649,100, a 0.1 per cent increase compared with a year earlier.
The number of newly listed properties was up 1.1 per cent month-over-month.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
MONTREAL – Two Quebec real estate brokers are facing fines and years-long suspensions for submitting bogus offers on homes to drive up prices during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Christine Girouard has been suspended for 14 years and her business partner, Jonathan Dauphinais-Fortin, has been suspended for nine years after Quebec’s authority of real estate brokerage found they used fake bids to get buyers to raise their offers.
Girouard is a well-known broker who previously starred on a Quebec reality show that follows top real estate agents in the province.
She is facing a fine of $50,000, while Dauphinais-Fortin has been fined $10,000.
The two brokers were suspended in May 2023 after La Presse published an article about their practices.
One buyer ended up paying $40,000 more than his initial offer in 2022 after Girouard and Dauphinais-Fortin concocted a second bid on the house he wanted to buy.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
