RE/MAX says that its analysis of housing markets that are similar to Canada’s – such as parts of Europe – found that, in some cases, demand for homes was higher than pre-lockdown and increased from a year ago.
“The market has definitely seen a steep decline in the volume of transactions in the last few months, but in much of Canada, transactions have been happening and prices in particular have been resilient. Now that economies are beginning to re-open across the country and in light of some of the recent activity we’ve seen in various cities across Canada, as well as in certain European and US markets, we anticipate that demand could begin to improve much faster than we initially anticipated at the beginning of COVID-19,” said Christopher Alexander, executive vice president and regional director, RE/MAX of Ontario-Atlantic Canada.
Regional variations
Real estate is regional of course, but Alexander added that some parts of Canada are already seeing more positive signs following the decimation of sales during the lockdown.
“Regions such as Toronto, Ottawa, and Vancouver are excellent examples, and are already experiencing an uptick in activity and the number of multiple-offer scenarios, pointing to a post-lockdown housing market outlook that is not nearly as dire as some suggested,” he said.
Nationwide, as restrictions ease, market activity is already on the upswing with the Canadian Real Estate Association’s May 2020 data revealing national home sales up 56.9% from April, with the number of newly listed properties up 69% month-over-month.
