The Medicine Hat real estate market saw sales remain steady and house prices rise in 2020 following dire predictions about the effect of the coronavirus pandemic on economic confidence.–NEWS PHOTO COLLIN GALLANT
Medicine Hat’s real estate market managed to make gains in 2020, but largely missed an unexpected updraft in activity that lifted Canadian home values beyond all expectation in a pandemic year, said the new president of the Medicine Hat Real Estate Board.
“There’s some uncertainty still in the province and the world, obviously, but we (in Medicine Hat) were a lot more consistent with sales,” said Frank Devine, who took over the post on Jan. 1. “That’s what you want. It is better for everybody.”
He credited low interest rates, attitudes of home buyers and Medicine Hat being relatively insulated from major job losses as the drivers of the market in 2020.
Year-end statistics for the local real estate board released this month show price gains for single-family homes on a typical number of sales – easily beating worst-case scenarios envisioned in the spring.
Some observers felt a steep drop in economic activity caused by the pandemic and lingering recovery would lead to major price reductions as stressed sellers sought to move properties.
Or, fewer sales generally would result from uncertainty about the economic outlook or job security.
Realtors were also hampered in holding open houses, or cancelled them entirely, like the local board did in December, to meet health protocols.
However, Canadian homebuyers responded to the pandemic by closing deals at prices higher.
The Canadian Real Estate Association stated this week that across Canada housing prices rose nearly 14 per cent, driven by major eastern centres. But even the regional gains in Calgary and Edmonton were around five per cent.
In Medicine Hat, year-end figures for 2020 show a steady number of sales of detached homes but at eight per cent higher value. That brought the average selling price of a single-family home in 2020 to $322,500.
Year-to-year comparisons are difficult because the local board changed its reporting format in the summer.
However, a higher number of sales in both semi-detached and row housing showed mixed results on pricing, while the condo market saw results edge lower from 2019.
The average price for a semi-detached unit sale closing price rose to $276,500, the town home’s fell to $199,500, and the average condo came in at $168,600.
At the same time, inventory on the market rose in classes outside the traditional home and lot, while those residences sold faster than new listings came on.
That is a likely result of preference changes away from more communal living environments, said Devine.
“The apartment-style housing may continue to suffer,” said Devine, stating that the fear of a huge number of homes coming on the market as the economy soured didn’t materialize.
As well, new home buyers were likely encouraged to get their situations settled.
“I think the bigger effect on the market will be low interest rates,” said Devine. “Here, you can literally buy a house and live in it for less than the cost of an apartment.”
Economists predict that prolonged periods of low interest rates may need to kindle economic activity coming out of the pandemic. To this point the lending rates have sunk below levels once thought to be the cellar floor. The nation’s best five-year closed rate was a measly 1.64 per cent, though the average was closer to 3.3 per cent. The average of floating rates was 2.4 per cent, the lowest in at least five years.
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.
MONTREAL – The Quebec Professional Association of Real Estate Brokers says Montreal-area home sales rose 9.3 per cent in August compared with the same month last year, with levels slightly higher than the historical average for this time of year.
The association says home sales in the region totalled 2,991 for the month, up from 2,737 in August 2023.
The median price for all housing types was up year-over-year, led by a six per cent increase for the price of a plex at $763,000 last month.
The median price for a single-family home rose 5.2 per cent to $590,000 and the median price for a condominium rose 4.4 per cent to $407,100.
QPAREB market analysis director Charles Brant says the strength of the Montreal resale market contrasts with declines in many other Canadian cities struggling with higher levels of household debt, lower savings and diminishing purchasing power.
Active listings for August jumped 18 per cent compared with a year earlier to 17,200, while new listings rose 1.7 per cent to 4,840.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 6, 2024.
The Medicine Hat real estate market saw sales remain steady and house prices rise in 2020 following dire predictions about the effect of the coronavirus pandemic on economic confidence.–NEWS PHOTO COLLIN GALLANT
