Real eState

B.C. Real Estate: Rising interest rates lead to slower sales and dropping home prices – Vancouver Sun

Published

2 years ago

July 12, 2022

The slowdown in sales appears to be having an effect on prices, which have started trending downwards, according to BCREA data.

Real estate markets in B.C. are slowing down due to higher interest rates. Photo by Azin Ghaffari/Postmedia files

High mortgage rates are slowing down real estate markets across the province as interest rates continue their climb from historic lows, said the B.C. Real Estate Association.

In June, 7,136 residential sales were recorded on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS), a decrease of 35.7 per cent compared to last June and a 13 per cent dip compared to the previous month.

In its most recent report released Tuesday, the association said some markets and housing types have tipped into balanced or even buyers’ markets as high interest rates are keeping potential buyers to the sidelines.

“While a still growing economy and robust population growth point to strong demand, it is increasingly difficult to satisfy that demand at current interest rates,” said BCREA chief economist Brendon Ogmundson in a statement. “As a result, sales activity across the province, but especially in more expensive markets, continues to slow.”

The slowdown in sales appears to be having an effect on prices, which have started trending downwards, according to BCREA statistics.

In June, the average residential price in B.C. was pegged at $951,105, a 4.6 per cent increase from the $909,657 recorded last June but down 14 per cent from this year’s highest average price of about $1.1 million in February.

In Greater Vancouver, the average home price is just over $1.2 million, down 9.5 per cent compared to February, while the Fraser Valley’s average price sits at just over $1 million, down 19.5 per cent compared to four months ago.

Some of the most dramatic sales declines have occurred in Chilliwack, which recorded a 54 per cent drop in June sales compared to the previous year.

Powell River (46.3 per cent), the Fraser Valley (43.8 per cent), the Okanagan (38 per cent) and Greater Vancouver (35.5 per cent) are also seeing less buyers close the deal.

The only region to record an increase in sales is South Peace River. It had 59 sales in June, a nine per cent increase from the same month in 2021.

Sales are slowing down despite an increase in the number of active listings: June saw 16.4 per cent higher active listings across the province compared to June 2021, said the BCREA.

In a housing forecast released last May, the BCREA said Canadian interest rates have largely dictated the direction of the housing market.

While the first quarter of 2022 wasn’t too different from the record pace set in 2021 during the pandemic when interest rates fell to all-time lows, the market is now adjusting to rising interest rates, it said.

Home sales are forecast to dip to “historically normal levels” for the rest of 2022 before falling to “slightly below average levels of activity” in 2023.

chchan@postmedia.com

twitter.com/cherylchan

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Real eState

National housing market in ‘holding pattern’ as buyers patient for lower rates: CREA

Published

22 hours ago

September 16, 2024

Anne Joseph

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.

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Real eState

Two Quebec real estate brokers suspended for using fake bids to drive up prices

Published

6 days ago

September 11, 2024

Anne Joseph

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.

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Real eState

Montreal home sales, prices rise in August: real estate board

Published

2 weeks ago

September 6, 2024

Anne Joseph

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.

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