Real estate signage is shown in Oakville, Ont., on May 11.Richard Buchan/The Canadian Press
Canada’s national real estate association has slashed its sales forecast for the year following slower-than-expected activity in the spring.
Sales are now expected to increase by 6.1 per cent to 472,395 transactions from 2023 to 2024, according to July forecast from the Canadian Real Estate Association, or CREA. That’s less than the association’s April prediction that annual sales would climb 10.5 per cent when it looked like the market was starting to ramp up after months of weak activity.
Now with more homeowners putting their properties up for sale, CREA said the number of listings has built up more than expected. Even though that means more choice for buyers, they have “remained on the sidelines,” CREA said.
Keisha Johnson, a mortgage broker with RTS Mortgage Financial in the Toronto region, said her clients are not facing much competition as they search for a new home. She said the only thing that might encourage buyers is lower interest rates. “The current monthly payments are just too high,” she said.
Although the Bank of Canada lowered its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 4.75 per cent early June, buyers did not rush back into the market.
The typical home price in Toronto, the country’s most populated city, is more than $1-million and many borrowers either do not qualify for a large enough mortgage or are unable to afford the monthly payments.
Additionally, the interest rate cut only had an immediate effect on variable-rate mortgages, which are currently more expensive than fixed-rate mortgages and have been falling out of favour with borrowers.
New listings have been on the rise since December, with numbers climbing another 1.5 per cent from May to June after removing seasonal influences, according to CREA. That pushed up the number of active listings by .05 per cent over the same month.
Toronto-Dominion Bank economist Rishi Sondhi speculated that perhaps homeowners were trying to list their properties in June before the higher capital-gains tax took effect June 25. But in order for a homeowner to pay the lower tax, they would have had to close before that date.
The latest data from CREA show that sales rose 3.7 per cent from May to June on a seasonally adjusted basis, while the average price fell by 0.4 per cent to $696,179 over the same time period. The average price was 1.6 per cent lower compared with a year ago.
CREA also cut its price forecast for the year. It now expects the average price to increase by 2.5 per cent to $694,393 from 2023 to 2024. Its previous forecast was for the average home price to increase by 4.9 per cent.
Although sales picked up last month, CREA does not expect a torrid end to the year.
“The second half of 2024 is widely expected to see the beginnings of a slow and gradual return of buyers into the housing market,” CREA chair James Mabey said in a news release.
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.
