The Windsor-Essex County Association of Realtors says the housing market is expected to be active this fall, driven by new investments and immigration.
WECAR released the fall 2023 Windsor-Essex County real estate market outlook on Monday.
Last week, the Conference Board of Canada predicted that Windsor will be the “exception” to a potential downturn in the broader Canadian economy. Similarly, Windsor realtors are predicting the local real estate market will outperform other parts of the province.
“Windsor and Essex County are experiencing an economic resurgence and that will contribute to a busy housing market this fall,” says WECAR president Mark Lalovich. “We expect demand to increase again driven in part by investments in the Gordie Howe International Bridge and NextStar Energy EV battery plant. These investments are attracting hundreds of workers and new Canadians to our region.”
WECAR says the real estate market activity in Windsor-Essex has been picking up momentum as the year has gone on. Year-over-year sales activity was well below record levels in 2022 through January, February, and March. That changed with the spring market as sales activity increased and July 2023 saw 438 MLS home sales, 1.4% better than 2022 sales activity.WECAR housing stats for Windsor-Essex in 2023. (Source: WECAR)
The number of new listings on the market, however, continues to be challenge. New listings were down 13% year-over-year in July 2023.
“Our biggest challenge heading into the fall continues to be a lack of housing supply on the market. That means fewer options for first-time buyers and baby boomers looking to downsize,” says Krista Gionet, Executive Officer at WECAR. “Windsor is struggling to meet the housing supply targets set by the province. We have to create the conditions to get more homes built so we can welcome the thousands of new workers and jobs coming to our region over the next five years.”
One of the variables impacting the real estate market are interest rates. Interest rates have increased steadily in 2023. The Bank of Canada is scheduled to make an interest rate announcement on September 7th, 2023. The Bank increased its overnight lending rate by 0.25% in July 2023.
“Interest rate increases will have an impact on our market and some buyers and sellers may sit on the sidelines until they know the results of the next rate increase,” said Lalovich. “If you’re looking for information and guidance about how the market is changing or to buy or sell a property this fall, contact a local realtor to get the best advice.”
This fall, WECAR is promoting the importance of working with a local realtor through its “We Bring You Home” campaign.
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.
WECAR housing stats for Windsor-Essex in 2023. (Source: WECAR)
