8 april 2010

“The amount of home sales in Vancouver and Toronto is a sign of a significant degree of market irrationality”, said Phil Soper, president and chief executive of Royal LePage Real Estate Services. “Montreal became an example of a city where the market was much more stable and homeowners there seem quite satisfied with the relatively slow pace of growth”.
The report showed three house price trends. The first was the “roller coaster” effect in Toronto, Vancouver and Victoria. Then there were the “non-stop growth” areas where housing markets were stable and quite modest during the economic downturn, including Halifax, Ottawa, Regina, Winnipeg, Saint John. Lastly were the “level markets” where prices stayed almost unchanged. These are: Calgary, Edmonton, Moncton and Montreal.
In spite of price and sales jumps in most cities, Soper expects calmer activity in the next few months.
“The inevitable rise of interest rates and home price appreciation will rein in demand as affordability erodes,” he said. “The house prices may continue to rise, but the rate of appreciation should ebb steadily, month by month, as balance returns to the industry”.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.