Real Estate Market
Canadian housing has reached its previous peak and entered a period of declining house prices, reduced home sales, and generally weaker market conditions. This change was precipitated by tightening interest rates by the Bank of Canada and falling affordability; its effects have been particularly marked in overvalued markets like Toronto and Vancouver, where mortgage rates have significantly increased since earlier peaks were reached.
As a result, prospective buyers are becoming more wary and less inclined to purchase. New listings have declined dramatically while sales activity has fallen significantly – combined with rising mortgage interest rates, this environment could eventually cause a dramatic reduction in national median house prices.
However, factors like a slowing economy, falling interest rates, strong job markets, increased household savings, and immigration all work to soften the effects of market corrections and prevent complete market crashes. We anticipate reaching the bottom in Spring 2023.
Recent evidence indicates prospective buyers have begun re-engaging in the housing market. For instance, the MLS benchmark price – which tracks average home prices across the nation – rose slightly between February and March; the sales-to-new listings ratio increased to 63.5 percent – its highest reading in more than one year due to less inventory coming on to market and an uptick in sales activity.
Real Estate Agents
Finding an agent who meets your needs when buying or selling real estate can be essential to finding success. A knowledgeable agent will guide you through every stage of the home-buying or selling process; to find your perfect match, use REW’s Agent Finder to narrow your search results by location and agent type – and quickly narrow them further with reviews, contact details, and photos for each.
These top realtors in Canada are harnessing social media’s power to attract buyers and sellers. By prioritizing clients over advertising themselves as property experts, these realtors offer helpful tips for anyone in the market to buy or sell real estate.
Dwight Grange stands out as an outstanding realtor to follow on Twitter. His full-service boutique agency has become one of the industry leaders, while his Twitter feed contains invaluable real estate advice for everyone.
Daniella Aitken stands out among the top agents to follow on social media due to her informative and humorous posts on social media platforms, earning her over 1,000 followers on social media alone. Additionally, she uses Instagram to show off beautiful real estate listings and celebrate Bedford, Nova Scotia culture.
PropertyGuys’ Ken LeBlanc of Toronto provides home-selling services to homeowners. His Twitter is filled with helpful tips for those in the market for buying or renovating a new home or renovating an existing one.
Buyers
Canada’s two-year ban on foreign buyers of residential property was enacted on Jan. 1. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau ran his party on the idea that Canada’s desirability attracted profiteers and investors who bought homes as investments, pushing prices out of reach of most local people.
But this ban is creating considerable confusion and pain among real estate professionals who specialize in Canada, yet now find themselves without anywhere to turn. Real estate professionals specializing in Canadian real estate know it intimately; those with years of experience building inventory and connections will be most heavily affected. Meanwhile, Canadians hoping to enter the housing market but unable to due to high prices also are feeling adversely impacted by this decision.
