As interest rate decision looms, here’s what to expect in the fall housing market
Canada’s housing market could face a chill this fall as prospective buyers and sellers wait to see where the Bank of Canada’s interest rate path will head, according to new polling released Tuesday.
Re/Max Canada said in a report that based on current market conditions, home prices are expected to remain flat nationally from August until the end of the year, according to surveys of the brokerage’s own agents.
A lack of available inventory in most housing markets and interest rates sitting at their highest levels in more than 20 years are expected to combine for a “softer” market this fall, Re/Max’s report said.
Uncertainty about where the Bank of Canada’s policy rate heads next — the central bank’s next decision is set for Wednesday — continues to guide many decisions among buyers and sellers, Re/Max polling shows.
The brokerage tapped Leger to survey more than 1,500 Canadians in July after the Bank of Canada’s quarter-point rate hike that month.
One in three respondents who were interested in buying or selling a home in the next 12 months indicated they’d wait to see how interest rate changes play out before acting.
A little over half (51 per cent), meanwhile, said further rate increases this year would not change their financial situation or affect their plans to buy or sell.
All told, one in 10 Canadians are planning to buy a home in the next 12 months, according to Re/Max.
Despite an overall decline in national housing prices since the pandemic-era market’s peak in February 2022, affordability challenges continue to box many young Canadians out of home ownership.
Re/Max said a lack of affordable housing inventory is leading 55 per cent of Gen Z respondents (aged 18-28) and 49 per cent of millennials (aged 29-43) to
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