Posthaste: How detached home prices sparked a rally in some of Canada's major housing markets this year
Detached home prices fell early this year, but an influx of buyers looking to take advantage of cooling valuations ultimately pushed prices back up in some of Canada’s hottest housing markets, though not to year-ago levels, a new report from Re/Max Canada says.
The Toronto, Vancouver and Fraser Valley, B.C., markets all saw a surge in homebuying activity as prices of detached homes fell substantially in the first quarter of the year, Re/Max said in its report. That renewed demand, combined with a shortage of listings, ending up putting upward pressure on prices in the second quarter.
The flurry of activity wasn’t enough to reverse price declines completely, however. Re/Max said valuations of almost 93 per cent of detached homes in Toronto, Vancouver and Fraser Valley fell in the first half of the year, compared to the same time in 2022.
But losses were only in the single digits in 43 per cent of the 82 neighbourhood markets Re/Max surveyed. And some did experience gains. For example, prices of detached homes in a number of central Toronto neighbourhoods were up 16 per cent. In the Greater Vancouver Area, prices in the Gulf Islands climbed 13 per cent.
“Anxious homebuyers were quick to identify the bottom of the market and jumped in with both feet in the second quarter of the year,” Christopher Alexander, president of Ra/Max Canada, said. “The short burst of homebuying activity clearly underscored the resilience of the housing market.”
Buyers on the hunt for affordability set their sights on more reasonably priced detached homes under $2 million in the second quarter, Alexander said. That pushed sales to more than double between the first and second quarter in Toronto, Vancouver and Fraser Valley.
Price-conscious
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