Trying to time the housing market after the rate cut? What experts advise

globalnews.ca:

This article is part of Global News’ Home School series, which provides Canadians the basics they need to know about the housing market that were not taught in school.

Borrowing costs are starting to drop after the Bank of Canada’s first interest rate cut of the cycle, spurring speculation from all corners of the housing market about how buyers and sellers will react.

The Bank of Canada’s quarter-point cut earlier this month marks a turning point for the housing market, which has cooled significantly from the pandemic-era frenzy that saw rock-bottom interest rates open the door to a fresh crop of buyers.

The ensuing rate-hike cycle boxed out many would-be buyers who either couldn’t qualify or were waiting to see where home prices settled before jumping into the market themselves.

Clay Jarvis, real estate expert at NerdWallet Canada, tells Global News that the idea of “timing the market” usually sees “savvy, experienced” buyers try to capitalize on softening home prices in a quiet period, jumping in ahead of the rush to get the best deal with little competition.

Many housing markets across the country have indeed been slowing this spring, data from the Canadian Real Estate Association released earlier this week showed. Insiders at CREA said the question that will determine how busy the rest of the year will be comes down to how far and how fast the Bank of Canada’s easing cycle proceeds.

Polling from Ipsos conducted exclusively for Global News backs that up. Among non-owners surveyed after the central bank’s rate cut this month, some 63 per cent said they’d need to see more easing before they got off the sidelines and into the market.

But Davelle Morrison, real estate broker with Bosley Real Estate in Toronto, says that