‘COVID catalyst’ to keep driving housing market: Soper | RENX

“I believe it will cause policymakers, central banks Bank of Canada to pause in their battle against inflation.

The brokerage forecasts the median prices of a single-family detached property and condominium will increase 11 per cent and eight per cent next year, respectively.

People’s homes have become their offices and kids’ schools, and with entertainment curtailed, their restaurants and movie theatres for an extended period during the pandemic, he notes.

However, while many Canadians would like to have large single-family homes, economic reality dictates otherwise.

The GTA is the only region where condominium price appreciation is forecast to outpace that of detached homes, according to Royal LePage.

Canada is also the third-largest host of foreign students in the world, Soper says.

In addition, while there are short-term question marks around the latest variant, employment in the travel, tourism, entertainment and food and beverage sectors should continue a long-term recovery.

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