For example, the housing price index in Greater Vancouver increased 16 per cent year over year, while prices in Fraser Valley were up 30.3 per cent.
At the onset of the pandemic in 2020, many housing market forecasts painted doom and gloom by projecting sales and prices to decline.
To forecast the future, one must first predict the past or, at the very least, determine why the gloomy housing market forecasts have proven to be so drastically wrong.
Intelligent forecasters would have correctly anticipated the impact of quantitative easing and lower interest rates on housing markets.
COVID-19 drastically increased the demand for homeownership and, as a result, working from home increased the intrinsic value of housing.
Although that was slightly lower than the 79 per cent recorded in October, suggesting a slight decline in demand relative to supply, it was still much higher than the long-term average of 54.9 per cent.
Moreover, the demand for housing will get an additional boost as immigration flows are expected to resume and the economy shows more profound signs of recovery.
Interest rates are expected to rise, but their impact on housing prices is likely to be modest.
During a health and economic crisis, the strength and resilience of Canadian housing markets should have been a welcome sign.
Improving homeownership prospects for low- and mid-income households should be the goal for future government interventions.
We have enabled email notifications—you will now receive an email if you receive a reply to your comment, there is an update to a comment thread you follow or if a user you follow comments.
This website uses cookies to personalize your content , and allows us to analyze our traffic.