Re/Max Predicts Tight Housing Inventory Levels
Real estate agency Re/Max has released a new report warning that there will not be enough homes for home buyers in the coming months. The convergence of several factors – Jim Flaherty’s new mortgage rules, the prospect of rising interest rates and a harmonized sales tax in some provinces – is prompting home buyers to move quickly.
The report, which analyzed real estate activity in 16 Canadian markets, found that unusually brisk January sales figures have depleted listings in over 80% of the markets surveyed.
Not surprisingly, the markets showing the tightest inventory levels are:
- Toronto
- Kitchener-Waterloo
- Ottawa
- Victoria
- Greater Vancouver
Nevertheless, some market observers believe that the housing market could cool later this year as the above factors come into play.
The problem remains that there just doesn’t seem to be enough houses for the amount of buyers in the market. This is likely to cause bidding wars and to further drive up the price of available housing.
