The prospects for Canadian mortgage and housing markets are likely to remain muted as we move from 2010 into 2011, according to the numbers and projections recently released by the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), the Toronto Sun reports.
The CREA projects that “(w)eak economic and jobs growth, muted consumer confidence and rising interest rates will likely hold back Canada’s property market in 2011,” according to the Sun; while “home sales are forecast to drop an additional 9% to 402,500 units next year.”
“Average home prices are on track to rise 3.1% this year to $330,200,” according to the CREA’s revised projections, “slightly lower than the 3.5% gain” previously forecast; while further “modest price gains are expected in 2011, except in B.C., Alberta and Ontario.” The CREA projects that housing prices in B.C. and Ontario “could drop roughly 1.3% to $326,000,” due in large part to the exhaustion of the pent-up demand witnessed in both provinces during the first half of 2010.
Both home sales and MLS listings “have swung widely in recent months, but the balance of supply and demand remains balanced,’ according to the CREA.
Nevertheless, both home mortgage and housing markets are likely to be affected by a further drop in demand as we move into 2011. “Weak economic and jobs growth, muted consumer confidence and rising interest rates will likely hold back Canada’s property market in 2011,” according to the CREA, with home sales “forecast to drop an additional 9% to 402,500 units next year.”
