Home sales fell flat in many major Canadian markets last month, and experts are forecasting more of the same for the rest of the year.
But that’s not to say that Canadians aren’t aspiring to purchase. According to a new national survey conducted by Dye & Durham Corporation, 10% expect to revisit their buying and selling plans within the next year. (Comparatively, over the past 12 months, just 5% of Canadians say they have bought or sold a home.)
As well, 8% of first-time homebuyers say they expect to realize their purchasing plans in the next 12 months (compared to just 4% who have purchased their first home over the past 12 months).
Although these figures seem to indicate that the real estate market is approaching a place of recovery, it’s also tough to predict how purchasing ability will be implicated over the next 12 months. Economic indicators have been a bit of a mixed bag as of late — inflation, for instance, edged up 4% year over year last month — and without clear proof that the economy is slowing, another rate hike at some point down the line can’t be ruled out.
Amid the broader uncertainty, 23% of Canadians say they will hold off on purchasing a home until interest rates come down, while 24% say they will wait for home prices to come down.
“It’s clear that many Canadians have been feeling pinched by this high interest rate environment and have seen their purchasing power throttled over the past year,” says Martha Vallance, Chief Operating Officer for Dye & Durham.
“However, as rates begin to hold — and eventually decline — we expect to see a significant upswing in areas like real estate transactions.”
