Royal LePage Q4 2019 House Price Survey
Canadians can expect a vibrant spring real estate market, with home prices rising modestly.
Royal LePage recommends a regional approach to mortgage stress test if the federal government goes ahead with changes in 2020
- Home prices increase 2.2 percent in Q4 as buyers continue to move off the sidelines
- Greater Toronto Area home prices heat up as demand outstrips supply
- Greater Montreal Area sees the strongest appreciation rate in almost a decade
- For what is believed to be the last time this business cycle, Greater Vancouver home prices decline year-over-year — and stabilize on a quarterly basis
TORONTO, January 9, 2020 – According to the Royal LePage House Price Survey released today, the aggregate[1] price of a home in Canada increased 2.2 percent year-over-year to $648,544 in the fourth quarter of 2019. Similar to the third quarter, potential buyers are continuing to come back to the real estate market. In the first half of 2019, buyers had remained largely at the sidelines waiting to gauge the potential impact of the federal mortgage stress test.
“We have successfully navigated the first significant national housing market correction since the Great Recession a decade ago,” said Phil Soper, president, and CEO, Royal LePage. “While the drop in the number of properties bought and sold during the 2018-19 downturn was large, the value of homes in Canada held up remarkably well, with only minor, single-digit declines in the areas of Ontario and B.C. that had experienced the most aggressive price inflation in recent years, and of course those regions still suffering from a downturn in the oil and gas sector.
“The federal government has signaled that changes could come to the mortgage stress test mechanism in 2020,” said Soper. “The stress test pushed people out of real estate markets across Canada temporarily. For the most part, buyers have adjusted, yet it still represents a significant hurdle as families pursue the dream of owning their own home.”
Soper added that the impact of the regulations-driven drop in demand is felt very differently in different parts of the country.
Read the FULL REPORT
