One of Canada’s leading real estate brokers, Royal LePage Real Estate Services, says that buyers will have more choice in the coming months while housing prices cool off towards the end of 2010.
Royal LePage released it’s housing survey for the second half of 2010 and says sellers may expect less offers when they list their homes.
“We have seen an unusual pattern of activity in the housing market over the past 12 months, with the market experiencing a surge of activity and price increases that peaked in the fall of 2009 rather than spring. Early 2010 has followed a more typical seasonal pattern with prices and activity peaking in the second quarter,” said president of Royal LePage Real Estate Services Phil Soper in a press release. “An expected increase in the supply of homes on the market will now bring stabilization in prices and in some cities we will see both prices and unit sales decline towards the end of the year. This should not be interpreted as a severe correction but rather a natural reaction to the market having peaked quite early this year.”
The next 18 months are predicted to be more stable. By the end of 2010, home prices are also predicted to rise about 6.8 per cent from the same time later year. The number of home sales is expected to increase just one per cent.
The heated market earlier this year was attributed to all of the different industry and regulatory changes, as well as rising impending interest rates, the new mortgage rules and the HST.
“Anecdotal evidence suggests that these factors may have prompted an increase in housing market activity in early 2010, as people sought to get out ahead of the changes,” he said. “Moving into the next six months, key economic indicators such as employment growth will continue to bolster consumer confidence and help to ensure a fundamentally healthy housing market. Home prices will remain flat or decline slightly in most cities, but will be more likely to hold their value or increase in energy-producing economies such as Alberta.”
