Here we are with just 3 days remaining in 2020, and we’ll skip any and all references to the misfortune that has made this year memorable for all the wrong reasons. We’ve been fortunate to see the real estate market in Canada remain resilient despite the economic struggles resulting from the pandemic, and in fact some places in the country seem to be in an even better place than they were at this time last year when it comes to median home prices.

What’s nice about this is it means that there is increasing value for homeowners to have in their home, and at the other end of the spectrum the Federal Government has introduced the FTHBIA (First Time Home Buyer Income Assistance) program to help people get into the housing market. This then has a positive affect for everyone who works in the business. If it’s a business that YOU are new to as a real estate agent, then we’ll say the same thing again that we’ve said here once a week all year – that our online real estate lead generation service for Canada here at Real Estate Leads is a great choice!

Let’s keep this focused on homes and the real estate market though, and there’s more good news according to industry experts and economists in Canada. Early 2021 may be the best time to buy a home in Canada, and here’s why they’re saying that.

Inventories Rising

There are so many different factors that are going into why there are larger numbers of homes being put onto the market AS A WHOLE in Canada. This doesn’t apply to all cities or locations, but for the country overall there are more homes being listed for sale. Not to the point that the supply and demand equation is anywhere near balanced out, but enough so that there’s a little more in the way of different homes with different features and different price points for people.

Record-Low Interest Rates Continue

Next, there’s the ongoing reality that interest rates continue to be at record lows in Canada. Much of this is by design on the part of the BOC (Bank of Canada) as a means of continuing to stimulate an economic recovery that benefits everyone. In particular, if you’re a prospective homebuyer who has a more the ability to put down a larger down payment on the home than the minimum, then taking advantage of these low interest rates could be hugely beneficial for you.

Getting in Ahead of Economic Recovery and Resumed Demand

We are all anxiously awaiting an economic recovery in this country, and when it comes there will almost certainly be a major uptick in qualified buyers, and this will mean increased competition for homes for sale in Canada. What we can expect to see once this occurs is much more in the way of ‘bidding war’s where homes sell for significantly over asking price. If you’re a would-be buyer who won’t have much in the way of an ability to go above a certain point when it comes to what you’ll pay, then it may be best to make your move in the real estate market sooner rather than later.

Ideal Time for Refitting a Home

Some of you may have clients who will be open to the possibility of buying a home that needs some ‘TLC’, as the expression goes. That means working on the home to improve it and make it either more liveable OR have greater resale value. If that means buying fixtures, appliances, coatings, and pretty much anything and everything else – they may well be paying a much higher price for these items as we get well into 2021.

There IS going to be very serious inflation in the not-too-distant future, and that’s a result of the Federal Government’s massive debt assumption over the last 8 months. Prices on everything will be going up, so keep that in mind if they’ve got their eye on a ‘fixer-upper’ that’s going to need a lot of refits. It may cost them a lot more to restore the home if they don’t do it soon.

Sign up with Real Estate Leads here and receive a monthly quota of qualified, online-generated buyer and / or seller leads that are delivered

One of the most upheaval heavy years of all time is drawing to a close here. One thing that a lot of people would not have foreseen in April was how well the real estate industry in Canada would weather the COVID economic downturn as well as it did. Now that it’s late December there’s a lot of looking ahead just a few weeks into the New Year and wondering if we can expect more resilience from it.

Economists are industry experts have already forecasted a rise in median home prices for Canada next year, and that’s good news for homeowners who are looking to see more equity in their homes. And while that should be the opposite for would-be 1^st time homebuyers, there is the new Liberal FTHBIA plan that is designed to help people like this get into the market.

There’s also a mixed reality for real estate agents in all of that too, as there’s a balance that’s needed to generate the type of environment where the market and business is good to all equally. Real estate is always going to be a competitive business, and that’s why our online real estate lead generation service for Canada is an excellent resource for realtors who want to be as competitive as they can when building their real estate business.

Recent news about home prices, but other news that there are fewer housing starts expected across the country next year speaks to a different perspective on the national real estate market. 

Potential for Stall Out

Q3 for 2020 saw 237,300 housing starts in all of Canada, and that is a 22.2% increase from the 2^nd quarter. Home sales also went up by 93% during this same time frame, bringing home prices up 4%. Those numbers on their own might look promising, but a noticeable deceleration may be just around the corner.

In addition to reduced growth due to the repressing of the economy, we had robust housing demand that continued to rally new home sales and starts until the end of September or so. House price appreciation remained solid because of low inventory and supply bottlenecks.

We should still see housing starts exceeding 2019’s total, but new home sales have decreased and especially in the new condo segment. This should result in fewer housing starts for 2021, and with interest rates staying historically low it’s expected that fewer housing starts are going to be the norm for the next two years. This then connects to rising home prices meaning for affordability woes for some, and – more relevantly to those in the business – softened demand.

There is also the expected additional factors of the government’s massive income support programs winding down and financial institutions tightening credit standards next year.

Slower Pace

Weaker job numbers are expected going into Q1 of next year, and the effects of weaker migration and other underlying economic factors is going to slow the pace of new home builds. For Toronto in particular, it’s predicted that reduced immigration will likely curtail housing demand in Toronto’s condo sector to start 2021. Single-family housing demand should stay strong though.

In Montreal housing starts have been resilient this year, with residential construction in the city rebounding when restrictions were eased. Despite this new housing starts only went up 1% in between January and September 2020.

Condos are always a huge part of the market in metro Vancouver, and new condo sales in Vancouver weren’t good in 2020, and this is going to mean fewer housing starts this year and next year. Resale homes did go up by 17% though, and ongoing low inventory and healthy demand realities will mean there will still be ‘enough’ new housing starts in Vancouver next year to keep this part of the market equation well in place.

One of the most upheaval heavy years of all time is drawing to a close here. One thing that a lot of people would not have foreseen in April was how well the real estate industry in Canada would weather the COVID economic downturn as well as it did. Now that it’s late December there’s a lot of looking ahead just a few weeks into the New Year and wondering if we can expect more resilience from it.

Economists are industry experts have already forecasted a rise in median home prices for Canada next year, and that’s good news for homeowners who are looking to see more equity in their homes. And while that should be the opposite for would-be 1^st time homebuyers, there is the new Liberal FTHBIA plan that is designed to help people like this get into the market.

There’s also a mixed reality for real estate agents in all of that too, as there’s a balance that’s needed to generate the type of environment where the market and business is good to all equally. Real estate is always going to be a competitive business, and that’s why our online real estate lead generation service for Canada is an excellent resource for realtors who want to be as competitive as they can when building their real estate business.

Recent news about home prices, but other news that there are fewer housing starts expected across the country next year speaks to a different perspective on the national real estate market. 

Potential for Stall Out

Q3 for 2020 saw 237,300 housing starts in all of Canada, and that is a 22.2% increase from the 2^nd quarter. Home sales also went up by 93% during this same time frame, bringing home prices up 4%. Those numbers on their own might look promising, but a noticeable deceleration may be just around the corner.

In addition to reduced growth due to the repressing of the economy, we had robust housing demand that continued to rally new home sales and starts until the end of September or so. House price appreciation remained solid because of low inventory and supply bottlenecks.

We should still see housing starts exceeding 2019’s total, but new home sales have decreased and especially in the new condo segment. This should result in fewer housing starts for 2021, and with interest rates staying historically low it’s expected that fewer housing starts are going to be the norm for the next two years. This then connects to rising home prices meaning for affordability woes for some, and – more relevantly to those in the business – softened demand.

There is also the expected additional factors of the government’s massive income support programs winding down and financial institutions tightening credit standards next year.

Slower Pace

Weaker job numbers are expected going into Q1 of next year, and the effects of weaker migration and other underlying economic factors is going to slow the pace of new home builds. For Toronto in particular, it’s predicted that reduced immigration will likely curtail housing demand in Toronto’s condo sector to start 2021. Single-family housing demand should stay strong though.

In Montreal housing starts have been resilient this year, with residential construction in the city rebounding when restrictions were eased. Despite this new housing starts only went up 1% in between January and September 2020.

Condos are always a huge part of the market in metro Vancouver, and new condo sales in Vancouver weren’t good in 2020, and this is going to mean fewer housing starts this year and next year. Resale homes did go up by 17% though, and ongoing low inventory and healthy demand realities will mean there will still be ‘enough’ new housing starts in Vancouver next year to keep this part of the market equation well in place.

Sign up for Real Estate Leads here and receive a monthly quota of qualified, online-generated buyer and / or seller leads that are delivered to only one realtor – you! You’ll be the only agent who gets these leads that are for people in your area who have shown themselves to be genuine potential clients. This puts you in touch with them first, and you have the opportunity to advertise yourself as the professional they need to help them with the purchase or sale of a home.

One of the things that everyone will agree on is that seeing moderate increases in home values is a good thing for one and all. We stress the word moderate there, because anything more than incremental gains in the values of homes has the potential to be harmful for those who are ready to enter the housing market for the first time. A decline in median home prices is never a good thing for anyone, and that’s true on everything from the individual level right up to the prosperity of the country as a whole.

From the perspective of a real estate agent, it’s a little different than the way the consumer will see it all. Keep in mind though that most real estate agents are homeowners themselves. In that scenario, you’ve got a double vested interest in seeing national growth in home values. But with more value in homes there’s more value in the business that brings more into the profession. That’s a double-edged sword of sorts, as it becomes an increasingly competitive business.

That makes our online real estate lead generation system an excellent choice for realtors who need a hand being the competitor they want to be when it comes to growing a real estate business. You’re put more directly in touch with would-be clients who are legitimately looking to buy or sell a home in your area of the country.

Clients that will likely being paying a little more for that same home in 2021 it would seem, and that’s where we’re going to focus today.

Perfect Moderate Gain

Our friends at Royal LePage are predicting that home prices in Canada will rise some 5.5% in 2021, and that will be attributable to building on unexpectedly strong growth this year, driven by a shortage of properties for sale and record low interest rates.

Adding further that the aggregate price of a home in Canada should rise year-over-year to $746,100 in 2021. The median price for a 2-storey detached house and condominium are projected to increase 6% to $890,100 for the detached houses and $522,700 for the condos.

Aggregate home prices are based on a weighted model that uses median prices and includes all housing types.

It needs to be said, however, that the government-backed mortgage insurer Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation is predicting a price decline in 2021 and more than a few of the country’s biggest banks are foreseeing growth that’s a little more repressed. As is almost always the case though, those who do real estate full time and exclusively tend to be a little more in the know and correct with their predictions on housing in Canada.

In conclusion with that, we should see upward pressure on home prices continuing, and that reality should be buoyed by supply continuing to not demand all across the country as a whole, and policy makers keeping interest rates low – which is almost certainly going to happen given the current economic malaise brought about by the COVID pandemic.

15% Average Rise

The average Canadian home price went up more than 15% in October from the same time the year previous (2019), and according to the CREA that’s a record gain.

RBC and the Bank of Nova Scotia have presented 2020 annual reports where they expect house prices to grow 0.6% over the next 12 months, and that constrained housing affordability is the only impediment that’s likely keeping that number from being higher.

Buyer demand for condos is expected to be healthy in Canada’s biggest cities, but with one exception – Toronto. It’s the only major metro area where softer demand is seen continuing in the city centre.

Ottawa and Vancouver are the frontrunners for city-specific rises in median home values, with increases of 11.5% for the country’s capital and 9% for Vancouver. Calgary and Edmonton are set to have much less noticeable growth – 0.75% for Cowtown and 1.5% for the Albertan capital. Toronto prices? Think more along the lines of 5.75% gains.

Sign up for Real Estate Leads here and receive a monthly quota of qualified, online-generated buyer and / or seller leads that are delivered to you exclusively as the only realtor registered to receive them. It’s a proven-effective way to get more out of your client prospecting efforts, and a look at our testimonials page is enough to make clear how many realtors like you are very happy they’ve already made the decision to sign up.

Being a full week into December now we can affirmatively state that the current year is now waning on the horizon and we will be in January of 2021 before we know it. Most people are pretty keen to have 2021 in the rear-view mirror, and for good reason. For homeowners and soon-to-homeowners and the realtors working with them, there’s an added reason to be enthused about the coming new year.

All of which is relevant for those newer to the profession of being a real estate agent in Canada. The market has remained very resilient throughout the economic turmoil brought about by the pandemic, and we’re all thankful for that. Nothing, however, is going to make real estate any less of a competitive business and realtors need to be hustling harder than ever to continue to have the ‘pie slice’ they envision for themselves.

That’s what makes our online real estate lead generation system here at Real Estate Leads such a valuable resource for realtors in Canada. Like the idea of being straight lined into contact with genuine buyer / seller prospective clients? Right, of course you are and that’s what our system is able to do for you.

Which is plenty good news, because industry experts and economists are foreseeing a good bit of vibrancy to the housing market for next year, and in fact some are saying it could be the year of ‘move up and move over’ for many people who will be active in the Canadian real estate market next year.

As Expected – Less Supply, with More Demand

So what’s meant by that? Well, it is believe that the real estate market in Canada will be pushed primarily by these ‘move-up’ and ‘move-over’ buyers in 2021. Why? Well, let’s start with the projection that ongoing supply shortages will push prices up some 4-6%, according to REMAX Canada.

What we do know is that there’s plenty of evidence that many households are considering major lifestyle, many that will involve relocating to less dense cities and neighbourhoods. Sales of homes in suburban and rural parts of Canada reached record levels in 2021 and this trend is expected to continue.

Much to the pleasant surprise of realtors working in more rural areas of Canada no doubt! Also a catalyst for greater numbers of people in these locales to perhaps consider a career change to real estate if that’s something they think might work out well for them.

But let’s consider more prominently that 52% of Canadians believe real estate will be one of the best investments in 2021, as the housing market remains hot despite the downfall many predicted for it in the time following Mid-March.

Sanctity – and Scarcity – of Space

Other relevant stats here we were able to borrow; only 6% of sellers in 2020 made purchasing decisions influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic. 40% started on home renovations. Most notable, however, was that 29% of buyers were opting for more space. Something you almost certainly won’t get in Vancouver or Toronto unless you’re a multi millionaire or darn close to it.

Suburban markets saw influxes of new residents this year. Places like North Bay, Kingston, Moncton and the Fraser Valley around Vancouver are good examples. This trend is expected to continue into 2021.

It’s also foreseen that market activity across the country’s most populated Province – Ontario – is set to remain very steady in 2021. While only an estimate, it’s believed that the a potential for an average sale price increases of some 7-12% should be seen in regions like London (7%), Kingston and Cornwall (10%), Niagara (12%), and 10 percent for Thunder Bay too.

What’s behind all this? Well, it really is the same old story. High demand and low supply paired with shifting home-buying trends toward local liveability factors. More and more people than ever want more space, larger yards and closer proximity to amenities like parks.

Move-up and move-over buyers are impacting luxury segments in Ontario too. Ottawa and Hamilton-Burlington are prime examples of a massive spike in demand for luxury homes since the start of the pandemic, and this is expected to be the norm all through 2021 too.

Being a full week into December now we can affirmatively state that the current year is now waning on the horizon and we will be in January of 2021 before we know it. Most people are pretty keen to have 2021 in the rear-view mirror, and for good reason. For homeowners and soon-to-homeowners and the realtors working with them, there’s an added reason to be enthused about the coming new year.

All of which is relevant for those newer to the profession of being a real estate agent in Canada. The market has remained very resilient throughout the economic turmoil brought about by the pandemic, and we’re all thankful for that. Nothing, however, is going to make real estate any less of a competitive business and realtors need to be hustling harder than ever to continue to have the ‘pie slice’ they envision for themselves.

That’s what makes our online real estate lead generation system here at Real Estate Leads such a valuable resource for realtors in Canada. Like the idea of being straight lined into contact with genuine buyer / seller prospective clients? Right, of course you are and that’s what our system is able to do for you.

Which is plenty good news, because industry experts and economists are foreseeing a good bit of vibrancy to the housing market for next year, and in fact some are saying it could be the year of ‘move up and move over’ for many people who will be active in the Canadian real estate market next year.

As Expected – Less Supply, with More Demand

So what’s meant by that? Well, it is believe that the real estate market in Canada will be pushed primarily by these ‘move-up’ and ‘move-over’ buyers in 2021. Why? Well, let’s start with the projection that ongoing supply shortages will push prices up some 4-6%, according to REMAX Canada.

What we do know is that there’s plenty of evidence that many households are considering major lifestyle, many that will involve relocating to less dense cities and neighbourhoods. Sales of homes in suburban and rural parts of Canada reached record levels in 2021 and this trend is expected to continue.

Much to the pleasant surprise of realtors working in more rural areas of Canada no doubt! Also a catalyst for greater numbers of people in these locales to perhaps consider a career change to real estate if that’s something they think might work out well for them.

But let’s consider more prominently that 52% of Canadians believe real estate will be one of the best investments in 2021, as the housing market remains hot despite the downfall many predicted for it in the time following Mid-March.

Sanctity – and Scarcity – of Space

Other relevant stats here we were able to borrow; only 6% of sellers in 2020 made purchasing decisions influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic. 40% started on home renovations. Most notable, however, was that 29% of buyers were opting for more space. Something you almost certainly won’t get in Vancouver or Toronto unless you’re a multi millionaire or darn close to it.

Suburban markets saw influxes of new residents this year. Places like North Bay, Kingston, Moncton and the Fraser Valley around Vancouver are good examples. This trend is expected to continue into 2021.

It’s also foreseen that market activity across the country’s most populated Province – Ontario – is set to remain very steady in 2021. While only an estimate, it’s believed that the a potential for an average sale price increases of some 7-12% should be seen in regions like London (7%), Kingston and Cornwall (10%), Niagara (12%), and 10 percent for Thunder Bay too.

What’s behind all this? Well, it really is the same old story. High demand and low supply paired with shifting home-buying trends toward local liveability factors. More and more people than ever want more space, larger yards and closer proximity to amenities like parks.

Move-up and move-over buyers are impacting luxury segments in Ontario too. Ottawa and Hamilton-Burlington are prime examples of a massive spike in demand for luxury homes since the start of the pandemic, and this is expected to be the norm all through 2021 too.

Sign up for Real Estate Leads here and receive a monthly quota of qualified, online-generated buyer and / or seller leads that are from genuine buyers who are in the same area of any city or town in Canada where you are working as a real estate agent. But what’s most important to most realtors is that you will be the only realtor who will receive those leads, we won’t be providing them to anyone else. It’s a dynamite way to supercharge your client prospecting efforts, and it comes highly recommended from realtors just like you.