Royal LePage Anticipates Canadian House Prices to Rise by 12% This Year

Royal LePage is estimating that total costs for homes in Canada will go up by a little more than 12 percent this year.

In its second-quarter house value review and estimate, the firm said the protracted period of low-interest rates will delay a cooling in the nation’s overheated real estate markets that was anticipated for the second part of this current year.

“Economic and social disruptions have rocked the world once again, introducing new risks and making it very likely that the Bank of Canada will leave interest rates as-is for now,” enthused Royal LePage president and CEO Phil Soper.

• Real estate confusion has caused a real stir causing people to hasten to buy land while they still can.
• ‘Crazy’ bidding wars happening in the suburbs now, too

He said the firm doesn’t see even little rectification for either the Toronto or Vancouver showcases this year.

Based on information from 53 markets the across the country, Royal LePage said the cost of a home rose by 9.2% every year in the second quarter to $520,223. The firm said its total home cost depends on a weighted average of the median estimation of homes for reported property types, for example, two-story homes, cabins and condos.

The cost of a two-story house rose 10.7% to $619,671 in the country, while bungalow costs increased by 7.9% to $437,121. Condominium costs increased by a little more than 4% to $348,189.

Brexit aftermath

In the wake of the U.K’s. vote to leave the European Union, Soper said there have been views that foreign cash will push into the “relative safety” of Canada.

“We anticipate the impact, if any, will be seen in the commercial property sector and not in the housing market,” he said. “Beyond Europe, our research does point to increasing Vancouver and Toronto region foreign buyer activity in residential markets this quarter.”

On a regional basis, Royal LePage said the Greater Vancouver territory saw a total year-over-year home cost increment of 24.6 for every penny to a median cost of $1,098,599.

“Alongside skyrocketing prices of single-family homes, we have seen an uptick in the rate of price appreciation for condominiums over 1,000 square feet, when compared to smaller units in this market,” Soper said. “This may indicate that families being priced out of the single-family detached home market in Vancouver are looking upwards to condominiums.”

He said the circumstance are not exactly the same in the Greater Toronto Area, where total costs were up 10.2% penny year-over-year in the second quarter. Buyers are in the Toronto area moving to suburbs to get affordable housing.