The Canadian Real Estate Association is predicting the Canada resale housing market will remain ‘at or near record levels’ this year.
“The statistics again show just how different the housing markets are in Canada and the United States. Canadian realtors know that Canadian mortgage lenders correctly see that home prices will continue rising.”
The association sees three factors that it believes will save Canada’s housing markets from the woes engulfing the sector in the United States: consumer confidence, employment and affordable interest rates.
CREA economist Gregory Klump said the market will pull back from the “breakneck pace” of 2007, but this is still forecast to be the second-busiest year on record in almost all provinces.
Average prices are forecast to continue rising in record territory, but the increase is likely to become slower, to 5.5 per cent nationwide.
“Slower job growth, not massive layoffs, are forecast for Canada in 2008,” Klump said.
What I’d like to know is which parts of canada will rise as forecast? Are there any overpriced Canadian markets that risk a drop in prices or will we see a steady rise across the board?
note: For a comprehensive look at why all might not go perfectly for the Vancouver market check out Mohicans Bubble Uberpost over at Financial Planning and Personal Sanity.
