With the media echoing the warning flares from Ottawa regarding the housing market across Canada, one has to wonder when and if these concerns will ever be resolved without the constant fear and reminder that our economy is still at risk.
Although in the Central Okanagan inventory is remaining low, buyers are still shopping, sale prices are starting to see stable ground and there seems to be light at the end of our tunnel.
The federal government seems to have a different view on the economy.
“While the momentum for sales activity began improving a few months ago, it may be losing steam after having just climbed back in line with an average of the past 10 years,” said Gregory Klump, chief economist with the Ottawa-based Canadian Real Estate Association, which represents about 100 real estate boards across the country.
Canadians have been told for the past couple of years that low interest rates are the culprit for accumulating too much debt in individual households.
On Wednesday, Oct. 16, Mr. Dauphin, the mayor of the Montreal borough of Lachine, stated: “Housing costs and, as the Bank of Canada notes, household debt, are undermining Canadians personal financial security, while putting our national economy at risk.”
Mortgage debt held by Canadians now stands at a whopping $1.1-trillion. It has been stated by the Canadian Housing and Renewal Association that one-quarter of Canadians are over their affordability limit.
On the up side to these warning messages streamed from Ottawa, buyers are now becoming more and more aware of their financial situation and starting to educate themselves with the market trends.
Sellers are realizing as well over the past few years that today we are in a new time, there is no longer buyers banging down their door with competing offers on their home without proper exposure and that the days of selling their home privately have come and gone.
David Madani, an economics with Capital Economics noted: “More prospective sellers are using the much larger MLS network than the smaller private network.”
“ If you’ve got more people using the MLS, presumably you would be talking more sales. In a down market, you need greater exposure to sell your property.”
