Housing experts project what's ahead for Canada
Home sales in Canada won't be what they were in 2007, but housing experts say the number of people looking for home insurance in 2011 will at the very least be balanced.
On Tuesday, at a forum held in Toronto, bank and housing executives predicted the real estate market will fluctuate in 2011, starting out active but gradually tapering off as demand begins to fall.
"Market conditions are expected to remain fairly balanced, favouring sellers to some degree in the spring and buyers in the fall," said Adrienne Warren, a real estate specialist. "This in turn suggests relatively steady prices, but with more downside risk later in the year."
Representatives for Scotiabank said that while Canada fared well in comparison to other countries during the recent housing crisis, the tightening of mortgage lending rules, reduced affordability and declining demand will put the rate of sales approximately 15 percent below 2007, when home sales peaked.
The executives' projections are backed up by the Royal Bank of Canada. Last month, RBC issued a report saying the next two years will be far more balanced compared to the last two.
"With the economy on a more solid footing now, the road ahead will be less bumpy," said Robert Hogue, RBC's senior economist.