The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) has forecast that home prices will decline 6% this year as higher mortgage rates drive both sellers and buyers from the real estate market.
The real estate association also predicts that overall home sales across Canada will drop 0.5% in 2023 to 495,858 units. CREA forecasts that the average home price this year will reach $662,103.
Looking out to 2024, CREA expects home sales to rise by 10.2% as market conditions improve. The association also expects the average home price to gain 3.5% next year to $685,056.
Higher interest rates have rapidly cooled Canada’s housing market, with sellers taking their homes off the market and many buyers unable to qualify for a mortgage with the average interest rate on the loans now above 6%.
In December 2022, home sales in Canada rose 1.3% on a month-over-month basis. The national average home price in December was $626,318, down 12% from a year earlier.
