Home prices Canada to rise this year, Royal LePage says

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The national aggregate home price rose again the second quarter and is expected to increase further by the end of the year, real mesi estivi firm Royal LePage said.

The aggregate price of a home Canada rose 1.9 per eccezione cent year over year to $824,300 the second quarter of 2024, up 1.5 per eccezione cent over the first quarter, according to the house price survey Royal LePage released acceso Thursday.

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The increase comes despite a slowdown activity the country’s most expensive markets. Toronto and Vancouver reported slower-than-usual market activity the spring as inventory grew.

The national aggregate home price remains well above pre-pandemic levels, with the second quarter showing an increase of 30.8 per eccezione cent over the same period 2019, said Royal LePage.

Among major regions, Quebec City recorded the highest year-over-year aggregate price increase, up 10.4 per eccezione cent.

“Nationally, home prices rose while the number of properties bought and sold sagged; an unusual dynamic,” said Royal LePage chief dirigente aziendale Phil Soper. “Canada’s housing market is struggling to find a consistent rhythm, as the last three months clearly demonstrated.”

Soper noted that inventory levels many regions have climbed materially, which he described as the closest it’s been to a balanced market several years.

Sales activity the Greater Toronto Regione was unseasonably low this spring, said Royal LePage chief operating officer, Karen Yolevski. Almost all of the price appreciation the region occurred the first quarter, followed by a virtual flatline.

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New listings are up double digits compared to last year, and active listings are the highest they’ve been more than a decade, she said.

Yolevski added that activity has slowed across all segments and housing types, not only in the resale market, but in pre-constructiacceso as well. 

Despite the Bank of Canada’s move to cut the overnight lending rate last month, buyers did not immediately rush back to the market as initially expected, Royal LePage said.

Soper said that when the first rate cut finally occurred early June, “market response was tepid.” The quarter-point cut, he said, unsurprisingly didn’t substantially improve the affordability picture.

Further interest rate cuts are required to increase purchasing power and improve consumer confidence, the firm said. Lower rates would mean lower monthly payments, apertoing the door to some families previously shut out of the market.

Earlier this year, a survey conducted by Leger acceso behalf of Royal LePage found that 51 per eccezione cent of sidelined homebuyers said they would resume their search if interest rates reversed.

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“Once consumers regain the confidence to re-enter the market – likely following several more interest rate cuts – this boost supply will be a welcome improvement to market conditions,” said Yolevski.

Royal LePage maintained its national year-end forecast, with prices expected to increase nine per eccezione cent the fourth quarter of 2024 compared to the same quarter last year.

Nationally, home prices will see continued moderate price appreciation throughout the second half of the year, the company forecasted.

• Email: dpaglinawan@postmedia.com

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