Sales forecast to fall in Canada for whole of 2017 and price growth less than expected
Projected home sales in Canada have been revised downward with the market in Ontario in particular expected to see only a partial recovery from a sharp drop in activity and sales growth to be less than previously forecast. According to the forecast from the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) changes to provincial housing policies aimed at reining in the market in the Greater Golden Horseshoe region announced in April has had an impact. The report says that activity in the region has begun to show tentative signs of stabilising but is down sharply since March amid a rapid shift in housing market balance and increased cautiousness among home buyers. Because the region is home to a quarter of the Canadian population, changes in sales activity there have a large influence on results for the province and nationally. The downward revision in the national sales forecast primarily reflects the drop in Ontario home sales, which are projected to rebound only partially later this year. Because home prices in the Greater Golden Horseshoe region are well above those in much of the rest of Canada, the decline in Ontario’s share of national sales is also responsible for much of the downward revision in the national average price forecast.
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