It’s welcome news for prospective buyers hoping for a better price. But as the busy fall season nears, realtors and economists are at odds over how long the pricing slide will last and how low it will go.Sign up to receive the daily top stories from the Financial Post, a division of Postmedia Network Inc.By clicking on the sign up button you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.
Just a little bit of a bump in demand could be the difference between homes selling in three, four weeks versus selling in two weeks or selling a lot fasterThe latest data from the Canadian Real Estate Association showed prices hit $629,971 in July, down five per cent from $662,924 last July. On a seasonally adjusted basis, it amounted to $650,760, a three per cent drop from June. When pandemic lockdowns began in March 2020, the average national price was $543,920.
In anticipation of a drop in prices, agents have noticed prospective buyers sitting on the sidelines of the market in recent months, while sellers come to terms with the fact that their homes won’t fetch as much money as they would have at the start of the year.Article content“We are seeing lowball offers,” said the Vancouver agent with Keller Williams Realty VanCentral.
Economists foresee the increases continuing and Fralic said they’re already encouraging people who don’t need to buy immediately to hold off.Article contentIt's anyone's guess how much prices will fall“If people are thinking are going to plummet, I don’t think that’s accurate,” she said.
AnarchoLibris FYI
These articles are always about Toronto, maybe Vancouver. But the house prices that we’re goosed by Covid are everywhere else b/c people fled big cities. This article says nothing about them.