{"id":64357,"date":"2023-12-08T10:58:04","date_gmt":"2023-12-08T15:58:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sellsniagara.com\/?p=64357"},"modified":"2023-12-21T10:25:12","modified_gmt":"2023-12-21T15:25:12","slug":"2024-niagara-real-estate-outlook-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sellsniagara.com\/2024-niagara-real-estate-outlook-report\/","title":{"rendered":"2024 NIAGARA REAL ESTATE OUTLOOK REPORT"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
This past year has been a roller coaster, so we pulled data and insights\u00a0from several sources\u00a0to give you the stability you need heading into 2024. How are Interest rates playing a factor? Will there be another inventory shortage? Is there a market crash looming? Is 2024 a good time to break into the market?<\/p>
We have the Answers!<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
Canadians\u2019 outlook on home ownership remains positive, according to the 2024 Outlook Report from RE\/MAX Canada<\/a>. According to the report, 73% of Canadians are confident that home ownership is the best investment, a sentiment that remains unchanged year-over-year.\u00a0While the market is anticipated to cool in the first half of 2024, Canadians\u2019 perceptions of real estate as a good investment hasn’t shifted since 2022.<\/p> A\u00a0persistent housing shortage & a tricky interest rate environment were the largest challenges this\u00a0past year. 61% of Canadians currently own their home & of these homeowners, 27% are currently living in the first home they purchased.<\/p> More than half of Canadians surveyed are concerned that interest rates will impact their ability to engage in the housing market in 2024.<\/p> Looking ahead, the RE\/MAX network of brokers and agents expects the market to be more active in 2024, with national avg sale prices likely to increase by 0.5% and 61% of regions surveying anticipating unit sales to increase in 2024.<\/p> Despite various markets in Ontario favouring sellers or experiencing balanced conditions in 2023, the majority of regions are currently buyers\u2019 markets including Niagara, Mississauga & Brampton. Although Hamilton and Burlington experienced varying conditions throughout the year, both have shifted toward buyer\u2019s markets in Q4 of 2023.\u00a0<\/p> The GTA market is anticipated to gain balance in 2024 but is also expected to favour buyers at certain points of the year.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p> VIEW THE FULL OUTLOOK DATA TABLE HERE<\/a><\/p> 2023 saw 3 out of 8 potential interest rate adjustments<\/a>, bringing the benchmark at the end of 2023 to 5%. Economists are expecting the Bank of Canada will hold interest rates, with some saying they expect the central bank to be done hiking rates.\u00a0<\/p> The reason Canada\u2019s central bank raised interest rates in June and July was due to first-quarter growth rising amid an increase in housing demand. This was \u201cshort-lived\u201d and spending, employment gains and inflation have since slowed. \u00a0<\/p> Expectations\u00a0are below trend economic growth to continue over the coming months, which will push inflation gradually closer to the two-per-cent target. This will give the Bank of Canada a few months before it starts to prepare markets for rate cuts, which some expect will start in April 2024.<\/a>\u00a0Over the next 12 months, economists are predicting anywhere from 1.5%-2% in decreases to the Prime Rate.<\/p> Concurrently, bond yields fell dramatically at the tail end of 2023. Bond yields dictate the price of fixed rate mortgages in Canada, and this brought the return of the 5-year fixed back below 5%. Of course, there’s caveats (for purchases under 1 million, less than 20% downpayment, etc).\u00a0<\/p> Although 5 year term is a considerable amount of time to lock at this rate, this may be the best option for First Time Buyers to qualify for up to 10% more than if they were to go with a 3 year term as these rates are closer to 6%.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p> The Fall Economic Statement<\/a> was released in November with plenty of focus on the housing market.<\/p> Of the changes proposed in the statement, the government lists the removal of GST for cooperative housing on new rentals, $1 billion in funding over 2025-2026 for 7,000 new affordable homes, $15 billion in funding over the same period for over 30,000 new rental homes, a new Canadian Mortgage Charter for borrower relief, and tax changes to limit short-term rental services.<\/p> The new Canadian Mortgage Charter<\/a> proposed in the Fall Economic Statement hopes to provide relief to Canadians preparing to face higher monthly mortgage payments when they renew. The charter would improve the way lenders interact with borrowers during the mortgage process and would allow homeowners with an insured mortgage up for renewal to skip the stress test if they are switching lenders at the end of their mortgage term.\u00a0<\/p> Higher borrowing costs and increasing home prices continue to \u201cweigh on real estate activity\u201d resulting in the weakest mortgage growth we\u2019ve seen in Canada since 2001. According to Statistics Canada<\/a>, residential mortgage credit rose 3.2% over last year, reaching $2.14 trillion, which is the weakest annual growth rate in over two decades.<\/p> The average sale price in the Niagara decreased by 12.3% between 2022 and 2023 (from $798,079 in 2022 to $700,052 in 2023), while the number of sales decreased by 7.4% (from 5,862 in 2022 to 5,431 in 2023).\u00a0<\/p>National<\/h3>
Provincial<\/h3>
Bank Of Canada & Interest Rates<\/h3>
Federal Fall Economic Statement<\/h3>
Niagara: Buyers Market in 2024<\/h3>